Whether it is a buck tail jig or a soft plastic jig all you need to know is how to get jiggy with it. Yesterday am we got a few reports in from some regulars. Bob Smith made his way around the island and told us that he got up early hit the oceanfront for a few minutes, but it was still a bit dirty/weedy as it was the night before when he was down at sunset. Then Bob hit the river for the bottom of the outgoing tide and got about 7 fish up to the 24″ range. Bob loves a buck tail in the river. Now Bob is in the shop  eating a muffin just having come back from fishing parking lot 1 on the PRWR. He got 4 fish on a Charlie Graves metal lure before heading back in . Tons of fish, but what Bob didn’t like about the beach this am is that there is a good size drop off at the high tide mark and unless you are wearing boots, waders, or some kind of water protection gear you end up having to bring the fish further up on the sand than you really want to unhook and get it back into the water without getting soaked. So he left.

Mike Parent was around the island yesterday and came in after the low tide to give us a report. He did well, catching about 20 fish in the 18″-23″ range all on a soft plastic paddle tail. So when your jig looks like this after fishing you know it was a good day.

Here are a few pictures from this weeks fishing by Greg, Julian, and Sean

5/13 WEEKEND REPORT

Bill Donoghue sent us in some pictures of Molly & Will Donoghue fishing Saturday. He sent us this report:

Molly Donoghue 1-flounder and 1 striper. Will Donoghue 1 striper. We had a few more schoolies as well. All out front on worms. The kids where very excited to come to plum. My oldest boy was excited to get his surfland sticker on his new car!                                                                                              

Tight lines Bill Donoghue                                      

Other reports and information we gathered from the weekend had fish being caught everywhere.

At low tide on Saturday at the “point” in the Merrimack (we call the beach to the right of Captain’s Fishing Parties the “point”), most fish were caught on seaworms.  On Sunday, most fish were caught with white paddletail jigs.  Saltwater 4″ Bass Assassin’s, Savage Real Pearl Sandeel Jigs, and Al Gag’s Whip-It Fish were all productive.  Biggest fish was 29″.  Today, starting around 10AM, fishermen were coming in to grab more stock saying that there were lots of fish being caught at the point all morning.   Even some fly fishermen were out there over the past few days catching fish. 

Shad at Rock’s Village Bridge had been productive and then a few slow days last Thursday and Friday.  But it has picked back up again over the weekend.   Flutterspoons, darts, and some flies are being utilized to catch the shad.

Haven’t heard of mackerel yet in the area, but they are in Boston and Gloucester Harbors. 

What a day! The morning started out a little breezy but settled later on in the am. We had an excellent day with St. Croix and Penn. To those who made it thanks for coming. For those that helped us thanks for helping! We had such a good time that we just may make this a yearly event!!!

We actually have a few tees left and will continue the giveaway to anyone that buys a St. Croix rod (mojo series and up) and/or Penn reel ( Conflict series and up) while supplies last.

And lastly, a big shout out to Jay and Fred our reps for bringing the product and, sharing your knowledge, and making the day what it was.

Lots and lots of fish around this weekend. We haven’t had anybody tell us they got skunked. It was a busy day on Plum Island yesterday what with our Demo Day and then Plum Fest kicking in for the afternoon you were lucky if you were able to grab a place to park and fish unless you were down fishing in the am or after 6. Just plain CRAZY here!

 And the river produced fish both days for low tide. Tim Crow sent us these photos of his daughter on Saturday. They had a lot of action at the river.

Who needs Game of Thrones season finale when you have this guy. Look at him! John has done well at the southern end of the island on small fish, but now the bigger fish are arriving and he’s catching those too! What a great picture John, thanks for sending.

Other reports were from Brendan & Allie who fished the front beach last night and did well on sea worms. Mostly small fish, but they were plentiful. This mornings low tide at the mouth of the Merrimac again produced a lot of small fish. This weeks low tides in the am make either mouth of the river prime fishing destinations.

See you in the am!

Hi Guys,

Fished outgoing until incoming until finally able to land this keeper, lots of fish around all day long right up until I left.

J.H

What a crazy week with all the wind we have been getting in the area. Some days were hard to fish the mouth of the Merrimac River so a lot of people fished the oceanfront or the southern end of the island. But the fish still were biting. Overall despite the wind it has been a good week of fishing Plum Island and the surrounding area. Yesterday we had a few people that did very well on the oceanfront just up from the store on bait. Worms and clams have been the bait of choice so far.

This week has been great for fishing the low tides in the mouth of the river. On the days that there wasn’t a wind issue the bite was hot hot hot. Many fishermen came back to tell us they caught well over 2 dozen fish on soft plastics, buck tail jigs, and even a few metals are coming into play.

Tom Barnes came over the dunes the other day at about 5:30 am. The birds were working the water, diving for bait fish and creating a little frenzy. Tom threw on a bucktail jig, but just couldn’t get them to bite on it. Tom dug into his bag and came up with an old Sluggo. He used that, caught about 20 fish in the 15″-24″ range. The sluggo kept ripping, kept getting shorter every time he reattached tot he jig head, but it kept catching fish and that was just fine!

But anyways, the weekend looks brighter and less windy so we will see you on the island!

Not sure how many of you know this but our dad, Ray was a veteran. And a lot of our customers are veterans. In honor of him, our customers, and to all those that serve (past, present, and future) ………………….Thank You!

What better way to spend a holiday weekend than to find a quiet space on the beach and fish the day away. Quiet? This island has been crazy this weekend. But overall the fishing has been fantastic! This past week a lot of action was in the mouth of the river because of low tide being in the am, now as they say the tide has turned! We are seeing a lot more action on the oceanfront and finally Joppa. Lots of reports coming in from people on the water this morning. Joppa is heating up!

The beachfront has seen a lot of schoolies in the 18″-24″ range. Our friend Adam Ledger was kind enough to send us a couple of pictures from Sunday:

“Hey Surfland crew!!! I came up this weekend with a co-worker, Adam Vazquez from Fitchburg. It was his first time at Plum Island. He caught 5 Stripers with the biggest being 23”!!! He had a blast!!! Looking forward to heading back up soon!!! Happy Memorial Day!!! “

Not only Joppa, but the Parker River, Plum Island Sound, and all the little ins and outs of that area will see increased activity this week. Eric Roach brought his dad out fishing in the Parker and Jim caught a beautiful striper from the shore inside the river. Congrats Jim! Unfortunately unless you know someone, are a town resident, or have a water vehicle of some sorts it is hard to fish inside these areas, but for those of you that do have access……….go get ’em!!!

ENJOY THE DAY!!!

JOPPA FLATS

Finally are hearing about some action in Joppa Flats this past week. With high tide being mid to late morning the action picked up for most. Baits of choice have been some top water, soft plastics, and of course the infamous tube-n-worm.  And with all the gloomy weather chartreuse is another color option that should be in your arsenal.

Mouth of the Merrimac River

The mouth has definitely been a hit or miss adventure this past week. Have had many a fisherman tell us how great they did one day and then skunked the next. So the past week was a roll of the dice when it came to the mouth of the river until yesterday. The river exploded at low tide and the bite lasted for a good two hours. Many of the guys reported catching well over 20 fish with most being in the 24″-26″ range. Hopefully the trend continues at the mouth this week.

Up the Merrimac River

The one place we do know that has seen larger fish is up the river all the way into Lawrence. The fish are chasing the herring up to gorge themselves of the tasty little things. Popular choices for upriver are big top water lures and again soft plastics. Try to mimic the bait in any situation.

Elsewhere

The oceanfront this past week was also a hit or miss. Had a few guys out Saturday am walking the beach but came back saying they didn’t do anything.

Have also heard of some big fish moving their way up the Parker River. Some of the guys there tried to get them to bite, but said the fish weren’t interested. They must love those herring!

Flounder bite has been slow. Have had no reports from anywhere on that. Sorry.

The mackerel situation

Cannot tell you how many people call daily and ask if we have fresh mackerel. Very sorry that we have to keep saying no, just frozen. All of our suppliers go out with hope and expectations but come up short. Maybe it is all the fresh water pouring out of the Merrimac that is keeping the mackerel at bay. But whatever is keeping them way offshore we are hoping that it turns around soon. We are trying our best to get a hold of some!

Nao Santa Maria

But while you are in the area fishing you might as well stop downtown Newburyport and check out the Nao Santa Maria, a 200-ton replica of the famed Christopher Columbus sailing vessel. It is here for the week and cool to see!

John Szostak and Haley Lavigne came to Plum Island this am about 10:30. They got some worms and headed out to fish the high tide on the oceanfront on the Parker River Wildlife Refuge. They had a fun day fishing catching small bass on worms. Hours later and it is now the middle of the outgoing tide when usually nothing much happens. The water is fairly shallow on this section of beach and John happened to notice some good sized shapes moving through the water. Big bass were running the beach. He put on a Daiwa SP minnow in a green mackerel pattern that he had with him and started casting out into the school. Bam! They started hitting the lure. John got a 30.5″ that he released back into the water. Bam! Next one was a 45″, 29-12lbs, that he decided to keep and eat. Good thing John caught sight of the school coming at them because they were thinking of leaving at the point. So again, you just never know when the fish might show up! And on this crazy windy island day!

Monn and Landon Chhouy from Lowell came down to fish the southern end of the island tonight for the low tide. This father and son team came in, got some mackerel and no sooner did they get their line into the water the fish started to bite. We definitely have a new school, a bigger school of fish that have moved in. This fish weighed in at 27-2lbs and measured out at 42.5″.  A few other fish were also caught but these were all in and around the 27″ range.

We have seen the arrival of the “micro bass” into the area more this week. Those little guys are hungry and we have had many reports that they are feisty and put up a little fight on light tackle. They have been gobbling up worms and clams by the pound. We had a few groups of fishermen that stayed out all night or a better part of it to wait for the early am high tide. A lot of these guys did really well. Had one group report catching well over a hundred fish that night. All little guys, but they had fun!

We have had reports of some big bass being taken further out into the mouth towards and on the jetties this week. We personally didn’t see any, but others were coming in speaking of seeing someone catching a good sized bass.

What we do have is a small report from John Healy who got some worms early this am and hit the southern end of the island today. Nice shirt John!!!

Joppa is  pretty hot. There were lots of boats out there this weekend catching some fish. Popular baits and lures on Joppa are Sluggo’s and other soft plastics, walk the dog lures like the Rebel Jumpin Minnow and other spook style lures. A new one for Joppa but not for us around the island is the Daiwa SP  Minnow that is now making a name for itself in Joppa. It has done quite well this past week. And of course one cannot forget about the Tube-n-Worm. Always a popular choice in Joppa Flats.

Plum Island Sound has a lot of “just under keeper” fish. This is pretty much a watercraft fishing area, unless you get a parking spot at Sandy Point and walk around the backside or get access over on the Ipswich side. Same baits that are popular in Joppa are popular here. Also we see a lot of top water lures used in this area at daybreak and sunset. And soft plastics are popular almost any time of day.

Flounder: wish oh wish we had more to say on this matter, but have only heard of one here or there from the surf. The boat guys are fairing a bit better but not much. Gloucester is reportedly hot for flounder so hopefully they are making their way north and we will see more in the coming days.

Mackerel: Very spotty! They are around but not in the numbers we have seen in the past. Just don’t have the boat guys getting any big numbers so we haven’t had fresh mackerel since earlier in the week. Hopefully that also changes this week.

So there you have it. It is a mixed bag of sizes swimming around so get out and enjoy the day!

It certainly has been a busy week here on the island. There are tons of the “micro” schoolies around giving a lot of people some fun action on light tackle. Last night exploded along the oceanfront with people returning for more bait.  Sea worms were king last night as fishermen reported catching fish after fish on them.  Nothing keeper size but lots of schoolies.

Captain Reilly McCue reported to us that he has been having good luck in Joppa Flats catching a lot of stripers. Nothing of great size, but a lot of fish! Some of his favorites are the Cotton Cordell Pencil Popper, the new Hogy popper, Rebel Jumping Minnow, Daiwa SP Minnow, and the Yozuri Hydro Pencil………….all in bone!

This past week, the menhaden have started to show up.  We call them pogies or bunker.  One of our local boat guys called to let us know that he snagged some in the Plum Island Sound but couldn’t find  stripers big enough to eat them.  The bait fish are also around the Merrimack.  Hopefully, the big fish will be coming in to gobble them up. 

Mackerel have been scarce.  Catching them locally has been tough.  One day there are some to be had, the next day there are none.  We have been taking trips to Boston to get some frozen packs.  Fresh herring has been nonexistent also.   

We have been hearing of some flounder fishing going on.  The boat fishermen have been picking them up just inside the Merrimack and by the jetties, inside the Plum Island Sound,  as well as the 30 foot line along the oceanfront.   We have heard of only a couple caught off the shore

The Get Outside Event the happened on the PRWR was a success yesterday. Many families showed up to participate in activities that were happening down there. The Plum Island Surfcasters had some members down on the beach helping with the fishing part of the event.  

Side Note: Anyone loose a watch? This was found outside the shop and we will be holding it for the rightful owner.

This week has either seen some bigger fish move into the area or bigger fish get more active. A lot of fishermen from the boats telling us while they are catching schoolies they can see the big ones under them and it is frustrating!

This past Saturday our own Nick took his friend Chris Thoreson out on his boat to go fishing. They went upriver past the Rt 1 bridge to fish the waters midmorning during an incoming tide. Using top water spooks they caught some fish. This one here is a 29 1/2″ that Chris caught during their trip.

The past few days has also seen the activity increase along the oceanfront. Monday Bob Nardone came in with this fish that was going home for dinner.

Last night we had a very excited fisherman come in just before closing. Ron Burns from Newbury has been trying a long long time to catch a legal bass. His wait was over. Ron caught this 41″, 19-8 lb fish along the oceanfront on clams. He was fishing the low tide along the oceanfront (we tell you sometimes tide doesn’t matter along the oceanfront!) and when the tide changed and started moving again the fish hit the clams.

This morning Craig weighed in another fish that was caught at the bottom of the outgoing tide. Mike Top came in with this fish that he caught from the surf using mackerel. Another oceanfront fish caught at the bottom of the tide.

In closing of this post we would like to say something. We hear a lot of comments about why do we still take pictures, why do we not promote catch & release, why, why, why. Let us set the record straight. We do promote catch & release. More than anyone our mother Kay and co-founder  had no problem preaching to fishermen about how to handle a fish they were not going to keep. How to cradle a fish, not hang it to weigh it (main reason we do not sell scales anymore) not to take it out of the water if you can, even not to take pictures. The number of photos we take of fish being weighed in is down to a few per year. But as long as the rules are being followed and someone wants to keep a fish to eat (or if the fish will not survive) we will continue to give them a picture. Are we to assume that if we stop taking pictures, people stop keeping fish?

Well it was a great morning for me having this girl come in to weigh in her fish. She got up before the crack of dawn and headed out in her kayak because the tide was oh so right for Joppa Flats and landed this fish using the good old tube-n-worm. Maria’s husband and two sons are avid fishermen (with slightly enlarged heads…sorry boys) so whenever we get the chance to make this lady shine we do! High tide is the right tide to fish in and around Joppa Flats and the next few days with the sunrise/early am tides and the early evening tides should produce some nice fish for those that can get up and make it out on the water!

Next up is none other than one of Kay’s granddaughters!!! Rebecca went out on the boat Sunday night with her husband Zach and Andy Kelly from Parker River Marina late Sunday night into the wee hours of Monday and got herself a 42″ that she caught all on her own. Congrats and enjoy the striper nuggets you all like so much!

Okay, well I guess we now have to get a few guys up on the board. On Friday 6/21 Steve LeBlanc came in with from fishing parking lot 1 on the PRWR to weigh in his 12lb fish. Steve fished the top of the incoming tide that day and caught this fish about 1pm on chunk mackerel. Now that we have mackerel in the area people are starting to use it more.

Then on 6/23 Jonathan Kevlik from Derry NH came in to weigh his 32″, 8-4 lb striper that was caught off the jetties during the top of the incoming tide. This was the only fish caught by this father/son team, but they did see a few others catch fish.

So what are you doing on this rainy Tuesday during tonight high tide? Go fishing!!! The fish don’t mind they’re already wet! LOL

Sure has been a foggy misty morning weeks worth of weather around here. But that hasn’t stopped people from heading out to the beach and even some in their boats. This weeks high tides made for some great boat fishing.  Boats have been catching stripers all the way up to Deer Island and Carr Island. 

Here is 11 year old Luke Aham showing a keeper striper who’s boss! Fishing the incoming tide in the Parker River, Luke threw Rebel Jumpin’ Minnows all morning. Fish were all between 22 and 30″. What form this kid has!

Mackerel are finally in the area. Breaking Rock, Hampton Shoal Ledge, and Speckled Apron seem to be the spots if you are interested in catching some and then live lining them for stripers.

Pogies (a.k.a. Menhaden or Bunker) are also in the area. Mike Parent reported to us that they were just offshore out of reach of his casting ability. But if you have a boat just head south out of the mouth of the Merrimac and you pretty much can’t miss them. Also a popular live lining bait for stripers.

Again, what flounder we are hearing about has been all from the boat. Outside the mouth, along the southern end of the island and along Crane’s Beach are popular spots.

Good thing the mackerel are now around. Because big bass love them! Bob Bissett just showed up this morning with this whopper that he caught live lining mackerel around the mouth of the Merrimac area. Bob was fishing the low tide through the turn when this fish hit his mackerel. Other than this one fish though he had one other strike and that was it.

Our little Nicki went out last night with his friend Chris Thoreson to fish Joppa for the high tide. Nick took some eels after work and headed out. They did well catching about 6 fish in the 20″-26″ range. He said some kayak guys got into bigger fish ranging in sizes 33″-42″.

It has been a quiet morning on the island here as far as fish go. One fisherman in reported doing nothing at all the places he went to. Some days are just like that, don’t know why.

But last night was a different story.  Clayton was down with some friends and they did okay along the oceanfront. This seems to be one of the better places this past week.

Whatever you call them they are back again this year. Fields and fields of pogies everywhere out front along Plum Island Beach as well as north and south. Fishermen are just bouncing around from one to another chasing the illusive striper. When pogies are around good luck catching a bass. From what we have been told, you are pretty lucky to catch a bass on a snagged pogie. There are so many pogies that some of the schools have stripers underneath them and other schools do not. Some guys tell us they can see the big bass under the pogies others say there is nothing.

But if you are AJ Drivas or on his boat chances are pretty good that you will catch a striper or two. Here’s a photo of Jake Glebocki from New Jersey visiting Aj Drivas from plum island. He hooked up to a 39 lb striped bass feeding on pogies. They caught several fish ranging from 30 -39lbs.  They were also lucky enough to watch a few tuna cahse the pogies around for a few minutes. It is a wonder out there.

Yesterday Jose Rosado from Haverhill was in to weigh in his fish.  At about 10 am (2 hours into the incoming tide) he was live lining pogies from a boat along the oceanfront when he hooked into this 29-3 pounder. He said this was the only fish he caught but you could look over the boat into the school of pogies and just see the big stripers underneath!

John Blais and Craig Edwards from Andover MA were out in the middle of the week. They were fishing from a boat off the end of jetty ocean side. Live lining pogies when they started hooking up to fish. They told us that the school of pogies ran along the whole beach right out from the jetties and south of the jetties and out from the jetties about 200 feet. 8 total fish with the rest mid 20’s inches.

This mornings action happened along the oceanfront. Kevin Weaver from Rowley hit the beach this am for sunrise. Used top water lures to hook up to this chubba 27” Others caught were smaller but he stated that there was a big ferry frenzy going on and he cast into it and got lucky.

Here are some other pictures that were sent to us this week:

Coach Bossi

This man has still got it! Up at the crack of dawn, out on the water, checking lobster pots, catching mackerel, snagging pogies, and then hooking into a big bass on that live pogie. Many of you that will see this post will know George, he has touched the lives of many,  so I encourage you to tell your story in the comments.

 Bossi fished from his boat out front along Salisbury beach live lining pogie at about  8am, two hours before the low tide in about 15 feet water.

Ken Cmar

Later in the day we had Ken Cmar come in from fishing Joppa Flats in his baot. Ken was using the trusty tube-n-wormwhen he hooked into his first keeper!  Plum island 18-8 pounds 36” Boat

He are a few pictures we had sent to us from Jake Shactman from a few days of fishing on the boat in the river.

The Tube-n-Worm has become one of the most effective pieces of tackle for fishing Joppa Flats. How simple of a rig, but how effective! Just remember, this simple rig can make a mess of your line. We always recommend using a good swivel or two to help prevent bad line twists. Can’t avoid them, just help to make them not as bad!

Brian Murphy from Ipswich brought this 30-13 pounder into the shop to get weighed in. He might not of been trolling a tube-n-worm, but he was trolling. Brian was trolling a niner rig in the plum island sound heading back to his mooring during the bottom of the outgoing tide when this fish hit. Brian would like it noted that he tried for awhile to revive the fish but it just didn’t work. So this is one for the dinner table. Brian fished outside along the oceanfront that day before heading in and said there were pogies and mackerel everywhere. You could see big fish (35-+40 inch range)  under them but they just wouldn’t bite. It is nice to see that they have their choice of food right now.

Saturday am was a great day for Dan Blais from Nashua NH. And a short one. Dan likes to be an early bird some days and with the tide Saturday he decided to come and fish daybreak into the incoming tide along the oceanfront at parking lot 1 on the Parker River Wildlife Refuge. No sooner than setting up his two rods, throwing out some chunk mackerel, and setting up shop then…………WHAM! His rod bent and Dan was on! He fought and brought in this big fish and then packed up, stopped by to have it weighed in, and then headed home to prepare the fish for dinner. Like I said, it was a fast trip!

The boat fishing continues to be hot even though the outside temperature is hot! Usually there is a slowdown when the summer heat hits, but so far we haven’t seen it yet, so fingers crossed. Maybe it is because the fields of pogies are still around. Yesterday, Frank McCarthy from Lowell, MA brought some live pogies into the flats and was trolling them when this fish hit.   Surf fisherman are even snagging pogies off the beach and using them for bait. 

And then there is another tube-n-worm catch. Amy D’Amilo from Plum caught her fish today in Joppa/Merrimac River around the high tide mark. Amy is another islander who loves to fish with her partner Jim and who both enjoy striped bass in many forms whether it is chowder, baked, or the famous striper fish cakes that seem to have caught on here…..we know Jim’s a good cook because he always drops off treats for us here! Thanks Jim!!

Jim and Amy are avid fishermen who do a lot of catch and release, but also like to eat striped bass!

Please be aware the that Atlantic and Shortnose Sturgeon have become very active both in the Merrimack River and along the oceanfront.  Fish are being seen leaping out of the water all the way down to Sandy Point.  You don’t catch them but might foul hook one if they become curious in your bait.  These are a federally protected species and following the guidelines.  NOAA has provided us with these stickers to give out.  Stop by and ask for one!