Boston and regions Fishing

Season has gone to the dogs

By Tony Chamberlain, Globe Staff | July 29, 2005

This is the time of year when, if you took vacation for some gangbuster saltwater fishing action, one only hopes you learn from your mistake. Just as surely as the game fish show up in June, hungry from their migratory run and ready to munch on the plentiful bait, by the midsummer doldrums -- mid-July on -- the action quiets down drastically. Which does not mean there aren't fish to catch, but except for some action up north, our waters are pretty quiet. The most excited species is dogfish. Yuck.

Area A: Go north and you'll be rewarded with stripers and bluefish, smalls to mediums for both species. Some lovely stripers have been feeding in the waters from New Harbor and Pemaquid up to Muscungus Bay. Biddeford Pool and Higgins Beach have good catches of bass in the evenings, best livelined on eels and small pollack. Bluefish in Saco Bay and Piscataqua River into Great Bay. Some fish showing up at night around the jetties at Plum Island, but few on the oceanfront.

Area B: Slow fishing along the Salem-Lynn waters, but a few big bass have been reported in the north approaches to Boston Harbor, taking live eels. Harbor catches have been fairly light, and the dogs are thick. Drift around the harbor islands -- north end of Thompson to Spectacle. Cod, haddock, and pollack have also been caught this week.

Area C: Perhaps the most consistent fishing in the Boston waters has been the southern approach -- Minots Ledge, where good-size bass can be counted on settling in for the season and never moving until fall. Getting them to wake up to bait is another matter, but many anglers are livelining eels and using chunk mackerel. The rocky Glades and the waters between Peggoty Beach and the North River are worth fishing -- again, better night and early morning. Fluke season is still lagging in Duxbury. Offshore, bluefin tuna fishing is the only thing that has some anglers excited.

Area D: The Canal has some bluefish at both ends -- and presumably in the middle, though that's not where the reports are coming from. A couple of decent stripers came up from the west end this week, and also in Buzzards Bay, where the small blues are suddenly active in many harbors from Wareham to Mattapoisett to Quisset, on the Falmouth shore. Also, striper anglers are becoming interested in the Elizabeth holes, from Woods Hole along the Hadley side to Robinsons and Quicks. Cuttyhunk reef is active these nights as well. Westport has blues working.

Area E: The shoal water in Nantucket Sound is likely to have small blues and scup deep. Nantucket Blues in the rips and the Vineyard guys are finding Lobsterville to Menemsha Bight in pretty good shape, along with an occasional good catch off Gay Head Light.

Area F: Race Point is surprisingly active, early and late. Not much action reported on the Seashore side. Billingsgate is always worth a look.