Due to the heavy surf expected from Hurricane Earl, Parker River National Wildlife Refuge management has made these determinations in the interest of safety:

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-As of immediately, no travel is currently allowed south of the Hell Cat Interpretive Trail on the refuge road (the road is gated where the paved road ends).

-As of 1:00 PM on Friday, 9/3/10, ORV access will be suspended.

-At some point in the afternoon on Friday, 9/3/10, the refuge will be cleared of visitors and closed.

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Refuge management will evaluate the beach tomorrow morning and make a decision about reopening.  Updates will be posted here.

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ERIC ROACH

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But what is it about High Sandy?

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Yesterday and today were days of big blues. In 30-40 feet of water off High Sandy dune on the reservation there was plenty of bait at sunrise, judging from the big red clouds on the chartplotter. Small numbers of blues were active early, but really woke up around 7:30 am. Scads of bluefish schools were cruising between the bottom and mid-water. Trolling was the ticket. Big and small deep swimmers were grabbing plenty of action. Our boat had triple-doubles, where both anglers hooked up together three times in a row. The fish were mostly large, I’d say 28-32″ and angry. Only once did the pack come to the topwater, chasing one blue that was being hauled up from down below. A quick toss of a Ranger got their attention and the topwater frenzy was intense, with one fish after another crashed the surface trying to eat the lure. There were at least a half dozen lined up to get it, and one finally succeeded just 5 feet from the boat.

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A few more boats ended up in the vicinity and they too were rewarded with fish. Where the mouth of the Merrimack gave up virtually nothing, High Sandy delivered in spades.

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David Roberts with a hefty blue.

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There is some bass action around too. Here is a pic from 9/1/10. Mark Nelson, Kayak, Marblehead MA. 28-4 lbs

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Don’t forget our Labor Day and September Sales, nice deals on clothes and lures:

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But against all odds, we have a picture from our pal TallJeff with his personal best 46″ 34.5 lb striper. Judging from the photo he was on the beach, and he says it was on a slab of mackerel. Nice fish.

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Despite the frenzy and the kind of steep waves along the beachfront, bluefish have arrived. Sunday we got a report of a few dozen dragged in by a boat carrying a few kids. They spent the early afternoon with lots of fish taken while trolling swimming plugs. Yesterday a local claims to have taken 38 blues from early morning through 1pm in about 20 feet of water (though he wasn’t really sure of the depth.) So it seems there are bluefish to be had off shore a little way. We suppose umbrella rigs would also bring them in.

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There are conflicting reports on bass. Some folks are hitting them regularly, some swear they’re not around. Your author has been skunked his last two times out, so I’m on the “dissapeared” side. At any rate we did get this report and photo from Nikko, “Went out Sunday about a mile fron Salisbury beach. It was about 1 in the afternoon and a 35 inch striper took a live eel. We also saw a ocean sunfish or mola mola come right up to the boat and swim away.” Pictures tell the story.

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Giant tuna have been active about 5-6 miles outside the merrimack, pretty much due east. Sunday there were at least 50 boats out livelining with balloons. I don’t know where they are finding the Macs, so if you know let us know.

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Don’t forget about our sales theis weekend and all month. Scroll down to see the specifics.

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Dave Rimmer said, “I got a couple fish under 30″ down around Sandy Pt before the sun came up….zippo after that…except the little fellow in the attached photo. I may be mistaken, but I believe it to be the smallest bluefish ever caught in Massachusetts!! Some terns were diving on small bait off the mouth of the Essex River, and this is what was feeding on the bait, and my fly. I originally wanted a photo as an example of a nice small herring, which I thought it was….and then it started biting my finger.

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We have a couple sales this month so despite the lack of fish, we might get you a deal for coming down to the shop anyway. Two sales, one just for the weekend, and one all month.

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The other sale is all of September, which we’re calling “Lure Month.”  Any time in September Custom Wood lures are 10% off. 20% off all other lures in the shop. In stock items only.

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Come in and say hello.

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However there is some excellent news from the Parker River Refuge. Lot’s 2 and 3 are now open. That means the fishermen now have access to the beach for the first time this year. We hope this will allow you folks to get to the water’s edge and huck some bait. Before the blow earlier this week, some nice bass were being taken on the beachfront at Lot 1, so 2 and 3 should produce as well. Clams seemed to be the primary winner for bait, though Big Kenny insists it’s a worm beach. Your choice, or try out both.

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Trolling eels at night in the river has not been that productive. Your authorspent 5 hours last night creeping along at 1.5 mph with only 1 fish to show for the effort. The Flats seemed devoid of life. Only one brief bluefish hit to speak of. Here is the net catch of the night:

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We also recieved a catch and releas photo from Tom McNall from earlier this season. He writes, “Another catch and release.  Ken McNall’s huge 27” striper at the mouth of Essex River. Trolling tube and worm.”

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So that’s today’s report. Looks to be a fantastic warm weekend. Come down to the shop for some bait and the latest news.

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Before the storm the stripers seemed to be on the beachfront and not in the river (or Plum Island Sound). Perhaps this big NE wind has got them back in. Your author will be out tonight with some eels to check it out. Hoping to avoid yet another late-night skunk.

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We’ve asked for Catch and Release pics to add to our blog. Here’s one from Joe Sciuto, 39 inch catch and release slinging eels:

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Today was the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge drive-on permit opening. Sadly, there were only 50 permits available on a first-come first-serve. Last year there were nearly 150 according to our local experts. Then again, last year there was a lot more beach (7 miles!) open to driving, and the beach was pretty wide. This year the beach was narrowed considerably due to a large number of severe storms. At places on the beach now there might be only a single-truck’s width sand between the water and the dune. So our length is now only 1.3 miles. Hence the smaller number of permits.

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Well the permitting started at 7am, but fishermen had been there in line all night, starting before 9pm! Yours truly, after fishing until 2:30 in the morning, finally made my way to the line at 7:05. I was 47th in line. Anyone who came after 8:15 was out of luck for a permit this year.

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Despite the reality of the conditions, we think more could have been done to give the fishermen access. There is only one entrance to the beach for vehicles, down from 2 last year. Though we haven’t been on the beach down that way, it would have been nice to get a section of beach available down that end too. It’s a balance for the Reserve officials between protecting the dune and allowing the fishermen on the beach. This year the fishermen are losing.

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Well the fishing kind of blows today too. The big numbers of bass taken throughout the last month or so have dwindled. The rivers have not produced fish in the regular spots, and even the tube and worm guys have had no luck, and they are usually the bellwether of fish on the flats.

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Friday and Saturday nights were great times to be on the water though. Flat calm with a nice clear moonlit sky. We did have reports of a few fish for the eeling crowd. With better reports coming from the beachfront than up in the rivers. We haven’t got a lot of reports from daytime fishermen but the rumble is that there is not a lot going on, not even bluefish blitzes, which are kind of expected this time of year. Hopefully this trashy weather will kick in some higher-quality fishing.

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We’ve been getting some catch and release photos to add to our weigh-in portraits. If you’d like to send us some, email them to stickman@surflandbt.com. Here are a few reports from our readers:

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Not all of us were skunked though. We weighed this one in last night about 8:30. Tim fished off the beach at Parking Lot #1 in the refuge around high tide.  He caught using clams for bait! Tim is from Warner, NH.  Very nice fish. About 44″.

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Earlier this week I asked for Catch and Release photos, and I got these nice ones from Mike Christopher. This was picked up using a live mac earlier this spring. 43″.

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Did anyone wake up to the eerie fog like we had here on plum island Monday? What a scene for a “fright” movie. Anyways, we had a fisherman in that had fished the morning top of the tide and he reported that 3 waves of fish it. The sun was trying to break through the fog at the same time the fish started hitting. Seems the fish were pushing tinker mackerel around. A few were snagged. Most everyone that caught some fish were using metal, skimming it across the water. My reporter said that he saw 4 “keeper” size with the rest 24 inches and over.

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Yesterday I had had one of the regulars call in from parking lot #1 from the refuge. He managed to hook into a 24 inch and a “chubby” 37 incher. Both on bait. Again, top of the incoming tide to the start of the outgoing is always a good bet for the oceanfront

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Finally the Drive-on permit story for the Parker River reservation has been quantified. The beach took a pounding this winter and spring, leaving very little room to drive. Accordingly, the powers-that-be have restricted the 4-wheel Drive access. Here’s what the new rules are. Kind of a bummer.

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The major points to know are that only 50 permits will be issued, first-come, first-served. And you’ll only have access from the #1 entrance south to mile marker 2. Everything south of there will be closed to vehicles. Permitting begins August 23 at the Parker River Reservation gatehouse.

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