By Joe Gugino
Overall, August was the toughest month of the year so far in Boston and Boston’s North Shore in terms of striped bass. That’s not to say that fish weren’t caught, but they just weren’t nabbed as consistently as they had been in previous months. And even though the bass bite was a little slower than usual, there was a week or so when the bluefish were thick and provided non-stop action from top water, to swimming lures and on the fly as well!
Joe is pictured with his tournament-winning fish!
The feeds in front of the Beverly and Salem harbors remained consistent with most fish falling for the fly, versus the conventional lures. There continued to be a lot of bait in both harbors. This held the fish around, and finally attracted some bigger fish. In addition to this, as predicted last month, the biggest fish were caught at nighttime.
During the New England Kayak Fishing Striper Shootout (held on Winter Island from August 14th-16th), there were some huge fish caught! I was competing in the fly-fishing-only division of the tournament, and I caught my personal best at nighttime: a 37-inch fish, which won me first place. Another fellow Hobie Fishing Team member, Eric Harrison, caught a 46-inch fish to win the artificial division of the tournament. And a Hobie Fishing Team member from New York, Elias Vaisberg, caught his personal best (and a tournament record), a 51-inch fish from his kayak. This won him the open division of the tournament!
First place winners from each category of the NEKF tournament are Eric Harrison, Elias Vaisberg and Joe Gugino.
September should be the best month out of the year! With all the bait in the area, and as the striped bass begin to fatten up for their long migration south, we are primed for a strong fall run. I highly suggest that you always keep a rod in your car, one rigged up with a lure that you can cast far from shore. You never know when you will be driving by and see fish blitzing just within range. Make sure to take every possible opportunity to get out, as the fishing can be hot and heavy for a few days, but then calm down as we have different waves of fish moving through the area.
If you have wanted to get out on a kayak, now is a great time to buy your own at Little Harbor Boathouse in Marblehead, MA. There are some unbelievable end-of-the season deals on this year’s models, and you can already purchase the new 2016 models as well! Also, mark your calendars for next weekend (Friday, September 18th – Saturday, September 19th) for Why Knot Fishing’s first Annual Fall Run Striper Classic. It will be a catch and release tournament with shore, kayak and boat divisions for both spin and kayak anglers. Go to Why Knot Fishing‘s website to learn more about the tournament!
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 will be running Kayak Fishing Charters and the North Shore’s first Kayak Fishing Kids camp this summer at Little Harbor Boathouse in Marblehead, MA.