Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters told me that stripers are coming through the South Shore in three different waves. There are the beach runners, which are feeding on sand eels. Then there are the ledge-loving linesiders, which are chock full of Jonah crabs. The latter might be a thing because the crabs have shed their shells! As to specifics, Captain Rowell pointed out Collamore Ledge. And then there’s the deepwater fish, which are shadowing schools of pogies and prone to taking down a tuna-grade mackerel. Above all, there’s fish aplenty with the bite spread around, making mobbing other boats unnecessary. As for tuna, the skipper is spotting everything from 89” fish to footballs busting bait from Stellwagen through Cape Cod Bay. "On The Water"

Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters is putting patrons onto an interesting mix of species also as both haddock and stripers have been cooperating for the crew. Stone Ledge continues to be great for gadoids, while the best bass fishing vacillates between Minot Ledge and the mouth of the North River, with the latter fishing best as cooler water is ushered in on the flood. Mackerel remain an easy find and are the bait of choice for the bass. As for tuna, the best bluefin fishing remains east of Stellwagen, but with the volume of bait inshore and steadily rising water temperatures, Block Island bluefin are expected to move up soon. Pete from Belsan’s Bait and Tackle in Scituate described the mackerel population as “can’t miss!” The unusually large population of sand eels at the Spit is holding slots. For larger fish, trolling X-Raps east of Sunken Ledge has been effective. Blues remain a no-show. "on the water"

Legit Fish Charters‘ Captain Mark Rowell has been off to the races, or more accurately, off Race Point. Blues, bass, bluefin, and a web of bait species is one thing, but what’s been as impressive is the surface feeds which randomly pop up – something which is all too rare in this era. Slot to bigger bass, gator blues, and occasionally Charlie have been pushing sand eels and mackerel to the surface, making for excellent top water action. Of course, with all the mackerel around, some are just topping off the livewell and trolling up tight lines. "on the water"