By We decided to take a break from fly and light tackle and go back to live lining mackerel. The cows are definitely in there and just looking for you to feed them! We ended one trip with five fish over 40″ and more than thirty fish in the high 20″ and low 30″ range. It was over an hour of double headers for both guys on the boat!
Just like last year, the mackerel seem to be sticking around for the long haul. It only took a couple minutes of jigging to fill the livewell and move in to do some fishing. The first troll through one of my favorite spots produced a double header with a 42″ and a 41″. That’s when we knew it was going to be a good night. Even with circle hooks though we ended up gut hooking one of the big girls and the outcome didn’t look promising. At Fly Guy Guides we always go for catch and release, but sometimes its better to harvest a fish here and there. Given some of the shoddy tactics from some of the commercial guys, at least you know where it came from and that it was ethically taken.
Pogies are still everywhere and in huge schools. First light is the easiest time to spot and snag them, especially when the forecast calls for a lot of wind. Mackerel were easy to get around the ledges and Graves light. The lure of the week has to be the all white Hogy originals though in 10″ rigged weightless. The smaller fish just couldn’t get enough of them and we went through two bags between three dozen fish!
The blitzes seem to be moving on but are easier to find as you travel north. Head up to Lynn/Revere/Nahant, etc and use your binoculars looking for birds around first light and sunset. They’ll be there.
Tight Lines,
-Captain Nick