Lisa Dean at Fore River Bait and Tackle said the flounder bite has been really good in the bay. The action picked up after some of the warmer days and most everyone has been catching their limits with some fish up to 20 inches. She added that they have been selling a lot of flounder rigs, spreaders and sea worms.

By Randy Julius Enterprise Correspondent

Boston Harbor

 At Fishing FINatics in Everett, Pete Santini said the action has been good in the Boston area for flounder. Some of the best fishing has been off of Long Island in front of the Checkerboard Tower in anywhere from 10 to 20 feet of water. Deer Island, Sunken Ledge and Sculpin Ledge have also been good spots. He suggests drifting with Zobo Rigs and sea worms, and if it’s too windy anchor up.

 Last Saturday it was cold, wet and windy, but the worst of the weather held off just long enough to fit in the 10th Annual Golden Zobo Flounder Derby. First place (2.94) went to Glenn Verdini of Worcester. Second place (2.69) was caught by Toby Gay of Vermont.

 Striped bass showed up pretty good this week off of Point Allerton Martin’s Ledge and Boston Light. Fish are also being caught off of Nahant. Schools of mackerel have arrived in the same areas. Keeper-size bass are averaging 29 to 34 inches. Santini said the big ones should show up just in time for the June 15-16 Boston Harbor Striper Shootout. For more information visit www.stripershootout.com.

 Weymouth, Quincy and Hull

 Lisa Dean at Fore River Bait and Tackle said the flounder bite has been really good in the bay. The action picked up after some of the warmer days and most everyone has been catching their limits with some fish up to 20 inches. She added that they have been selling a lot of flounder rigs, spreaders and sea worms.

 Striped bass fishing is also picking up mostly in the rivers, but there’s more fish showing up in the bay every day. The Back River and the Weir River are good early season spots to try for bass. The rivers are full of herring, squid can be caught off the piers and mackerel are showing up out around the ledges.

 Quincy Bay

 Little Sister Charters

 Last Saturday Colby’s crew fished in the Zobo Flounder Derby. The weather was cold, windy and cloudy. They had their lines in at 6 a.m. and had all the fish they could get by 8:30. During the early part of the day they had a slow and steady bite, but it petered out by 7 a.m. so they went looking for an area that was more sheltered from the wind. When they found a good spot in the lee of a land mass they got a few more fish including the contest winner which was caught by Glenn Verdini of Worcester.

 In all they took 4 of the 10 "cash places" in the contest: 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th. The fish were not too big, though, as the weather was tough and no one did really well. Colby said they kept 20 flounder between the 4 of them, all over 14 inches and the best was Glenn's winning fish which measured 18-inches.

 The weather has been erratic for the past few weeks and Capt. Jason Colby said the fishing has been inconsistent at best. That pretty much changed big time the day after the flounder derby. The Sunday morning trip had warmer temperatures with a lot of wind and they got "the full boat limit" of decent fish with a few really nice ones mixed in.

 On the afternoon trip things got really interesting. He had a crew of six anglers from Conn, R.I. and Mass and they kept him busy baiting hooks, untangling rigs and netting flounder that were coming up at a pace not often seen. They were catching fish in the 16 to 18-inch range every minute or two for over an hour. When they had 45 of the 48 flounder needed he had them stop fishing for a while so the smoke could clear before they finished topping the limit off.

 The fish have obviously been here all along, but have not been eating until the conditions were just right. Colby explained that the wind calmed down, the sun came out and the fish bit as well as you can ever see it. “All in all today was easily the best day of the year so far and the weather is supposed to be great all this week – very exciting,” he said. For more fishing information visit www.littlesister1.com or phone 617-755-3740.

 Scituate, North River

 At Belsan’s Bait and Tackle in Scituate, Pete Belsan said Memorial Day weekend is looking fantastic. There is loads of bait in the area and lots of small striped bass in the 12- to 18-inch range. The action in the North River has been steady for schoolies with a few bigger fish mixed in. On Monday evening a 36-inch bass was caught near the Union Street Bridge on a cut chunk of mackerel.

  Schools of mackerel have arrived out front, but there are no thick concentrations yet and you may have to work for them. With mackerel in the area Belsan said there should be some bigger bass arriving by the weekend. Besides the river, small bass have been caught around the ledges and rock piles in the Minot area. Scituate Harbor lit up with schoolies for a few days this week.

 Flounder have also been hitting in Scituate, Cohassett and Green harbors. Belsan said some of the fish are real fatties and they must have been eating well when they were out front for the winter. The size limit for flounder north of Cape Cod is 12 inches. You can keep 8 fish and the season is open year round. To the south and east of Cape Cod the season is March 1 to Dec. 31. The size limit is 12 inches and you can only keep two fish.

 Duxbury, Kingston, Plymouth

 Capt. John Bunar reports that striped bass fishing is excellent inside the bays. Blitzes can be found nearly everywhere until mid-morning. Sporadic feeds throughout the day turn into blitzes again late in the afternoon. The fish have been mostly sub-legal, but plenty of keepers up to 32 inches have been caught.

 Flounder fishing has not kicked in yet along Saquish, but Green Harbor is full of big black backs. Sea worms are the best bait. Mackerel can be found off the Gurnet and the fishing is starting to get steady. They should be in thick for the holiday weekend.

 Offshore, the action for haddock has been extraordinary at Stellwagen. The fish have been carpeting the bottom about a mile east of the southeast corner.

 Duxbury Bait sells little squids for haddock teasers. They also carry a good selection of fresh bait including worms, clams, squid, mackerel and eels. For more information or to contact Capt. John Bunar visit www.duxburybait.com or call 781-910-0747.

 

 Cape Cod Canal and Buzzards Bay area

 At M&D’s Bait Shop in Wareham, Mike Thomas said there have been some decent striped bass around. The Agawam River has been a good spot to fish this week with some keepers in the 29 to 30 inch range. The Weweantic has also been giving up keepers. The recreational size limit for striped bass is 28 inches and you can keep one fish.

 The season for black sea bass opened May 19 and so far fishing has been on an off for some reason. Thomas said the fish are there, but they are not always biting. Scup on the other hand will provide plenty of action for bottom fishing, but they can get to be a nuisance.

 The action for striped bass in the Canal has been fair and there are some quality fish, but the guys have been working hard to catch them. Thomas said everyone has been expecting a repeat of last year’s incredible season, but so far it hasn’t happened.