Early worm catches the fish

FISHING FORECAST

School’s out for summer, and the busiest part of the boating season begins with the arrival of July. When the sun is up and the wind is down, you can expect traffic on the water to rival rush hour at the Braintree Split.

Fish don’t respond well to all those whirring propellers buzzing back and forth over their heads, so it’s common for the striper bite to slow to a stop when boat traffic picks up.

The solution is to rise and shine before the sun does. Twilight comes early this time of year, and fishermen who hit the water during the magical hour before sunrise are rewarded with prime fishing, placid waters and little competition from other anglers.

Summer boating season is short in New England, but thankfully, the days are long. Get out of bed when the sky is still dark and make the most of your mornings.

South Shore

The Cape Cod Canal was a popular spot this week, but despite strong full moon tides, the fishing was tough. Canal rats, as the fishermen who frequent its rocky edges are often called, remain hopeful that the fishing will rebound in July, which was spectacular last year.

There’s been an excellent bite off the outer Cape, from Provincetown around the backside off Truro. Schools of 20-pound stripers, with some bigger bass mixed in, are feasting on mackerel and herring, both in the rip at Race Point and on the surface.

Inshore bass fishing has been good along the South Shore, but the bigger bass are coming from deeper water offshore. Live mackerel remain the top bait but finding them can be a challenge. Chumming might be necessary to load your livewell.

The mouth of the North River and the shoreline structure and rocks off Scituate are holding good numbers of stripers, but most of the fish are schoolies with some 30-inchers mixed in.

Look toward the ledges and venture out toward the threemile line to locate larger stripers. This time of year, 40- and 50-pound stripers are a real possibility when fishing live mackerel in deep water.

Bluefin tuna are still a no-show on Stellwagen Bank, so most biggame boats are focusing on shark fishing and continuing to enjoy the haddock bite.

Boston Harbor

While the light-tackle bass fishing has been good inside the harbor, with stripers feeding at the surface, the big news has been bigger bass outside. Outer Brewster, Martin Ledge and Graves Light are getting plenty of attention from “cow hunters” hoping to hit the magical 50-pound mark. Slow-trolling live mackerel is the preferred tactic for covering water and crossing paths with a trophy striper.

Shore fishermen should plan to have a line in the water by first light to intercept stripers that have been cruising the shallows under the cover of darkness. Fresh mackerel chunks are producing keeper-sized stripers. Try drifting them without weight if crabs and other bottom-dwellers are a nuisance. Deer Island, Castle Island and Revere Beach are good options for fishing chunk baits. Probing the waters around East Boston with artificial lures could also produce good action.

Flounder fishing remains very good around Long Island, Georges Island, and Lovell Island. While sea worms fished on the bottom will produce the most bites, fishermen seeking the biggest flatfish will often use pieces of clam.

North Shore

Bigger striped bass have moved into North Shore waters off Nahant, Swampscott, Marblehead and Salem Sound. Flip Rock, Shag Rocks, and Egg Rock all have big bass potential right now. Once again, live mackerel are your best bait.

Deep-water structure has been holding bigger bass off Marblehead and outside Salem Sound. This is to be expected as long as the predominate forage fish is mackerel. However, pogies could quickly draw big bass inshore to areas like Nahant Bay and Ipswich Bay.

Flounder fishing has been good and is gaining more attention in areas like Beverly Harbor, Marblehead Harbor, and Gloucester Harbor. Reports out of Ipswich Bay and Plum Island have also been good and getting better.