Friday, July 16, 2004

By Frank Dwyer

Newbury: Janet Kennedy, from the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, reported that walk-on fishing is now available south of Parking Lot 6, as well as a small section of beach at Parking Lot 1. There are currently eight pairs of nesting piping plovers, with six fledglings and two that have not yet fledged. The full beach opening, including drive-on access, is not expected until mid to late August. Last, but not least, plenty of small- to medium-sized bluefish in the Parker River, with bass cooperating as well.

Newburyport and Plum Island: Fishing remains steady around the Merrimack River estuary. Upriver, anglers have been scoring big bass on the higher tides off Carr and Eagle Islands. Deer Island has been a popular place for shore-bound anglers in search of bass. Joppa Flats has been OK over the last week, with bait anglers seeming to outfish all others. Boats anchoring off the Toothpick and Badger Rocks have also done well drifting sea worms and cut bait just off the bottom. Anglers have also reported landing small fluke over the past week. The oceanfront has also been home to several good fish, caught on both bait and lures, with a few bluefish in the mix. The party boats are still bringing in good numbers of cod and haddock.

Salisbury: The Salisbury beachfront has been slow during the day for the most part, but anglers fishing the early morning hours and after dark have been tallying some decent-sized bass. Bucktail jigs, live eels and cut bait have all been working well, along with sand eel imitations for fly fishermen. Fishing the Merrimack River from the State Reservation has been fairly consistent, but smaller bass have been the rule. Also, some sporadic bluefish activity reported.

New Hampshire Seacoast: Seabrook and Hampton have had good fishing over the last week, with some big fish falling for both live and cut bait. The marsh and railroad trestle in Hampton have both produced keeper-sized bass recently. Boat anglers have had good luck close in to the rocks along the shore or at the mouth of the rivers. Further north, fishing around Portsmouth and Dover Point has been somewhat steady. There are some big bass and blues out at the Isles of Shoals.

Marblehead: While fishing has slowed a bit, striped bass and bluefish are still readily available around Marblehead. Boat anglers trolling the mouth of Marblehead Harbor and along Children's Island have done well with bass and blues. Fishermen casting chunks of herring off Castle Rock have continued to score bass, mostly in the pre-dawn or nighttime hours. Large popping plugs and needlefish lures as well as large baitfish-imitation flies have worked well, too. Light House Point has also been producing bass for anglers willing to deal with the slippery rocks.

Salem: It seems things have slowed down around Salem for bass fishermen, with the stripers becoming harder to find. Certainly, anglers getting out before dawn or after dark have had better luck. There were, however, reports of good fishing in close to the rocks off Baker's Island earlier in the week. Cut bait (herring) has been working best. The Danvers River has been slow. Flounder have been available, but you'll need to fight through the dogfish to get them.

Beverly: There have been some reports of bass surface feeds off the Beverly coast this past week, but mostly small fish reported. Shore fishermen have reported slower activity off West Beach, and the action seems to have cooled in and around the harbor as well. Some bluefish activity has at least allowed anglers to feel the bend of the rod.

Cape Ann: Manchester-by-the-Sea and Magnolia have seen the fishing action wane over the last week, but the fishing off Gloucester and Rockport has been good. There have been reports of mackerel showing up in the waters again, which is good news since the bass should be in pursuit. Schools of small pollack have also been in close to shore. The Annisquam River and the Essex River and surrounding waters have been slower this week. Dogfish continue to annoy anglers looking for cod and haddock, but party boats are still returning with good catches.

Ipswich: Reports from Crane Beach and Steep Hill Beach have had a few surface feeds over the last week, with the bass chasing sand eels close to shore. Fly anglers tossing small epoxy sand eel imitations and Ray's fly have done well, as have spin fishermen using popping plugs. Some bluefish have been around the mouth of the Ipswich River.

Frank Dwyer is the fishing and outdoor columnist for Eagle-Tribune Publishing and is a member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America. E-mail him at dwyer.f@comcast.net

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