Photos for June 30 Report

Here are a couple photographs.

Merrimack River Report #6 June 30, 2005

Merrimack River Report #6 June 30, 2005

Over the past weekend, in spite of hot weather and heavy boat traffic, we got a lot of small stripers. The best action for big fish was very, very early in the morning. At first light there was good action for about an hour. Then the smaller fish took over on Joppa Flats. They provided constant action on flies and spinning soft baits but they were all under twenty inches. Sunday morning my client Rich and his son, Kevin, enjoyed the action. After a little lesson on fly casting and technique, Kevin caught his first stripers using the long rod.

The bluefish are invading just out from the beaches. A surf fishing friend reported that Monday morning there were some good blues off of High Sandy on Plum Island. For the first time in a long while I saw some pogies in the river. There weren’t many but it was good to see them. I hope they come back after being decimated by the factory ships off shore over the last few years. These menhaden are an important food source for striped bass and their presence in the area will attract more big stripers.

The beach front has been good for surfcasters. Visit Surfland Bait and Tackle on Plum Island to see photos of the trophy stripers and to get all the honest, reliable advice that you want. It should be a must stop if you want the latest reports on the fishing around the island. Pick up some of my gurglers while you are there. They provide great striper surface action when using a floating line.

Tuesday I enjoyed my first day off from chartering in a while so I went out on my own to enjoy some striper fly fishing. I didn’t get any keepers but enjoyed fighting the feisty little ones for about three hours. It was a beautiful fishing morning with no wind, a mostly overcast sky, and comfortable temperature.

I had a charter scheduled for Wednesday morning but couldn’t make the trip due to a broken throttle cable. So I can’t update my fishing experience. However, one of my friends at the marina went out and came back saying there were some good stripers down on the Salisbury side, near the jetties, early morning.

I have open dates in July and August. If you are interested in a trip call me at 978-462-9212

Captain Charlie Crue
Channel Edge Charters

Merrimack River Report #5 June 23, 2005

Merrimack River Report #5 June 23, 2005


Saturday and Sunday we had an influx of big stripers. There were lots of keepers out on the flats around the time of high tide. They hit sand eel imitation flies as well as big mackerel imitations. A friend caught his biggest fly rod fish on Saturday. It measured 45-inches and weighed close to 40 pounds.

Sunday my clients fished early on the incoming tide. The net result was a lot of the “twinkie” 10 t0 14 inch stripers. We didn’t see a big striper all morning. It was just one of those mornings. The wind came up and made fishing difficult.

Monday I took my clients out to catch the high tide on Joppa. It was a very beautiful morning. It was so bright, after our recent lousy weather, that I didn’t have high hopes. We had success with the very small schoolies as we stared our venture. We moved around the river down towards Plum Island with little activity. As the tide rose we moved out onto Joppa Flats. It was clear with bright blue sky. I was concerned because I thought the stripers would be very easily spooked. A strong sea breeze developed from the east so that the wind pushing against the outgoing tide produced what I call “the striper chop”. As a result of the breezy conditions my clients enjoyed a couple hours of spectacular striper fishing using flies and soft baits. I hauled 6 or 7 big stripers (32-38 inches) into the boat. The fishermen kept two; I revived and released the others. They lost an equal number of fish during the foray. It was a memorable day for everyone!

The bluefish have shown up outside the mouth of the river. A friend caught several snapper blues outside the jetties on Monday morning. With the blues now in the area the live bait fishermen are having difficulty finding mackerel.

Tuesday my clients, John and his dad, enjoyed the early part of the trip catching a few of the small schoolies we have had in the river this season. Later they caught and released 3 or 4 big stripers on Joppa Flats. Those stripers made savage hits on sluggos worked near the surface. The trip was a father’s day gift to John Sr. It was good to see him having a good time catching fish. Both guys were lefties so I had to reverse the handles on the light spinning reels that they used. There were several savage hits where the striper missed the lure or just grabbed the tail end. The largest fish measured 33 inches and weighed 12 pounds.

Wednesday my clients, Russ from Vermont and his friend Rich from Canada, Had a good day. It was a slow start with a weather front moving through that caused a delayed beginning as heavy rain and wind pushed through the area. After the weather settled we were able to get out and fish Joppa Flats near high tide. They enjoyed some spectacular
hits on soft baits. We boated and released a couple of stripers. One measured 36 inches and weighed 16 pounds. There were lots of smashing hits at the lures. The fish were big.

I witnessed an angler in a nearby boat get a thrilling hit on a surface popper. He fought a very large striper to the boat. I think it was a fish in the mid-thirty inch size range.
The bottom line is that the big stripers continue to move onto Joppa Flats
around the high tide. It is trophy time!

Capt. Charlie Crue

Channel Edge Charters

06-20-05 Bob's First Time Striper Fishing Catch

June 20 Fishing Report

The striper fishing has been fabulous. My clients caught 7 or 8 Keepers out on Joppa Fats today. Flys and large Suggos worked.

Call me for charter info and dates.

Capt. Charlie Crue
Channel Edge Charters

Merrimack River - June 10

Since my last report the fishing in the estuary area has continued to provide rapid action with the small schoolies that have invade the river. These small fish 12 to 14 inches all look to be very healthy and are feeding on the local sand eels. We are also getting some of the bigger stripers. My clients have brought 4 or 5 keepers to the boat and quite a few mid-twenty inch fish. Every fish was revived if necessary and released.

Just a note to you fishermen catching the small schoolies, take a pair of pliers and bend the hook barb down. It makes for an easy release and less harm to the fish.

Joppa Flats has been relatively quiet for the most part but some nice sized stripers have been taken.

The most effective flies have been small olive/white clousers or deceivers. A lot of enjoyable surface action can be experienced with gurglers when the fish are working bait to the surface. Sluggos in white or brown/white are working well.

I took a couple of clients outside the jetties one day after a friend reported birds working over breaking stripers. One of my guys caught two very hard fighting keepers measuring 31 and 33 inches and 10 to 12 pounds. The other guy caught some smaller stripers plus 2 or 3 mackerel that hit the deceiver he was using.




Get out and enjoy the fishing when you can. I have open dates in July.

Capt. Charles Crue
Channel Edge Charters
www.channeledgecharters.com

Merrimack River - June 6

May 23 thru the 26th was a total bust with a couple of very strong Northeasters smashing the north shore. All boats at my marina were forced to move up river to avoid the high winds and extreme tidal surges. I managed to move my boat with help of a couple of friends at the marina. The wind was howling and the waves were 3 to 4 feet. It was a harrowing experience. One 40 foot sail boat broke from its mooring was grounded on half tide rocks where it was pounded and later sank on Joppa Flats. By Friday everything had quieted down and I was able to take my charter clients out on a relatively quiet morning. We fished the upper end of Joppa Flats with very good results. They caught and released many schoolies taken on flies and jigs. The biggest catch was about 22 inches but on light tackle it provided a good fight.

Sunday my client from San Diego, Jonathon, enjoyed catching many, many schoolies. They were truly small stripers, some were only 12 inches in length. That has been the recent experience fishing our Merrimack Estuary area. The crazy weather with low temperatures has definitely affected the the striper fishing. The good news is that with the tremendous abundance of small stripers, we can anticipate great fishing in the future. Of course, that assumes that regulators don’t change the controls on the fishery.

Monday there were lots of schoolies in the area. Waders were collecting lots of very small stripers. The fish were only 11 to 13 inches. I haven’t seen so many small stripers for years. I t bodes well for the years ahead if they have adequate food available. I am concerned about the lack of baitfish that the stripers need. Menhaden are in short supply and even mackerel are becoming scarce. A boat at my marina went out to get some mackerel and only came back with one.



The action on Joppa Flats continued on Wednesday with lots of small schoolies. We got a few larger fish including one keeper.

-- Charlie Crue