Friday, August 27, 2004

Frank Dwyer
Columnist

Newburyport/ Plum Island: Fishing near the old boat ramp at Cashman Park can yield striped bass as evidenced by the two healthy school-sized stripers I saw fall for a topwater plug on Wednesday evening. Bait anglers were also scoring bass. Joppa Flats has been a tough go in the daylight hours, but some anglers getting out after dark have found bass around Woodbridge Island as well as around the AYC moorings. Dark flies on sinking lines have worked well for fly anglers, while spin fishermen have done well on large black plugs and live eels. Further down the river at Plum Island Point, anglers fishing the last of the outgoing tide and the beginning of the incoming tide have had consistent schoolie action. Fishing along the Plum Island beachfront has been sporadic, with bait anglers doing better than most others. Offshore, anglers in search of bluefin tuna have not had much luck, but conditions should improve with the current weather pattern. Cod and haddock catches continue to please party boat patrons.

Salisbury: As in weeks past, most of the fishing around Salisbury is taking place off the State Reservation, at the mouth of the Merrimack River. Much like across the river, anglers fishing the last part of the falling tide and beginning of the rise have done best. Sea worms and chunk bait are the main offerings. Anglers working the Salisbury beachfront have reported decent surfcasting action in the predawn hours.

Newbury: Fishermen trolling tube and worms and swimming plugs have found keeper-sized bass in Plum Island Sound. Bluefish have thinned out in the Sound, but it seems some bigger stripers have taken up residency. Reports from the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge have anglers taking good numbers of bass along the entire stretch of beach. The top of the incoming tide and the beginning of the outgoing seem to be the preferred tides.

New Hampshire Seacoast: Activity along the Seabrook, Rye and Hampton coast seems to be picking up slightly. Anglers fishing the state beach in North Hampton have had good luck with school-sized striped bass. Further north, the Piscataqua has also had some decent fishing over the past week, including decent fish activity around the Navy yard. The Isles of Shoals and surrounding waters have held good numbers of striped bass, with some bluefish still in the mix. Tuna have been tough to locate.

Marblehead: Striped bass and bluefish continue to be landed around Marblehead, but you'll need to work to find them. Fishing around Castle Rock and Chandler Hovey Park has yielded striped bass over 30 inches this past week, mostly at night. Anglers using chunk bait as well as large Danny swimming plugs have done well. Devereux Beach is also a good bet at night. Boat anglers have found large bluefish in deeper water. Flounder have been caught just outside the harbor.

Salem: Traditionally, mid- to late August is known as the "Dog Days" to local anglers, and while the fish have been harder to locate, persistence does pay off. Anglers fishing the Salem Willows Pier at night have landed striped bass, some well over 30 inches. Bluefish have moved to deeper water, making them somewhat scarce to shorebound anglers. Reports have stripers also being caught in the North River.

Beverly: Boat fishermen have found bass off the Beverly coast in the vicinity of Endicott College and the Landmark School, as well as around Great Misery Island. Anglers trolling tube and worm setups as well as using live bait have done well. Those in search of flounder are still finding these fish just off the coast. The trick is to keep moving or drift to cover enough ground to locate the fish.

Cape Ann: Surfcasters fishing Singing Beach at night have done well with striped bass on both lures and bait. Popping plugs and needlefish have produced good action in the surf, and bait anglers using eels, sea worms and cut bait have also landed fish. Fishing around Gloucester, Magnolia and Rockport has been quite good over the last week. Anglers fishing near Halibut and Thachers Island have found keeper-sized bass in deeper water. Tube and worms trolled deep, as well as live bait, have produced the most fish. Fly anglers report good takes on large flies (6 inches and over) offered in deep water. Some bluefish have been in the mix as well. The Essex River continues to offer decent striped bass fishing with reports having good action in the early morning and late evening hours. Tuna fishing remained somewhat slow offshore, but the steadier weather we had this week should improve conditions. Party boats continue to land good numbers of cod and haddock.

Ipswich: The mouth of the Ipswich River has been a good spot to be as boat anglers reported good action for bluefish and striped bass. The fish have been interested in Sluggos and Storm Wild Eye lures as well as popping plugs and broken-back swimming lures. Fishing off Crane Beach and Steep Hill Beach has been slower as fish seem to be just out of reach from shore.

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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