Location Profile: Westport, Massachusetts - Sea Bass, Fluke, Tautog and More

Graceful Drifter on the Westport River

I first met Jim Turner when we were both working as Marine Biology instructors at the Bournedale Outdoor Education Center in Plymouth Massachusetts.   I was impressed with Jim’s ability to integrate his own real life experiences from a lifetime of boating, clamming and fishing on the south coast with the marine science lessons being presented to his students. Today, Jim applies his years of experience to running fishing charters out of Westport Harbor.  (See Westport Point Fishing Charters on Facebook)

Captain Jim Turner with a nice Fluke

I’ve had the privilege of accompanying Jim on many fishing trips.  The Westport area offers tremendous fishing opportunities due to it’s natural attributes.  The Westport River is relatively clean with healthy populations of shellfish, and forage fish.  Both rocky shoal areas and sandy stretches are found just outside the mouth of the river.  More outstanding fishing spots are nearby and include: Gooseberry Island, Hens & Chickens, Pine Tree Grounds, and a bit further offshore, Browns Ledge. 

A Striped Bass caught while trolling in early May

The fishing season begins here as elsewhere at the end of April with the arrival of large schools of small Striped Bass or “Schoolies”.  Within a couple of weeks larger keeper sized Stripers appear.  However once the legal seasons for Black Sea Bass and Fluke 

open up, that’s when the real fun begins.  The Westport area provides some of the best Black Sea Bass action in New England.  Big sea bass 20 inches or more are not at all uncommon during the month of May and into early June.  We also manage to catch some impressive size Fluke and Scup at this time of year.  Jim and I experienced one crazy day this past June when the Sea Bass were stacked thick from top to bottom over a rocky area in 20-30 feet of water.  Jim used a squid baited bottom rig and I used a Bucktail Jig tipped with a strip of Mackerel.  Not that it really mattered because at the height of the madness the fish were even hitting bare hooks.  We each caught our limit of big 17 - 20 inch sea bass plus a couple of Fluke, 19 & 24 inches. We must have released over 70 fish that day!

Black Sea Bass

Fluke

As the water gets warmer in the summer we have to work a bit harder to find Black Sea Bass & Fluke.  Fortunately great fish habitat is nearby in 50-60 feet of water.   By late summer we are finding fish at 70-100 ft.  Bluefish will also make a appearance about this time of year.   They add nice bit variety and a whole lot of fun action to a fishing trip.

Bluefish and Black Sea Bass

Just around the time that the Black Sea Bass season closes, (this year in Massachusetts the season closed on September 12th) Captain Jim begins to target another popular bottom fish, Tautog.  Numerous rock piles in the waters off Westport provide great habitat for the crab munching Tautog.  Last year’s Tautog fishing was fantastic during October and November.  This year’s season has been off to a good start with Westport giving up quality fish in mid September. We are also finding more Grey Triggerfish this year, possibly due to the very hot summer we just had.

Grey Triggerfish

The Westport River Area is a little bit out of the way for most people to drive to but it’s well worth the trip.  Captain Jim is currently taking reservations for full day and half day charters targeting Tautog in October.  I also recommend making reservations early to get in on some great Black Sea Bass fishing next Spring. 

Black Sea Bass - Peak Season: May-June, September.  Best Methods: 1) Hi-Lo Rig baited with Squid, Clam, Baitfish Strips and or Berkley Gulp Swimming Mullet (red or chartreuse). 2) Bucktail Jig with a 4/0 Octopus or Circle hook tied one foot above the jig. Bait jig and hook with Berkley Gulp Swimming Mullet plus squid or baitfish strip. 

Fluke - Peak Season: May-June, September.  Best Methods: 1) Spinner Rig baited with Squid, Baitfish Strips and or Berkley Gulp Swimming Mullet (red, white or chartreuse). 2) Bucktail Jig with a 4/0 Kahale hook tied one foot above the jig. Bait jig and hook with Berkley Gulp Swimming Mullet plus squid or baitfish strip.

For more information on this blog about fishing in Westport see: Westport Fluke and Sea Bass and Westport Tautog Sunday October 22, 2017

Groundfishing and Stream Fishing In Ireland May 29 - June 7, 2018

Cynthia, and I recently vacationed in County Clare, Ireland. Between hiking along sea cliffs, exploring medieval ruins, and enjoying the craic of the local pubs I managed to do some 

fishing

                     Pub in Lisdoonvarna                                                Castle in Carrigaholt

Before leaving I booked a trip with Fishing Adventures in Kilbaha on the Lady Gwen II.  Captain Sean Maguire arranged a trip for us sharing the boat with a few other anglers.  He even set us 

up with a place to stay in Doonaha.  This area on the north shore of the Shannon River estuary is referred to as the Loop Head Peninsular.  It is quite rural and very beautiful. It was a great 

place to relax and unwind at the start of our vacation. 

Cliffs at Loop Head

The fishing trip was very successful in both quality and quantity of fish. I even caught two 

new species: European Ling and European Pollock.  Large numbers of Atlantic Mackerel 

and Atlantic Pollock (called Coalfish in the British Isles) rounded out the catch.  We used 

multi-hook rigs dressed with feathers or bucktail, often baited with bits of mackerel.

One Of My European Ling

Cynthia Holds up a European Pollock

Irish Jigs

At the end of the trip Captain Maguire filleted my two Ling and a Pollock for us to take 

back to the cottage.  These fish provided us with two delicious meals.  

Top: Coalfish or what we call Pollock in New England.   Bottom: European Pollock.  Note
the the Coalfishhas a relatively straight light colored lateral line while the European
Pollock has a darker curved lateral line.  The European Pollock also has much larger eyes.

After four nights in Doonaha we traveled north up the coast to Doolin.  From here we explored the Cliffs of Mohr and the Aran Islands.  In the evenings we went to the local 

pubs for food, music, and drinks.  We even joined in on a traditional session in 

Lidoonvarna and played our fiddles for a bit. 

We stayed at the Doolin Cottage B&B near the Aille River.  The accomodations were very comfrtable and a Full Irish Breakfast (or lighter fare if desired) was served each morning.  

Got up very early the first morning to check out the stream.  On the first cast a small fish followed my yellow Panther Martin Spinner.  On the next two casts I hooked up and caught two beautiful little Brown Trout.  These wild native fish were as bright and colorful as the wild Brook Trout that I’m used to catching in New England.  

Aille River in Doolin

Wild Native Brown Trout 

For the last few days of our trip we stayed at the Ardulan Guest House in Ennis (More Full Irish Breakfasts!).  The River Fergus flows through the back yard.  It didn’t take too long for me to catch several Eurasian Perch using a small floating Yellow Perch Rapala.

  The Back Yard of the Ardulan  Guest House in Ennis

Eurasian Perch

Cynthia and I both agree that we need to go back to Ireland in the near future.  I would like to spend more time saltwater fishing from shore in addition to a boat excursion.  Also might try a guided freshwater excursion on a lake to target different species from a small boat.  

Spring Saltwater Fishing

This year I booked two Haddock fishing party boat trips in April to jumpstart the Spring saltwater season and bring home some fillets.  Also around this time the hunt for big Scup and the year’s first Striped Bass began in earnest. 

Striped Bass Caught in Westport

Good numbers of migratory “Schoolie” size Striped Bass always show about the middle of April.  This year they were on time and I did manage to catch a few small schoolies in Popponesset Bay the first week of May.  There were fewer bass in the bay this Spring  Also missing this year were the large schools of Menhaden that attract the Stripers (and Bluefish) into the bay. My first Stripers this year were caught  in Westport with Westport Point Fishing Charters. 

Haddock 

On April 22nd I went out Haddock fishing on one of the Captain John boats in Plymouth.  It was a slow ride going out to the fishing grounds on Stellwagen Bank due to an enforced speed limit with a purpose of preventing collisions with slow moving Right Whales.  The down side was that we had less time for fishing.  On the plus side the fishing trip provided some pretty decent whale watching. Got some views of Right Whales and Finback Whales.  The Rights are a highly endangered species that was nearly hunted to extinction before becoming a protected under international law. Unlike some of the other whales species, their population has never recovered. 

Sculpin

The Haddock fishing that day was even slower  than the whales. Only got one keeper.  The fishing was sure to pick up sooner than later, so the following week my son, Nate, and I went back out.   This time the fishing was much better and we brought home a cooler full of tasty fillets.  We also caught Sculpins and Cod.  The Cod however had to be released since the Gulf of Maine is closed to recreational Codfishing .

A Stringer Of Scup

Speaking of tasty fillets let’s not forget the other saltwater species that provides some fast paced fishing in early May.  This is my favorite time of the year to fish for Scup from a Kayak.  The fish are close to shore in less than 20 feet of water.  Also they tend to run large, averaging about 14 inches, and as big as 17 inches.  The shallow water makes it easy to target them with small jigs on a light spinning outfit.  This method also worked for the Black Sea Bass and Sea Robins that showed up soon after the Scup.  

My Go To Jig Rig - Bucktail Jig with Gulp Swimming Mullets

Right: Black Sea Bass   Left: Sea Robin  

Here’s two of my favorite fish recipes:

Parmesan Baked Haddock

Baked breaded Haddock is a classic dish.  This one was given to me by Capt, Jim Turner of Westport Point Fishing Charters.   It uses crushed Ritz crackers in place of bread crumbs. 

Ingredients: 

2 pounds of Haddock Fillets

one cup crushed Ritz Crackers

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cups slivered almonds

3 tablespoons of Butter

1 tablespoon of apricot preserves 

Lemon Slices

1. Pre-heat oven to 480 degrees
2. Mix together the crushed crackers, grated cheese, and almonds.
3. Lightly butter the bottom of a baking dish.
4. Place fillets in dish, sprinkle with a little lemon juice and cover with cracker mixture.
5. Melt butter mixed with apricot in a microwave oven.  Whip the mixture and pour evenly over the fish.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 12 minutes or until fish begins to flake. 

Nemo In A Blanket

This is so easy and it works with any small, thin fish fillets (Scup, Cunner, Yellow Perch, White Perch, Black Crappie, and Winter Flounder).  All you do is dip the fillets in pancake batter and cook them like pancakes in a frying pan or on a griddle. Can be served sweet with real maple syrup or molasses.  If you prefer savory top with tarter sauce or cocktail sauce.

Ingredients:

6-8 pieces of fish (Cut larger fillets in half)

Fresh squeezed lemon juice

Pancake Batter:

1 cup white flour

1/2 cup cornmeal 

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

2 tablespoons cooking oil

1. Make batter thick enough to coat the fillets
2. Dip fillets in batter and cook in hot oil, flipping once.

Spring Freshwater Frenzy

On Cape Cod it’s a good strategy to try and pack in as much freshwater fishing as possible during the Spring season.  That’s simply because we’re surrounded by ocean and by the middle of May the saltwater bite is on strong for a wide variety of species.  This leaves little time to visit the Cape’s multitude of freshwater “kettle hole” ponds many of them generously stocked with trout.  

So with that strategy in mind I made over thirty visits to freshwater fishing sites this Spring.  Species hunting was the name of the game.  Overall I caught fourteen species (Listed below with photos).   

It was a slow start from March to mid April.  Cold temperatures and a few northeasters made fish and fishermen alike less active.  Once the Forsythias showed their yellow blossoms things started to pick up.  For warmwater species Santuit pond in Mashpee was the top producer.  John’s Pond was tops for Rainbow Trout while Mashpee-Wakeby Pond was good for Brown Trout.  Hathaway Pond in Barnstable yielded a Brook and a Tiger Trout.

Most of the trout were caught on metal lures.  Top lures were a bright yellow Thomas Buoyant and a Gold Kastmaster.   Bass and Pickerel were caught on floating Rapalas and live Killifish.  Other species were caught using earthworms or nightcrawlers. 

All species are listed by a common name followed by the scientific name.  The number indicates how many were caught during the period March 20 - May 17, 2018. 

American Eel, Anguilla rostrata (1) 

Location(s): Santuit Pond Maspee MA

Bluegill Sunfish, Lepomis macrochirus (2) 

Location(s): Beaver Pond Franklin MA

Brook Trout, Salvelinus fontinalis  (1) IF, 

Location(s): Hathaway Pond Barnstable MA

Brown Bullhead, Ameiurus nebulosus (2) 

Location(s): Santuit Pond Mashie MA

Brown Trout, Salmo truth (22) 

Location(s): Pimlico Pond Sandwich MA, Mashpee-Wakeby Pond Mashpee MA, Hamblin Pond Barnstable MA

Chain Pickerel, Esox niger (13) 

Location(s): Santuit Pond Mashpee, Long Pond Lakeville MA, Lake Nipennicket Bridgewatewr MA, Beaver Pond Franklin MA

Golden Shiner, Notemigonus crysoleucas (10) 

Location(s): Santuit Pond Mashie Ma

Largemouth Bass, Micropterus salmoides (4) 

Location(s): Flax Pond Bourne MA, Scargo Lake Dennis MA

Pumpkinseed Sunfish, Lepomis gibbous (3)  

Location(s): Santuit Pond Mashie MA

Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus my kiss (26) 

Location(s): Johns Pond Mashie MA, Long Pond Yarmouth MA, Hamblin Pond Barnstable MA

Smallmouth Bass, Micropterus dolomieu (1) 

Location(s): Scargo Lake Dennis MA

Tiger Trout, Salvelinus fontinalis X Salmo trutta Hybrid (1) 

Location(s): Hathaway Pond Barnstable MA

White Sucker, Catostomus commersonii (9) 

Location(s): Mashpee-Wakeby Pond Mashie MA

Yellow Perch, Perca flavescent (23) 

Location(s): Spectacle Pond Sandwich MA, Santuit Pond Mashpee, Hathaway Pond Barnstable MA, Pimlico Pond Sandwich MA, Flax Pond Bourne MA, Little Cliff Pond Brewster MA