|
MERRIMACK RIVER FISHING REPORTS
FROM CAPTAIN CHARLIE CRUE
CHANNEL EDGE CHARTERS
Report
#17 September 10, 2003
With
the advent of the hurricane that hit
Bermuda
the local fishing changed over the last week. We had very good inshore
action through Thursday. There were stripers actively feeding on the
high tides out on Joppa Flats. But, that changed as the effects of the
hurricane hit our area over the weekend. Monday I took clients out. We
hit some lively fast moving striper action in the river in the early
morning. It was of the “run and gun type”. Terns showed where the
stripers pushed bait to the surface. In a matter of minutes they were
gone only to show at another area.
Last
Friday I went on a sojourn down to the
Cape
(Woods Hole area) to try for some Albies. We should have slept in
instead of getting up at
3AM
. My friend and I fished the entire out going tide beginning at
6:30 AM
when we launched his boat. We never found any false albacore. We fished
the entire area including
Martha’s Vineyard
East Chop and West Chop as well as the Woods Hole Area. We did get a few
blue fish and one striper so, that is fishing!
I
will be venturing out tomorrow to scope the fishing as I will have
clients through the weekend. I am looking forward to some good
Merrimack
fishing. The river is loaded with bait fish including a few baby bunker,
silversides and sand eels. Can the stripers resist?
Report
#16 September 4, 2003
The
stripers continue to hold and feed in the
Merrimack
estuary. The high tides have been producing some excellent fishing. On
three successive days this past week my clients experienced the great
inshore fishing of this area. Stripers were feeding on small bait fish
so flies imitating those minnows gave good results. The strong northwest
winds drove the bait fish into the lower end of Joppa Flats. That
resulted in good striper fishing. Also, in those areas, there were days
when surface action was going on, as stripers chased the minnows to the
surface, so that poppers or sliders took some very nice fish.
The
harbor seals have returned and can be seen anywhere from the
“toothpick” to Joppa flats.
There
are no reports of football tuna in the area. Overall, the tuna catches
have been slow this year.
Labor
Day the offshore boats were getting bluefish in fifty feet of water off
of
Plum
Island
.
With
the weather and wind changes of Sunday and Monday, of the Labor Day
weekend, the Joppa fishing slowed. However, I found excellent striper
action by going to the
Parker
River
area. On Labor Day we caught and released well over a dozen stripers
there, around the high tide, most over 20-inches. The largest was about
30-inches. They were great fighters in shallow water.
The
summer is winding down but the fishing is revving up for the final blast
of the season! It is the time of some spectacular action as stripers
feed in preparation for their migration south...
|
8-28-03 Jacob's Striper
|
8-29-03 Pete's Joppa Prize
|
9-1-03 Parker River Catch
|
Report
#15 August 27, 2003
This
will be an abbreviated report because I was off of the local water much
of the past week. I did get to do some fishing out of
Mystic CT
, last Wednesday when I had the pleasure of using the new Sage Xi2 fly
rod. I spent a couple of days with fly shop owners and reps where we
learned about the new Sage fly rods, Ross Reels and
Umpqua
flies. The new Sage rod is very nice employing brand new “Generation 5
Technology”. It will be available in 4-piece, 9 foot 6 through 14 wt.
Check them out at the upcoming fly shows.
My
results with the Xi2 out on the water, with a strong breeze was, pretty
good. It is a fast rod and I could punch the fly out into the wind. I
hooked about 6 bluefish and brought half to the boat. The blues really
gave the Xi2 a test as it was bent over double many times. I also caught
and released 4 or 5 nice mid-twenty inch stripers. All fish were taken
using shrimp imitation fly (basically a clouser with brass dumbbell eyes
and pink/tan body).
This
morning I fished Joppa Flats and found pretty good action with stripers
and a few bluefish. One bluefish that hit a softbait right next to the
boat gave me a good battle with my light spinning rod. I finally got it
into the boat and had a friend in a nearby boat take
photos
before release (photo attached) it measured 33-inches and weighed about
12 pounds. Not bad! It fought well, with several spectacular jumps, in
five feet of water.
I
have dates open for September. If you want to get out and enjoy last of
the season when fishing can be spectacular, give me a call.
Report
#13 August 14, 2003
We
are well into August with weather that has been wet. The
Merrimack River
has been dark with rain water coming down stream. Surprisingly we have
been enjoying some very good striper action. It has been like early
season fishing where schoolie stripers attack flies with abandon and
fight like crazy. On several outings I have had stripers hit flies on
almost every cast. Most of the good fishing has been in the river on
both incoming and outgoing tides. Besides stripers, there have been some
blue fish. Stripers are feeding on sand eels so flies that imitate that
bait are working best. Olive/white clousers, deceivers or epoxy flies
are effective.
We
tried Joppa Flats a couple times around the high tide but with little
success although the stripers have been out there in big numbers.
There
has not been much bird activity. I did see one group of terns working a
small pod bait. I cast a soft bait into the melee and immediately had a
nice hit by a 25-inch schoolie.
Shore
fishing has been reported to be slow. The report has been substantiated
by the lack of bait chunkers on the beach. Big stripers have been in
short supply in the inshore water.
I
hauled the boat out early this week for engine maintenance and to clean
the hull along the water line. It went back in this morning. Of course I
spent some time fishing and I was rewarded with many stripers and a few
bluefish near #15 buoy. They took flies and soft baits. My fish finder
showed fish stacked in the area. Most fish were in the 18 to 15-inch
range and had lots of fight. I took a few stripers on the surface with
sluggos. I was surprised at the good fishing when I noticed the surface
water temperature was 77 degrees.
The
weather pattern is going to change over the next day or two so I expect
the fishing will change. Maybe we will see more surface activity.
Report #12 August 6, 2003
Weather
has again affected the inshore fishing. Since Friday, August 1,
conditions have been poor for fishermen and fishing has been slower than
I like. However the ardent anglers have been catching. Friday morning
was tough on fishermen (and guides) with a cold north wind and fog
followed by heavy rain. My clients were game fishermen and caught a few
schoolies but lost a really big striper just as it was fought to boat
side. It looked to be well above the legal size limit.
Sunday
I enjoyed guiding for a couple novice saltwater fly fishers. After some
instruction in using the saltwater fly gear they each caught some
schoolies and enjoyed the experience – they will be back! It is always
a pleasure for me to introduce anglers to our great saltwater fly
fishing.
I
had a couple days off early this week and with the weather (rain and
fog) I was glad to stay off the water. This morning the weather was
great with lower humidity pleasant temperature so I decided to check the
inshore striper fishing. I began on the high tide out on Joppa where I
found lots of big stripers. They were easily spooked but I managed to
get a nice fat 30-incher to hit a soft bait on the surface. It was a fun
battle with my light spinning rod. Later I fished down near buoy #11
where I caught and released half dozen stripers on flies and light spin
gear including a healthy 25-inch striper on an olive/white clouser. When
the action slowed I went back up the river to the AYC mooring area. I
saw a tight bunch of terns diving into the water. I got a hit on my
first cast (20-inch schoolie). I switched over to the fly rod and had
hits on almost every cast for over an hour. They were mostly schoolies
but I did get one surprise, another 30-inch striper that fought hard
taking line into the backing on my fly reel. It was a very enjoyable
morning of striper fishing!
Report
#11 July 30, 2003
This
area has been experiencing some wild water temperature extremes that
have had a definite impact on the fishing. Water temperatures, measured
at the surface have ranged from about 49 degrees to 68 degrees depending
on which side of the tide you happen to be in. There were corresponding
differences in the air temperatures in the same area. The result of
these conditions was that find feeding stripers were very difficult to
find. Even the bait fishing charter boats were skunked. On incoming
tides terns could be seen diving into the water to get sand eels. The
river was full of eels. It looked like it should be good striper fishing
but the only threat to the sand eels, from under the water, were
cormorants. The stripers were not there. Occasionally we found stripers
down deep and caught them by dragging flies or lures along the bottom.
I
had one totally dead morning this past week where I could not find
feeding fish anywhere. It was my first skunked trip of the season (I
will take the angler out again free on a date of his choosing). A couple
days after that trip I guided for clients that did fairly well in spite
of the conditions. They caught stripers and a couple of blues and
enjoyed fighting a couple big fish. Conditions were improving.
This
morning I had a “captain’s day off” so I went out to enjoy some
casual fishing and to enjoy the great weather out on the water. The
striper fishing has definitely improved. I caught and released about a
dozen plus one bluefish. The two largest stripers worked my new Sage TCR
8 WT rod pretty hard. They were just shy of keepers. I met a couple
friends heading to their marina to go to work. They reported a good
morning with several legal sized stripers which they released. The water
temperature was more normal than last week.
Report #10 July 23, 2003
There
has been a migration of new stripers into the Merrimack River Estuary.
Last week only blues and small schoolies could be found but over the
last few days some keepers have been caught with the telltale
indicators, sea lice, meaning fish fresh from the ocean.
On
Sunday one of my clients connected with one of those fish. I spotted a
tight bunch of terns and breaking fish. I ran the boat over and had
everyone cast. One of the fishermen connected with a solid hit. The fish
was big based upon the singing drag of the spin reel. After some
exciting runs the striper came to the boat, a nice 30-inch keeper. After
that action they were gone.
Offshore
the dog fish are spoiling efforts of the bait fishermen. A few tuna have
been caught according to what I have been told.
Later
this week we found lots of schoolies in the river. They were holding
deep along the north side of the channel. They were very selective as to
what flies they would take. A small (#1 hook) green/white clouser tied
with fish fur worked pretty well. The blue fish seem to have moved off
as we have not taken any inshore over the last few days.
|
Fresh Merrimack Striper
|
Merrimack Blues
|
Report #7 June 25, 2003
I
t is Wednesday afternoon and I just returned from guiding for two very
nice clients. Dick and carol have been out with me many times. I always
enjoy their enthusiasm and enjoyment of our
Merrimack River
fishery. Today we took on the wily Joppa stripers on the high tide. They
were out there in great numbers but in one of their frustratingly
disinterested moods. Fish could be seen all boiling to the surface all
over the area. It was our first very warm morning on the water and
bright and clear. Dick and carol gamely tried for over two hours with
all types of flies while I chimed in with some casts of sluggos and a
few plugs. The net result was a few schoolies. We finally decided to
give it up and went down river near plum
Island
where we found terns diving as hordes of schoolies chased what were
probably sand eels. Carol enjoys top water action with poppers so it was
fine. Dick brought many to the boat side with an inverted clouser
(olive/white) that I gave him.
As
for the fishing prior to today, since last Wednesday, we enjoyed some
very good striper action plus one blue fish and one shad. The weather
was wet and very cool but the fishing was hot. Joppa flats produced many
keeper sized stripers. I am attaching some photos of the nice catches.
Some were caught with flies and some were caught using light spinning
gear.
|
Jeff C with a nice catch
|
Pete F and 32 incher
|
Jeremy's 29 incher
|
|
Rita's fly rod catch
|
Chris B's Joppa prize
|
Report #5
June 11, 2003
Last
week I hosted a fine group of guys that get together each year for some
fishing and camaraderie. They came from
Idaho
,
Colorado
,
Virginia
and other states including our own. It was an enjoyable three days for
me, as their guide, and for them, some having their first exposure to
our wonderful striped bass fishery here on the
Merrimack River
. The first day of fishing they kept two legal stripers, which I
filleted so they could take them to the chef at Stripers Grill for
dinner that evening. They were the only two fish that we killed out of
several keepers that they caught over the three days. (Photos) Each
evening, over dinner, after a day of fishing they had lively debates
about which angler did best. I think the overall winner was Noel, the
guy of Irish extraction, who managed to get several large fish to the
boat without being pulled overboard.
Gary
caught his personal largest striper on a fly on Saturday morning; it
measured about 30-inches.
During
the three days we had one very interesting catch and release. Noel (the
Irish fellow) thought he hooked a fish but as he reeled in we observed
that he had snagged a line. I went over to free up his lure but felt a
strong tug on the line in my hand. I pulled on it more and felt the
unmistakable pulsation of a fish. The harder I pulled, the harder it
pulled back. Fortunately I was wearing my light canvas gloves and began
a hand over hand struggle with the fish. I let line slip out when I felt
strong surges and gained line during slack periods. To make a long story
short, I finally got the fish close enough to see that it was a nice big
striper. I got it to the side of the boat and brought it aboard. It was
a reel nice striper measuring 32-inches, with a circle hook in the side
of its mouth. I removed the hook and took a photo before the release
Sunday
my clients, George, Chenson and his son, Nicholas, enjoyed some good
striper action with a mix of schoolies and some big fish. The action
continued to be good on Monday when I guided for Tom, his daughter Liz,
and friend Rick. Rick ended the morning by catching a 37-inch, 17 pound
striper on a small olive/white clouser.
After
a day off the water to have my new Honda 130 in for its 20 hour check, I
hosted Bill and his friend Regis. We found some large stripers out on
Joppa Flats.
On
other fronts, I heard of a 37 pound striper taken at the river mouth on
a drifted dead herring. Mackerel are being caught around breaking rock
up the coast. There are many reports of large stripers in the area.
The
weather continues to be less than comfortable for fishermen but we
don’t care as long as we can get out and enjoy our great sport!
Bill Stookey with Keeper |
Noel Brown & Catch |
Charlie Crue's hand lined striper |
Tom's Biggest Fish Ever |
Chenson and Nicholas |
Gary Dunbar's Best Fly Catch |
Report #4, June 4, 2003
|
Although
the weather has not been that good, our migrating stripers have
been making up for it. My charter clients and I have been having
a great time. Stripers continue to feed in our estuary area of
the
Merrimack River
.
Sometimes
we do well in areas further up the river from
Newburyport
. This has been a blessing when the weather is rough in the area
around
Plum
Island
. On May 22 my clients Paul and Jack enjoyed some good striper
fishing. They came down from southern
Maine
to get some fishing in prior to the stripers getting up to their
area. Paul caught a nice 26-inch fish. (Photo) They both enjoyed
catching and releasing many striped bass.
On
an off day, May 30, I enjoyed catching lots of stripers,
including a 30-inch fighter. In fact I lost a couple big fish
that morning near the mouth of the river. (Photo)
Saturday,
May 31, my clients enjoyed catching and releasing some big
stripers as well as many small ones. (photos)
Local
reports are that there are lots of small stripers. I like to
hear that because such fish are the future (if we don’t kill
them off before they turn into mature fish). Personally, I
support making these magnificent fish sport fish only. That
would mean no commercialization. It is my personal view. After
some years of less killing of minimum legal size fish the
situation could be re-evaluated. My goal is to preserve the
fishery for those anglers who will follow us old timers.
Sunday,
June 1, was a nor’easter, so no fishing. I postponed my
charter. Monday I was at
Hudson
’s Outboards helping out with tackle sales.
Tuesday
I had an afternoon charter with a couple of guys who had a
business meeting in
Boston
in the morning and wanted to try our
Merrimack
striper fishing in the afternoon. They were rewarded with the
Merrimack Spectacular! Many, many, stripers ranging from the
mid-size schoolies to hard fighting 30 plus inch fish were
caught on flies. They had a very pleasurable experience as they
were able to prevail with the fly rods in a stiff south west
breeze. It was a great late afternoon, early evening fishing
trip. My custom flies worked very well and that gives me
personal gratification in that my years of experience are paying
off. (photos)
|
Capt Charlie Crue and 30-inch striper
|
Don Luken's prize
|
Johon Tehan's keeper
|
|
Report #3 May 28, 2003
There
is no doubting that the striped bass have arrived in the Merrimack River
Estuary area. They can be found in almost anywhere as they follow the
bait, sometimes driving the schools of frantic minnows (sand eels, baby
smelt or silversides) to the surface. In spite of the lousy weather
fishermen are catching stripers ranging from “micros” (14-inch) to
small keeper size (28 to 33-inches). They are being caught from the
beaches, the river banks and boats. Lures and flies are working well.
For flies the preferred colors are olive/white, white, chartreuse/white
and various other clouser and deceiver combinations. The spin guys are
doing well with swimming and surface lures as well as jigs and softbaits.
A spin fisherman who stopped into Hudson’s Fishing & Boating
Center, where I have been spending time helping out with the fly and
other tackle sales, reported that he did very well on stripers casting a
Sara Spook.
Thus
far I have not had any reports of bruiser size stripers but they can be
expected to show up any day.
Many
of my charter trips have been going up the river to the between the
Route 1 and Route 95 bridges around the high tide. My clients have
enjoyed catching many stripers with usually at least one large enough to
be very close or above keeper size, although all were released. I
continue to use flies and lures with bent down barbs on the hooks.
Tuesday
morning my client and I found a large school of stripers smashing
minnows at the edge of the channel just across from my marina. Richard
is an experience trout fly fisherman but had not caught a striper on a
fly until then. He caught and released so many stripers that he is now
“experienced”. His largest very hard fighting striper measured just
over 28-inches (photo).
Richard's Striper
Report #2 May 21, 2003
News!!
The striped bass have invaded the
Merrimack River
! Stripers have arrived hungry and very actively chasing sand eels and
anything else that looks like food.
Last
week we had some striper action for short periods but now the stripers can
be found on any tide in large schools. Today they were attracting the
attention of terns as they drove the small bait to the surface. As for
what to use, for fly or lure, it goes like this: flies of white,
chartreuse/white, olive/white are popular with these fresh marauders from
the open sea. For lures, soft baits like sluggos or fin-s will do the
trick.
The
fish today ranged in size from little 14-inch bantams to 30 to 34-inch
middle weights. They were chasing the bait everywhere. In the morning with
the outgoing tide they were along the channel between the #15 and #13
buoys. On the incoming afternoon tide they were active between the #11 and
#13 buoys.
Today
just after the low mid-day tide we found stripers hitting hard near the
toothpick and most of the fish were larger schoolies twenty inches or
more.
On
our way back to the slip at the marina this evening my exhausted clients
and I passed through schools of feeding bass.
  
Brian Ott
Gary
Dunbar
Len Bain
Report
#1 May 15, 2003
My new boat, Reel Time
III, was launched today and christened by all three anglers (including
me) by catching lots of eager stripers. Len caught the largest with an
olive/white clouser. The surface water temperature was 56 deg F.
The new season is
underway!!
  
Reel Time
III
Springtime
Striper
Capt. Charlie Crue
|
