Ryan Collins
I had been sitting at my computer all day and all night long, when suddenly an emotion swept over me.
At 11:30PM I decided to leave Lauren and our cat Izzy behind, and drive on a hunch to a tributary of Boston Harbor.
The "fishing fever" had hit me unexpectedly, and it had hit hard, during February of all months. I am certainly more accustomed to these spur of the moment adventures during the summer!
So I drove to Boston, a place where I have never fished before. It was the middle of the night and I wondered what fishing access would be like, and I was curious what people (if any) I would meet out there in the dark.
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The Urban Fishing Experience
My curiosity with fishing the city of Boston began in December, when I started seeing a lot of posts social media about holdover stripers being caught in and around the Boston area.
Some of the fish in those photos are big too. This winter I have seen photos of bass as large as 38 inches taken from the Boston area.
I am told by credible sources that hard plastic swimming plugs, such as the SP Minnow, work well during the winter in the tributaries of Boston Harbor. I prefer to cast plugs, so this was good news for me.
I fished pretty hard that first night and scouted out some terrific areas. Before I knew it the time was 3:00AM and I decided to head home.
I was fish-less but happy I had made the trip.
Attempt #2
48 hours after my night trip to Boston, I checked Instagram and was greeted by this photo of a very healthy looking and chunky 15 pound Boston holdover.
Once again I found myself on Route 93 surrounded by commuters heading north, back into the city to give it another try. I arrived at my chosen spot and had a line in the water before daybreak.
Hi Ryan,
I’m the guy from the photo that you linked to, that was a 36′ fish well over 15lbs! It’s good to be aware at night, I’ve run into a few characters for sure but nothing to bad. For a first Striper it was well worth it, and the many since!
That is one hell of a first striper! Especially considering you caught her during the winter.
Thanks for commenting, and definitely keep in touch during 2016. Spring is coming fast.
Nice article, Ryan. That’s my instagram account and that bass my pal caught was north of 20lbs for sure! Poor picture taking on my part!
Thanks Jesse. I also read your article in Surfcaster’s Journal and it definitely helped me catch a few holdovers last week on Cape Cod. Good tips!
Thanks for the advice and keep in touch. If you ever would like to contribute something to MFCC then definitely let me know.
Great article Ryan! The fishing bug is starting to bite me badly and hearing this about Boston just makes it that much better. I will getting out there for sure soon to see if I can’t get into a holdover fish myself!
Sounds good! I hope you find a few.
I plan on hitting it hard again during March.
Nice Ryan! Did u happen to catch Kims article? Sounds like they have it down pretty good. Looks like a warm up after this weekend. Hopefully March will be a good month
Yes I did see his article on Surfcasters Journal. Very well done and inspiring!
I am looking forward to trying again. Let me know when you get one.
Great report! I have been thinking about it but no guts!
I would need a bodyguard!
LOL!
Awesome to see you venture up into this neck of the woods. You’re a brave and hardy soul to do it now! it probably goes without saying, but be REALLY careful and aware of your surroundings in some of those spots. Some guys–especially the old guard– make it a habit of packing when they venture into seedy city areas. Ever thought about hitting the herring run on the Charles?
Good to know, thanks for the intel. I will keep careful.
I have not given much thought to the Charles River herring.
Where do you think might be a good spot to try? Watertown Dam?
that’s the most popular spot but there are some places in between there and say 1st or 2nd bridge that i think might produce and be less crowded. i think a kayak would work very well. lots of easy launch points. WYC is right up the street and am making a handful of herring pattern flies (to the best of my very limited ability) to try off the floats. getting excited!
Awesome tips!
I could feel spring in the air today…
Nice work! There seem to be quite a few holdovers in the many rivers and estuaries around Boston based on the pictures I have seen. My only concern when fishing Boston is the same one you brought up…what kind of people you will run into if you try to fish at night. I have fished around Quincy during the season at night and run into some pretty sketchy people!
Yeah the guys who know when and where to go seem to do very well on the holdovers. Pretty impressive.
There are certainly some characters out there in the dark!
There are people of all types when you’re stalking fish late at night. When I was really learning the seedier areas of Chelsea and East Boston, it wasn’t uncommon to hear multiple gun shots… That being said, another time I was approached by a gang member and he was the friendliest guy I had ever met. We talked fishing, exchanged war stories (he showed me some bullets he still had lodged in him!), he gifted me a crab pot which I totally didn’t need, and he went on his way! I think generally, most people will leave you alone if you’re out late at night, being a crazy person fishing… That in itself seemed to be enough of a deterrent for me…