FISHING LINES: Bass still going strong

Live mackerel best bait for large striped bass.

 Weymouth, Quincy and Hull

 At Fore River Bait and Tackle, Lisa Dean said striped bass fishing has been steady this week. There is a ton of small bass all over the bay with some bigger fish in the mix. Keepers have been averaging 30 to 35 inches. Fishing with live mackerel is the best method for the larger fish, but Lisa said the guys are doing a lot of searching to find the schools. Live pogies will also work and there have been a few showing up at Wollaston Beach. If you don’t have live bait, try using frozen chunks of mackerel on the bottom. Cape Cod Spinners baited with a sea worm or tube-and-worm rigs trolled on the edge of channels or near rocky structure will also work.

 There is still plenty of flounder in the bay, but the fishing can be tough on windy days if you can’t get a good drift. Black sea bass are also hitting and now there have been a few reports of scup. Lisa said one fisherman caught three keeper-size scup while flounder fishing off Peddocks Island.

 Scituate, North River

 “We had a good weekend,” Pete Belsan said at his bait-and-tackle shop in Scituate. “There were bass in the rocks off of Minot’s, Egypt Beach and the Cliffs. The fish averaged 34 to 36 inches. We also had our first bluefish of the year. It was caught on a live mackerel at Minot’s Light and measured 36 inches.”

 Mackerel are the best bait, but they can be scarce from day to day. There’s some around, but nothing like last year’s numbers. The two best times to catch them are early in the morning or at dusk. They like low-light conditions the best, Pete said. If you can’t get mackerel, harbor pollock will work and they can be caught around the rock piles and other structure.

 Flounder fishing is still worth the effort in Scituate Harbor, but it won’t last much longer. The best time to fish is two hours before high tide and two hours after. The fish seem to be most active on sunny days. The mouth of the North River is also giving up some flounder. Small stripers and some keepers can be caught in the river from the Union Street Bridge to the Sand Spit.

 Cape Cod Canal and Buzzards Bay area

 At M&D’s Bait Shop in Wareham, Mike Thomas said there were not as many bass caught in the Canal last week as there were during last year’s June new-moon tides, but overall the fishing was fairly good especially if you were in the right place at the right time. The East end saw the most action although fish were showing from one end to the other. Thursday and Saturday were both big days. It was shoulder-to-shoulder fishing over the weekend and he said he has never seen so many people.

 Boat fishing had been good in Buzzards Bay for bass us to 40 pounds, but they most likely went through the Canal with the tides. Black sea bass continue to please and there are still fish that measure 18 inches and over. The big ones have finished spawning, though, and will soon be heading out to deeper, cool water.

 Jeff Miller at Canal Bait and Tackle in Sagamore said after a big week of striper fishing the action has still been pretty solid. On Sunday they weighed in a 48-pound bass that was caught from a boat just outside of the Canal. There is a lot of bait on the East End, including tinker mackerel, squid and pogies.

 Popular lures have been Sebile Magic Swimmers and white Stick Shads. Bass have also been hitting the Canal Sand Eel, which is similar to the Savage Sand Eel. Night fishermen are using live eels and black bucktail jigs.

 Boston Harbor

  At Fishing Finatics in Everett, Pete Santini reports that fishing has been fair this week when the wind isn’t blowing. Pete said there has been a ton of schoolies in the harbor. The fish have been busting on the surface fairly regular and make for exciting light-tackle action. A good spot to fish has been between Castle Island and Spectacle Island.

 Bigger bass can be found out at the B Buoy, Egg Rock and the Graves. Live mackerel are the best bet if you can find the schools. One day it can be easy and on other days the bait is hard to find.

 Bottom fishermen are still getting limits of flounder and Pete expects the fishing to last at least three more weeks before slowing down. Long Island and the Deer Island Flats are good spots to try. Other islands include Peddocks, Rainsford, Georges, Bumpkin and Gallops.

Santini says that the June 15-16 Boston Harbor Striper Shootout was a great success. The weather was perfect and the measuring party at Pier 6 in Charlestown was fantastic. The winning boat was Akiba for a 47-inch striper.

 Pete added that a special “thank you” goes out to Division of Marine Fisheries biologist Matt Ayer who was the official “Measure Master” and came to the event dressed in a black and white referee shirt. He also wanted to thank Charlie Larner and Dan and Mary Hermann for their help with the tournament. The event was covered by NESN Dirty Water TV. All proceeds benefit Boston Harbor Now. For more information, visit www.stripershootout.com

 Commercial striped bass season

 For those with special permits, the commercial striped bass season opens on Monday. The fishery will remain open until Marine Fisheries determines the annual commercial striped bass quota has been landed. The 2018 quota is approximately 847,585 pounds. The quota can be monitored on the Division’s Quotas & Landings web page.

 The open fishing days are Mondays and Thursdays only. It is illegal to harvest striped bass for commercial purposes on all other days of the week. There is a new rule this year prohibiting commercial fishing for striped bass on July 3, July 4 and Labor Day, if those dates fall on an open fishing day during the commercial fishery.

 A 15-fish daily limit applies to fishermen issued a Commercial Lobster or Boat Permit with a Striped Bass Endorsement when they are fishing on board the vessel named on the permit. Validation of a registered vessel is required to obtain a Commercial Lobster or Boat Permit. This limit applies to the permit holder regardless of the number of Striped Bass Endorsements held or trips taken in a day; it also applies to the vessel regardless of the number of Striped Bass Endorsement holders onboard or trips taken in a day.

 A two-fish daily limit applies to all other commercial striped bass fishing activity; including all fishing from shore. This limit applies to the permit holder regardless of the number of commercial Striped Bass Endorsements held, or the number of trips taken in a day. Primary buyers are prohibited from purchasing more than one daily limit from a commercial fisherman regardless of the number of commercial Striped Bass Endorsements in the fisherman’s possession.

 Reporting Requirements: All commercial harvesters must submit monthly trip-level reports by the 15th of the following month. Failure to submit reports on time may result in delays in future permit renewal. Please see the Trip-Level Reporting page on our website for forms, instructions, statistical area maps, and more information. Complete regulations can found at www.mass.gov/marinefisheries.