Fish On!: Fishing has been slow, but productive

The fishing has been pretty good since that great bite early last week, but I?m still hearing the same thing from a lot of fishermen. The common theme this season seems to be, “Slow fishing, but productive.” There were many good reports sent in this week, and the guys that are catching big bass right now are the ones that are fishing the night shift. While most of the world is asleep in their beds, a small group of diehard basshounds are drifting eels and throwing soft plastics with jig heads and scoring trophy bass just past the surfline in the wee hours of the morning. My friend Jay Ludwig and his buddies have been doing just that from their kayaks and boats, fishing open beaches from Swampscott to Winthrop from midnight to sunrise, and with excellent results. They did particularly well during that Supermoon earlier this week, with 50 bass between 3 kayaks, with fish up to 35 pounds! So as we get to the halfway point in August, here?s what?s going on. There is a good number of bass hanging around this area, including some trophies, as I?m still hearing of spoolings in the Winthrop area, we?ve also got a solid squid bite going on at night, flounder are surprisingly still around, as my friend Dan and his son caught another dozen on Tuesday morning, and reports of bluefish are coming in more and more. So get out there, if you haven?t been lately, and if it?s that trophy striper you?re still after, Carpe Noctum is the name of the game right now. Seize the night!Here?s a look at our areas:Boston HarborReports of flounder are still coming in from Quincy Bay, and if you?re looking for them, you can?t go wrong fishing around Rainsford Island, as well as the Quincy side of Long Island. For stripers, the Deer Island area is heating up, with some nice fish reported this week, as well as the Spectacle Island area. Some truly large bass are hanging around the harbor, and I?m sure it has to do with the massive school of pogies that my buddy Ron Powers told me about this week, that stretched from Deer Island all the way to East Boston! Good things are coming…Lynn/NahantMackerel are back, and have been pretty thick lately around Nahant again. Some nice bass were taken this week, but not by bringing those mackerel inshore, but fishing them on balloons right around the schools. Bass to 40 pounds were reportedly harassing the mackerel schools this week from Egg Rock to Lynn Harbor. Lynn Beach has been a hotspot this week, and bass to 35 pounds were reported in close to the beach. No word yet on Fluke, which are usually here by mid-July at the latest, but perhaps nobody is targeting them. For a shot at these great tablefare and strong fighters, a 1/2 or 1 oz leadhead jig with a snapper blue, a squid strip, or a mackerel strip on the end is all you need. Bounce the bottom in Lynn Harbor or the Marsh, and there?s a good chance you?ll catch a few.Salem/MarbleheadGood reports from Devereux Beach in Marblehead this week, as well as Castle Rock. Stripers in the 26-42 inch range were reported from the shore and off the rocks on chunk mackerel. Surface feeds were reported out front of Salem and Beverly Harbors this week in the mornings on three separate days, mostly from 6-9 a.m., and fishermen reported stripers from 24-38 inches feeding on herring fry and tinker macks. Storm shads in Pearl were reportedly catching fish on every cast. Squid are still being taken regularly from Salem Willows and the Beverly Pier at night.Cape Ann/NewburyportBluefish were reported out by the Groaner off Gloucester this week, with a few bite off?s and blues landed in the 7-8 pound range. Surfland Bait and Tackle reported stripers to 43 inches taken at night in the surf by those casting SP Minnows and Black Bombers from the oceanfront. I haven?t heard too much coming from the famous Joppa Flats lately, but this is the time of year when you usually hear of someone catching a 50 there.The Bottom LineWhile it certainly has been that “Slow fishing, but productive” credo as o