By Frank Dwyer

Lots of fresh striped bass around the Cape and South Shore, but the North Shore has been slower to heat up, with water temperatures staying below 50 degrees in most of our area. The warm up predicted for the weekend should entice the influx of striped bass we are all waiting for patiently.

Salisbury

Just like their brethren across the river, anglers fishing from the Salisbury State Reservation have had minor activity when it comes to newly arriving striped bass. The river has been running quite high and there is a large amount of debris floating down river. The oceanfront remains quiet.

Newburyport/Plum Island

Some shad continue to be caught at Rock's Village by both shore and boat anglers. Spinning gear with small shad darts work best for these acrobatic fish. Anglers fishing at Deer Island are landing more catfish than striped bass, but that will change soon. Kayak and wading fishermen have been trying their luck on Joppa Flats, but the action has been slow. Anglers fishing the ocean front with bucktail jigs and assorted other lures have reported little activity. Plum Island Point has had anglers targeting bass all week, but the fish have been less than cooperative. There have been some reports of schoolies near the jetty. The party boats have done well with cod, haddock and an occasional wolffish.

New Hampshire Seacoast

No major activity to report in Southern New Hampshire waters, but some stripers that wintered over have been plucked from the rivers. Cod and haddock have been plentiful for those heading to the ledges, while some flounder have been had around Little Harbor in Portsmouth.

Cape Ann

Boat anglers targeting flounder along the Manchester-By-The-Sea coastline have done well this past week. Striper fishermen have been trying the ocean beaches with little success. Many anglers have tried the Little River in Gloucester over the past week, but the fish have been sparse.

Both the Little and Annisquam could heat up in the coming days. Anglers prospecting in the Essex area have also experienced slow fishing with an occasional sluggish striper being taken. Cod and haddock fishing has been fairly consistent for anglers this past week.

Newbury

Some action reported with small school bass in the Parker River, but certainly a percentage of these fish are "holdovers." Sluggos twitched slowly along the bottom or sparsely tied flies should do the trick.

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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