Sunday Standard-Times, New Bedford, MA Page D3 n Sunday, July 7, 2013

WAREHAM 4 1 5 Onset Where the fish bite Bay Marc Folco’s Top 25 list of the best spots

on Buzzards Bay and around the islands Wings Cove 3

2 mattapoisett 7

195 Megansett Harbor 8 28 6 6 WESTPORT new bedford 10 Nansketucket Bay Clarks Cove buzzards 11 bay 9 falmouth 12 dartmouth

13 14 15 18 25 Horseneck Beach GOSNOLD 17 16 Kettle Cove 23

Cape Cod Canal. 21 22 1 Stripers and blue- fish spring through 20 fall. Mackerel in Cuttyhunk May. Tautog in Harbor 24 spring. Scup late spring through sum- Marc mer. Fluke vineyard Martha’s FOLCO in summer. 19 sound Vineyard Open Season Flounder winter through spring. Lots of other incidental fish passing through. Shore fish- ing only with lots of public access both sides of Canal. Priest Cove. Best for Westport River. Outside No boat fishing allowed. 10 bluefish and school 18 the mouth, inside river Common fish caught in Buzzards Bay and around The Islands stripers mid-May through and harbor good for stripers Wing’s Neck. Black sea early summer. Spotty and blues in spring and fall Striped Bass. Strong fight- ties, piers and striper fisher- 2 bass and scup spring thereafter but fishing lasts with a few fish in summer. ers and the state’s most bridges. Recre- men. Most com- through mid-summer. Some through fall. Waters off Fluke in summer, both inside sought after ational season mon method stripers spring and fall as nearby Fort Phoenix good and outside river. Snapper species. Can be is May 1 – Dec. is to drift with they migrate in and out of for stripers, blues, and scup blues in late summer. caught cast- 31 with a 30 a spinner rig Canal. spring through fall with a few Sow & Pigs Reef. “The ing plugs, jigs, fish daily limit baited with Mashnee Flats. Fluke tautog in spring. Pigs” off Cuttyhunk is spoons or flies and 10-inch squid strips or 19 from shore or minimum size. a live mumper, in summer. Also near Fort Rodman. Blues and famous for striper fishing 3 boat, using eels State record is with enough entrance to Canal so stripers a few stripers off shore spring through fall. Danger- 11 or baitfish on 5 pounds, 14 sinker to keep and other species possible. from spring through fall. ous rocks and rips. Tautog the bottom, or ounces, set at bumping bot- Some tautog in spring and spring through fall. The Narrows. Fisher- trolling. They Nomans in 1983. Minimum tom. They’ll also take jigs good scup fishing late sum- men’s public fishing pier Quicks Hole. Better prefer rocks, derby weight – 12 pounds. sweetened with a squid strip. 4 mer through early fall. Lots on Route 6 in Wareham. known as “Quicks’s”, rips and surf State record is 21 pounds, of shore access, jetties and 20 Tautog. Also called black- Tautog and school stripers in currents are swift and the with smaller 8 ounces set at Nomans in piers on both east and west fish, prefer rocky bottom spring. Scup and a few sea Hole is a major funnel for fish called 1980. Recreational season is sides. Snapper blues in late and rocky bass late spring into summer. bait being swept between "schoolies" in May 22 – Sept. 30 with a five- summer. ledges A few bluefish and lots of Buzzards Bay and Vineyard estuaries. State fish daily limit and minimum and “bull- snapper blues in late sum- Padanaram. Stripers Sound with the tides, attract- record is 73 pounds set in size of 16 inches. Minimum dog” for mer. and bluefish spring ing many species of fish 1913 in Quicks’s Hole, tied derby weight – 7 pounds. 12 the bot- through fall inside and out- all season. Big stripers and in 1967 at Sow & Pigs and Weweantic River. Strip- tom when Little tunny. Also called side harbor. Good scup fish- blues spring through fall by tied again in 1981 at Nauset 5 ers, blues and scup spring hooked. Best method is still false albacore and similar ing late spring through early fishing the rips or plugging Beach. Recreational season through fall. Snapper blues fishing with crabs or sea to bonito, fall. Some tautog in spring the west shoreline. Tautog is open year-round with limit in late summer. Bridge fish- clams fished on the bottom, they travel and fall. A few fluke in sum- at North Rock and South of two per day and a mini- ing on Route 6 in Wareham. either at anchor or cast in schools mer. Snapper blues in late Rock on either sides of Hole mum size of 28 inches. Mini- from shore, jetties, bridges and are Cleveland’s Ledge. Tau- summer. Good bridge fishing. spring through fall. Scup and mum Mass. Saltwater Fishing or piers. State record is 22 fast and 6 tog, scup and black sea Occasional weakfish. black sea bass early summer Derby weight is 35 pounds. bass best through spring through fall. Fluke on south pounds, 9 ounces set in 1978 fun to but good through fall. Some Dumpling Rocks. Some side of Hole in summer. Bluefish. A ravenous, hard- at Gay Head. Season is open catch, if you can hook one. fluke in summer. 13 stripers and tautog in fighting fish that often year-round with a three fish Usually more abundant spring and fall. Scup from Robinson’s Hole. Trick- travels daily limit and minimum size south of The Islands, there is Bird Island. Best in spring early summer through early 21 ier navigating and much in roving of 16 inches. Minimum derby often a good run of them in 7 for scup and black sea fall. Fluke in summer. Blue- narrower than Quicks’s, schools. weight – 8 pounds. Buzzards Bay in late summer bass but good through sum- fish from spring through fall. but also good for stripers Most fish with schools ranging along Black sea bass. Fine and mer. Some blues in spring and blues all season. Little aver- the coast from Westport to Great Ledge. Some mild table fare but hard- and summer and a few strip- tunny often schooling south age 3-7 pounds in the Bay Wareham. Cast small jigs, stripers and blues spring fighting ers. An occasional weakfish. 14 of Hole in late summer. Big during summer, but often spoons and flies to surfacing through fall. Good tautog in and often fluke south of Hole in deep weigh into the teens in the schools. Season is open all Ned’s Point. Stripers, spring and fall. Fluke in sum- caught in water early summer through spring and fall. Be careful of year with no daily or size lim- 8 blues and scup spring mer. same spots fall. their teeth and use a wire its. They average about eight through fall. Tautog in spring. as scup. The Sandspit. Some leader to prevent cut-offs. pounds but state record is 19 Shore fishing access. Nearby French Watering Hole. Big males stripers and blues spring Juveniles, called snappers, pounds, 5 ounces set in 1990 Anglica Point and Strawberry 15 A sleeper, but often sport a striking aquamarine through fall. Fluke and scup 22 are abundant in estuaries off Edgartown. Minimum Point also good for strip- good for stripers along steep head. Anchor or drift with in summer. and bays in late summer. derby weight – 10 pounds. ers and blues. Mattapoisett dropoff. sea clams, cut squid or use Cast plugs, spoons or flies Bonito – 5 pounds. Town Wharf to west offers Mishaum Ledge. Good light spinning tackle with a jig Tarpaulin Cove. Big from shore or boat, or troll. additional shore access with striper fishing with some and squid strip. Recreational To qualify for MarineFisher- 16 scup and black sea bass State record is 27 pounds, 4 scup spring through summer bluefish spring through fall. 23 season is May 11 – Oct. 31 with ies’ Mass. Saltwater Fishing summer through early fall. ounces set in 1982 at Graves and snapper blues in late Also good scup and fluke a four-fish daily limit and Derby, fish must be weighed Light. Season is open year- summer. fishing in summer. Some Lucas Shoals. Good 14-inch minimum size. State at an official derby weigh round with daily limit of 10 stripers at Mishaum Point - fluke fishing early sum- record is 8 pounds, 15 ounces station. Most coastal tackle West Island. Best for 24 fish and no minimum size. tautog in spring but good in close to rocks. mer through fall. Bigger ones set in 2007 in Buzzards Bay. shops are weigh stations. 9 in deeper water. scup fishing late spring Gooseberry Neck. Good Scup. The most common Minimum derby weight – 4 Fish that meet the minimum through fall. Lots of beach stripers and bluefish in Weepecket Island. and abundant groundfish pounds. trophy weights listed receive 17 in the Bay - fun and easy to a pin. The largest in each area for casting for bluefish surf and rips from spring Good scup fishing with Fluke. Also called summer 25 catch. Bottom fishing, either category is awarded a tro- and the occasional striper. through late fall. Good tau- some black sea bass early flounder, they’re good fight- drifting or at anchor with phy in three divisions – men, Little tunny/false albacore tog in spring and fall. Scup summer through fall. Some ers and have sharp teeth. sea clams, squid strips or sea women and juniors. and bonito often just a mile from late spring through fall. stripers and tautog around Prefer sandy or muddy bot- worms. Double headers are or two off shore in late sum- Surf casting from beach and rocks, holes and drop-offs toms and fast moving rips, Marc Folco is the outdoor writer for common when using a dou- mer/early fall and sometimes from causeway. Little tunny spring through fall. where bigger ones are often The Standard-Times. Contact him at ble-hook rig. Also abundant within reach of a cast from and bonito late summer caught as incidentals by [email protected]. shore. through early fall. along shoreline from jet-