Fish On!: This weekend offers an opportunity to fish for charity

This weekend marks the 10th Annual Help Hook The Cure Striper Derby run by the Elks Lodge in Winthrop. This tournament is always looked forward to and is a favorite among many local fishermen, as it benefits a truly noble cause. Proceeds from this derby go to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson?s Disease. The Derby is this Saturday, Aug. 23 from 5 a.m. until 3 p.m. The cost is $25 for adults, and $15 for kids. For more information, contact the Winthrop Elks Lodge. This derby couldn?t have come at a better time, as the fishing scene has been on fire lately! Screaming drags and heart-pounding action has been taking place from Boston to Marblehead, courtesy of some giant striped bass that have been hanging around our area lately. This week I?ve received multiple reports of blitzing bass, and not just schoolies, but fish in the 38-42 inch range, with many over that mark. Topwater plugs and live mackerel have been the theme of the week, and I also heard of a 35-pounder taken on a pollock. If that isn?t enough to get the blood pumping, this week fishermen are reporting massive schools of toothy bluefish chasing bait just outside of Hull, around Point Allerton. Now, these aren?t your average 5-pound snapper blues out there. These are the real deal, wolfpacks of 15-20 pound blues. The kind that, if they don?t bite through your leader or wreck the hook in the first 2 seconds, they?ll help you skip the gym for the next few days if you hook ?em clean. So a lot is going on, time to get out there while the getting is good, because Winter will be here in the blink of an eye!Here?s a look at our areas:Boston HarborAs I mentioned, tomorrow (Saturday) is the Annual Help Hook the Cure Derby. For those fishing it, I?ve heard of good numbers of pogies in the harbor this week, from Deer Island to Castle Island, as well as over on Wollaston Beach. Stripers are hitting well around Deer Island, and the North Channel out to Graves Light. Look for pogies at first light, and have a weighed treble, or snag hook, at the ready. Be ready for some serious bluefish encounters, as they?re just outside Boston Light, and they?re gorillas. Look for them by Point Allerton to Boston Light, if they don?t find you first!Lynn/NahantOur area is arguably the best fishing on the North Shore at the moment. This past week my brother and Father were out in the Lynn/Revere area, and scored multiple bass over 45 inches in just under 2 hours on live mackerel. The 12 boats they were fishing with had similar results. They said, “It was just great to see big fish again, and feeding!” Blitzing fish have been reported all week in Lynn Harbor, as well as around Nahant. Lynn fisherman Steve Foulds had a great day recently while fishing off the rocks of Nahant. Throwing pencil plugs and creek chub poppers, he caught 2 bass over 47 inches, as well as multiple smaller ones. Saturday also marks the Annual Bass Point Boat Club Bluefish and Striper tournament. It?s a great event each year, and you can find out more by calling the Nahant Knights of Columbus.Salem/MarbleheadStrange, but with all the great action happening around here, the Salem area is where it seems to have stopped. My kayak and fly fishing buddies who fish this area reported “slow fishing all week, actually for a couple weeks it seems.” They reported a few surface feeds of smaller fish going on around Salem and Beverly Harbors, with the biggest they caught being 26 inches. Mackerel were scarce around the islands, and the flounder fishing has died down. Marblehead reports were encouraging, with bass to 38 inches being reported around Devereux Beach as well as Castle Rock. Chunk mackerel was the ticket.Cape Ann/NewburyportThe guys over at First Light Anglers report plenty of mackerel still around Thachers, the Groaner, and Halibut Point. Some nice bass were reported this week on those mackerel in the 30-pound class, and Crane?s Beach was a hotspot for surfcasters throwing swimming plugs and pencil poppers. Surfland B