Fish On!: Fall Run right around the corner

We?re all still waiting for the Fall Run to kick into gear, and with the outstanding striper season fishermen in Nova Scotia had this year, many anglers are wondering if it?s going to be a late Run this year. The first part of the Fall Run has started to materialize, and that is the arrival of the Almighty Pogies, and they?re in with some solid numbers finally. Local anglers are hoping that with the arrival of these prized baitfish, combined with the cooler weather we had earlier in the week, will spark the fishing. We?re all still waiting for those football field size blitzes to start up, and we?ve got plenty of bait around, so hopefully it?s just a matter of time. There?s about a month left, so get out there and take advantage of it now because in the blink of an eye our beloved stripers will be gone, headed south to warmer waters, and we?ll be shoveling snow!Here?s a look at our areas:Boston HarborEarlier in the week, there certainly was not a shortage of bait and fish in the harbor. My brother and father managed to snag a dozen pogies in the Winthrop area on Monday, with jumbo bass and some true monster bluefish chasing them right to the boat. The Deer Island area is picking up again, as it typically does each fall, and anglers slinging live eels are being rewarded with bass to 40 inches at night. Look for pogies around Crystal Cove, Winthrop and Wollaston Beach in the mornings and afternoons. A live pogy in Boston Harbor in September is as good as it gets for a shot at a trophy.Lynn/NahantPogies have been spotted in Lynn Harbor in the early mornings and late afternoons, with quality stripers on their tails. No word this week of those yellow eyed, toothy bluefish in the harbor, but it shouldn?t be long until they sniff out the bait, as they were reported just south of us in Boston Harbor this week. Anglers continue to pick away at bass in the mid 30 inch range on mackerel chunks and clams from local beaches, with a 52 inch cow striper reportedly taken off Revere Beach recently on a live pogy. My buddy Ron Powers, writer for OnTheWater Magazine, reported that there is a pretty good fluke bite going on in our area, with small 4-6 inch bluefish and herring doing the trick to fool these big flatties, and there?s been no shortage of these baitfish in the Saugus River.Salem/MarbleheadGood reports out of this area this week. The Beverly shoreline was reportedly hot earlier in the week for those tossing chunk mackerel into the surf, and a few fish in the high 30 inch range were taken around Hospital Point. Live eels at night were the hot ticket, however, with one angler reporting, “Fished eels on Saturday night until sunrise, and was rewarded with a pile of fish.” He went on to report that he didn?t catch that 30 pounder he was looking for, but that should change as the Run picks up. Mackerel were reported off Marblehead and on the back side of Misery Island this week, and they didn?t last long on the hook, with bass to 37 inches hammering them around the islands. Some big blues were also reported off Salem this week, taken while trolling swimming plugs.Cape Ann/NewburyportReports out of Cape Ann this week were pretty good for the striper bite. Squid fishing is still going strong, but look for that to fizzle out in the coming weeks. Live squid have taken some quality stripers when tossing into the suds off the rocks this week. The folks at Surfland on Plum Island reported, “If you?re in the right spot at the right time, you?ve got it made!” It?s been hit or miss lately, but the Parker River Wildlife Refuge Parking Lots 1 and 2 have been pretty consistent lately on the outgoing tide with clams.The Bottom LineLive pogies are the name of the game right now for trophy bass. And fear not if the blues are chomping them in half before the bass can get to them; sometimes it?s actually a blessing! Big bass are lazy, and oftentimes trophy stripers are waiting below the mayhem that the bluefish cause up above for the easy pickings that the s