By Joe Gugino
This July turned out to be a great month for striped bass in Boston Harbor and on Boston’s North Shore! There were consistent feeds in Salem Sound, particularly in and around Beverly and Salem Harbors. Most of the fish were schoolies, but there were a few keepers mixed in as well. The fish were revved up and fought extremely well.
At times, the fish were extremely picky, only hitting small surface lures with a rattle (like the bone Jumpin Minnow and the Heddon Super Spook) or small flies that looked exactly like the small sand eels the fish were feeding on.
Many fish were taken on live mackerel out in Salem Sound around the islands and deep water ledges, but most of the time we were lucky enough to experience some unbelievable top water action with countless big bass! Last month, there were times on the water when every cast produced a big fish. The lure that has by far been picking up the most fish is the 247Lures Mully in bone and pearl. The big spook worked well in both active striper feeds as well as just blind casting in open water or near the rocks as well.
Last month also marked the beginning of my first Kayak Fishing Kids Camp and it was a great success! Over the four-day camp, the kids learned how to rig their kayak and how to target mul – tiple species with different techniques. The kids were treated to some topwater striper action, jigging up mackerel and pollack, and even catching flounder and bringing it home for dinner! If you want to sign up your child, please visit www. littleharborboathouse.com for more in – formation. We have spots open for every week in August!
This month tends to be the slowest month of the year for striped bass, but we are hoping the great action from July will carry into this month. Your best bet will be to get out at first light and try us – ing either artificials or go right away for mackerel as they will start to be harder to find. However, if you’ve been wanting to give night fishing a try, that usually leads to the best opportunity to catch big fish in August. Feel free to reach out to book a night trip, any trip on the kayak or even on the stand-up paddleboard! One of my best days on the water came last month when I was able to sight fish for striped bass from the SUP – what a blast!
Please send me an email at whyknot-fishing@gmail.com to get more information about booking an awesome trip and to stay in touch with what’s happening out on the water. We will have a crew of Why Knot Fishing kayak anglers participating in the New England Kayak Fishing Striper Shootout on August 15th and 16th, in Salem, MA, and we hope to see you there! Also, stay tuned for our first annual Boston & Boston’s North Shore Fishing Tournament coming in September! I hope to see you out on the water!
FORECAST BY: Joe is a life-long fisherman, who fell in love with the sport when he moved to the North Shore and started fishing in saltwater for striped bass. After fishing from a kayak for the first time, he became even more excited about (and obsessed with) fishing. Joe is also the cofounder/co-owner of Why Knot Fishing (www.whyknotfishing.com), a community-based fishing organization. He will be running Kayak Fishing Charters and the North Shore’s first Kayak Fishing Kids camp this summer at Little Harbor Boathouse (www.littleharborboathouse.com) in Marblehead, MA.