Because I trailer the Black Rose to many different ports, we are able to get you on the best bites from April until December. For those looking to “double-dip” and fish on multiple days, it is nice to know what else is available. Some guys are specialists…I LOVE TO FISH. PERIOD. One day, in the strangest case of June 24 meteorology ever, I hear my radio “Richie, get over here as fast as you can! The tuna are busting everywhere.” I don’t know how we connected, but I was 40+ miles away and I had the Cape Cod Canal and Buzzards Bay between us. I was porgy fishing. Would I have liked to have run over there? Yes, but I was scup fishing and happy with that.
But, in April, Haddock is our target. By the end of the month, scup(porgy) fishing in Buzzards Bay is starting up. The limits on porgy are still 30/person, but on May 1, the limit goes to 50 porgy per person. I know people who fish two trips each day in May and June for porgy. That’s 61 days in a row booked. That is my goal for 2020.
In May, the haddock on Stellwagen Bank is great, while inshore in Buzzards Bay we have the best bite for porgy. The striped bass start moving in with the black sea bass around mid-May. By the third week in May, the season for Black Sea bass is open and as hot as you can imagine. That sea bass bite lasts well into June in Buzzards Bay. By the end of May, the striper bite is wide open, with June being amazing for stripers.
Haddock continue strong all year. Let me just throw that out there–if we go offshore, we can get haddock with relaxed limits at any time (15/person). They are a great fish to catch A: for delicious fillets, and B: when you want to bend a rod all day long.. and C: When you want a chance at something big as well, such as a shark or tuna.
The earliest that I have ever hooked into a tuna was May 22. The commercial tuna season (GIANT TUNA FISHING) starts on June 1. If you have ever watched “Wicked Tuna”, this is that style of fishing. There really isn’t much quite like it. Remember, with giant tuna fishing…I will be selling the fish. It is a rush. It is a lot of “hurry up and wait.” If this is in your ballpark, I love doing that. If you get antsy, there are two other options: haddock fishing at the same time or fishing for sharks. With haddock fishing “while tuna fishing”, you’re always doing something and if a tuna hits, then we’re golden.
Speaking of shark fishing.. We have porbeagle sharks around all year. By mid-June south of Cape Cod, the blue sharks, makos, and threshers come around. By July, that shark fishing is going great down there. By the end of the month, the sharks are good up on Stellwagen Bank. What we have seen is great numbers of thresher sharks in August and September. I haven’t done much thresher fishing in October, but I bet we could get good numbers in that arena…
Ahh, I ramble.. December 15 I brought a porbeagle boatside….
In the summer, the porgy/sea bass action in Buzzards Bay shifts a bit.. gone are the half day trips with fish just outside our harbors, but they are still there. In fact, we crush sea bass in the summer. These are the trips when people say “I just want to go fishing”. “I want variety.” “I have kids that don’t want to go offshore.”
I’m done rambling. Typing and thinking are things you gotta work out for…I’m out of shape. I have my gear all set up for the winter. I get excited about this time of year…respooling reels, oiling rods. Making leaders and replacing hooks. I have to tackle making more haddock flies this year. We got away from strictly jigging over the past few years….It’s easier fishing, actually. With kids and rookies, I look for an edge whenever I can.
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