Fish On!: Bluefish invasion scatters bait

This past week and a half has certainly been up and down. Just 10 days ago fishermen were jigging up mackerel and using them to score trophy stripers. Then last Wednesday, a massive school of blues that were hanging just outside of Boston Harbor stormed through our area, scattering the mackerel to the winds. The positive note was, anglers all over the North Shore were fighting blues, from the boats and the beaches. Last season they were a no-show, so seeing them again was a welcome sight for a change! Although they?re detested by many for tearing up costly lures, eels, soft plastics, and anything else they can bite, they?re one of the hardest fighting fish we see in this area, and I heard it was a blast for the guys who were in the middle of them! As for the macks, it?s been over a week since I?ve heard of anyone catching a single one, and it?s to the point that nobody?s even talking about them. A friend of mine looked on the bright side when he said to me, “Hey, I?m just glad that they stayed with us for so long this year.” And he?s right. They?re usually gone by Father?s Day, and the past few seasons we?ve been spoiled to have them throughout the season. All the talk now, as it usually happens this time of year, is about the Almighty Pogy. And pogies are in thick right now, making up for the lack of mackerel. And while bass fishing has been slow to nonexistent lately, the guys that are catching are the ones following the pogy schools. This week I?ve heard of stripers in the 30-40 pound range, taken on live and chunk pogies. With this sudden surge of pogies in the area, let?s hope September is a banner month, and the month when you take your season?s best striper!Here?s a look at our areas:Boston HarborLast weekend?s Help Hook the Cure tournament was a hit as usual. While a stiff Northeast wind kicked up the ocean and made fishing extremely difficult, a few nice fish were taken, mostly on pogies. The top fish, I heard, was 41 pounds, while third place was 37, so there were some quality fish in the harbor last weekend. Speaking of pogies, they?ve been thick throughout the Harbor this week, with huge schools being spotted daily, and some have had bass to 40 pounds hanging around them. Look for them around Deer Island, Wollaston Beach, and Crystal Cove. There?s not much, if anything, that beats a live pogy in September for monster bass.Lynn/NahantSlow fishing in our area lately. Most of the reports coming in are of skunkings, slow to no action, and even a lack of those bluefish that were so heavily concentrated on local beaches last week.Mackerel have been nowhere to be found around Nahant and Lynn lately, after those blues stormed through last week and pushed them out. I heard of a few decent fish taken around Revere and Winthrop this week, with bass to 36 pounds reported harassing the pogy schools.Look for pogies in Lynn Harbor this month in the early mornings and afternoons, and chances are, big bass won?t be far away.Salem/MarbleheadTomo over at Tomo?s Bait and Tackle reports a slow week around there. The mackerel are gone out around the islands, and he says they?ve been reported out on Stellwagen Bank, as well as Tillies and Jefferies Ledges. The squid fishing was reported as “Slow but steady” from the Beverly and Marblehead Piers, and anglers are still managing a steady pick of squid most nights. Reports from Devereux Beach and Castle Rock were bleak this week, with many hours fishing for little to no fish. That could all change if those numbers of pogies make their way into Salem Sound.Cape Ann/NewburyportBluefish are reportedly destroying gear and biting baits in half all around Gloucester! The guys from First Light Anglers reported blues being taken out in front of the Breakwater, as well as inside the Harbor. Reports out of Rockport and Manchester say the same. Blues will hit almost anything, but the Rapala X-Raps and other deep diving plugs have been working great. The Plum Island area reportedly had a great bite last