| September 18, 2009 |
| Merrimack River Report |
| Not much change from last week except the sandeels have returned to the river mouth and along the beaches north and south. Some decent sized stripers have been taken by the surf crowd and few boat guys are getting some quality schoolies around the backside of the north jetty. The overall surf fishing is still a bit off from what might be expected for mid September, but I have no doubt that good numbers of stripers will begin to show on the new moon (like they do every season). The onshore winds this week kept boats away from the mouth but that should change soon with the expected southwest flow that is coming. Take the time to look up on the flats for big fish on the rising tide. The now cooler water coming down from upstream will entice the sandeels and the stripers to run up on the tide.
We are seeing more macks in Sandy Bay and the live liners have done well slow trolling the coves south of Sandy Bay and inside Gloucester Harbor. But without a serious concentration of baitfish, like peanut bunker, the bite comes and goes quickly as the sun pushes up off the horizon. We spent several late afternoons trying to find feeding stripers (or blues) but were not rewarded for our efforts. The mid-week onshore blow kept us off the water and away from our favorite east facing shoreline locations, but with improving weather forecast for the w/e, get out early and you should find some feeding stripers along the shore or out in the boat near the islands and beaches. With the new moon and better weather looking out to next week, I expect better striper action may be on the way.
 
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