Merrimack River Fishing Report #5
June 13, 2008


Over the weekend and into Monday and Tuesday, the weather was hot and humid. For the most part the skies were bright so late morning the fishing slowed down. But, there were more large stripers around and they could be caught on flies or Sluggos. A friend caught a 42 inch, 32 pound striper with the fly rod. He was using a large fly.

Saturday I hosted a a guy who brought his dad from Syracuse. We fished Joppa early and caught a few schoolies on flies. The action quickly subsided as the morning brightened. We then tried between the jetties but it was slow with the tide still running hard. After trying a couple up river spots and catching a few more fish we returned to the jetty area. That time the action was there and they caught 10 to fifteen more stripers but no keepers.

Sunday I guided for Tom and his two sons, Tyler 14 and Dave 9. I gave Dave some instruction on using the spinning rod. He caught on quickly. During the early fishing on Joppa Tom caught two nice stripers 28 and 26 inches respectively, which I released.
Everyone had fun catching fish.

During the middle of the week the mornings were bright with no cloud cover. It did cause the fishing action to slow down but there were still stripers to be found. Thursday it was very windy. I fished with my client and we only managed to catch 4 or 5 schoolies.

On Friday morning I was free to fish on my own. I ventured down to the Parker River for the first time this season. I found little going on so I went back to Joppa Flats. The tide was just beginning to drop and there were lots of boats. I didn’t see anyone hooking up but as I slowly cruised across I saw some big swirls. There were big stripers swimming around. I saw one come near the surface only a few yards from the boat. It was a monster and looked to be between 3 and 4 feet long. I fished with flies and Sluggos without getting a strike. Then I switched to one of my jig head soft bait rigs. I saw a striper take the lure near the surface. It mad a powerful run away from the boat fighting the drag on my reel. I slowly worked it back and after a couple scares when the fish tried to run under the boat I had it. It was a nice fish fat and measuring 32 inches. I took a quick photo of it lying on the deck and then revived and released it. It made my morning!

Merrimack River Fishing Report #4
June 6, 2008

Last Saturday morning there was good action with breaking stripers at the river mouth. By 9 AM it was slow. Showers came through but stripers were active on Joppa. Sunday it was very slow fishing. We fished from about 7 AM to 10AM and covered the waters from outside the jetties to above the Rte 1 Gillis Bridge with out a hit! I only saw one or two schoolies. As high tide approached I tried around the Chain Bridge and eagle Island with no success. Then I saw a breaking striper. I made a cast and caught a schoolie. A little later as I fished my fly deep I had a light hit. At first I thought it was another schoolie. I it was when I tried to bring it in. The fight lasted for a few minutes during which I made one trip around the boat trying to keep from losing the fish. I finally brought a nice 32 inch striper to the boat. It made my day!

On Monday I had to haul my boat in to get motor control cables replaced. One appeared to be about ready to break. I got my boat back the next day with a $400 lighter wallet. Oh well, that is how it goes with boat ownership. After I launched the boat I decided to try it out and do a little fishing. I fished around the Chain Bridge area. A friend in a near by boat told me he saw some breaking fish and since I had spinning tackle he suggested I try poppers. I did and had about five or six hits but only one catch. Maybe my reaction time has slowed down!

Wednesday morning I went down to the river mouth to scout out fishing conditions for the upcoming charters scheduled for through the weekend. When I got there I found only a few boats and stripers breaking all over the area. I immediately nailed a schoolie and next hit was much more of a challenge. There were big swells and the striper wouldn’t give up. I stumbled around the boat a couple times trying to keep my balance and not lodes the fish. Eventually it tired and I got it in using my Boga Grip. It measured 38 inches! I was tired but there was still action all over. I kept fishing and over the next hour or so I caught and released many mid-twenty inch stripers plus a 34 inch and two 36 inch fish. What a morning it was!!

Based upon the great fishing on Wednesday, I anticipated a very nice trip for my charter clients Thursday morning. However, Mother Nature had other plans and the weather was not good. There was a strong wind from the North and it was very cold and damp when I arrived at the marina. It didn’t seem too bad there but conditions are usually much poorer below the Rte 1 Bridge. Anyhow we decided to give it a try. Charles and his father had fished with me before and I knew Charles could cast a fly well. His dad, an older gentlemen made up for his age by his spirit and dedication to the sport. I admire that! As I expected there were rough seas just outside the jetties with swells moving into the river between the jetties so we fished inside just above the swells. With the tide near low the north jetty did mitigate the wind a little when we were close to it.

The fishing was slow but as the bottom of the tide approached Charles hooked a nice striper and brought it to the boat after a good battle. It was a keeper of about 30 inches.
Once the tide changed the action picked up was pretty good for an hour or more. They caught lots of fish so the morning ended well.

Friday was another wet day but at least the wind was pretty much gone. We fished Joppa early with little success. Later a few schoolies along the channel. As the tide approached the low we fished the area between the jetties. There were still large swells coming in so it was a little difficult for fly or spin fishing. My clients did OK with spin rods. As the tide began to come in so did the stripers hitting on silverside minnows. The action was fast for a while! By 10 AM we were all soaked and ready to quit.