7/3 Merrimack Report

[ag]

The morning was pretty much a repeat of Saturday. There was steady action from the jetty base on out to the number one can until the tide turned. Most of the boats were baitfishing and we saw one keeper taken. We found 5 inch Bass Assassins worked better than the 7 inch size and the black shad color best overall. We were able to pick up fish on almost every drift.

I kept an eye on the crowded bar as we drifted near and saw fish taken at the tail end of the outgoing, as is typical for that spot. While I'd never give up my boat, shore fishing has a special appeal and I may just dig out my waders and revisit that bar some morning.

For those of you looking for mack and/or blues, we found neither.

The weather was great and the water temperature outside the mouth had inched up to 57 degrees, up a degree from Saturday but still much colder than normal for July.

On another note, I just read the spectator boat regulations for the Parade of Sail on the 11th in Boston and am happy to report that there are no restrictions on fishing during the parade. :-);

My family thinks I'm a tad obsessive.

Al

[bdowning]

57? Wow. No wonder the bass fishing's been slow there lately. Wondering if it was warmer earlier and dropped? That would definitely slow things down.

-bd




<img src="http://world.std.com/~bdowning/fishing_lg_wte.gif">

[ag]

Yes, it did drop in mid-June. While the average temperature recorded on the offshore NOAA bouys did not drop much, if any, the temperatures along the immediate coast nosedived. I noticed it first in Boston and later outside Hampton and the Merrimack. The water flowing out of the river reached 67 degrees Monday morning and dropped to 57 once the tide turned.

Al