Fresh Scituate Fishing Reports

Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters corroborated the news that cows are on the move along the SW corner of Stellwagen Bank. What just might be pausing their movements is the swarms of tinker mackerel which can be found throughout the bank. Anglers having luck with tuna are passing on the tiny bait in favor of whiting. Sharp-eyed tuna no doubt can spot a hooked tinker but are less likely to notice a hook buried in the bigger bait. That philosophy paid off for the crew, which on Middlebank brought a beast of a bluefin boatside the other day. There are plenty of haddock out there but as for cod, ledge, rocks, wrecks within 5 miles of the shoreline are a better bet. You can put those tinker mackerel to good use in the North River for stripers running between 24-40”! The key is moving water with diminishing returns during slack. I also received a tip from Bill Hurley that cookie cutter schoolies could not resist the Hurley stick bait in the South River on Thursday with the bite lasting until mid-day. "on the water"

Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters has been shaking things up beyond the South Shore while taking charters out to fish for false albacore and Spanish mackerel in the Craigsvillle Beach area in Nantucket Sound. There have been no shortage of bass and blues occupying cleanup duty as those southern speedsters leave a wake of injured/dead bay anchovies in their wake. Locally the skippers pick is the North River where the bait buffet of baby bunker, herring fry and tinker mackerel are keeping stripers in check. Squid are swarming throughout Stellwagen with the SW corner chock full of Charlie in the 60” category. " on the water"

Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters has been shaking things up beyond the South Shore while taking charters out to fish for false albacore and Spanish mackerel in the Craigsvillle Beach area in Nantucket Sound. There have been no shortage of bass and blues occupying cleanup duty as those southern speedsters leave a wake of injured/dead bay anchovies in their wake. Locally the skippers pick is the North River where the bait buffet of baby bunker, herring fry and tinker mackerel are keeping stripers in check. Squid are swarming throughout Stellwagen with the SW corner chock full of Charlie in the 60” category. "on the water"

“Hard bottom” within 3 miles of much of the South Shore is holding cod according to Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters. The conundrum is that the shallower structure is more likely to give up smaller rock cod while “white bellies” up to 35” are falling for clams between 2 1/2-5 miles once Scituate Harbor is cleared. Blues and bass have been busting peanut bunker all across the South Shore from Plymouth to Peggotty Beach. The North River has been noteworthy as well as has the Cliffs. The acquisition of mackerel is not a problem as they can be found among inshore eddies and upwellings in as little as 40’. Some major bluefin can be found in the SW Corner of Stellwagen Bank but you can expect company because the word is out. You’re not likely to find Captain Rowell among the fleet as he has his sites on Charlie in the same Cape Cod Bay areas he’s finding cod! "on the water"

Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters out of Scituate said that sharks have been taking a liking to his boat! The other day he had a monster blue shark that kept bumping his engines, worrying the captain that it might take a chomp out of them. While floating a mackerel for Charlie, a thresher shark kept thumping the balloons with its massive tail. There’s good reason to deal with the occasional toothy nuisance however as “jumpers” that look to be grander giants have been observed chasing halfbeaks. Not all has been sideshows as haddock continue to cooperate halfway between port in Scituate Harbor and Stellwagen Bank. It’s tempting for the captain to just stay in port with all the striper-on-peanut bunker action in the harbor. While most would think that the five Bs – bass, blues, bonito, black sea bass, and blackfish – would be enough to satisfy, Captain Jason Colby keeps trying to give his crew a little more. Soon that will include the cornucopia of critters which call Coxes Ledge home – especially cod! In addition to the very real prospects of finding cod, it’s also nice to know that as of September 1st in the Southern New England area anglers will be able to keep up to 5 cod at a minimum of 23”. Get your arsenal of jigs ready! "on the water"

It’s been looking like a boat show over much of the South Shore with sizable schools of super-sized striped bass pounding pogies. Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters sent me a video of a scene just beyond his backdoor that looked like a mooring field as boat after boat jockeyed for position over pogy schools. The mob of menhaden as well as their pursuers have been moving back and forth from Plymouth through Scituate with no rhyme or reason as to where they will appear next. I guess something can be said for an even playing field. Manomet Point has been mentioned as one of the more consistent spots with honorable mention going to White Cliff. The bass on the bunker are beasts with most begin caught on what drew the predators in – pogies. While interesting, the captain has been steering clear of the flotilla and taking a short sprint out to Stone Ledge where he’s been limiting out on haddock in record time. The fish are there for small shrimp and sand eels making 3” pink/white Gulp lethal. While in the can’t-touch-this-status until September, cod on higher sections of the ledges are numerous and impressive. The sweet spot for the haddock is 200’, while the cod are shallower in about 185’. "On The Water"