Weather Forecast
Mon Aug 6 2018 .Synopsis for Massachusetts and Rhode Island coastal waters... Strong Bermuda high through the week up against a series of frontal disturbances mid to late week. Expect persisting S/SW through the end of the week shifting out of the W/NW with any frontal passage. Warm, muggy weather at first, chances of showers and thunderstorms later in the week beginning Wednesday.
Rest Of Tonight
SW winds 10 to 15 kt with gusts up to 20 kt. Seas 2 to 3 ft. Patchy dense fog. Vsby 1 nm or less.
Mon
SW winds 5 to 10 kt. Seas around 2 ft. Patchy dense fog. Vsby 1 nm or less.
Mon Night
SW winds 10 to 15 kt with gusts up to 20 kt, diminishing to 5 to 10 kt after midnight. Seas 2 to 4 ft.
Tue
SW winds 5 to 10 kt, becoming S 15 to 20 kt with gusts up to 25 kt in the afternoon. Seas 2 to 4 ft.
Tue Night
SW winds 15 to 20 kt with gusts up to 30 kt, diminishing to 10 to 15 kt with gusts up to 20 kt after midnight. Seas 2 to 4 ft. Patchy fog. Vsby 1 nm or less.
Wed
S winds 5 to 10 kt. Seas 2 to 3 ft.
Wed Night
S winds 5 to 10 kt. Seas 2 to 3 ft. Patchy fog. A chance of showers. Vsby 1 to 3 nm.
Thu
SW winds around 5 kt. Seas 2 to 3 ft. Patchy fog. A chance of showers. Vsby 1 to 3 nm.
Thu Night
W winds 5 to 10 kt. Seas around 2 ft.
Fri
N winds 5 to 10 kt. Seas around 2 ft.
Fri Night
S winds around 5 kt. Seas around 2 ft. seas are reported as significant wave height, which is the average of the highest third of the waves. Individual wave heights may be more than twice the significant wave height.
This is a pic on sunday of a tuna chasing a ball of herring. Its about all we saw until we back at the dock beside the bow of the boat due to thick fog.
Intel
The giant tuna bite is going strong on stellwagen with increased catches of market sized fish. Even though the fog was thick over the weekend the fleet did well with a few boats catching multiple fish over the past few days. Bait is still plentiful on the south west corner and up onto the shoal waters of the bank but most of the fish are being caught on the notch.
To date live bait has been the primary method to hookup kite and direct to rod. With a lack of smaller fish there has been little to no action for the run and gun fleet. This past week a few 60" class fish moved into the area and caught on live mackeral.
Bait Intel
Squid have shown up this past week in cape cod bay and are even being caught during the day on sabikis. Target the harbors at night for your best chance to get some fresh bait.
The east end is still producing mackeral and boats are live lining them around the entrance with success. Up to plymouth off the gurnet and high pines there are tinker mackeral out in 100ft of water. Boats are doing well live linning them in the saquish rip for small bass and along duxbury beach. Outside the mouth of the north river and scituate can also find macks.
The year of the pogies will not stop as the schools are still in mass from the canal north to maine. You have to work to find a school with stripers under them but when you do they are nice fish. The mass schools have started to attract minke whales and dolphins inshore as they have been seen from plymouth up to the north shore this week in shallow water.
Inshore Intel
The commerical striper fleet is having difficulties this year finding market sized fish as the quota sits only 30% filled through the first week in August. The canal has slowed up a bit since the prior week as the bite turns on and off, with fish up to 40lb this weekend.
Billingsgate, the path and the deeper water off teh shoals is fishing well for 28-34" fish. Boats targeting deep wire line jigging or trolling hoochies are working best.
Scorton creek is producing as more boats target this succesful summertime haunt with tube and worms.
South shore up to Boston striper fishing is still strong with drag and drop pogy snagging doing the trick. Mackeral are still around off the east end, the gurnet and the mouth of the north river and producing fish up to 50" when livelining.
There have been a number of king mackeral caught in buzzards bay.
Everyone is waiting for the bonito to show up in mass but it didnt happen this week. Hopefully the next few days gets this fishery kicked off for the season.
Offshore Intel
Shark action is on fire on the bank right now with plenty of blue and a few porbeagles in the mix on the deep waters off the east edge.
Solid yellowfin bit from East Atlantis to Veatch with some nice billfish mixed in.