New England - South Shore Massachusetts to Maine Fishing Reports

Captain Rich from Black Rose Fishing Charters told me haddock season is almost upon us and he will start is charter season on April 15th. He is very excited for the start of the 2023 season and anxious to get back on the water. You can pick your favorite species to target with Captain Rich. Offshore fishing for haddock in the spring, sharks or giant tuna during summer and fall on Stellwagen. Nantucket Shoals fluke fishing in June, or inshore fishing in Buzzards Bay for porgies, sea bass or stripers. Black Rose Fishing Charters offers a very diversified menu of fishing trips. He is holding his 2022 prices for early bookings. Contact Captain Rich Antonino at 508-269-1882 for more information or to book a trip.

Pete from Belsan’s Bait and Tackle told me that trout fishing has been very good. The larger ponds like Long and Little Ponds in Plymouth are seeing a lot of trout fishermen as the state did an awesome job again this year stocking the ponds. There are tons of rainbows and some tigers as well. The smaller fishing spots like Jacob’s Pond, Greenbush Pond and the Scituate Reservoir will good bets for largemouth bass and pickerel. The trout are very active and should remain hungry for the next several months. Pete told me he took a ride down the beach this morning and there was bait and birds everywhere. He is predicting an early start to the striper season this year. Last year they showed up in the North River around end of April. Pete is thinks they will be arriving around the same time this year, between the last week in April and May 1. Haddock season opens up on the first of April with a 20 fish per person limit this year. The store is open seven days a week all year.

Captain Jason Colby’s 31-foot Little Sister is almost ready to go for the 2023 season. His plans for this year are to start his flounder season on May 1st sailing out of Sesuit Harbor. He will run trips on the Cape until June 15th when he will move the boat to Westport for the remainder of the season. You can contact Lil Sister Fishing charters by email at jason@littlesister1.com

Liz from Surfland told me the store will be open seven days a week starting in April. There are always hold over stripers at the Amelia Earhart Dam in Boston if you can’t wait for the spring run to catch a striper. The shop is swell-stocked for all of the ‘ahead of the season’ needs and that includes lures, plastics, braided line, leader material and terminal tackle. Now is also a good time to have your reels serviced and rods repaired. Lastly, save the date May 20th, the shop will be holding it’s “Try Before You Buy” Demo Day, this will give anglers the opportunity to try rods and reels from serval manufacturers before committing to purchasing them—a great and unique opportunity, with many other surprises in store.