Friday, July 9, 2004

Frank Dwyer
Columnist

Newburyport/Plum Island: The Merrimack River continues to impress with several reports of large bass being landed. If you can stand the boat traffic, big bass are available for those willing to put in the time. Large bass have been caught with large flies (to 10 inches) on sinking lines, large sluggos or Fin-S on spinning gear, or live eels on conventional gear. Shore reports have good fish being landed at Plum Island Point and the sandbar, as well as along the oceanfront from Atty. May's to the south jetty. Upriver, anglers fishing under the Route 1 Bridge with bait as well as off Deer Island have done well. Party boats report good numbers of cod and haddock, with dogfish starting to show up more frequently.

Salisbury: Fishing from the State Reservation has been good, but you won't want for company. Bass to 30 inches have been reported over the last week, with herring chunks and sea worms the bait of choice. Buck-tail jigs have also been producing. Surfcasters and boat anglers fishing off the oceanfront have reported good numbers of school-sized striped bass and a few bluefish in the mix.

Marblehead: Devereaux Beach continues to produce stripers, but mostly sub-legal bass. Lures and bait (clams) have both worked well. Fly anglers with sinking lines and large-profile flies have done well. Fishing off Brown's Island has proven productive for boat anglers searching for bass.

Salem: Fishing in Salem Harbor and off the Willows Pier has proven productive again this past week. Bass and bluefish have been caught in good numbers, but smaller fish seem to be the norm. Flounder remain available, but skates have made catching these fish more of a challenge. The Danvers River has been slow over the last week.

Beverly: Fishing in and around Beverly has been reported to be good over the last week. Surfcasters working West Beach and boat anglers just off the beach and around the rocky outcroppings have done well with school-sized bass and a few bigger ones mixed in. Bluefish and flounder have been around, but the action is sporadic at best.

Cape Ann: Manchester-by-the-Sea and Magnolia continue to produce bass and bluefish for both shore and boat fishermen. Fishing the rocky Gloucester coast as well as the Annisquam River has continued to please anglers, especially at night, with a few hefty bass reported to be landed over the last week. The Essex River has been spotty, but has produced bass and bluefish, with a few surface feeds reported over the last week. Dogfish have been somewhat annoying to those fishing the ledges for groundfish as well as on the party boats.

Ipswich: Small bass have been the rule in the Ipswich River this past week. But a few legal bass have been in the mix. Bass and bluefish have been reported off both Steep Hill and Crane Beach. Anglers fishing poppers on both spinning gear and fly rods equipped with floating lines have enjoyed surface strikes, predominantly in low-light conditions.

Newbury: The Parker River has been productive for both bass and bluefish, with boat and shore-bound anglers enjoying catching numbers of fish. Unfortunately, large fish have been somewhat spotty, but anglers with light spinning gear and fly rods have been having a blast. Sinking lines with baitfish or sand eel imitations work best on the moving tides.

New Hampshire Seacoast: Seabrook, Rye and Hampton continue to produce decent numbers of bass for shore and boat anglers with a few bluefish in the mix. More bluefish activity has been reported at the Isles of Shoals than inshore. Fishing in and around Portsmouth continues to produce good numbers of bass and bluefish.

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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