FISHING LINES: Surf fishing flourishes in Duxbury, Plymouth

Surf fishing has been good. Both Plymouth and Duxbury beach are producing fish up to 38 inches. The best bait has been fresh chunk mackerel.

 Duxbury, Kingston, Plymouth

 Capt. John Bunar reports great early morning top-water action throughout the bay. Most of the fish are short, but the action is steady until the sun rises well above the horizon. Mackerel are still plentiful off the Gurnet, but “large mackerel eaters” are getting harder to find in the bay.

 Surf fishing has been good. Both Plymouth and Duxbury beach are producing fish up to 38 inches. The best bait has been fresh chunk mackerel. Flounder fishing is grinding to a halt. Limit catches are not being made, but a few big flatties are a possibility. There have been no signs of fluke yet.

 Out in Cape Cod Bay haddock have moved east of middle bank and limits have been the norm. The size limit is 17 inches and you can keep 12 fish.

 Bunar said there is nothing to report on bluefin tuna as the fish do not appear to be in the vicinity.

Boston Harbor

 “We’ve got big bass and bluefish at Seal Harbor in Winthrop,” said Pete Santini at Fishing Finatics in Everett. “The fish are hitting poppers, rubber shad, live mackerel and Santini tubes.”

 Deep-water trolling from the B Buoy to Graves Light and to Egg Rock is also a good bet. Pete said there have been bass up to 50 pounds caught on mackerel and lead-core line. Right now there are plenty of mackerel at the BG Buoy, but that can change from day to day. Pogies can be found off Nahunt.

 Inside the bay there are loads of schoolies for light-tackle casting between the Airport and Castle Island and the birds are going crazy over them. The fish average about 18 to 20 inches, with a few 28 to 30-inch keepers.

 The flounder bite is still steady, but it is beginning to taper off. There’s a few black sea bass and tautog in the same areas as the flounder. Pete said with bluefish in the area flounder will head for spots with a rocky bottom to hide.

 Weymouth, Quincy and Hull

 At Fore River Bait and Tackle, Lisa Dean said they weighed in a 30-pound, 10-ounce striper. It was caught on a live mackerel out at Harding’s Ledge.

 Bait fish have been spotty, but if you look hard enough you’ll find them. Most of the mackerel have been outside the bay in deep water, but on Tuesday some guys found a few schools off Peddock’s Island. Pogies are showing up in Quincy Bay.

 Small striped bass are everywhere. Lisa said there are millions of them in the bays and the rivers. Most are below the size limit with an occasional keeper a possibility. Larger bass can be found outside with the mackerel. Good areas to fish are Harding’s Ledge, Three and a Half Fathom Ledge, Thieves’ Ledge and Graves Light.

 Flounder fishing has been fairly steady when it’s not too windy. Both sides of high tide are good times to fish, but the action has been better on the outgoing. Drifting is the best method. If it’s too windy, Lisa suggests anchoring up and using chum to attract the flounder to the boat. The shop sells quarts of clam bellies for chumming. Bait fishermen are also catching black sea bass, tautog and an occasional scup.

 Scituate, North River

 At Belsan’s Bait and Tackle in Scituate, Pete Belsan said striped bass fishing has been fair, but the bigger fish that were in the area last week have been scarce. A few fishermen using mackerel for bait are catching some good ones up to 30 pounds out in deep water. The bait can be tough to find, though. One day it can be easy and the next day the schools are gone.

 There are a fair amount of small stripers in the rocks along the shoreline and in the North River up to the Union Street Bridge. Almost all of the fish are under the size limit with a keeper here and there up to 32 inches. Provincetown, on the other hand, is loaded with big stripers and Pete said the guys are burning a lot of gas to get over there. Fishing has been best at Race Point and around to the backside of the Cape.

 The action for flounder is starting to slow down. Besides Scituate Harbor, bait fishermen are finding a few of the tasty flatfish off Pegotty and Egypt beaches. The Sand Spit and the mouth of the North and South rivers can also be productive.

 Cape Cod Canal and Buzzards Bay area

 Jeff Miller at Canal Bait and Tackle in Sagamore reports good striper fishing in the Canal for bass in the 20- to 30-pound range. He said they weighed in a 30-pounder on Sunday. It was caught on a yellow magic swimmer in the area of the herring run. The guys are also doing well at night. Jigging is the best bet and you should fish right on the bottom.

 On the east end there are tons of mackerel outside the Canal with some decent bass in with the bait, but you have to use a boat to get to them. Jeff added that there is a low-pressure system moving in on Thursday and that could kick off some action, especially if the mackerel get pushed inside.

 At Red Top Bait and Tackle in Bourne, Hayden Gallagher said the Canal has been a little bit on the slow side, but the guys that are putting in their time are catching some nice fish. On Monday some fishermen came in the shop that had caught bass up to 40 inches jigging on the west end before daylight.

 Hayden added that there are bass outside the Canal on both ends and with early morning low tides fishing should be better over the weekend. For jigging he suggests Savage Sand Eels or Al Gags Whip-It Fish. Popular colors are pearl, blue silver and green mackerel. For top water, pencil poppers, stick shads and magic swimmers are a good choice.

 At M&D’s Bait Shop in Wareham, Mike Thomas said the Canal was slow last week, but the action has been picking up a little. A few guys have been catching bass in the 40-inch range before daybreak. The best fishing has been 3:30 to 4:30 a.m.

 Boater have been doing well in Buzzards Bay. Keeper-size stripers are scattered throughout the area. Black sea bass up to 20 inches continue to please and Mike said he’s surprised they haven’t moved out to deep water yet. Fluke fishing is also worth the effort. There are lots of throwbacks but if you work at it you’ll catch keepers. The size limit is 17 inches and you can keep 5 fish.