HULL GUT, MA

At the end of Hull, MA, is a constricted body of water that sets the table for feeding game fish. Hull Gut is the narrow passage used by tanker ships loaded with oil entering Quincy’s Fore River, holding tank facilities from the south of Boston Harbor. Because of the size of these ships and the draft requirements, the channel from 50 feet out is at least 35 feet deep. I drift live eels in my charter boat a half a cast from shore and pull many bass in the 30-plus pound range that are also easily accessible from shore.

A friend of mine named Andrew took heed of what I was doing there and started fishing The Gut’s shoreline as though he were fishing in The Cape Cod Canal. The situation is very similar: "deep, fast water and fish on or near the bottom.” Expect to lose a few jigs here as, like the Canal, the bottom can be pretty rough. Two- to six-ounce jigheads with a Slug-Go, Hogy or RONZ type bait will put you in the strike zone and cost you when you lose one! Make sure you cast your jig well up-current and give it time to sink.

While there, don’t forget to try casting swimming plugs from the bar around to the north outside The Gut. Sometimes the fishing there is great and I know of a bass over 60 pounds taken there about ten years ago.

If you have a boat, drift fish The Gut starting well up-tide from where the restriction starts. At night, live eels work well; in the daytime, go with live or dead menhaden/pogies. You can also try jigging Crippled Herring jigs of the appropriate weight to stay close to the boat. Keep reeling in and starting over as you scope out too much. Drift different parts of the waterway until you mark fish and keep repeating that drift. A word of caution here: traffic can be tough in the daytime, which can make the place very dangerous. Use common sense and avoid The Gut during such times! Also, be very mindful of the buoys because if it is your boat against the buoy, your boat will not win.

To get there by car from the north, take route 3A south from Quincy to the rotary in Hingham and follow the signs to Nantasket Beach. From the south, take route 3 to exit 14 then route 228 to Hull/Nantasket Beach. Once on Nantasket Avenue, follow it to the end and make a left. When you see the big windmill, you will know you are in the right place!