Matt Zimmerman with a beautiful steelhead caught in Upstate New York
By Joe Gugino
The first cold snap of the year has come, and that has effectively brought end to the inshore saltwater fishing season here on Boston’s North Shore. What looked like a non-existent fall run exploded on Columbus Day Weekend, and for the next week straight there were non-stop blitzes from Boston Harbor, North to Beverly. There was a ton of bait from mackerel, to adult and juvenile menhaden and the stripers were attacking the bait all week long sometimes in just 6 inches of water! It was a great end to a great 2015 season.
Joe’s personal best and tournament-winning striper on the fly!
Some of the highlights this year were for me were catching my personal best striped bass on the North Shore at 45-inches, my personal best striped bass on the fly at 36-inches, and winning the NEKF Striper Shootout Fly Fishing division. We also had a very successful season of Kayak Fishing Charters and events at Little Harbor Boathouse including bi-weekly Kayak Fishing Meet-Ups, a Take A Kid Fishing event on Father’s Day, and many charters with anglers catching their first ever striped bass from the kayak!
My favorite event of the season was Why Knot Fishing’s First Annual Fall Run Striper Classic. This Catch and Release only tournament featured division for fly fishermen and spin fishermen from both shore and boat. We had over 50 anglers compete and every angler not only had a great time, but left with a captain’s bag full of great gear as well as at least one raffle prize.
Just because the inshore season has come to a close, doesn’t mean that there isn’t any fishing to be had. The bluefin tuna bite has been hot! If you have the opportunity to get a charter on a good weather day over the next month, take it! With tuna fishing nothing is ever guaranteed, but you have a great shot at it!
Although I will definitely jump at any opportunity to get out tuna fishing, I am personally looking forward to getting to Upstate New York to fish for large brown trout, lake trout and steelhead on the fly! A few years a good friend finally convinced me to take the long trip up North, and ever since I have been hooked! My first love will always be topwater fishing for stripers, but catching a big trout in a small stream is a blast as well!
It is always sad to see another season come to a close, but I hope you had a great season! And if you are looking to stay in touch with fishing over the long winter season here in New England I encourage you to follow Why Knot Fishing on all social media outlets, and check out our website to see when our next events will be!
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 co-founder/co-owner of Why Knot Fishing, a community-based fishing organization. He runs Kayak Fishing Charters at Little Harbor Boathouse in Marblehead, MA.