Fish On!: Dog days of summer … or a warning from Mother Nature?

Slow fishing continues on the striper scene, and more and more anglers are lamenting the seeming “lack” of fish over the past few years. It?s starting to get scary. I?m sure many of you out there remember the ?80s, when even catching a striper was unheard-of … that period of time when bluefish and skates ruled the fishing scene, and the striped bass category was removed from fishing tournaments throughout the Northeast because they simply weren?t around. Overfishing led to a population collapse that took years to recover. Well, many are in agreement right now that we?re staring down the barrel of the same situation if nothing is done to fix the East Coast striped bass population. What can we do as anglers? For starters, we can be more conservation-minded. I know of quite a few guys who are setting their own personal “keeper size” of 36 inches, instead of the 28-inch regulation, and are only keeping a fish here and there while practicing mostly catch and release. Over the next few years I expect to see a change in our striped bass regulations, both commercial and recreational, whether it?s a one-fish limit at 28 inches, or a slot limit, which is designed to protect the young bass, but more importantly, the breeders of the population. Remember, our ocean?s resources aren?t unlimited, so please let?s do our part and take only what we need, and release the rest. It?s something that we all need to think about, especially if we want our children and grandchildren to enjoy this great sport that we all love in the future, and not have to explain to them what a striper “was.”Here?s a look at our areas:Boston HarborThe “Habah” has been slow, like most places. Fishermen are getting more sun than fish this week, and even those fishing the overnights that I?ve spoken to aren?t catching too much. I haven?t heard too much about pogies in the harbor this week, but I?m sure they?re still around Winthrop as well as Wollaston Beach in Quincy. Winthrop was the only place I heard of this week around Boston that was fishing pretty good. Clams and chunk mackerel worked for Deer Island surfcasters this week, with fish to 36 inches being reported.Lynn/NahantAnglers in our area have found that the mackerel seem to have been scattered to the winds, and fishermen are having to put in work to acquire only a few baits. They?re still being found around the 2 Can off East Point, Nahant, but it?s not like it was only a couple weeks ago. Since my buddy Brian DeLeo and his dad Joe were hitting some nice fish about ten days ago in our area, I haven?t heard of too many successful striper outings. For a quick fix, check out the great squid bite that?s still going on at night. All you need is a squid jig, and a well-lit pier or dock to cash in on some delicious Calamari!Salem/MarbleheadI spoke to Tomo at Tomo?s Bait and Tackle this week. Tomo is hearing slow striper fishing as well, but said that there?s been some smaller fish out around Misery Island taken lately, and although the mackerel are there as well, they?re there in smaller numbers. On a bright note, the squid fishing has been great around Beverly and Marblehead, and the flounder fishing is still going strong.Cape Ann/NewburyportSlow bass fishing around Cape Ann, even with a pretty good amount of mackerel around the Groaner. Squid fishing has been red-hot at night around Gloucester, and can be found at pretty much any well-lit pier. Plum Island Sound has been the only place I?ve been hearing of decent fishing. Most of it has been at night for those slinging eels and plugs, but some has come during the day on live mackerel. This week I?ve seen multiple pictures of bass over 30 pounds being taken in this area. For mackerel, look to Breaking Rocks off Salisbury Beach, as they?re still being jigged up there and fished successfully around the mouth of the Merrimack for quality bass. But for the big girls? Live eels at night are the only way to go up here right now.The Bottom LineSlow fishing lately. There ha