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Merrimack River Report #16 September 11, 2005
The inshore fishing has definitely moved onto
the late season mode. The river is full of peanut bunker and the
stripers and blues have been blitzing all over the area. Lately the
Salisbury side of the river has been producing schoolie stripers on the
outgoing tide. Soft baits that resemble the baby bunker in size and
color are working well on light spinning gear. Flies made with of
white/blue/purple materials with pearl flash do the trick for fly
fishing.
I haven’t been out along the beaches recently due
to nasty conditions at the mouth of the river and large swells from
distant storms.
Football tuna have been taken off shore. There are
also reports of many different species of whales. There was one report
of a shark sighting off of the Parker Wildlife Refuge beach.
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Merrimack River
report #15 September 2, 2005
I
am a bit tardy in getting this weekly report out but wanted to be able
to include fishing results from yesterday. I had a day off from
chartering and invited a friend to join me for early September
fishing.
Last
Monday I was out and found the inshore fishing to be slow and the seas
were not good for going outside along the beaches. Tuesday I guided a
repeat client with his son who was about to head back to college. I
found schoolie stripers chasing baby bunker near
Woodbridge
Island
. They provided good fly rod action for a couple of hours around the
high tide. The other spots were slow. We didn’t see any bluefish.
Friday
turned out to be a classic early September trip. The river was full of
bait. We began fishing near the AYC mooring area with little to show
for it so we moved down towards the mouth thinking of going outside
along the beaches. When we arrived near buoy #11 we saw a bluefish
blitz underway. We nailed a few nice blues on flies and lures before
the action died as the tide rose opening escape routes for the trapped
bunker. We checked around the river mouth and found that there
wasn’t much going on so we headed south off of the Parker River
Wildlife refuge beaches. About half way down the island we saw birds
working. There we found a school of large schoolie stripers chasing
bait to the surface. We caught a mix of stripers and blues. We moved
farther south and got into breaking pods of bluefish. We re-rigged for
blues and had some great fighting action on the fly rods. My friends 8
WT got a good workout. We closed out the trip by going behind
Plum
Island
and found a few stripers across from
Castle
Island
. We ended the trip in the
Parker
River
where we witnessed a terrific bluefish blitz. There was constant
action for as long as we were there. The blues were big and tough
fighting, especially since we were using our fly rods. It was a great
fishing trip.
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Merrimack River Report #14 August
26, 2005
Bluefish, bluefish, that has been the main action
around here over the past week. They could be found outside the jetties
and/or off the beach at Parker River Wildlife Sanctuary. Party boats
anchored up just a few hundred yards off of the beach. Sometimes the
blues were down and at other times they were busting the surface. They
were feeding on baby bunker. There were pods of blues in the 6 to 8
pound range.
Stripers could be found in the shallows off of
Cranes Beach as well as the usual haunts around Plum Island. They have
also been coming up river on the incoming tides. I had a stark reminder
of the need to be prepared for a big fish when my grandson, while
fishing off the boat tied at my slip, put his rod down to check my rod.
I was busy doing some small repair work on my bimini. I heard banging
and looked up to see Jacob’s rod being pulled onto the bow. I made a
quick jump and grabbed for it but it went over the side before I could
get it. The rod, Penn reel and fish were heading up the river. Oh well,
it happens!
The weather has been very pleasant to the enjoyment
of those of us getting out fishing. Next week may be wet as the
forecasts indicate rain and possible remnants of hurricane Kristen move
up from Florida
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Merrimack River report #13 August
18, 2005
Yes, it is August and the faint of heart think that
unless you fish all night with eels, etc, you will not catch fish. My
answer is that yes it is a tougher time for those of us that prefer the
action on light spinning or fly fishing gear but we still have a lot of
fun with an occasional surprise of a big fish. The difficulty is to be
prepared and rigged for that big striper or bluefish. We tend to expect
small fish. I recall an off day last August when I trolled a big Sluggo
out on Joppa. My fish finder indicated some fish. Suddenly my rod bent
and the drag was screaming. I stopped the boat and prepared to fight the
fish only to discover that my light reel was almost spooled out. A
couple seconds later it was, and my line broke. It was a something I
will remember.
Monday the weather was poor with rain and wind from
the north. I took out my son-in-law and his friend. It was tough fishing
but we did get into some schoolie action along the Salisbury side of the
river.
Wednesday morning was a complete turn around. I had
an off day and went out to enjoy the beautiful weather and maybe get a
fish or two. To my surprise, after noticing a couple of boils in the
water near the AYC mooring area I had a hard hit. It was a very hard
fighting acrobatic blue. After losing that one and a couple more I went
to my heavy bluefish rigs and brought in a 6 to 8 pound blue. My tackle
took a beating. Later I found the blues out on Joppa Flats along with
some big stripers. I brought in 12 pound 32 inch striper to the boat
before I released it as well as a few blues. It was a very good August
morning.
The bluefish action continued Thursday morning with
schools of big blues feeding on minnows (silversides?) and sand eels. I
hosted my daughter and her husband. They enjoyed some spectacular
acrobatics of bluefish after being hooked. It made me think of tarpon
down in Florida. If you don’t bow when a tarpon breaks water they will
often throw the lure. We didn’t get any stripers but saw two or three
thirty inch or so caught on sluggos and poppers. It was a beautiful
August morning and we all had fun!
The season is going to end before long so get out
and fishing!
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Merrimack River Report #12 August
11, 2005
The inshore fishing was very slow over the weekend.
I had a report that even the quasi commercial striper fishermen did
poorly. (that doesn’t hurt my feelings since I support game fish
status for striped bass). The weather has been OK but bright and mostly
hot so the river water at the surface is generally in the low seventies.
Blues continue to invade the river.
I had my first good action day in a while Tuesday
morning on the late outgoing tide. It began with schools of small
stripers thrashing bait on the surface between Newburyport and buoy #11.
They provided good action on soft bait jig head spinning lures and my
McVay Special Fly on the long rod. Later I got some larger stripers and
a couple of bluefish off of Plum Island Point.
On Wednesday and Thursday mornings the river
continued hold lots feeding stripers on the outgoing tide. They have
been slurping sand eels at the surface. The fish are very selective and
won’t hit just any fly or lure. Most stripes are on flies or lures
about 4 inches long. Most of the stripers were small schoolies but early
Thursday morning there were large schoolies mixed in. They were 20 to
about 26 inches long. There were also some bluefish as my clients found
out after donating a soft bait jig to one. Over all the action has been
great this week.
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Merrimack River Report #11 August
4, 2005
The fishing has drifted into the August mode. The
water is warm with morning skies that are bright. Most large stripers
have moved out side or further north. There are exceptions, of course,
and some big fish are being caught, but not many on flies or artificials.
There are still pods of very big stripers moving onto Joppa Flats on
some high tides. I had a client out there on Tuesday and we saw some of
those big fish but were only able to get one to hit and it threw the
sluggo after a short hard fight.
Blue fish can be found all over the area. On that
same trip, Tuesday, my client latched onto a big bluefish that gave an
acrobatic display before getting off.
I have seen what appear to be schools of pogies
near the marina in the early morning. A fisherman, who was fueling his
boat, said that they weren’t pogies but very small stripers. He said
they were so small, 8 to 10 inches that he wondered if they were spawned
in the Merrimack. I wonder. I think I will make an effort to get a small
fly into their midst to find out if they are, indeed, all small
stripers.
I have open dates in August and September so if you
want to give it a try give me a call. My number is
978-462-9212.
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Merrimack River Report #10 July
28, 2005
I took out two dedicated fly fishermen last
Thursday morning. The weather was great but bright sky prevailed. I
didn’t have high expectations. The tide was approaching low as we
began our trip. I took them down the river near the sandbar at the buoy
#11 for some early tries but it was dead so we moved down to the
jetties. There was not much going on even for the dozen or so bait
fishing guys in the area. I moved the boat outside the jetties and saw
some swirls at the surface so we drifted in the area. The swirls were
from bluefish which my clients managed to hook up with and in spite of
relatively light tippets they brought them to the boat they also managed
to get a few stripers. The size of the blues and stripers was varied.
The largest blue about 7 pounds and the largest striper about 23 inches
long. As the tide rose, there was a decline in action at the river
mouth, so we moved up onto Joppa Flats. Out on Joppa we found stripers,
my clients could not get action on flies, but a nice keeper hit a big
sluggo on the spinning gear. Overall it was a good morning considering
the bright sky and near full moon the night before.
Sunday morning the fishing action was light but
steady. We found stripers scattered across from the toothpick and down
towards the jetties. They were hitting white soft body jig head lures.
After a couple days off I guided for a couple of
fly fishermen from Vermont. The weather was clear and it was very warm
at 6 AM and became down right hot as the morning progressed. Stripers were hard to find. We tried Joppa early without any
luck. Next we tried the Salisbury side of the river without success. We
moved to the sandbar near buoy #11 where they managed to catch three or
four schoolies that hit my McVay Special fly. We tried between the
jetties with no success before deciding to call it a morning. It was
just one of those tough fishing days. Fortunately we don’t get many
like it. They plan to come back and try again when the fishing gets back
to more normal.
Thursday I hosted three nice guys for some fly and
spin fishing. The morning began well after a change to cooler weather
that moved in after some heavy thunder storms on Wednesday evening. We
started on Joppa where Scot got a big striper to hit one of my McVay
Special Flies. Unfortunately the striper, that I saw near the boat once,
broke off the 18# leader. The fish looked to be about 30-inches long.
After that the action was nil so I took them to some other spots, none
of which produced action until we worked the drift near buoy #11. In
that area they all caught fish including twinkie and large schoolies
plus some snapper bluefish.
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Merrimack River Report #9 July
21, 2005
The inshore striper fishing has been very good this
past week. There are still many “twinkie” size schoolies in the
river and the big fish have moved back into the shallow waters on the
high tides.
Over the weekend my clients warmed up catching and
releasing the small schoolies and then were able to get some large
schoolies and a few keeper size fish. I enjoy watching kids getting fish
after fish, keeping a
running tally of the number of fish released. Some of the excitement can
be seen in their faces in the attached photos.
Monday I hosted my grandson, brother-in-law and
nephew. They enjoyed a super morning of fishing catching small schoolies
early and then tackling some monsters on Joppa Flats. Jacob caught the
largest a 14 pound 33-inch beauty. They were using Sluggos and light
spinning gear so each fish was a good fight. Later in the week as the
days got brighter and a front came through, the Joppa fishing action
slowed down.
There have been small snapper and larger bluefish
outside the river mouth around the low tide. Stripers were also there.
Some flounder are being caught by bait fishermen
off of the bell buoy outside the jetties.
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Merrimack River Report #8 July
14, 2005
Our weather this season has been quite changeable.
Days of cool wet weather have been followed by bright hot ones. Through
out the differing weather conditions the inshore fly and light spin
tackle fishing has remained very productive. White and olive/white fly
patterns have good to use. Sluggos and Fin-S soft baits work well for
stripers and blue fish. In the latter case it can get expensive using
soft baits when the blues are around.
On Friday last week, I guided for three spin
fishing sportsman, two adults and one ten year old grandson. The weather
was sour, with wet heavy mist and fog. Early in the morning they managed
to get some small stripers. We fished around the inside of the jetties
where I marked a lot of fish. After one chopped off a Sluggo I knew the
fish were blues. As the tide rose we moved up onto the sand bar off of
Plum Island Point. That’s where they connected lots of tackle busting
bluefish. Two blues were
kept for dinner, one a six pound fish and the other weighed eight
pounds.
The early part of the week for inshore fishing
continued to yield “twinkie” stripers. It is comforting to see so
many small fish. Hopefully most will survive and grow. I always bend the
barbs down on my lures and flies to minimize injury to these aggressive
beautiful little fish.
Bluefish are around but they are in and out in the
area. Pogies are showing in the river
So we may get an influx of bigger stripers in the
days ahead. Boats drifting with mackerel or other bait have been doing
well from the “tooth pick” to the jetties.
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Merrimack River Report #7 July 7,
2005
The inshore Merrimack fishing continues to be
very good. We are still catching and releasing many very small
“twinkie” stripers but there are also some big fish around. For
instance I took a leisurely journey out on Sunday. It was an absolutely
beautiful summer morning. After my coffee and muffin I caught 17
twinkies. I always have the barbs bent down on my flies to minimize
injury to the fish. I want them to grow to keeper size! Later as the
tide came in I fished Joppa Flats. I found some very nice stripers plus
a couple of nasty blue fish. I brought five stripers to the boat that
measured between 24 and 29-inches. great fly rod action! I used a fly of
my own style made using synthetic material called Fishhair. I was broken
off by a couple of blues. A friend fishing nearby managed to land a 10
pound blue.
Bait chuckers have been doing pretty well at the
river mouth. I haven’t seen any extraordinary catches when I was in
the vicinity.
Monday, July 4th, I hosted a
grandfather, Jeff who lives in Florida, and his grandson, Jason. Jeff
and some of his other young family members had fished with me a few
years ago and had a great time. We began fishing at 7AM so that I could
get them out on Joppa Flats when the tide was approaching high because
of my experience on Sunday. They caught numerous “twinkie” stripers
on Fin-S soft baits using the light spinning gear. Jason, age 9, had
been up late the night before enjoying some 4th fireworks so
he was not his usual sharp fishing sport. However, with my help casting
for him he soon lead his granddad at 14 to 12 fish brought to the boat.
When the tide got up I took them onto Joppa flats. The big stripers were
there but not interested in eating. Josh wanted to take a break so I got
out my fly rod and did some casting. There were boils from big stripers
all around the boat at times. I connected with a relatively big fish
(compared to the twinkies) and gave the fly rod to Jeff to fight the
fish. Although not experienced in fighting a big striper using a fly
rod, he managed to get it to the boat. It measured 27 inches and weighed
about 8 pounds. Later I repeated the hook up on the fly and helped Jason
bring another 27 inch striper to the boat. It wasn’t a bad morning for
grandpa and grandson plus it was beautiful weather.
Wednesday I guided for two fly fishing gentlemen.
They fished all day. The weather had turned unpleasant with rain in the
early morning and then strong wind from the north with heavy cloud cover
and drizzle at times. We fished from the jetties back up to Joppa Flats
in the morning as the tide rose. It was slow fishing with a striper here
and there, mostly small. Joppa had some large stripers around but they
were not in a feeding mode. There were follows but no takes. In the
afternoon we tried up river where thy caught some small schoolies as we
drifted down with the out going tide. It wasn’t the best day for
getting bigger stripers but there was steady action on small schoolies.
 
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Merrimack River Report #6 June
30, 2005
Over the past weekend, in spite of hot weather and
heavy boat traffic, we got a lot of small stripers. The best action for
big fish was very, very early in the morning. At first light there was
good action for about an hour. Then the smaller fish took over on Joppa
Flats. They provided constant action on flies and spinning soft baits
but they were all under twenty inches. Sunday morning my client Rich and
his son, Kevin, enjoyed the action. After a little lesson on fly casting
and technique, Kevin caught his first stripers using the long rod.
The bluefish are invading just out from the
beaches. A surf fishing friend reported that Monday morning there were
some good blues off of High Sandy on Plum Island. For the first time in
a long while I saw some pogies in the river. There weren’t many but it
was good to see them. I hope they come back after being decimated by the
factory ships off shore over the last few years. These menhaden are an
important food source for striped bass and their presence in the area
will attract more big stripers.
The beach front has been good for surfcasters.
Visit Surfland Bait and Tackle on Plum Island to see photos of the
trophy stripers and to get all the honest, reliable advice that you
want. It should be a must stop if you want the latest reports on the
fishing around the island. Pick up some of my gurglers while you are
there. They provide great striper surface action when using a floating
line.
Tuesday I enjoyed my first day off from chartering
in a while so I went out on my own to enjoy some striper fly fishing. I
didn’t get any keepers but enjoyed fighting the feisty little ones for
about three hours. It was a beautiful fishing morning with no wind, a
mostly overcast sky, and comfortable temperature.
I had a charter scheduled for Wednesday morning but
couldn’t make the trip due to a broken throttle cable. So I can’t
update my fishing experience. However, one of my friends at the marina
went out and came back saying there were some good stripers down on the
Salisbury side, near the jetties, early morning.
I have open dates in July and August. If you are
interested in a trip call me at 978-462-9212
 
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Merrimack River Report #5 June
23, 2005
Saturday and Sunday we had an influx of big
stripers. There were lots of keepers out on the flats around the time of
high tide. They hit sand eel imitation flies as well as big mackerel
imitations. A friend caught his biggest fly rod fish on Saturday. It
measured 45-inches and weighed close to 40 pounds.
Sunday my clients fished early on the incoming
tide. The net result was a lot of the “twinkie” 10 t0 14 inch
stripers. We didn’t see a big striper all morning. It was just one of
those mornings. The wind came up and made fishing difficult.
Monday I took my clients out to catch the high tide
on Joppa. It was a very beautiful morning. It was so bright, after our
recent lousy weather, that I didn’t have high hopes. We had success
with the very small schoolies as we stared our venture. We moved around
the river down towards Plum Island with little activity. As the tide
rose we moved out onto Joppa Flats. It was clear with bright blue sky. I
was concerned because I thought the stripers would be very easily
spooked. A strong sea breeze developed from the east so that the wind
pushing against the outgoing tide produced what I call “the striper
chop”. As a result of the breezy conditions my clients enjoyed a
couple hours of spectacular striper fishing using flies and soft baits.
I hauled 6 or 7 big stripers (32-38 inches) into the boat. The fishermen
kept two; I revived and released the others. They lost an equal number
of fish during the foray. It was a memorable day for everyone!
The bluefish have shown up outside the mouth of the
river. A friend caught several snapper blues outside the jetties on
Monday morning. With the blues now in the area the live bait fishermen
are having difficulty finding mackerel.
Tuesday my clients, John and his dad, enjoyed the
early part of the trip catching a few of the small schoolies we have had
in the river this season. Later they caught and released 3 or 4 big
stripers on Joppa Flats. Those stripers made savage hits on sluggos
worked near the surface. The trip was a father’s day gift to John Sr.
It was good to see him having a good time catching fish. Both guys were
lefties so I had to reverse the handles on the light spinning reels that
they used. There were
several savage hits where the striper missed the lure or just grabbed
the tail end. The largest fish measured 33 inches and weighed 12 pounds.
Wednesday my clients, Russ from Vermont and his
friend Rich from Canada, Had a good day. It was a slow start with a
weather front moving through that caused a delayed beginning as heavy
rain and wind pushed through the area. After the weather settled we were
able to get out and fish Joppa Flats near high tide. They enjoyed some
spectacular hits on soft baits. We boated and released a couple of
stripers. One measured 36 inches and weighed 16 pounds. There were lots
of smashing hits at the lures. The fish were big.
I witnessed an angler in a nearby boat get a
thrilling hit on a surface popper. He fought a very large striper to the
boat. I think it was a fish in the mid-thirty inch size range.
The bottom line is that the big stripers continue
to move onto Joppa Flats around
the high tide. It is trophy time!
 
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Merrimack River Report #4 June
16, 2005
The striper fishing has improved dramatically if
you are thinking keeper size fish. There are still thousands of hungry,
aggressive and fast “twinkie” sized fish but we are now finding big
stripers mixed in the fray. The biggest problem has been to find a way
to get the fly or lure through the little guys to let the larger and
slower big fish have a chance to hit. Sometimes I think it is just a
lucky cast that lands near a big striper so it takes the fly before the
little ones can attack.
Fishing trips these days are filled with action
albeit most is with “twinkie “sized stripers.
On Monday my clients Bill and his son, Doug, Caught
and released about 50 small stripers but Bill had a monster on for about
fifteen minutes. I only saw the tail out of the water as it started
another run and it was the size of my two hands next to each other with
fingers spread. When it through the fly I slammed my Boga Grip on the
leaning post and made a censored exclamation. It was not good behavior
for a guide, I thought later. Fortunately Bill’s son, Doug, brought a
very hard fighting, 36-inch, 14 pound striper to the boat prior to the
end of the trip.
Our fishing was on or near Joppa flats that day. A
few of my friends were also on the water and they also caught and
released some big stripers. One was over 40-inches. We now have evidence
that the big fish are arriving in the estuary.
Tuesday the weather turned sour with a rapid drop
in temperature and strong winds from the north. My clients managed to
get a few hours of fishing between heavy rain showers. They each caught
many schoolies during their fishing time. Wednesday was a washout.
I still have open dates in July so if you are
interested give me a call at 978-452-9212.
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Merrimack River Report #3 June
10, 2005
Since my last report the fishing in the estuary
area has continued to provide rapid action with the small schoolies that
have invade the river. These small fish 12 to 14 inches all look to be
very healthy and are feeding on the local sand eels. We are also getting
some of the bigger stripers. My clients have brought 4 or 5 keepers to
the boat and quite a few mid-twenty inch fish. Every fish was revived if
necessary and released.
Just a note to you fishermen catching the small
schoolies, take a pair of pliers and bend the hook barb down. It makes
for an easy release and less harm to the fish.
Joppa Flats has been relatively quiet for the most
part but some nice sized stripers have been taken.
The most effective flies have been small
olive/white clousers or deceivers. A lot of enjoyable surface action can
be experienced with gurglers when the fish are working bait to the
surface. Sluggos in white or brown/white are working well.
I took a couple of clients outside the jetties one
day after a friend reported birds working over breaking stripers. One of
my guys caught two very hard fighting keepers measuring 31 and 33 inches
and 10 to 12 pounds. The other guy caught some smaller stripers plus 2
or 3 mackerel that hit the deceiver he was using.
Get out and enjoy the fishing when you can. I have
open dates in July.
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Merrimack River Report #2 June 2,
2005
May 23 thru the 26th was a total bust
with a couple of very strong Northeasters smashing the north shore. All
boats at my marina were forced to move up river to avoid the high winds
and extreme tidal surges. I managed to move my boat with help of a
couple of friends at the marina. The wind was howling and the waves were
3 to 4 feet. It was a harrowing experience. One 40 foot sail boat broke
from its mooring was grounded on half tide rocks where it was pounded
and later sank on Joppa Flats. By Friday everything had quieted down and
I was able to take my charter clients out on a relatively quiet morning.
We fished the upper end of Joppa Flats with very good results. They
caught and released many schoolies taken on flies and jigs. The biggest
catch was about 22 inches but on light tackle it provided a good fight.
Sunday my client from San Diego, Jonathon, enjoyed
catching many, many schoolies. They were truly small stripers, some were
only 12 inches in length. That has been the recent experience fishing
our Merrimack Estuary area. The crazy weather with low temperatures has
definitely affected the the striper fishing. The good news is that with
the tremendous abundance of small stripers, we can anticipate great
fishing in the future. Of course, that assumes that regulators don’t
change the controls on the fishery.
Monday there were lots of schoolies in the area.
Waders were collecting lots of very small stripers. The fish were only
11 to 13 inches. I haven’t seen so many small stripers for years. I t
bodes well for the years ahead if they have adequate food available. I
am concerned about the lack of baitfish that the stripers need. Menhaden
are in short supply and even mackerel are becoming scarce. A boat at my
marina went out to get some mackerel and only came back with one.
The action on Joppa Flats continued on Wednesday
with lots of small schoolies. We got a few larger fish including one
keeper.
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Merrimack River Report #1, May
21, 2005
Yes, the new striper season is underway. On Plum
Island it began the second week of the month. There were a very few
small fish reported before then by some locals on the beach and shad
fishermen further up river.
For me the first striper hit my Storm Shad Jig on
May 12. I was fishing the Parker River in Newbury. I had been trying the
area for about a week without success. It felt good to actually get my
first striper of the season. The wait had been long through a cold snowy
winter during which I passed the time tying flies and participating some
shows.
By the second weekend in May schoolie stripers were
being caught off the beach at the north end of Plum Island and at spots
on the beach front as well as the south jetty. After that the numbers of
fish caught increased. Most fish were small schoolies but increasing
numbers of larger stripers were caught last week. Soft body jigs
imitating shad produced well. Fly fishermen were connecting using
olive/white clousers.
Last Wednesday and Thursday I saw several keepers
up to about 35 inches taken on the beach. There were lots of schoolies
up river to the Chain Bridge. Joppa Flats was slow as of Friday but one
of my clients nailed a 27 inch striper using one of my epoxy sand eel
flies. After a short stay on the flats they caught many schoolies up
river.
From here on the season should just get better with
more and more big stripers arriving.
Get out and enjoy the fishing when you can!
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