AS SEEN IN THE FISHERMAN MAGAZINE NEW ENGLAND EDITIon

ISSUE 20 July 20, 2017

�S SOUTH SHORE TO MAINE REPORT

By: Capt. Greg Metcalf

Fishing is starting to hit in all cylinders for both inshore and offshore fishermen. Best bet for this week would be the shoreline between Plymouth and Scituate. Look for one of the big schools of pogies in the area and snag and drop for a jumbo striper.

As July pushes towards August the options available to a Northern New England saltwater angler are numerous. The action for both inshore and offshore species improves by the day. As more and more bait charges into the area, the better the fishing will be. Big additions to this week�s menu are the big schools of bluefish on the inshore grounds as well as bluefin tuna and sharks for the offshore fishermen. All of our reporting stations are expecting this upcoming week to produce stellar results.

SCITUATE

Conner from Belsan�s Bait reported massive schools of pogies have moved into the area making fishing very interesting. Striper fishing remains excellent and bluefish can now be found on the outside ledges. Mackerel fishing has definitely improved, flounder are being caught in the harbor and a few fluke are being landed at the mouth of the North River. Tuna fishermen have been coming in with giant tuna from the offshore grounds.

GREEN HARBOR

Scott from Green Harbor Bait and Tackle told me big schools of pogies have moved into the south shore bringing with them some big striped bass. Scott weighed in a 35 pound striper and several other jumbos this week. The hot striper bite of Race Point has pretty much ended and been replaced with huge schools of bluefish from 8 to 15 pounds. The offshore action is really starting to heat up. The canyons from Veach to West Atlantis have been giving up yellowfin and big eye tuna as well as white and blue marlin. Warm water has also pushed up on to the shelf and the areas south of the Vineyard like the Dump and the Fingers has been producing bluefin up to 70 pounds and a few yellowfin as well as white marlin. The Regal Sword off of Chatham is loaded with mackerel and other bait fish. Anglers have been jigging up mackerel, drifting with live bait and catching tuna from 80 to 100 inches. Middle Bank and Stellwagen Bank are also starting to become productive with more and more tuna are going to market every day. Scott wanted to give a special shout out to Captain Rich Antonino of Black Rose Fishing Charters for winning the Atlantic Monster Shark Tourney on Martha�s Vineyard last week.

Captain Dave Waldrip of Relentless Charters told me that striper fishing has remained outstanding. Rough seas put a damper of the fishing earlier in the week but it has ended with some nice seasonal weather and fair seas. Dave has several good dates available in July for striped bass, tuna, sea bass and shark trips. Anglers looking to get out on a private or shared charter can contact him at www.relentlesscharters.com.

Captain Rich from Black Rose Fishing Charters reported his boat and crew won the North Atlantic Monster Shark Tourney with a 360 pound thresher. It was great weather for a long run last Saturday so they drove around until we found the life they were looking for. There were white marlin around and tuna in the area too. Many sharks were caught in the tournament, but not too many made the scoreboard. Two days of fishing by 30 boats resulted in only one thresher, one mako, and three porbeagle sharks that made the board. There was also a lot of research and data collected by the tourney. Captain Rich alone collected two tags from sharks that his crew caught. The fishing season is in full swing. Call 508-269-1882 for reservations or visit and LIKE Black Rose Fishing Charters on Facebook.

BOSTON

Captain Jason Colby of Little Sister Charters told me he is 2 weeks away from Westport fishing. He is very excited and hoping that the new boat is ready by then, but either way, he will be fishing. Stripers are almost a sure thing, cod on Coxes Ledge, sea bass and fluke to be had all of August. Mahi and tuna will be targeted on the offshore trips. Contact Little Sister Charters for more information at www.littlesister1.com

EVERETT

Pete from Fishing Finatics reported Dave Lernid and Allan Seifer have been killing big bass on their boat Muffin Man in Broad Sound by trolling live mackerel. Harry Crumb was fishing purple and honey mustard Santini tubes along Faun Bar to Seal Harbor and was also having great luck catching big stripers. Flounder are still being fooled on Zobo rigs off of Hangman's and Long Island in deeper water by Captain Jimmy Brennan of Strike Charters. The tuna bite is on along Stellwagen Bank with big tuna busting off Egg Rock. Haddock, cusk, pollock and the occasional monkfish are being caught just east of the bank. Fluke have been showing up in the Pines and Saugus Rivers. There is still not much going on with squid and black seabass. Mackerel are thick at the BG buoy to Bass Point and pogies have moved inside the harbor. Freshwater bass are feeding on chatter baits, shiners and Senkos at Harold Parker State Forrest. Rainbow trout are being caught on Power Bait paste at the Horn Pond culvert after the heavy rain this week. Vertigo2 is catching tuna wahoo in San Cristobal. Pete�s first group is February 3^rd in 2018, Visit www.sportfishgalapagos.com or call Pete for more information.

WINTHROP

Darlene from Bob�s Bait Shack told me fishing is still going strong with Winthrop Flats and Hospital Shoals producing some very nice specimens. There were several reports this week of blues off of Nahant. Deer Island shore fishermen are reporting nice keeper bass being landed every day. One of Bob�s regulars brought in a nice striper caught from shore at Deer Island on fresh chunk of mackerel that weighed in at 33 pounds and measured 47 inches.

SALEM

Tomo from Tomo�s Tackle reported striper fishing has been good overall. Rocks, the islands in North Shore, Nahant Bay area as well as deep water ledges has produced good amount of legal size stripers. School size stripers have been found surface feeding in Salem Harbor, with some feeds lasting for hours. There has also been a few bluefish caught. There has been abundance of mackerel of all sizes in North Shore. Flounder fishing has slowed up a bit, but there is some being caught still. Black sea bass and tautog have been occasionally landed as well. Squid fishing has been slow for the most part, with anglers catching single digit a night. The store will be open from 7AM to 8PM on weekdays, and 6AM - 8PM on weekends.

GLOUCESTER

Tom from Yankee Fleet reported told me Captain Rob reported excellent catches of haddock, pollack and cusk. Fishing remains strong on the half day trips as well as the marathons. Call 978-283-0313 or visit www.yankeefleet.com for information regarding their 2017 fishing schedules.

Captain Kevin from Kayman Charters reported that the great action on the offshore grounds continues. Shark fishing has been great with some porbeagle shark swarming into the area. These are mako like sharks that make great grilling. Pollock are abundant as well as cusk mixed in with plenty of haddock. Kayman Charters has shared openings this month through August. Visit kaymancharters.com for reservations.

PLUM ISLAND

Martha from Surfland told me fishing remains excellent. Huge schools of pogies have moved in bringing bigger bass as well as bluefin tuna in as close as 50 feet of water. The night live eel bite is also heating up. The abundance of bait has made the fish slightly more finicky but there are plenty of stripers to fish on.

WELLS, ME

Brandy from Webhannet Bait and Tackle reported that fishing remains solid for stripers. There are plenty of mid- sized twenty to twenty-five inch fish with a few keepers mixed in. Sea worms in the river mouths, clams and mackerel in the surf have been the most productive baits. People are catching fish everywhere along the beaches, rivers, river mouths and shoreline rock piles. The lures of the week were Super Spool XT in the color hambone and the two ounce Kastmaster in the color nickel and blue with a single buck tail hook. That rig works great in the surf because it combats the wind and the lure is able get out there where the larger fish are. There were a few blues caught from the jetty on Drakes Island. Three keeper flounder caught this week in Wells Harbor on sandworms. Mackerel continue to be elusive, but the schools are large when they come in. Tuna were seen close to shore this week.

SACO BAY TACKLE, ME

Pete from Saco Bay Tackle reported the offshore bite on Jeffrey�s and Platt�s has been red hot. Haddock have been in the 200-220 feet depth and clams have been the magic bait. There are very few cod up shallow and pollock have been hanging in 300 plus feet and hitting 20 ounce diamond jigs. It seems as though the bulk of haddock have moved off the inshore ledges. Some tuna are being taken on all the usual spots, and this will just get better. Stripers are everywhere now. Chunk mackerel has been more productive than live lately.

Tourist News Online
Fishing Report by Captain Greg

Capt.Greg Metcalf
P.O. Box 813, Kennebunkport, Maine 04046
(401) 617 9265
greg@captaingregmetcalf.com