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Despite the steady drop in water temps local fishermen continue to hunt for stripers. Striper activity remains good with steady movement of bass schools. Stripers are starting to thin out and persistence is a big part of successful striper fishing. Reports have been common about the numbers of stripers that have been hanging around the State fishing pier in Gloucester. Most reports tell of the highest concentrations of bass occurs when the fishing boats are offloading. tripers have also been observed along the rocks of Marblehead neck. Bass have been common catches along Winthrop and Boston Harbor. Despite the talk of vanishing stripers, there is still plenty of action to be had.
Fishermen continued to report small pods of bluefish from Plum Island to Boston. Not many fish were caught but with water temps as low as they have been it is somewhat of a surprise to see bluefish around this late in the season. Some fishermen found themselves in the middle of a small school of blues as all of a sudden the blues rose and surprise battles began. With the promise of a beautiful Sunday in the making, it looks like it is going to be a great day to get out and enjoy the waning days of the season.
Cod have been moving into inshore waters and becoming more available to small boat anglers. During the past week or so more cod have been caught in such places as Tinker's Ledge, Newcomb's Ledge and Saturday Night Ledge. The smaller hills and bumps also have become more active. Fair to good numbers of cod have been caught at Hill 47, the 101 Hill and Cole Ridge, Some of the wrecks that are around the Boston shipping channel have also produced well. This Herbert saw fishermen tally cod catches to twenty-five to thirty pounds. The City of Salisbury gave up catches to twenty-five pounds. Fishing the Graves proved to be productive for many jig fishermen. Chumming, usually a productive trick, seemed to draw far to many dogs. Offshore fishermen did very well at the offshore banks. Fishermen at Jefferies and Tillies overcame cod weighing up to fifty pounds. Along with good numbers of cod, plenty of haddock sweetened many anglers catches, Stellwagen Bank anglers did very well with all styles of jigs but only tallied limited numbers of cod with bait.
The fall flounder fishing season has continued with local anglers capturing "limit catches" from Gloucester to Salem to Lynn and Boston. The secret to limit catches is to keep your bait fresh by changing if frequently and keep your offerings in motion. Don't let your bait sit on the bottom motionless. In nature, worms move along the bottom. Manchester Harbor has been active. Fishermen have also caught good numbers of flounder along the mouth of Marblehead Harbor and along the channels of the Middlegroung of Salem/Beverly Harbor.
The fall mackerel run seems to be on the quiet side in most areas. Limited numbers of mackerel have made their presence known by jumping on herring rigs and on mackerel trees to a lesser degree. Schools of mackerel have been observed in the channel between Misery Island and Baker's Island. During some mornings limited numbers of mackerel have shown up inside Manchester Harbor. The most consistent mackerel has been taking place along the State fishing Pier in Gloucester with good numbers found throughout the day.
Merrimack River anglers have been rewarded with good catches when they practice persistence when working the river. Fair to good numbers of largemouth bass were caught in many of the quiet coves and back eddies of the upper stretches of the river. Most anglers seemed to show a preference for the river between Lawrence and Lowell. Good sized carp and catfish were also caught in this area. In the lower reaches of the river specifically around the mouth of the river limited numbers of stripers and bluefish continued to be caught.
Trout fishing this fall has been good but with a bit of teasing and frustration for trout fishermen. Hungry trout will play with the bait for some time before making a commitment to take the bait. Light taps and bouncing floats frustrate anglers. Patients will generally pay off with a hearty trout being led to net. Numerous baits have been presented in order to entice stocked trout. Some of the most productive baits have been small shiners, dillies, trout worms, night crawlers and meal worms. Meal worm and marshmallows continue to be a productive combination as does meal worms and power bait. Some of the most productive ponds have been Horn Pond in Woburn, Stiles Pond in Boxford and Pleasant Pond in Wenham. Morning fishermen appear to do best adding trout to their kreels. Fly fishermen tallied the best scores during the morning and late afternoon periods. Horn Pond in Woburn seemed to be the most productive of all the local ponds.
Largemouth bass have been very active during the past couple of weeks. They have put on the feed bag and have started feeding heavily in preparation for the long winter ahead. This is the time bass will feed heavily so that they can put on extra layers of fat to keep them nourished during winter. Now in a heavy feeding pattern, bass will take most ant bait cast within striking distance but definitely show a strong preference for medium to large shiners. Anglers must apply their full attention as bass will strike hard, move fast and head for deep water. Largemouth bass have been caught in most all waters but have been most active with individual bass weighing in at as much as four to five pounds. Some of the most active bass ponds have been Chebacco Lake, Putnamville Reservoir, Pillings Pond, Brow's Pond, Longham Reservoir and Round Pond. Presenting large shiners along most structure will result in a good hit. Despite cooling waters, temperatures have not dropped low enough for bass to slow down considerably. The most active period of the day has been late afternoon into evening. Secondary periods of activity have been late morning to early afternoon. Now is the time to head out to your favorite bass hole armed with plenty of shiners and prepared for some great late season bass fishing.
Panfish and pickerel activity have been very strong with perch falling to small shiners and worms while pickerel prefer the hearty meal of a large shiner. Panfish can be found in the smaller ponds as well as the larger ponds and lakes. Yellow perch have been found around any patches of leftover weeds and crappie are generally moving within a couple of feet of the surface searching out schools of bait. Some anglers have been very successful with pickerel when the troll or cast spoons and small plugs. Panfish anglers using light line and casting small and medium shiners and working in the top half of the water column attract fair to good numbers of crappie. Look for crappie in Chebacco Lake, Pillings Pond and Putnamville Reservoir. Some of the Crappie that have been caught have tipped the scales at close to two pounds.
To date, no smelt reports from our area have come into the shop. Seals prevent smelt from entering our waters. Despite the lack of smelt in our area, good smelt has been taking place as close as Crystal Cove, the Winthrop Yacht Club and behind the Elks Club in Winthrop. Confirmation of smelt has been received from Marina Bay in Quincy. Reports also indicate smelt catches at Hewitts Cove at Back River in Hingham and Scituate Harbor. Try your luck with bits of seaworms, small killifish or grass shrimp. Dress warm, fish hard and enjoy eating smelt.
Striper activity all along the North Shore keeps fishing activity on high. Good numbers of stripers brought to gaff have kept fishermen casting baits from local beaches and from pleasure boats. Successful anglers have caught good numbers of stripers of all sizes. Most fishermen feel that the biggest bass will come from boat fishermen and this can be true but many good sized stripers are caught by anglers fishing local beaches, points and rocky shorelines. Devereux Beach anglers have caught many trophy sized stripers. Devereux Beach is one of those beaches that produces the best and gives up the largest bass during the late season months. Singing Beach has kept anglers returning for the fairly steady action. The Gloucester Shoreline has produced well during this striper season. The State fishing pier keeps interest in striper fishing strong as consistent numbers of bass are fought and caught. The action remains steady. Boat fishermen have reported great success along the Islands, Satan Rock and the Breakers. Big stripers have been caught along Ram Island, the Pigs and Egg Rock. Trolling tube n' worm combinations continue to be a hot combination. Drifting mackerel skims and herring skins attract good sized stripers along the rocky shores of Swampscott, Lynn and Nahant. Fair to good catches have been made at the Deer Island Rip and along the rocks of Winthrop. Reports indicate that there are still good numbers of bass coming down from up north.
Flounder fishermen have been reporting that the numbers of flounder that have been caught have been on the increase for the past couple of weeks. Not only have the numbers of flounder caught increased but the numbers of big, fat flounder have been more common. Anglers have noted an increase in the numbers and size of the flounder along the Manchester shoreline and along House Island. Increased numbers of flounder have also been noted by anglers fishing just inside Marblehead Harbor. Fair numbers of flounder have been caught along Waterside Cemetery, buoys 19 and 22. Using a spinning rod with a slow retrieve is reported to work much better than the old standard - the handline. The spinning rod allows more ground to be covered.
Cod fishermen have been rejoicing with the return of cod to the many popular inshore locations allowing small boats to take part in the fall cod season. Small boat fishermen have tallied impressive numbers of market sized cod from the inshore hills, bumps and ledges. Jig fishermen have filled fish boxes with good numbers of white bellied cod and limited numbers of rock cod. Local cod fishermen have tallied numbers of cod from Tinker's Ledge, Newcomb's Ledge, Cole Ridge and numerous hills and bumps. Offshore fishermen have done extremely well working jigs over many of the Ledges. Jefferies Ledge fishermen scored nicely on good numbers of cod. Some individual cod that were brought over the rails scaled out at as much as fifty pounds. Good numbers of forty and thirty pounders were also brought aboard private vessels. On Tillies, fishermen not only caught good numbers of cod but haddock were also mixed in the catch. The catches were also positive with plenty of large cod at Stellwagen Bank. The "B" buoy, the graves and many of the wrecks located along the Boston shipping channel. This is a great time to stock the freezer with cod , haddock and cask for future chowders and baked fish meals to enjoy during the upcoming cold winter months.
The Merrimack River continues to be busy from the mouth of the river right up to the New Hampshire boarder. At the mouth of the river fishermen excited by the what looks to be the tail end of the blitzes. During the past week, fishermen have caught quite a few bass but the numbers of bluefish have tailed off. It appears the the numbers of bass and blues drop off as fishermen work their way up the river to Lawrence. In the upper reaches of the river largemouth bass, carp. catfish and other fresh water species of fish become more active. The best fresh water activity has been taking place between Lawrence and Lowell. Look for the action to continue into nest month.
Now that a couple of weeks have past since the trout stocking trucks rolled through the district and deposited their precious cargo into local trout ponds and lakes, trout have started to break up and move around the ponds and lakes. As the trout spread out over local ponds and lakes, fishermen become more frustrated because they become much more difficult to locate and catch. Bait fishermen hold the edge for catching trout over those that choose hardware of flies. One of the best bait offerings that has become a standard for trout fishermen is the meal worm and marshmallow combination. This mix has the well deserved reputation of being a remarkable trout bait. As reports filter into the shop. It looks like this popular combination will hold its reputation for being a popular and productive bait offering. Early morning continue to be the most productive period for trout fishermen. It appears the Horn Pond and Pleasant pond have been the most productive for trout anglers.
Cooler water temperatures in local ponds and lakes have manages to change feeding patterns in local bass populations. As water temperatures start to change, feeding bass generally will move away from surface feeding and move to somewhat deeper locations. They will search out bars and ledges. They will continue to forage around decaying weed beds and hold around solid structure waiting for the opportunity to ambush passing baitfish. Cooler waters have caused fishermen to switch over from regular spinnerbaits to spinnerbaits with silver blades and larger blades. The silver blades create better flash for the cloudy days that have been so common and the larger blades create a slower moving bait. Fish will generally become somewhat more active during the late afternoon when water temps rise slightly. Chebacco Lake fishermen have reported some luck when fishing the rocks along the launching ramp and the points along the beach. Boat fishermen casting plastic worms to the shoreline along Echo Cove and any surface structure report pretty good action. Merrimack River bass fishermen report good action along structure and quiet coves. Although most fishermen do not report large fish, the numbers of fish that have been caught have been good.
Panfish activity has been very strong creating a tremendous amount of activity. Local fishermen have been scoring steadily on good numbers of perch and calico bass. Perch fishermen have succeeded when trolling small spoons and spinners while bait fishermen catch their fair share of perch by presenting generous portions of night crawlers. Sometimes small shiners, meal worms and power bait work well. It appears that good numbers of perch have been very active during the middle part of the day and into afternoon. Pickerel have been aggressively attacking offerings of shiners and on occasion will react to a spoon or plug. The best spoons have been the Dare Devil and the Johnson Spoon. Dress these spoons with a strip of bait or pork for sometimes increased activity. Fish pickerel along any left over vegetation for the best results. The larger the shiners, the better your chances of hooking up with a prized catch.
Stripers continued to be the target of recreational fishermen. Good numbers of stripers are still being caught all over the North Shore. Shore fishermen have scored at the White Fuel Bridge, Devereux Beach and along Nahant. Most anglers have been presenting chunks and strips of mackerel and herring. Boat fishermen have been more than pleased with the action. Most fishermen choose to present tube n' worm combinations along the rocks and other structure. Other trolling lures that have produced fish are Pet Spoons, Hootchy Trolls and umbrella rigs. One lure that has been successful but are no longer available to the fishing public is the Ragmop. Anglers have been reaching into their tackle stash and rediscovering this relic. Bass blitzes have taken place in the Danvers River, along Marblehead and around the islands. Chumming helps to attract bass but when chumming set up a sparse slick or you risk drawing big numbers of dogfish.
Schools of mackerel continue to enter local waters in good numbers. Many fishermen have been scoring nicely by working mackerel trees and mackerel jigs. A better choice has been Herring rigs. The smaller teasers have been doing a better job at attracting mackerel than the larger teasers. The most productive area of the harbor has been between Misery Island and the Manchester shoreline.
Flounder fishermen along the North Shore have reported good catches of fat, fall flounder in many local waters. Many of the best catches of flounder have taken place along the mouth of Manchester Harbor over towards House Island. Some of the flounder that has been caught has weighed in as much as three pounds. It appeared that the bulk of the flounder catch fell between one and two pounds. Many anglers we happy that they were able to fill their limits or at least come close to the limit. Fishermen also found fair numbers of flounder just inside Marblehead Harbor.
Despite cooling waters, bluefish activity remains strong. Numerous blitzes have taken place from Plum Island to Boston. Small pods of bluefish will corner a school of bait them start to slash through it. Fish rise to bait schools with little or no warning and are very unpredictable. During the past week bluefish blitzes have taken place along Singing Beach, Manchester Harbor, the Gooseberries and the Breakers, Devereux beach and Nahant. Most fishermen that have been successful have reported that chunked bait worked best for them. Sometimes bait strips resulted in a good catch. A few shore fishermen have caught bluefish at White Fuel, Devereux Beach, and Nahant. Most bluefish have been caught by boat fishermen trolling plugs.
Cod catches have risen considerably in inshore locations. The numbers of inshore fishermen have increased and reports tell of plenty of activity. The best locations for shallow water fishermen have been Tinker's Ledge, Gales Ledge and Cole Ridge. The 101 Hill, hill 47 and the numerous hills and bumps found around the "B" buoy and the Graves have produced well but there are not big numbers of cod taken from any single location. Fishermen will take one or two fish from each spot. Some fishermen have tallied individual fish that have weighed as much as twenty pounds. Offshore score big with jigs. Some offshore catches have weighed into the fourties and fifties. I guess that would be big enough for a good chowder. Most anglers prefer bait for inshore but hold true to jigs offshore. The offshore ledges not only give up cod but provide anglers with good numbers of haddock and cusk. Now is the time to fish hard and stock the freezer with fillets for the long winter ahead. Remember, freeze your fish in a plastic container filled with water to cover the fish. This will prevent freezer burn and keep your fillets in prime condition.
The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife has completed their fall trout stockings in this district. Stocking efforts were completed last week and fishermen have been reaping the benefits of their work. Once again, trout fishermen can be seen lined up along the shores of local trout ponds casting a wide assortment of live and artificial baits. Most trout fishermen have preferred presenting live and fresh baits. Preferred baits have been meal worm/marshmallow combinations, dillies and trout worms, power bait in assorted colors and small spoons and spinners. Roostertails and Buoyants have been favorites of many fishermen. Drifting power bait seems to be preferred by beach fishermen. No rivers or streams in this district have been stocked. Reports indicated that Sluice Pond in Lynn, Horn Pond in Woburn, Pleasant Pond in Wenham and Baldpate Pond in Boxford were stocked. Early morning fishermen score best if they are on the pond by daybreak.
Local fishermen have been working local bass waters with increasing success. Good numbers of bass had fallen victim to a wide assortment of live and artificial baits. It appeared that the best activity took place during the late afternoon into early evening. Limited activity takes place early in the day. The preferred bait of both fishermen and fish has been live shiners. Large shiners were quick to draw good sized bass from areas of weed patches and structure. Rockpiles seemed to be a favorite area for holding bass. Plastic worms presented along weed lines enticed good numbers of bass. Bouncing jigs and jig n' pig combinations along structure and drop offs proved to be productive for many anglers. Swimming plugs worked along most surface structure also produced hungry bass. Bass have been aggressive and anglers have profited by their aggression. Now is the time to get in some good bass action.
Pickerel fishermen have been reporting some of the best action of the season. Late season is extremely good as pickerel have been feeding heavily in order to put on fat to help them get through this winters cold. A medium or large shiner dangling from a float stands little chance for survival if there are any pickerel in the immediate area. Pickerel have been practicing "hit and run" feeding tactics at most ponds and lakes. Bodies of water that support abundant weed growth are the best for pickerel activity as pickerel prefer ambushing their prey. During the past week fishermen have scored on fair sized pickerel. The largest pickerel weighed in at the shop tipped the scales at a respectable five pounds, 3 ounces. It was caught at Lake Attitash. Other productive waters turned out to be Johnson's Pond and Tewksbury Pond. Leggs Hill Pond, the Weedy Pond Chebacco Lake have also produced well but these ponds have produced smaller fish. Spoons also produced limited activity.
The best way to introduce kids into the wonderful world of fishing is to start them off fishing for perch and panfish. This is the time of year to get started. Yellow perch are feeding heavily. Presenting dillies and night crawlers and especially shiners are great baits to use for perch fishing. Using a float keeps the kids attention directed on the float just waiting for the float to {"bob", signaling a strike. Perch have been plentiful at most local ponds with some of the best action taking place at Chebacco Lake, Lake Quannapowitt and Brown"s Pond. Most of the perch that have been caught during the past couple of weeks have tipped the scales at about a pound but there have been a few individuals that have weighed in as much as two pounds. The larger perch have shown a preference for medium sized shiners. Try filleting the perch you catch and lightly panfry it and serve it with homemade Boston Baked Beans for a Saturday night supper. This is a meal that is tuff to beat.
This weekend marks the end of the summer season and is considered to be the last hooray of summer. Holiday weekend hours are as follows; Saturday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Monday, the holiday, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Enjoy the weekend.
With the numbers of stripers that have been in the area it is very difficult for anglers to ignore the demand to get out and take advantage of all the action. Frequent striper blitzes have awn anglers away from household chores to enjoy the waning fishing season. A common question asked at the shop is how long the striper fishing will remain good. As I see it, bass fishing should remain good until the first hurricane or N'oreaster arrives. If the weather stays good we could enjoy striper fishing until as late as Thanksgiving. Agreeable water temperatures and the abundance of bait will help to keep stripers in the area. Beach fishermen have been taking advantage of the prime conditions and have been scoring from local beaches , bridges and breakwaters. Blitzes took place last weekend from the White Fuel Bridge to the Kernwood Bridge, at the mouth of the North River, along Manchester Harbor, inside Gloucester Harbor and throughout Salem Sound. Stripers have invaded Devereux Beach and created chaos among frenzied fishermen. Take advantage of the action - Get out fishing.
Late season bluefish activity has been explosive with impressive numbers of blues busting through schools of mackerel. Bluefish action has been strong from Gloucester to Boston. Aggressive blues have made a sport out of destroying schools of bait. Although most bluefish have weighed about ten pounds, there have been a limited number of bluefish that have weighed in at close to fifteen pounds. Singing Beach, Devereux Beach and Nahant have all experienced massive invasions of bluefish. Fishermen have enjoyed all the action and believe the wait for fall blitzes has been worth it. With local water temperatures now around 58 degrees we can assume that the fish will be around a while longer. Make sure you get out and take advantage of the great bluefish fishing because it will be coming to a close shortly.
Mackerel have arrived in local waters. During the past week fishermen have watched waves of mackerel enter local harbors and trigger bluefish and striper blitzes. During the first of the week mackerel entered Gloucester Harbor and triggered quite a bit of excitement along the wall. Mackerel brought bluefish and stripers to the surface tearing through numerous schools of mackerel creating a lot of activity for shore fishermen. Later on the schools of mackerel entered Manchester Harbor creating the same excitement as in Gloucester. Some fishermen were going after the mackerel while others targetted stripers and bluefish. All were winners. Look for more mackerel activity to take place from Gloucester t Boston. Herring rigs were best at catching mackerel. At times fishermen were challenged when a striper or bluefish would savagely take a hooked mackerel on a herring rig. Excitement levels were running high al week long. Take advantage of the holiday by spending an extra day casting baits to waiting fish.
Good sized flounder have been common along the shoreline from Beverly Farms to Manchester Harbor. Drift fishing improves catches as more ground can be covered. Many fishermen have caught individual flounder weighing as much as three pounds. These flounder are fat and provide fillets large enough for a single portion. Click on to the flounder recipes on this site for some different ways to serve this popular fish. Try stuffed flounder fillets with fresh crabmeat and serve with a fresh lemon sauce. It just doesn't get much better than this. Take advantage of our New England home for the best and freshest fish available.
Cod fishermen have enjoyed a great fall season. Impressive numbers of cod have been caught all along the offshore fishing banks and ledges. Fishermen working the popular and productive Jefferies Ledge have tallied impressive catches of cod. Some cod have reached weights approaching forty pounds or better. Along with the cod, fishermen have caught good numbers of haddock and cusk. Believe it or not, some fishermen have complained that they were catching too much haddock and not enough cod. Some fishermen have failed to catch cod but have done well catching haddock. The edges of the ledge have produced the best catches. Both jig and bait fishermen have done well with jig fishermen attracting the greatest numbers of cod. Tillies Bank produced good numbers of cod. Sometimes large enough for two or three cod to fill a fish box. Of all the offshore banks and ledges, Stellwagen was probably the most popular. Fishermen scored big when they fished the eastern side of he bank. God numbers of mixed sizes of cod were caught by "old salts" as well as novice anglers. If a kid was lucky enough to be a part of Dad's fishing party, he obtained "braggin' rights" for a lifetime. One young angler stopped by the shop with a picture of him with his trophy cod. This young angler was quick to point out that the fish he caught was larger than he. His smile was so large I didn't know if he would be able to get through the door. Cod have started to move in closer to shore with anglers starting to catch fish at Tinker's Ledge, Newcomb's Ledge, Cole Ridge and the 101 hill.
The mighty Merrimack River remains high on fishermen's lists of productive fishing waters. In the upper reaches of the river fishermen score on good numbers of bass, catfish and carp. Fishing around the dam produces good numbers of bass. The quiet waters below and above the dam challenge anglers with good sized catfish and carp. Best baits include dough baits and stink baits. Night crawlers successfully attract good numbers of white catfish and carp. Some of the carp have weighed as much as eighteen pounds. Cats have weighed in at up to six pounds. Striped bass have been caught all the way up the river to the dam in Lawrence. At the mouth of the river stripers and bluefish command attention. Blitzes have been a common occurrence during the past week. Frenzied bait, working birds and numbers of fishermen indicate plenty of action. Blind casting poppers can, often times, trigger action. There seems o be no predicting the action as all of a sudden you can find yourself in the middle of a blitz.
The Division of Fisheries and Wildlife has resumed trout stockings for the productive fall fishing season. The Division has started their fall stocking program. Local trout ponds and lakes will be stocked but rivers and streams will be passed over. All bodies of water that are scheduled to receive trout should be stocked by the end of this week. The initial reports have told of plenty of trout jumping during the early morning hours but few falling victim to angler's hooks. Reports also indicate better action and trout going after bait offerings. Successful baits have been Power Bait, meal worms and trout worms. It appears that trout action starts to kick in about a couple of hours after sunrise. It has been reported that fishermen start to arrive at local ponds about breakfast time and the action starts shortly there after. Reports also indicate fair to good tout action at Pleasant Pond. Sluice Pond and Horn Pond. Fishermen have told of some real good action when presenting flies. Small spoons have attracted a limited number of hungry trout. By observing sales at the shop it appears that the bulk of the trout fishermen have been using meal worms, sometimes in combination with mini marshmallows. Some limit catches have been made.
largemouth bass fishermen are now realizing that the bass have put on the feed bag and ill often pas up artificial baits n favor of live and fresh baits. Medium and large shiners have been the preferred baits for he areas prime fresh water gamefish. Good numbers of bass have been caught by persistent anglers that have been working the structured areas of local ponds and lakes. Bass have been holding along ridges and underwater hills, they prefer downed trees and breakwaters, they also treat weed beds and points as local hangouts. As the water cools, signals of the upcoming winter season triggers a feeding urge in fish so that they can add weight making it easier for them to survive winter. Fishermen have not only score on shiners but have attracted bass by presenting night crawlers, leeches and frogs. Almost any bait will attract hungry bass. Bass fishermen working the back side of Putnamville Reservoir have tallied decent catches with individual bass weighing as much as three pounds. Somewhat larger bass have been caught at Chebacco Lake by anglers working the structure and points. Fishermen have reported decent bass fishing at Beck's Pond and Round Pond with somewhat smaller bass as the norm but numbers have been good. Field's Pond in Harold Parker has been reported as fair to good with fairly steady action. Fishermen that don't mind spending a little time on the road getting to fishing location have reported good action at many local rivers. Reports indicate steady action at the Merrimack River in Lawrence and Lowell, The Charles River in Waltham and the Concord River in Billerica. Reports concude that shiners have been best at atracting bass. Points and back eddies have produced steadily.
Pickerel fishermen have been challenged by numbers of pickerel waiting to pounce on unsuspecting baitfish. Anglers have successfully presented live shiners along weedlines. As son as live bait approach the weeds, the pickerel are ready to take advantage of their ambush lair. Large shiners have attracted pickerel up to about three pounds. Active ponds have included Chebacco Lake, Tewksbury Pond, Johnson's Pond and Lake Attitash. Oftentimes anglers have been surprised by ambushing pickerel going after small to medium sized plugs. Spoons such as the Dare Devil and the Johnson Spoon have been very effective at drawing pickerel from the weedbeds. Mid day activity has generally held up through mid to late afternoon with bait drawing the greatest number of strikes. Most fishermen have revealed the pickerel fighs havebeen strong with plenty of twists and turns challenging angler skills. Look for the action to be strong right up until ice.
Fishermen continue to pursue the vast numbers of perch that have been cruising local lakes and ponds. As waters cool, perch populations are on the move searching for food in preparation for winter. Schools of perch chase schools of bait cornering them in coves and cuts before feeding heavily. In order for the perch to make it through the winter they must put on a layer of fat and add weight. Anglers of ages have been enjoying a great fall season with plenty of perch being caught to keep interest high and panfish catches large enough to enjoy a meal or two and still have enough filets to stock the freezer with an abundance of fresh filets. Small and medium sized shiners work well at attracting hungry perch as does offerings of trout worms, night crawlers or meal worms. Remember when freezing fresh fillets to put them in a plastic container and cover with water before freezing. This will protect the fillets from freezer burn and keep the fillets in rime condition for later enjoyment. The water can be seasoned with your favorite seasonings before freezing. During one of the cold nights of the New England winter you will be able to enjoy a fresh meal of lightly breaded, pan fried perch fillets with home made Boston baked beans with a side of fresh cornbread and a freshly made salad. It just doesn't get much better than this and you enjoyed catching the perch.
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