Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters told me that once the seas settled down and rivers flushed out the “Yoohoo” colored water stripers returned to the North River. Mackerel remain hit-or-miss among inshore ledges, but when found are the perfect snack for river bass. Drifting on an outgoing tide by the Fourth Cliff has been especially good. The skipper’s gut tells him that haddock should be moving along the northeast rim of Stellwagen and just maybe onto the Middle Bank. On Sunday, he intends to find out. "On the Water"

Captain Mark Rowell of Legit Fish Charters has been putting most of his effort into the North River as slots pound alewives with focal points where the main river meets up with the herring river tributaries. The skipper did say that the crew is spotting far larger specimens blasting the herring which are reluctant to fall for something fake. "on the Water"

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"