New England - South Shore Massachusetts to Maine Fishing Reports

There was no answer at Belsan’s Bait & Tackle, but luckily we have other sources! The word on stripers is that there has been a good push of fish along the beaches in Plymouth this week, with boat and shore anglers cashing in using a variety of methods. There have been reports of surfcasters scoring after dark on eels, soft plastics and metal lips and then some topwater blitzes during the day, that everyone is getting in on. The school bluefin action that had local offshore enthusiasts laser-focused on Stellwagen has dried up, at least for now. Togging remains strong in local waters as well, try fishing 10 to 40 feet.

Capt. Tom Lukegord of Beauport Fishing Adventures said, “I spent Friday and Saturday fishing the eastern side of Jefferies. The seas were rough, but the action for cod, pollock and haddock has been solid. There are indications that the bait and groundfish are starting to shift southward. Water temps have dipped to 56 degrees out there. There are still some whales 5 to 6 miles east of Thatchers, on the western edge of Jefferies, so you know there’s bait in that area. Bass fishing in the Gloucester area has been tough this week too, hopefully it’s not coming to end just yet!”

Over at Surfland Martha said the daytime bite has been hit and miss, with the most reliable action coming from the river where anglers have reported blitzes from various “in river” locations. There has also been a bit of a tube and worm bite in Plum Island Sound. Everything else has been after dark, and some surfcasters are reporting that the bite is has been red hot. The best bet has been slinging eels in the Refuge where the average size has been at over slot with some really nice fish mixing in, along with some schoolies as well. They are also still seeing some customers who have driven down from Maine to get live eels, and with reports of fish up to 20 pounds coming from Maine, it seems like the bass bite is still going strong. A lot of the boat guys have pulled their boats, so there weren’t any offshore or even mackerel reports to pass along, but the striper bite in the surf is looking good.