The Bill Fisher Tackle fishing report is brought to you by Corey and Cam Gammill. Visit their website, their shop at 127 Orange Street, or give them a call at (508) 228-2261.
Dear Fishermen and Friends,
This is the best time of year! The fishing is just turning on and getting better by the day. To be crystal clear, it is not red hot yet, but it is super fun right now. Everyone I am talking with who is out fishing is either raising fish, hooking up and losing or catching. Everyone, most importantly, is coming away with a story. Just a few days ago the waters seemed barren, now, there is life and hope.
What makes spring so awesome is that it is filled with hope for what lies ahead. It is also filled with firsts. First Striper, first keeper, first blue etc… We all know that our fishery forever evolves for the next 5 months and every evolution is magical, but what makes the first month so awesome, is that the shore/beach fishermen have the advantage over the boaters. The stripers now are small, getting bigger, so every 25 inch fish brings the wonder if it’s a keeper, because it feels twice the size of the 16 incher caught the night before.
As for where to go… that is half the fun, as fish have been scattered all over. The most consistent reports continue to be easy to access places: Hither Creek, Eel Point, Dionis, Hulbert Avenue and a variety of places in the harbor; most of the shorelines have fish. Fish are also being picked off from the beaches as well, but this time of year most people who are fishing hard love working the harbors and north shore. As for when to fish…fish have been reported on all tide cycles, so don’t get caught up on when you have to be out there. Typically though if you are going to time it, time it around high tide. That said, the last few sunsets have been at low tide and the low light of morning and evening have brought great comfort to the newly migratory fish. So if you can fish early or late, do it, that said I was on the water in the middle of the day and was seeing and catching fish. What has also been nice to see is the bait has increased daily. And while the bait balls were small a few days ago, they are getting larger by the day.
The other cool story from the last few days worth mentioning is that a few people saw herring being pushed up on the beach at Fishermen’s beach by gannets and other large birds. Big and small bait is in our water and our ecosystem is coming alive. Likely there are fish pushing this bait as well, and if there aren’t now, there will be.
As for what to use, lots of small baits are working. Those working poppers and surface baits are getting spectacular blow-ups, while those fishing twitch baits ( Grey Lady, Rapala Hogy, Albie Snax) are also getting great hits and are getting fish as well. Perhaps the least interesting but best catching lures at the moment are plastic swim baits like paddletails from Hogy or Storm swim shads.
Our last recommendation is if you want to get out and fish now, we HIGHLY recommend using a 7 foot light rod. It will make your experience so much more fun and it will allow you to fish appropriate size lures and increase your hook-up rate. We have combos for as low as $80 and for $150-$200 you can have a rod you can have for years to come. It is a worthwhile investment for sure.
Most importantly, go make a memory. This time of year is amongst our favorite. And as I am typing this… I just got another ping from a buddy with his first fish. Go get yours.
Lastly, but certainly not least, please sign up for the Striper Sea Run Opener. This is arguably the best tournament of the year. ALL proceeds go to charity and it is run by Raf Osana, who is a great Nantucket angler and who, as a person, is all about giving back. Here is the registration, and here is the website describing the tournament.
The Bill Fisher Tackle Shop is now open 7 days a week!
We are open 7 days a week, 9-5. These hours will expand in the summer, but for now we are here . As for our Staff, Dave is Back! as is Jeremy, Chris, and David. These guys are awesome and fish hard.
Need a new Rod and Reel? We got it.
It has been a lot of work this year trying to get the necessary inventory in place, but we have worked hard and outside of some 9’ rods we are feeling very good about having the inventory to get through the season. In 2020 we scrambled like every other outdoor shop with excess demand and decreased supplies, but strong relationship with suppliers got us through the season. In the Fall of 2020 we spent a lot of money getting lined up for this year and made sure to get our favorite product in stock. We are long on 7’ and 8’ Teramars which is in our mind the best inshore rod on the market, St. Croix’s new Mojo inshore (7’ and 7’11”) is a home run and a new fan favorite has become the 8’ Daiwa SP Spinning Rod.
As far as reels, Penn and Shimano have been tough to work with, but that has made us step outside our comfort zone and search for new reels and Daiwa has delivered they have two reels the BGMQ and the Procyon that are home runs. Both are light and tough… leading the trend in lighter yet durable gear. We also brought in the quantum smoke which has been around for years and compares directly with the Shimano Stradic.
Bottom line, we have new, great inventory in, come see it, feel it and say hello.