Jun 07 2008
Northeast Fishing Reports: NY, NJ, RI, MASS, CT, MA and NH Fishing Reports: Updated June 7, 2008
KILL FISH, EAT FISH… For the most part, I rarely kill a striper. The reality is that I’ve come to view fish, particularly striped bass, in an entirely different way than I did a decade ago. These days those fish are worth a whole lot more to be alive than dead, on a number of different levels. I’m not claiming any sort of high ground here, but it’s just the way it is. Yesterday, I killed my first “keeper” of the year. Even though the fish was badly gut-hooked, I have to admit that I felt really guilty tossing the 30” bass in the cooler. But how silly is that? To deny our human nature to hunt, kill and eat is an unhealthy Peta-esk perversion.
As readers may or may not know, I’m a flyfishing guide and I write conservation articles for several different magazines. Thus folks from the other side, especially those residing in New Jersey love to throw around terms like “elitists,” “radical environmentalist” when using my name. The fact of the matter however, is that I am and always have been of the opinion that killing and enjoying a keeper striped bass is okay and would even go so far as to say it’s good. In some respects, it adds to the enjoyment of the sport, and the more enjoyment folks can get out of it the more folks are going to want to protect it.
I have to admit. All these reports of folks “limiting out” do annoy me. Mostly because I wonder what people are doing with all of that fish. But, I’m also of the opinion that taking the self-perceived moral high-ground and looking down at those folk who do enjoy a legal self-caught fresh striped bass every now and then is pompous and arrogant. I’ve found that most of the folks who take this attitude are the same ones who are conspicuously absent from hearings, they don’t lift a finger to write a letter when it really matters, and rarely do they even take the effort to understand the issues that effect the striped bass to a much greater extent than occasionally killing a fish. Which leads me to this: Personal conservation choices (i.e. practicing catch-and-release) do most certainly have an effect on total striped bass numbers, but not necessarily a huge one. Because, for every conservation-minded angler that practices catch and release on a regular basis, there are another twenty others that want to kill their “limit” but still follow the rules. And, hey… That’s totally okay.
Where the real affect on how healthy the striped bass stocks are, and how much of a quality fishery we have, lies in legislation, management plans and changing/ affecting management decisions. The laws regarding size and bag limits are the laws, and while some may not follow them, most do. The majority of folks who fish correctly assume (in most cases anyway) that managers know what they are doing and create size and bag limits based on the best available science at the time. So they believe that they can take what they are allowed to take under the law without hurting the stock. And hey, can you blame them? It makes perfect sense. Whether you like it or not, these folks are forever going to be the majority. And, while education on catch-and-release and encouraging folks to make personal conservation choices is necessary and will forever have it’s place, it’s not the end-all to be-all… Not even close… So, no, I don’t discourage killing and keeping a fish now and then, especially if it makes you look like a big-shot in front of your family at the dinner table. Just be conscious not to waste a bit of this immensely valuable resource. Eat it all and enjoy it all…
And, before you point the finger that the guy who’s filleting a striper at the cleaning table, ask yourself if you have the right. Because that may be the guy who stood up at the last Striped Bass Management Plan hearing at 10:00 PM while his dinner was getting cold and shouted for stricter conservation measures while you sat at home and drank beer in front to the TV…
Last night, as I stood there overlooking several sizzling chunks of striped bass covered with Old-Bay and breadcrumbs, allowing the aroma to waif into through my nostrils while unconsciously ignoring my wife’s lecturing about fried-food, high blood pressure and clogged arteries, I thought, what a wonderful thing it was to have this fish. As my second beer began to work its way in to my veins I had one of those rare moments of relaxation and pure happiness. A surreal insight that everything fit in the right way. And the fish??? Delicious beyond words…
Fishing Reports
Now let’s get on to the reports. Another week of good fishing across the boards. Still, massive schools of
bunker off the Jersey Coast. And in Northern New Jersey and Lower New York Harbor, a large body of spearing arrived and there have been really good sized bass on them each morning on the incoming. Raritan Bay still has very good concentrations of bunker and those spearing are showing there in the early hours as well. The good thing about all of this is the bluefish seem to have no interest in the spearing and are leaving them for the bass. In Jamaica Bay, things have slowed dramatically. The water got pretty warm, really fast. One can still catch exceptionally large bluefish on plugs and flies and the occasional bass of course, but most of the action is on live bunker. We still have very dense concentrations of them back there and the big bass are keyed in on them good. Across the Island and out East, the site-fishing action is heating up and sand-eels are becoming abundant. Schoolies still seem to be dominating the North Shore action. Connecticut, particularly the eastern part, seems to be fishing better by the minute. Rhode Island? Not sure, no official reports this week, but unofficially I hear the bunker have made their way up there and the bass are on them good. Some “scary big fish” are arriving in Mass. Martha’s Vineyard is on fire. And North of Boston is peaking about now. Weekend looks good. Get on it!
NEW YORK FISHING REPORTS
My One More Cast Charters report is as follows: Unless you like to live-line, Jamaica Bay isn’t really worth the effort anymore. There is the occasional bass that can be caught on a fly or plug, but for the most part, it’s just big-ass bluefish. Livelining Bunker on the other hand is still producing some hawgs. Out on the ocean side however, it’s been pretty sick. Every morning for the last 4 days we’ve had solid bass blitz action and most of the fish are well north of 30”. The boat traffic is bad though. One would think that the price of fuel would keep folks off the water, but that dosen’t seem to be the case.
From the North Shore of Long Island, Bob Giordano checks in with this report:
Still schoolie central up here on the North Shore. Catching anywhere from a half a dozen to double digits on early morning moving tides.. Bass taking to Chartreuse/Pink/White clousers in shallow. Some healthier schoolies moving in, this past Sunday had a few to just over 25″. Bright and chunky. Still waiting to come across bunker to dredge for the big girls. There here, but I haven’t been fortunate to come across them just yet. The Osprey however, attest to there presence. If I get my gusto up, may wake up like Dracula tonight and fish what might be an excellent worm hatch. Let you know next week how it goes if so.Best, Bob
Also reporting from the North Shore is Capt. Robin Calitri from Long Island Fly Fishing: Dom Berardi took a day off from selling Land Rovers in Glen Cove to do a bang up job on the blues in Northport on my CsicAgain. 2 to 4 pound fish are stacked from Huntington Bay to the Nissiquogue River. They are eating small sand eels so use a teaser or a small olive over white clouser or deceiver. Don’t miss this fun! Mitch Bernstein and Emory Butts had wonderful 27 inch Stripers in Huntington Harbor. Pink sluggos and swim baits were the best. Jim Del Grosso reports that there are keeper bass on the flats by Cartwright Shoal and Napeage for the fly rodders. He also reports that there are tons of blues around Gardiners Island. Samll clousers on a sinking or intermediate line are the key
From the East End, Capt. Jim Levinson from Double Haul Charters reports great sight-fishing action. Check it out:Hi John,Sight fishing for stripers out here on the east end continues to be strong with some exceptional days and some ho hums thrown in. Tremendous sand eel swarms are keeping the bass well fed after they have fattened up on bunker in the back bays. I have seen greater numbers of bigger fish (some legitimate 25lb bruisers) in the skinny water than I have encountered in past years. Schools of smaller fish are now dominating, with the sand eels really appearing in large numbers. Windy weather has hurt us a bit by both breaking up the bait and making fishing conditions impossible. Hopefully June and July will be more stable. 7 and 8 wts with long leaders and sand eel patterns are my choices for anglers. I have heard that the Montauk spring run is under way with little pressure from anglers. For those looking for more information on sight fishing the east end I currently have a feature article in “Fly Fisherman” magazine on exactly that (with a cover of Bob Clouser holding a nice Peconic Bay flats striper). It hits the newsstands later this month. Urban Angler has issues already. Capt. Jim LevisonCaptain Brendan McCarthy from Urban Fly Guides reported: Hey John-as you can see from the photos, The bass fishing has been good for me lately, and the cool thing as all these fishing here were caught on small flies on the surface. They are gourging on medium silversides, with the water tempatures finally getting to the magic 58 degree mark. Even saw some Sturgeon jumping, which is always a good sign for us in the NY Bight. The general big fish on big flies and sinking lines fishing has not quite started yet, but I think it will be soon. Lotta bluefish around as well but have been harder to find and have generally been getting them in the shallows and creek in the bay. mostly poppers as the water has gotten too lettuce-y for alot of sub-surface fishing. As uaul the weatherman is wrong and I am not out today because it was supposed to blow. See you out there tomorrow Best Brendan
NEW JERSEY FISHING REPORTS
Capt. Paul Eidman from Reel Therapy Fishing Charters reported: Hi John- This week the water got really cold and cleared up here around Sandy Hook NJ… brought in some nice fish with it for sure!
I even got to spend some time up on my poling platform and spot some fish on the flats!
Blues, bass it’s all good. Feeding on balled up spearing, taking everything my guys threw at them.
Paul
Captain Gene Quigley of Shore Catch Guide Service reports: John - Fishing is on fire. lots of big 
bass mostly on live bunker, we did today start to get some 30 plus pound fish on plugs and a few in the 15 - 18 lb on the fly. The bunker is literally everywhere - from the hook to way south of Barnegat inlet. The fish went on a total feed yesterday - it was NON STOP action for about 5 hours. Today pretty much the same. I think it is only going to be a few more days of nice weather and possible a jump in water tem for these big COWS to start hitting flies regularly. Trust me when I say we are chomping at the bit to start hitting these fish on the fly again like last June. In the mean time here is Gary Cordova who took this nice 41 lber yesterday on a big swimmer and Paul Merwin with a fattie also taken on a Pajama Swimmer.
CONNECTICUT FISHING REPORTS
Capt. Mike Duclos from Tiderunner charter checks in with this Eastern CT report.
Looks as though we have made the turn, warm weather and calm seas have allowed us to scout the the areas that hold fish this time of the year. Bass are still in the rivers like the Connecticut and the Thames and are keying in on herring. Large Deceivers, herring imitations as well as the assorted soft baits are drawing fish to 38 inches as well as mixed sizes of smaller fish. Some reports of fish on squid but I have not had any encounters of that kind on the rijps of Watch Hill or Fishers. IIf you haven’t checked your lines and reels its time…….. Have a great week
Capt. Mike Duclos
Also reporting from CT is Capt. Sandy Noyes from Rumrunner Guide Service. Check it out:
Hi John, This week was an improvement. I had the pleasure of fishing Walt and Ranney from Pennsylvania for the last three days. They did well on bass under less that ideal conditions. A little too much sun and high pressure to keep the fish happy. It all changed on Wednesday morning. Dropping pressure ,rain and light winds to start. We found the fish and they were happy to eat flies. We hit one spot and had terns on herring on one side of the boat and Black Back gulls on squid on the other side. We stayed on these fish for about four hours until the wind came up to 25 mph and we called it a day. One of the fish that I cleaned had a squid, a porgy and a cunner in its belly when it took an eel fly.
MASSACHUSETTS FISHING REPORTS
Capt. John Medelson from Boston Fishstix Charters checks in with this report:
Rich took the weekend shift and put clients on fish all weekend long despite battling some wind and weather. As others have noted here, find the warmer water and you will find the fish. We have been fishing in shallow water with temps ranging from 54-57. The fish are schooled up and feeding aggressively even during the middle of the day on the right tide. The big fish yesterday was a 38″, 21lb bass taken on the fly. Bill had to strip it in after the reel seized up. (pic below)
My charter canceled today and I spent some time working on the boat before sneaking out for an hour in the early evening. The start of the incoming tide was great, and I caught fish, most above 26″ with the largest about 35″, on almost every cast using both large sluggos and yak hair herring flies. Water was about 10ft deep and the wind was calm. A beautiful night on the water.
We have an opening this Sunday (June 
morning for a 4-hour trip as well as Tuesday (June 10) morning. Good tides should make for some solid action.
From Cape Cod, Capt. Terry Nugent from Riptide Charters checks in with this report:
Today I had long time sports Mike, Donna and Greg. This crew does allot of shore fishing with flies and very lite gear. The constraints of the gear and locations they fish limits the number and size of fish they get on a regular basis, so I always like to get them on good bites of fish. The thing about this group is we either bail the fish like no tomorrow or we can’t find a freaking scup to save our lives.
We got an early launch out of Sandwich, I was the first trailer in the lot which was a surprise on a Sunday. We ran east looking for the masses of fish that have been all over the surface. The conditions were poor as we ran over. 2-3′ seas, fog and low light was making finding the fish a real chore. There were no birds for the radar to find, visibility was only a few hundred yards so just being in the area wasn’t good enough.
We got in the area but things were looking thin so I began to search. I began to wonder if this would be another skunk trip for me and the B’s. This was supposed to be a slam dunk and now I can’t find anything. As we fumbled around the area the fog got worse only making my issues worse at the same time. Finally I saw a nice pod of fish on the surface without a bird in sight. We eased into the mass of fish and the crwe began to toss plugs and flies into the boiling mass of fish. NOTHING! Over and over we set up and tossed strikes right into the middle of the masses of fish. Each time NOTHING! I began to dig through the tackle bag while Mike dug through the fly box. Lure after lure, fly after fly got snubbed over and over.
Finally Greg came tight on a Fin S shad that he had tossed into the fish 100 times already without a look. We hadn’t found “the” lure, but at least we found something they would eat. This went on for about an hour. The frustration was palpable. The fish were eating, but they were rolling and gulping like trout. We tried worm flies, crab flies you name it we tossed it. They were on a micro bait that kind of looked like Pnuts or Small silversides. When the fish are gulp feeding they just don’t want to eat lures.
Eventually the tide turned and the fish became a little more co-operative. We began a fairly steady pick of fish. They were still picky but at least they were eating. Mike began landing them on the fly consistantly, Greg started to put on a clinic with the Fin S. HE managed a nice 31″ fish that came home for the grill and this 37″ fish that was released to fight another day.
Finally it was coming up on lunch time and it was only a half day trip so we headed for home. The final tally was between three and four dozen fish. Greg likley did about half of them himself. He just had the hot hand today. The lure of choice if you had to pick one was the Olive and Silver Fin S shad on a jighead. Flies landed their share, but no pattern really shined. The water was 20-40′ deep and most of the fish were taken on or near the surface. It was foggy all morning and when the tide turned to an outgoing around 0930 things got sunny and the fish began to eat.
Overall a humbling start that ended up finishing strong. The crew was O’fer up to this point of the season. Now they have a good number of fish under their belt and hopefully that trend will continue for the rest of the summer.Good Luck, Capt. Terry Nugent
Moving North Capt. Dave Rimmer reports really good action in the Merrimack system. Check it out:
Gloucester to Salisbury, MA Fishing Report. Got Bait? We sure do here in the waters north of Boston, where a combination of 2-4 inch sand eels as well as larger herring and alewives are helping to keep all sizes of striped bass “on the feed”. Reports continue to come in about big bass feeding on big baits up inside the river systems like the Merrimack and Parker. Those locations should continue to hold the bait and fish well for a few more weeks, or until the water temperatures start to climb into the high 60s. Skok’s MegaMushy will fool a big bass as will many other large 6-8 inch herring patterns. Casting to a big bass busting on herring is usually money, but work the cut marsh banks, rock piles and seams on the outgoing tide as well. Those big fish will lay up between feeds and can be taken on a blind cast. Sand eels are thick too and are the bait of choice at the mouths of many tidal rivers and in the open ocean and along the beaches. Surface feeds at the mouth of the Merrimack River have been epic this past week and a friend landed a 40” bass out of the mayhem just the other day. The last few hours of the ebb tide seem to be the key element in getting those surface feeds cranked up. Small 6 inch Sluggos have been working, as well as any kind of sand eel fly, from clouser minnow to flat wing. Joppa Flats on the Merrimack River is also starting to heat up with excellent tides upcoming next week.
From the Vineyard, Capt. Tom Rapone from Highly Migratory guide service checks in with this report:Now it’s beginning to feel like June…This week saw a huge of influx of really nice bass around the Vineyard. On Tuesday morning I took a ride with fellow Vineyard guides Capt. Jaime Boyle and Capt. Rob Morrison out to the east side of the island and ran into a really nice show of fresh arrivals. For nearly 6 hours it was all the bass you wanted, including fish approaching the 40-pound mark. Beach fishing continues to be strong, with Lobsterville Beach remaining the center of attention. Overall, I’d say it’s a pretty good time to be hanging out on Martha’s Vineyard.-Capt. Tom Rapone
The Editor had to include the following shot from Tom’s Report, it looked too cool not to
RHODE ISLAND FISHING REPORTS
Captain Greg Snow from Snow Fly Light Tackle Fishing Charters reports: After a very tough couple of weeks it is game on in Narragansett Bay once again. Large suicidal fish have been blasting adult menhaden and any large fly and or plug that comes within striking distance. Clients are getting multiple shots at fish in the high twenties and low thirties. Lot’s of unforcasted wind Thursday. Called for 10kts and it was all of double that! Whatever, the fish didn’t seem to mind one bit. 12′ walking plugs and super sized soft plastics were taking stripes in explosive surface grabs. The next couple of weeks will be a slaughter. I love it! -Capt. Greg Snow
MAINE FISHING REPORTS
Captain Eric Wallace of Coastal Fly Angler Guide Service reports: Maine striper fishing is having a late but
strong start, Bait is every where and the fish are finally starting to find it, water temps have climb a bit and reports from the shops and guides show steady improvement every where but the far North east where sweet-action charters out of Boothbay harbor reports in saying there’s tons of bait and birds but no reports of stripes or blues, The Kennebec is seeing fish showing daily, and look for it to really pick up soon. I have been seeing plenty of Kennebec guides running around Casco Bay this week and there a good reason for this we have had some good to very good fishing the last few days, and for the first time in awhile some big bluefish showed before June 1, mixed in are some large Mackerel adding to the holdovers and the arrival of our summer resident’s no not the one with nice cars and out of state tags but some good size Stripers, there’s been plenty of action,the last few days and some good surface feeds near the flats that supports a grassy shorline, With temps forcast near 90 this weekend and early next week thing are looking good. What’s been working for me is fishing slower strips near the grassy shoreline that are supported by bigger flats near a river,with a fly tied with active material and intimidate lines with the new moon the river current seemed pushy and the bite had a short window that might change with water temp and smaller tides, the report from the shops in Portland the light tackle guys have done well bouncing sluggos of the bottom. Until next week, hope your line goes tight and you have smile on your face. Capt Eric Wallace
That’s all for this week. See ya out there.
Capt. John McMurray
Tidal Fish Northeast Fishing Correspondent
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