Chatham Fish Pier - Cape Cod MA
Chatham Fish Pier when a fishing boat was coming in.
chatham fish pier
Unloading skate wings at the fish pier in chatham, ma
STRIPED BASS REGULATIONS UPDATE and October 31, 2019 New England Fishing Report with Toby Lapinski
Be sure to follow the weekly fishing reports across New England at
The ASMFC's Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board met on October 30, and the following are the results of said meeting.
• Option 2 passed for equal percent reduction between recreational and commercial
• Sub-option 2-A2 passed, 1-fish slot of 28-35 inches passed for the ocean with conservation equivalency required to meet the 18% reduction
• Sub-option 2-B1 passed, 1 fish at 18-inch minimum for Chesapeake Bay with conservation equivalency required to meet the 18% reduction
• Option B passed, requirement for mandatory use of circle hooks when using bait for striped bass
• States must submit implementation plans for new regulations by November 30, 2019 with the Board taking action on implementation plans at the February meeting
• States must implement circle hook requirements by January 1, 2021
• All other provisions of Addendum VI must be implemented by April 1, 2020
It’s another big week of blackfishing reports up and down the New England coast. Starting off to the north in Buzzards Bay, Steve Moniz checked-ion this week as his son, Joey, boated his first double-digit tog at a hair over 10 pounds on the Nautigirl. Steve said the bite has been very good with lots of 4- to 6-pound fish as well as plenty of shorts for the future. He said the water temps remain in the high 50s so the bite should continue for some time.
Staying in Buzzards Bay, Greg Angell sent me an email with a photo of his wife, Lorraine, and the 9.5-pound tog that she landed off Westport, MA not too long ago. Several of my friends have been hitting that Westport area and doing quite well this fall.
I also received a few emails from friend and Fisherman subscriber, Alan Sharaf, as he got out several times recently in search of tog. While fishing of Cuttyhunk with Capt. Paul Devitt Alan landed several small keepers and a nice 8-pounder. Then while fishing with Capt. Jeff Viamari of Bad Influence charters off Newport he had fish to 9.5 pounds. One cool think of note on the trip with Capt. Jeff is that all fish over 8 pounds were released that day, something that a lot more anglers seem to be doing these days with the bigger tog.
Also in Rhode Island, Fisherman subscriber and current Dream Boat Fishing Challenge leader Garrett Weir was fishing recently with Capt. BJ Silvia of Flippin’ Out Charters and weighed a solid 10.96-pounder in at Crafty One Customs in Portsmouth, RI. Be sure to check out the official details of this year’s Dream Boat Fishing Challenge right now at and see how you can win the Grand Prize, a brand new Steiger Craft.
Staying in the Bay, TJ Kopecky is back from vacation and has an update for us on what’s going on in the East Bay area.
Moving west but staying in Rhode Island, Lawrence Thompson with fishing off a Couth County beach for blackfish over the weekend in 15 to 18 feet of water. He reports landing 8 fish, including a pair of keepers and had a heavy fish take him into the rocks and cut him off.
Staying in Rhody, Dave Bogacz hit the SoCo surf over the weekend and sent me a video report.
Heading into Connecticut waters where there seems to be more quantity of blackfish than quality so far this fall, Jeff Nosal bucked the trend as he landed a massive 14.9-pound tog on Saturday. Jeff weighed the fish in at Fishin’ Factory 3 in Middletown and the fish currently holds down the top spot in the shop’s annual fall tog tourney.
And for one more salty report before hitting the fresh, Eddie An (Ahn) sent me an email with a rather surprising catch. He said that he was fishing over the weekend with his cousin, Erik, jigging Epoxy Jigs off Milford, CT when Erik hooked into a nice-sized cod, the first of which I have heard of that far into the Sound in several seasons. It just goes to show you that you never know what that next drop might produce!
And last up this week, I received an email from Bill Booth of Chicopee, MA, with a nice 10-plus-pound carp that he landed while fishing with pineapple flavored corn in the Oxbow section of the Connecticut River, an area that I know very well from my days living in Western Massachusetts.
Chatham Bars in December
Fishing boats and seals work year round
September 12, 2019 New England Fishing Report with Toby Lapinski
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First up today, I’d like to direct you to a video I recently made which is available right now at on tying what is referred to as the Power Snell. Whether you fish in the saltwater or fresh, circle hooks are recommended when using live or dead bait due the reduced release mortality associated with their use. Further, some states (like Massachusetts) have already begun to require their use when fishing with bait for striped bass beginning in 2020, and other states may soon follow their lead. One major consideration when using circle hooks to ensure they function as intended is in the knot used to attach the hook to your leader. The Power Snell is a great choice for all circle hooks, especially in cases where a large hook is used with rather light line such as is the case when chunking for tuna or striped bass.
And next up, Kyle at J&B Tackle in Niantic will fill us in on the Fall Frenzy Fishing Tournament with proceeds to benefit the Connecticut Cancer Foundation. Full details can be found at
Albies, albies, albies, albies… That’s been the subject of probably 95% of the texts, emails and phone calls that I’ve received since Hurricane Dorian passed by Southern New England over the weekend. Well, word is that they can be had in good numbers from the Vineyard to Rhode Island along the South County beaches, and they’re starting to slowly fill in to Long Island Sound as I received several confirmed reports of catches by CT anglers on Tuesday. This prompted me to head out today,
Dan Sliwa confirmed their presence in South County for me as he nailed one off the beach on Tuesday as I was gathering info for this week’s video. As I made my surf report calls over the weekend, the West Wall and then the shore from Quonny to Weekapaug had been the most consistent area for them, but that was primarily pre-storm so odds are good that they’ve spread out since then. Keep an eye out for bonito and chub macks mixed-in still, but expect catches of both of those species to begin to dwindle as albies get thicker.
Tim Moore of Tim Moore Outdoors has an update for us this week on salmon, lake trout and crappie action up on Lake Winnipesaukee.
Thanks Tim. If you enjoy Tim’s videos, be sure to give his YouTube page, Tim Moore Outdoors TV a follow! And if you’d like to contribute a report, send me an email at tlapinski@thefisherman.com and I can get you started. It doesn’t have to be every week, or even with any regularity – although I do appreciate those regular contributions – you can just drop me a line when you get on a bite and want to pass the word along.
That’s what my dad did this week, as he sent this little video clip of a large school of bunker that he found hanging out on the Connecticut River. I know that he has been finding very good action for the last week and a half up above Essex on small striped bass, hopefully the presence of adult bunker will draw in some bigger fish as they have been somewhat lacking of late. We did see some bigger fish leading up to the new moon, but since then it has been tough to break the 30-inch mark with any regularity.
As I reported last week, bluefin season is open again on the commercial side and some big butterballs have been coming in to the dock. Here is a picture of the 95-incher that Capt. John Clouthier of Fish Chatham Charters caught last week as I was putting together the video. He followed that fish up with an 89-incher on Monday and then a giant of 111 inches on Tuesday! Capt. John put me on my first-ever bluefin several years ago, actually several of them on that trip, and I highly recommend him if you need to get your tuna fix! Call him today at 508-237-7210 and get in on the action!
Alright, last up today is an out of state report from one of our good friends here at The Fisherman Magazine, as Capt. Jason Colby of Little Sister Charters took a short break from hammering the black sea bass off Westbrook and instead beat up on some southern species down in Venice, Louisiana along with good friend, Alan Sharaf. First up, Alan caught and released a fine 40-pound-class bull redfish on Sunday. They then proceeded to load up on sheepshead and other mixed bottom fish before Jason bested a 56-pound amberjack on live bait. Now I[m sure both guys are ruined for our local species once they return home, but that won’t stop Capt. Jason from putting his clients onto some big blackfish through November as well as a mix of albies, fluke, striped bass, bluefish and anything else known to inhabit Buzzards Bay.
My First Cape Cod Giant Bluefin Tuna Of 2018
At 9:45am on August 25th I was putting out my live bluefish a 558 pound giant bluefin tuna came up from below and engulfed the bait right from my hand. Get the full story and more here ????
Deadly Bait Fishing Combo! - How to catch bait fish
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Haddock Charter returns to Rye Harbor
Captain Keper Connell brings his 6AM charter fishermen, Don, Ben, Brian, Dane, Scott and cameraman Win back to port after a morning of 13 haddock, two cod, a wolfish and a cusk.
September 5, 2019 New England Fishing Report with Toby Lapinski
Be sure to follow the weekly fishing reports across New England at
If you’re looking to get out and fish, assuming you can get out before the storm hits or once it clears up, September 1 marked the fall bonus seasons on porgies and sea bass in Rhode Island and Connecticut waters. In Rhode Island, anglers onboard for-hire vessels may harvest 50 porgies per angler from 9/1 – 10/31 (private anglers retain the existing 30-fish bag limit), and the bag limit on black sea bass increases from 3 to 7 fish per angler from 9/1 – 12/31 for all anglers. In Connecticut, anglers onboard for-hire vessels may harvest 50 porgies and 7 black sea bass per angler. The bag limit increase on porgies lasts from 9/1 – 10/31, and the sea bass bag limit increases lasts from 9/1 – 12/31. Again, the Connecticut bag limit increase is for FOR-HIRE ANGLERS ONLY. All private boat and shore anglers must abide by the existing regulations of 30 porgies and 5 sea bass per angler.
I heard from Fisherman Magazine subscriber, Dave Bogacz who fished off South County, RI over the weekend with his buddy, Nate Dubois. They found breaking fish off the beaches right away, landing a black sea bass, but then had a difficult time tempting much more than a few schoolie bass as the fish were showing on the electronics but not willing to strike anything they threw. They then began trolling umbrella rigs, adding a few more small bass to the day’s catch, until the winds picked up hard out of the east. They made a move to some protected water and found a pod of bonito blitzing some small bait, and both Dave and Nate each landed their first-ever bone. It didn’t take long before they were inundated with boats and pushed off the school, so they worked their way home. Dave said he was pulling the boat in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Dorian after he sent me his report and will therefore be concentrating on the surf for the remainder of the season—good luck!
Continuing with the bonito talk, I received an email and some pictures from subscriber, Lawrence Thompson over the weekend. He said that he was fishing South County and got into some really good action on the bones, landing 14 on Friday and another 15 on Saturday! Mixed-in with the bonito were some schoolie bass and small bluefish, providing for some great action! Only time will tell just how the bite holds up after Dorian passes, but I’ll be sure to pass along any word that I get.
For tuna anglers, the commercial bluefin season reopened on September 1 and anglers got back to work as opposed to playing catch and release on the big fish as they’ve been doing the last few weeks. And right out the gate, Captain John Clothier of Fish Chatham Charters nailed a giant that measured 114 inches and weighed-in at over 800 pounds! And then while I was typing the notes for this week’s report, John’s wife, Kristen, sent me an email saying that John had just boated a 95-inch bluefin! He had been putting his clients onto a steady catch of 36- to 70-inch tuna recently around the Regal Sword, before getting word of some giants up north just in time for the commercial reopen. In this week’s report, he also noted that live baits have been critical to his success on multiples giants this season, but mackerel, for instance, have become difficult to come by of late.
And last up this week, I received a great fluke report from my friends on “Team El Nino” as they fished off Montauk over the weekend. Fresh off the $106,500.00 Flounder Pounder Open win in Delaware the team decided to take the trip up to Montauk again to try their chances at some trophy fluke on Labor Day weekend. Sunday was marginal as far as sea conditions but the team decided that it was still worth a shot as the fish are on the move this time of the year and good fishing days might be limited. It was a rough one, but the fish definitely cooperated because not only did they boat one double-digit doormat, they boated 3 double-digits on one trip with 3 anglers! Ron Redrow started it out with his true doormat of a fluke tipping the scale at West Lake at 12.25 pounds. He followed it up with another 10.15-pounder on the very next pass! It was then the Captain’s turn as Nino Aversa boated his personal best 10.05-pound fluke and followed that one up with another one close to 9 pounds. The rest of the trip yielded 6 more fluke in the 6- to 7.5-pound range, 21 jumbo black sea bass and 3 cod in the 24- to 26-inch range. Only time will tell how the fluke fishing holds up after this weekend’s storm but even if the guys don’t get back on the fish, that is one heck of a way to round out the season!
July 27, 2017 New England Fishing Report with Toby Lapinski
I’d like to start off with a big thanks to the CT Charter & Party Boat Association for hosting the Channel 3 Kids Camp Charity Tournament this past week. It was a great event that raised over $12,000 for the camp.
Due up this coming weekend, kicking off on July 29, the 2017 Tri-State Shootout presented by J&B Tackle hits Block Island. This is one of the premiere offshore fishing tournaments here in the northeast and should be an awesome event as always. There is still time to sign up, and all the details can be found in the event listing at TheFisherman.com
Connecticut
• Bottom fishing has been pretty good in the Sound. There have been fluke, sea bass and porgies on the feed, and plenty of sea robins to fill-in the slow stages of the tide. What’s that? You’re are not a fan of the sea robin? Well I must urge you to check out the feature article that I wrote for the August print issue of The Fisherman and the companion video in which I demonstrate an extremely simple way to prepare these surprisingly tasty fish. Give it a try, I am sure that you will not be disappointed!
Rhode Island
• The hot news for the past week and a half or so is the slug of big bass that have been landed off Block Island. While not everyone is loading up on cows, plenty of really big fish have been caught. I know of a dozen or so 50s, and I just got word of a massive 69-pound bass landed by angler Matt Weckbacher while fishing off the island. Live eels have accounted for the majority of the big fish but trolling umbrella rigs is accounting for some very good catches as well due in no small part to the sand eels which have taken up residence in the area.
Massachusetts
• Much of the buzz this week is about the huge schools of bunker off the ocean side of Cape Cod around Nauset Light and Chatham. There are just-legal and sub-legal stripers under them as well as a few small tuna. The bluefin were reported feeding in as shallow as 20 feet of water. If you remember back to last summer around this time, a similar scenario set up with bunker in close to the beaches and some impressive striper catches were made both from boat and by shore. While everyone and their brother is stopping off at the Canal, it might not be a bad idea in the coming days to keep on riding right out to the Cape beaches.
Fishing on the Lady K. Onset Mass.
Fishing Fishing Fishing
fish'n , Gloucester Ma
fishing with my cousin Darren Hart out of Gloucester Mass. 10/27/2009
2013 101st Airborne Division MA Veteran's Fishing Trip
- Fellow Army veterans enjoyed the second annual 101st Airborne Association of New England fishing trip for veterans and wounded warriors of the North Shore. On board the fishing charter were veterans from Amesbury, Newburyport, Beverly, Boston, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. Some of them seek shelter at nearby veteran home. But the trip was not all about the fishing. It was about the bond the veterans share regardless of their age and experience in the Army.
The event was coordinated by Dick George and Dick Kelley, two veterans who served in the storied division and are active in the association. Local businesses and private donors on the North Shore funded the trip.
Excerpt from Veterans gather to cast a line on the high seas, by Terri Ogan, The Boston Globe
960 Pound Giant Bluefin Tuna
Watch the end game of landing a near grander giant bluefin tuna on Sweet Dream Sport Fishing. The fish measured 118 long and over 960 pounds. This group of guys from Pennsylvania got a life time of memories as they teamed up to help us land this massive fish, You too can experience the catch of a life time by joining us for a Giant Tuna Fishing Charter from historic Gloucester MA.
SportFishingMA.com
Swellmagnet.com tracking a Juvenile Great White Shark in Manhattan Beach
Mike Durand, owner of Swellmagnet.com headed out to see if the rumors that small Great White Sharks are hanging out at El Porto are true and managed a breakfast meeting with Mr. White.
7 14 13 newburyport cod fishing slam
Nice day fishing out of Newburyport, Started out foggy, got hot in the afternoon. Non stop bite, mostly Cod with some big haddock and a few pollock and mixed in. Lots of throw backs made for sore muscles. Filled the fish-box, live-well and the freezer.
Provincetown Cape Cod in great place known as Ptown
This video is the 1st of 4 video clips taken of Provincetown Harbor on February 25, 2011. It was a beautiful and bright sunny day in Ptown with a little wind. The video shows the Harbor from the view point of the beach at the end of the Johnson Street Parking Lot. You can see MacMillian Wharf and the local fishing boats docked.
Great white shark snatches striper from Cape fishermen HD Jul 24, 2018 10:20 AM
A great white shark was filmed munching on a striper that was caught by fishermen off Monomoy this week. Courtesy of The PA Boys aboard the Magellan
Catching My First Striper at Wollaston Beach
I catch my first ever Striped Bass, a solid seven-or-so pounder, at Wollaston Beach following a large full moon tide.