Posts Tagged ‘Duxbury’
12 Bass, 1 Keeper – yesterday’s fish gone
June 26th, 2010 | 
Author: Capt. Dave’s
BAYMEN Fishing Report For Duxbury, Kingston, Plymouth Bay, Massachusetts
Saturday, June 26, 2010 www.baymencharters.com (781) 934-2838
TODAY: 12 Bass, 1 Keeper
On board this morning I had repeat clients, Skip Copeland, his son, Ryan, and Dave. The plan was a morning of bait fishing for striped bass in Duxbury, Kingston, and Plymouth bay. At first light, it was another flat-calm morning as we ran off Gurnet to jig for bait. Tons of mackerel and pollock and jigged up about fifty in no time, and ran back inside to liveline.
I had hoped for a repeat of yesterday’s dozen keepers that were stacked up in one of my spots. But on arrival, the water temps had risen TEN DEGREES overnight, and the hot spot had cooled and yesterday’s fish were gone. But there were some new fish there, giant schoolies that were very, very fat and made some screaming runs on the baitrunners! We boated fish or had runs on every drift.
Next spot, we decided to set a drift high up on the flats and drift down over the drop-off. To my surprise, we got several runs and boated a few fish high on the flats and none at the drop-off. Bass are where you find them, not where you want them to be, so we set another drift and had a few more runs and hook-ups.
Third spot of the morning deep in Duxbury, we drifted a tried and true rising tide spot without a hit. We fished both ends of a guzzle to no avail. On to Spot #4 and once again, nothing. At the back end of the guzzle, however, we saw a fish break water and marked two bass and some bait in about fifteen feet of water. We got a hit and run on our first drift, but the fish spit the bait. We drifted two more times without a hit. On to spot #5 of the morning. If you have been following the Baymen Reports all spring and seen photos of us with fish after fish in the low twenty-pound range, that’s #5! Today, it was dead. No even a bump and that tells me we are into the Summer pattern in a big way. No surprise there.
Well, the baits had all gone south and we were fishing fresh chunks now. We went back to our first spot of the morning, set a drift, and Skip hooks into a keeper! As we were pulling into the area, a fish broke right off our bow. We shut down and had baits in the water in about five seconds. Ten seconds later, we the fish on! We set more drifts and boated a couple more fat schoolie bass to 27″ inches. Then we drifted some flat up towards Kingston, had one run, and that was it. We wrapped up our morning drifting down cow yard without a bump.
Total catch today was a dozen bass and one keeper. All were landed on live or chunk baits. Water temps were TEN DEGREES warmer this morning in yesterday’s Hot Spot that was on fire. The bait is still thick out front and there are some nice bass in the bay today, but no monster fish. Maybe tomorrow… All in all, a fine morning on flat-calm seas with three fine anglers that took home a keeper for supper.
I have a few days off to mow the lawn, take the trash to the dump, plant my tomatoes (!), etc., etc., and will be back on the bay next week. Best of luck to all of you heading out and a great weekend to all…!
Tight Lines,
Capt. David Bitters
(781) 934-2838
**Book Your Fall Blitz Charters Now for September/October**
Posted in Baymen Reports | 
Tags: Boston, Cape Cod Massachusetts, Duxbury, fishing reports plymouth, Kingston | 
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Summer Solstice: 18 Bass, 3 Keepers, 1 Blue, 30 Pollock & Macks!
Capt. Dave’s
BAYMEN Fishing Report Monday, June 21 First Day of Summer
www.baymencharters.com (781) 934-2838
***Baymen has July, August, September, and October dates available for half-day charters for 1-4 anglers. Call or e-mail to book a trip. Gift Certificate Charters Available***
TODAY: 18 STRIPED BASS, 3 KEEPERS; 1 BLUE; 30 POLLOCK & MACKEREL
Happy First Day of Summer From Baymen Guide Service, Inc.! On board today, I had repeat client, Eric Kaldy and his friend, Harry, both of Norfolk. Eric has been fishing with me for many years. This was Harry’s first trip. It was a beautiful morning today at sunrise with dead-calm seas. Not a breath of air on the bay. You won’t believe this, but we found top-water breaking bass this morning and boated 9 fish! Amazing for this time of year…
After chasing top-water for a few hours, we ran outside and loaded up on pollock and mackerel! Yep, the macks are still out front and we boated about thirty along with the pollock. We ran the live bait back inside and caught several bass and our first bluefish of the season. After running our of bait, we ran back outside a second time and boated another bunch of mack and pollock. Back inside, we hooked into some nice bass in Duxbury, Kingston and Plymouth bay. Eric ended our morning with a big bass that made a scorching 150 yard run! It really screamed line off the spool as it ran the bay…
Total catch for the morning for two rods was 18 striped bass, 3 Keepers, 1 bluefish (our first of the season), and 30 pollock and mackerel. Not bad for the first day of summer!
Stay posted. All of our fishing report and photos are posted daily on our website under the Baymen Reports Tab. Check it out.
Tight Lines and best of luck on your next trip out!
Capt. David Bitters
(781) 934-2838
12 Bass, 4 Keepers On Light Tackle – Monday, June 7
Capt. Dave’s
BAYMEN Fishing Report – Monday, June 7, 2010
www.baymencharters.com (781) 934-2838
TODAY: 12 Bass, 4 Keepers on Light Tackle
On board this morning I had repeat client, Roger Grenier, for a light tackle and fly fishing trip. At first light, there was a lovely sunrise and several schools of bass were working the bay. The NW winds kicked up to about 15-20 knots and stayed there for most of the morning. The bass were very spooky and fly fishing was tough in that kind of wind. But we prevailed!
Roger worked the fish under the birds for a good couple of hours. They were spooky and selective so we left them and started to fish structure around the bay. One of my spots held a bunch of fish and we made seven long drifts, hooking up on six of them. Four of the fish were keepers. This one spot was the only spot that had any fish on structure today. This was surprising to me, because there seemed to be a lot of bass in the bay at first light. We found a late morning pod of fish up on Browns Bank but again, they were spooky, fast moving, and very selective. We did not one even though we had follows on several of our drifts. The Gannets continue to work the bait in the bay. We saw what could have been immature menhaden or herring, but did not get a positive ID. They were spooky. The water temps were also all over the place. 51 degrees down bay, 64 degrees in the harbor. Quite a spread.
All in all, it was a beautiful morning on the bay. Roger ended his morning with a dozen fish and four keepers. I must tell you that once again, we did hook into a whale of a bass that fish dumped 150 yards of line and was still running without let-up, when the line rubbed on something down deep and snapped. My heart sank and it was a killer. By far the biggest fish we have hooked into on LT this season and one of the top ten runs in recent memory. How big??? Who knows… We never saw it, just watched the rod doubled over, the line fly off the spool, and that big fish running full speed ahead without any thoughts of slowing down… As Tom Hennessey once said, “you soon forget the ones that you bring down, but you never forget the ones that leave tracks on your mind…”
That’s the word for today, Monday, June 7, 2010. A great start to a great week. Back out again in the morning with a full report to follow. Stay posted and watch our website for all the latest news and photos.
Capt. David Bitters
(781) 934-2838
11 BASS, 4 KEEPERS, Heavy Dense Fog 4th Day In A Row
Capt. Dave’s
BAYMEN Fishing Report – Friday June 4, 2010
www.baymencharters.com (781) 934-2838
TODAY: 11 BASS, BIG FISH ON LIGHT TACKLE
Thick, thick dense fog this morning for the fourth day in a row. It was so thick this morning, that I almost cancelled the trip. But there was no wind, the tide was high, and nobody else on the bay. So, very cautiously, we picked our way through the fog by compass, and found some whopper striped bass!!! On board this morning I had repeat client Christopher Rothwell, and his friends Matt and Robby. Matt and Christopher had fished with me last year, this was Robby’s first time out with BAYMEN Charters.
We picked our way through the fog and went to some spots that have held top-water bass most of the week. Those fish were gone and we could not find top-water stripers anywhere in the bay. So, we headed to some of my structure spots that have held fish in past years in early June on high tides in dense fog. Guess what? Those spots still hold bass! We set our first drift, and Matt lands a fat schoolie on light tackle. Then, as he is bringing in that fish, there is an explosion behind the boat and I see what looks like a big bass slamming a tinker mack on the surface! We head uptide and set a drift and come down over the fish…WHAM!!! Fish on and it’s a good one! Christopher holds on as the big fish makes a hundred-yard run, line screaming off the light tackle reel to everyone’s delight! Then, as Christopher is fighting the fish, Matt yells fish on! And then, with two fish running, Robby shouts he has a good one on as well. Three light tackle rods all hooked up on big fish! What a blast…!!!
Well, after five minutes or so, and with some light coaching from the Captain, we bring all three fish alongside the boat and one by one, haul them in over the gunwales. Christopher has an absolute light tackle corker. Robby has a smaller keeper and Matt’s fish is just shy of a keeper. We set numerous drifts over the area and then move on.
The fog is dense, dense fog. As thick as I’ve seen it on the bay. We very cautiously work around the bay in search of top-water fish. None are found, so we head down bay, up Kingston channel, down behind Bug Light. Dead. No fish on top, no fish or bait down below. So, we head back to our original spot and land a few more fish. The fog begins to break up and we can see across the bay in some places. We find a school of top-water bass that stays up for about two minutes, goes down, and never shows again. We go back to structure fishing and have some follows on the light tackle, but no takers. Then, I spot a half-dozen gannets diving down bay. We head down, set a drift and land another keeper!
Suddenly, the water explodes with a big bass slamming what looks like a tinker mack on the surface. We cast down to the boil with a top-water popper and slowly work it back…WHAM!!! BIG FISH!!! Matt handles the rod and works the big bass while walking on egg shells. He is so careful and patient with that fish and takes no chances of it throwing the hook. He works it perfectly with some light coaching from Capt. Dave and then some time later, gets it alongside the boat and into the waiting net. What a fine light tackle bass….!!! High fives all around, we take some pictures and call it another great day or world-class striped bass fishing on Duxbury and Plymouth bay, Massachusetts!
Tomorrow, I had a rescheduled trip so the day is open for new bookings only. If you want to book the morning slot, we will be fishing with light tackle from 5:00am-10:00am. Four anglers max. The fish are fast settling into a summer pattern and we may start fishing bait any day now. But I will keep going to the light tackle as long as we keep landing fish. If you want to book the morning, give Capt. Dave a call (781) 934-2838. No promises, but we should land a half-dozen or so fish, with a chance for some really good bass as you see here in our photos.
That’s the word for today, Friday, June 4th. Best of luck to all heading out for the weekend!
Tight Lines and be safe out there.
Capt. David Bitters
(781) 934-2838
*Please pass along our website Baymen Reports link to other anglers that may enjoy these reports. Thanks!
*HOW TO SEE MORE BAYMEN REPORTS & PHOTOS: Go to the Baymen website at www.baymencharters.com and click on the Baymen Reports Tab at the top of the page. This will take you to the first page of Capt. Dave’s BAYMEN Reports. To see more pages, you have to click the words “More Reports” in the upper left corner of each page. Each time you scroll through a bunch of reports, you can click “More Reports” and it will take you to another page of more reports and photos. We have numerous pages of photos and reports in these files…
10 BASS, 2 GANNETS, 1 KEEPER, DENSE FOG…
Capt. Dave’s
BAYMEN Fishing Report – Thursday, June 3, 2010
www.baymencharters.com (781) 934-2838
TODAY: 10 Fish, 2 Gannets, 1 Keeper, Dense Fog…
On board this morning, I had repeat clients Tom and Mike Bullock. The Bullocks have been fishing with BAYMEN for fifteen years. I have had the pleasure of guiding many of their friends and relatives as well. Today, as we set out, the bay was socked in with thick, dense fog. A moderate South wind was blowing and it was a bit on the choppy side. At first light, we found a handful of striped bass under birds. We managed a few fish to about 24″ inches. Our drifts were very fast with the wind and the bass were moving fast as well. Going by compass, we eventually left these fish and headed down bay and found just a few more fish working top-water. The fog was thick, but we managed to cover the bay in search of Spring blitz bass. After trying some structure spots with no luck, we eventually found a decent blitz of bass, birds and bait at Saquish Neck, behind Bug Light. The birds were mostly big, offshore Gannets and the bait was a combination of tinker macks and another small minnow of some type, possibly silversides. Tom landed fish number nine and then Mike landed a keeper, our tenth fish of the morning.
Check out these photos of the Gannets blitzing. They are huge birds and the flock was at least sixty or seventy in number. The Gannets were chasing our lures and it was a challenge to keep them away. We switched to all sinking lures to avoid them getting hooked. At one point, diving Gannets got tangled in our lines and Tom’s drag was singing as a big Gannet started taking line. Tom fought the big bird and we untangled it and set it free unharmed. The birds are absolutely huge and beautiful up close. I held them in my arms and made sure to keep their massive beak closed while releasing them. This was the first time in our lives that any of us had ever landed a Gannet that got tangled in our lines. Beautiful birds to see working bait, and just lovely to get a once in a lifetime chance to hold one.
Well, the fog eventually broke and we cruised the bay in search of more top-water stripers. The top-water bite had shut down and we decided to call it a great and interesting morning of dense fog, good fishing, and an awesome sight watching Gannets working bait in the bay!
Back out in the morning. Stay posted for a full report.
Capt. David Bitters
(781) 934-2838
*GO CELTICS!!!*
118 STRIPED BASS THIS MORNING…!!!!!!!
Capt. Dave’s
BAYMEN Fishing Report – Friday, May 28, 2010
www.baymencharters.com (781) 934-2838
*See our website for more BAYMEN Fishing Reports and photos all season long*
TODAY – 118 BASS…!!!!!!
Yes, you read that right. Today we caught and release one-hundred-eighteen striped bass in Plymouth, Duxbury, and Kingston bay… It was by far one of the best light tackle charters we have ever had. On board today, I had repeat clients, Dwight Pierce, Jay Cohen, and John Soucy for a sunrise half-day charter.
At first light on the last hour of the dropping tide, we found a two acre school of striped bass feeding on tons of bait, all on top-water. We started our morning at sunrise with this pod of fish and fished them right through the slack tide. They never stopped feeding. Then, as the tide turned and started to come back in, thousands of striped bass poured into the bay, following big schools of bait. At one point, we estimated we were into a school of bass ten (10) acres across. The fish were shoulder to shoulder and they just kept coming. The far majority were year class fish, something we have not seen in our bay in some time. Most of the fish have been big. Today, they were all sizes from 12″ inches to twenty-five pounders, from what we could see.
No matter where we went today, we found schools of breaking fish. Duxbury, Kingston, and Plymouth all had big schools. Tons of bass like we have not seen in quite a few seasons. The bay was just loaded. All our fish were taken on light tackle gear, 12lb and 15lb line and rubber crank baits with a Baymen Bounce retrieve. We dropped a nice fish at Saquish Head in two (2) feet of water at the boat that was about 30″ inches long. Later in the morning, Dwight hooked into the mother of striped bass that doubled his rod over and screamed line off his reel. It just kept running, taking line, and making his reel sing to our delight. Five minutes into the fish fight, we knew it was a big, big fish even though we had not seen it. And then…. the line went slack as the fish finally wore the hook loose… What a heartbreaker of a fish!
The loss was overshadowed by the fact that we boated 118 other bass this morning for three rods, all on light tackle. We have not done that in quite some time, and it was the biggest catch of fish for the BAYMEN this season. It was a stunning morning on the bay, flat calm, beautiful sunrise, and striped bass all across the bay slamming baitfish in top-water. It won’t last, and soon we will be into the bump and grind summer pattern. But my, was it ever nice see and experience it all in our six hour charter. Way to go, guys. I hope it lasts just little longer.
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY AND TO ALL OF OUR SOLDIERS: Thank you for my freedom!
Capt. David Bitters
(781) 934-2838
38 BASS THIS MORNING
Capt. Dave’s
BAYMEN Fishing Report – Monday, May 24, 2010
www.baymencharters.com (781) 934-2838
***CHARTER OPENING FOR TUESDAY MORNING, MAY 25th FOR 1-4 ANGLERS. 5:00am-11:00am (781) 934-2838 Call if you want to book.***
MONDAY
On the water this morning with repeat clients Rolando Jeeter, Dr. Play, and Vermonter, Peter B.
At first light, heavy dense fog moving north across the flat-calm bay at sunrise. And water temps had risen TEN DEGREES in the last 48 hours…!!! It was 65 degrees when we left the dock. Down bay on the incoming tide, we found water temps as low as 56 degrees. That’s where all the fish were. We got into numerous small pods of striped bass in Plymouth and Kingston all morning. The fish were a little spooky, but they continued to feed right through high slack and started to trickle down around 11:00am when called it a morning. Total catch for the morning was 38 bass for three rods. All the fish were taken on LT and had to be coaxed to hit. We really had to mix it up to keep them biting. A ton of the bass were in the 27″inch plus range with the bigger ones just shy of keepers at 27 3/4″ inches. All the fish were amazingly fat and gorged on the small, 2″ inch bunker in the bay. All in all a great day on the bay with three great anglers!
South of Duxbury, Bull’s Report:
“Bluefish. All up and down the Plymouth coast. They came through the canal yesterday and were here today. Did find some small bass using swimmers. The canal has gone to summer mode for me. That means nights on the bottom with bucktails and sluggos. There will be occasional fish on top during breaking tides such as this upcoming weekend. Fishing in the harbor should be good. Wire line spoons or bucktails over at P-town should start working.”
Saturday Offshore Report:
While we were pulling out all the stops Saturday to find fish inshore, Greg Smith found the mother load of bass offshore. High Rod reports 20+ keepers, all slamming macks and rubber crank baits. Greg said he was going through 15 macks an hour on runs!
That’s the word for today, Monday, May 24, 2010. Back at it again in the morning. I have tomorrow open for a 5:00am-11:00am charter. Shoot me an e-mail if you want to book it.
Tight Lines!
Capt. David Bitters
*Best of luck tonight to Rondo, Pierce, KG, Ray and the entire Celtics Team. SWEEP THEM!
EAST WIND SLOWS BITE – 17 Bass, 1 Keeper
Capt. Dave’s
BAYMEN Fishing Report – Saturday, May 22, 2010
www.baymencharters.com (781) 934-2838
Duxbury, Kingston,Plymouth & Beyond
EAST WIND SLOWS BITE
Today – BAYMEN ran two boats this morning for pre-sunrise trips. Repeat clients, Sean Sullivan & Co. on one boat, and new client, Tom Knapp with his 6 year old son, and Grandfather on the other. At first light, we had some good numbers of fish on top-water working bait under birds. However, the East wind made the fish very spooky, and they were running crazy like albies around the bay. They were hard to catch and it was tough to set up drifts and get into them before they went down and came up 200-500 yards away. That said, our charters today worked very hard and boated 8 striped bass and 1 keeper on boat #1 and 9 striped bass on Boat #2 . One of the boats ran outside and jigged up some macks when the top-water bite shut down. Back inside, they live-lined the macks and had some screaming runs on big bass that broke off the light tackle. All in all, for an east wind, it was a good day on the bay.
The saying that came to America on the Mayflower still rings true today: “Wind from the west, fishing the best; wind from the east, fishing the least. Wind from the north venture not forth, wind from the south, blows the bait into the fishes mouth…”
Tight Lines and stay posted: “Every day is different, and no two tides are the same…”
Capt. David Bitters
(781) 934-2838
Duxbury/Plymouth Bay, Massachusetts
29 BASS, 3 KEEPERS
Capt. Dave’s
BAYMEN Report – Friday, May 21, 2010
www.baymencharters.com (781) 934-2838
29 BASS, 3 KEEPERS
On board this morning I had repeat anglers, Larry McMenamy and Co. Four anglers on light tackle for the half-day trip. At first light we were into top-water fish under birds on a flat-calm bay. Winds were near calm out of the North and it was just lovely out there. A perfect sunrise and our first three hook-ups yielded three keepers! The bite continued until about 8:30 when the winds shifted to N/NE at 10 knots or more. That’s when it started to shut down and by 9:00 top-water was all over with few exceptions. We switched over to structure fishing and picked up a few more small bass.
The bait in the bay is still the 1.5″ silverside, but they are starting to thin out. We did not find any other bait in the bay, but macks are out front this morning in 55 feet of water. We found four fish holding on structure in Plymouth, but other than that is was pretty quiet. The boys fished hard for five solid hours with light tackle. At the end of the morning, they had three keepers in the cooler and total catch of 29 striped bass. Another great day of world-class fishing on the Massachusetts coast!
Back out in the morning with a double. Full report to follow. Stay posted:
Capt. David Bitters
(781) 934-2838
*Now Booking For The Fall striper Blitz September- October
BAYMEN Fishing Report – Thursday, May 20
Capt. Dave’s
BAYMEN Fishing Report – Thursday, May 20, 2010
www.baymencharters.com (781) 934-2838
TODAY
A quick report for today. We had a last minute reschedule so we have a “day off.” I did go to the bay and scout the ocean side and the bay side of Duxbury & Plymouth. Did not get up into Kingston. Two schools of bass seen. One small pod in the bay tight to shore in skinny water. No doubt the bass have silversides backed into bank in 2-6 feet. Also found a very big school of fish offshore about two miles. Birds working both pods. Offshore, it looked to be a two-hundred yard long school of migratory fish, most likely stripers. But with Blues 20 miles south of us for the past week, there is a chance…
Macks continue to be thick out front. They are moving about from 45 feet to 80 feet. You got to put some time in and try to mark them on sonar. You can also look for top-water schools if it is flat calm. Another way to locate them is to troll and when you hook up, shut down and start your drift. Some big bass on the bottom under them, so not a bad idea to weight down a mack and see what happens…
Flounder are still around in the bay and just outside. Put your time in on the bottom and you will find them.
Cod/Haddock/Pollock
The ground fishing continues to be excellent offshore. The bank is always the place to start your search in 70+ feet. Some anglers report they are running over the bank and finding fish in deeper waters of 120-150. Again, watch your sonar and locate the schools of herring. When you find the herring, you will find the cod. Set up a drift and stay with the bait.
That’s the short report for today. We are prepping gear and boat for Friday & Saturday’s trips. A full report to follow. Stay posted.
Capt. David Bitters
(781) 934-2838
Fishing Plymouth, Duxbury, Kingston, Manomet, and beyond…