It sometimes seems that there has to be a higher power that has our best interest at heart! With striped bass numbers dropping faster than the foliage it’s easy to get disheartened but fortunately there are other species which have picked up their game. Tops on that list are smelt, tautog, trout and pike.

Massachusetts South Shore/South Coast Fishing Report

“By any standard, the fishing was fantastic!”, so said my friend Dalton Clayton after a morning fishing for tautog aboard the Little Sister. Besides Captain Jason Colby he had another witness who wholeheartedly agreed – me! I likened it to the instantaneous action of dropping a sabiki rig into a school of mackerel. Right now tautog are feeding furiously along the South Coast as well as the South Shore. If you’re working over a wreck or rockpile and not immediately getting bit move on – there cannot be fish there, when found they are that aggressive! Over a decade ago, and before togging with jigs became a phenomenon, Captain Colby and I were all in on it. The jig, in our case the Tidal Tails Jig’z craggy, is often marginalized as merely a means of delivering the crab to a hungry tautog. However, in rare circumstances when the feed is at a fever pitch I’ve caught them on a naked jig. That was exactly the case on Tuesday when acting on a hunch I dropped the bare-bones jig to the bottom and immediately came tight to a tautog! While I’m not suggesting that you pass on the greenies, the point is that tautog fishing right now is at it’s peak and they are hitting nearly everything.

Cod continue to be a factor and on nearly every trip there are hardtails pounding bait a mere cast away. Captain Brian Coombs of Get Tight Sportfishing has been having similar results from his current slip in Tiverton on the Sakonet River. When describing the tautog fishing currently in Buzzards Bay he summed it up as “bigger and better!”. Black sea bass remain part of the catch and because the skipper is departing, returning and fishing Rhode Island waters his crew can keep black sea bass. If you’re looking to jump aboard his Jones Brothers Center Console for a shot at both species you had better hurry since he’s pulling his ride in about two weeks.

Blitzes are still a relatively common occurrence on the South Shore according to Pete from Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate. But there is often an imposter at play as striped bass move on and mackerel move in! When mackerel lay claim to the Three Bays, Green Harbor and Scituate Harbor it’s evident that there are no longer many big predators around such as striped bass. Some schoolies have been present in the North River and in the wash along the Minot shoreline. As for smelt, buoyed by good news trickling in from farther north, Pete has vowed to sample Scituate Harbor and see if that area has seen a similar bump in numbers. Hopefully next week there will be a positive report I can pass along.

While striper numbers are waning, their brackish cousins – white perch – are plenty active according to fisheries biologist Kevin Cheung. Low light conditions have been best throughout the Taunton and Assonet Rivers. Jigs/grubs work well as do shad darts. Salter white perch are nothing like their oft-stunted counterparts in freshwater. The diversity and volume of forage at their disposal often grows them to slabs!

Greater Boston Fishing Report

Lisa from Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy said that smelt fishing has been better than in years – in fact the word “limits” has even been bandied about! Anglers are coming into the shop looking for advice and gear for not only smelt but how to catch grass shrimp. Lit piers and wharves throughout Hull, Hingham, Quincy and Boston Harbor could all be in play thanks to the resurgence. One of the shop customers told Lisa that while stuck in traffic on the expressway, he hopelessly watched as the Neponset River was going off! Such are the complications commuters face in the big city. The shop is still selling seaworms which may or may not mean that there is still a tube-and-worm bite since they work equally well on smelt. However, the fact that Fore River is still moving eels is irrefutable proof that there are still stripers around. The Weir River/World’s End area is one of those spots you could put those eels to good use. Mackerel are now being caught off the Nut Island Pier and Pemberton Pier. Trout are the top ticket in freshwater but increasingly anglers are looking for larger shiners for Sunset Lake, Popes Pond and Whitman Pond largemouth.

Massachusetts North Shore Fishing Report

The “impostor” is also making it’s presence felt along the North Shore. While still fairly common, surface feeds now consist mainly of mackerel pushing bait as opposed to stripers! On Wednesday Tomo of Tomo’s Tackle in Salem texted me with a report of activity right behind his shop but it was merely a mack attack. Tomo took a trip to Tillies Ledge where he was able to harvest that final cod of the season just before the season closed. Other than the 28” fish he kept, he released a 32” cod! Additionally 20-22” pollock were cooperating as were short haddock. Black and gold slow pitch jigs were doing the most damage. As for stripers there hasn’t been a heck of a lot going on except for a report of anglers catching slots on mackerel in the Danvers River. You don’t need to be a genius to figure out that striped bass are no longer the best game in town! The Beverly Pier is holding some squid as well as mackerel.

TJ from Three Lantern Marine in Gloucester had similar tales to tell with blitzes in Cape Ann Harbors more often than not consisting of feeding mackerel. Up until the cod season closed on Tuesday, anglers were catching their one cod within only a few miles of the shoreline. Sadly and emblematic of the time of the year, I could not contact my friends at Surfland for a report as they have reduced their hours. Not all is totally lost in the Merrimack area but for that you’ll have to read the freshwater report.

Massachusetts Freshwater Fishing Report

If you pay attention to pike prowling throughout the Merrimack Valley watershed then you may have seen a picture floating around of a 26 1/2 pound beast bested by a pike sharpie who fishes the area really hard. I asked Shawn of Merrimac Sports to weigh in on pike options to which he suggested Lake Attitash as well as the Haverhill stretch of the Merrimack River in the Stanley Island/Bank Road area. As for lures, chatterbaits and buzzbaits with long trailers should interest them. Recently stocked trout are a nice option in Millvale Pond, Round Pond and Plugs Pond. Across the border the crappie fishing has been impressive at Big Island Pond.

Wachusett Reservoir is two tributaries and 37 shoreline miles full of options. Last week my buddy Billy Eicher and I failed at a shot at a Stillwater salmon but at the Chu you’re never completely out of luck. We had a backup plan which was to try for lakers, smallmouth bass and rainbow trout in the main reservoir. On that day Wachusett was glass calm with the mirrored surface reflecting the brilliant foliage making for postcard-perfect aesthetics. As superb as the scenery was, what really caught our attention was the dimpling of the surface as bait seemed to be everywhere. Just to the right the surface was being carved up by something pushing baitfish. A short distance from the disturbance popped up two loons. Believing that it was another loon chasing down fish, I passed on casting which I would regret. As the surface show came closer, I could see that it was big rainbows snatching up smelt but a few feet away. While the salmon would have to wait, those rainbows saved the day! According to Eddie of B&A Bait and Tackle Co. in West Boylston, most of the laker, smallmouth bass and rainbow action has been coming from the Route 70 side.

The Fishing Hole in South Hadley is perfectly positioned right at the Holyoke Dam on the Connecticut River. Josh who is the fishing guru at the shop told me that he steers customers who want to tangle with carp downstream of the dam while above the dam is where pike rule! Ideal water temperatures have put the pike on the feed with chatterbaits and buzzbaits working really well. A 4” or 5” trailer will make the lure all the more alluring! Josh has a bead on the Housatonic River, the Swift River, Deerfield and Farmington. He said that now is prime time for big-breeder brown trout which will soon be scouring the bottom and making spawning redds. With feeding giving way to breeding, anglers wanting to connect to these fish should deploy wares which tick the fish off. Dragging large articulated streamers, heavy spoons and spinners down deep will often trigger a territorial strike. Josh also is no stranger to hardwater, which we just might be discussing sometime next month.

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Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

With tautog on a tear along the South Shore and South Coast, that is the Bay State’s best bet in saltwater. An unique fishery to consider is the white perch run throughout the Taunton/Freetown area. For pure action mackerel have moved into Scituate Harbor, Quincy Bay and all along the North Shore and on a light spinning rod can be sporting. Smelt remain a fascinating option this year with the Hull, Hingham area among the hottest. There’s no escaping that it is now November and for that we have interesting freshwater options to consider. Pike which patrol the Merrimack River, Connecticut River and Housatonic River are heeding the need to feed as water temperatures drop. Best bets for true coldwater species, are Wachusett Reservoir for salmon, rainbows and lakers and the Housatonic/Deerfield for brown trout.