Drifting the Mouth Part III
We made it to Part III! Before you read this exclusive member's only blog, check out Drifting the Mouth Part I and Drifting the Mouth Part II to learn about safety, gear, and drifting live bait fundamentals. Now you are ready for some secrets of the pros! Mouth's of the Merrimack presents
11 Next Level Tips of Drifting the Mouth.
11) Moon Tidal Effects - The Merrimack River’s current will run stronger and longer into the tidal stage on days surrounding the new or full moons. Some days, you may have up to an extra hour of moving water in the river past slack tide, which also means it takes longer than expected for the tide to turn. Use this timing to your advantage by sticking out your drifts a little longer than you usually would be, based on the tide chart when fishing a new or full moon.
10) Alternate Drifts - Sometimes, the mouth is just too rough to get out and can be flat-out dangerous to drift. Don't be so gung-ho to fish there if it is nasty as there are plenty of fish still inside the river! You can drift along the inside of the jetties and reset before the waves become too much. Other places include the edges of the flats, badgers rock, Salisbury Reversvation, etc... and all will hold fish.
9) Refreshing the Livewell - Taking care of live mackerel in the river is extremely important for a successful trip. For various reasons like salinity, oxygen deprivation, or too warm water, mackerel can have difficulty remaining frisky in the livewell, particularly around low tide. One thing you can do to ensure your baits live longer is to ride north of the north jetty on your way in to reset a drift to a place we call "The Bahamas," where the water is crystal clear, cooler, and has a much higher salinity than just inside the jetties. Bring your boat over the distinct tide line into the clean water and let your livewell run for 5 - 10 minutes, sucking in the ocean water. The new ocean water will revive your mackerel and keep them another drift or two longer. After I fill up, I will shut my livewell off during the next drift to keep the colder, saltier water in. Then replenish when I reset again. On a side note, if you need to know how big of a livewell pump you need, a good rule of thumb is that your tank should fill up in under 5 minutes.
8) Situational Trolling - We must address proper etiquette before I talk about trolling in and around the mouth. Trolling should only be done on days with minimal boat traffic and away from the people drifting in the channel. I tend to troll when a few things happen:
The current slows down in the river or is about to turn.
The bite dies
There are clusters of birds diving and moving just outside the mouth on the various sandbars. Sometimes these are fake-outs, but if you're marking/seeing sandeels or stripers, it is game on!
So basically, to troll live mackerel, keep the same rig and weight you had when drifting, put the boat in gear, and drop your baits back at 75 ft and 100 ft. With lines out, stick the rod in the rod holder and move the boat around 2.0 kts until you hit pay dirt. Once you catch a fish, hammer that spot, trolling in circles. Keep an eye on the birds, your fishfinder, and the seams in the current as you hunt around.
The area inside the red lines can be a productive, safe place to troll.
7) Fishing with Lures - You can also fish lures in the mouth. Early in the season, when the fish are on top or mid surface, I like 7-inch sluggos on 1 oz jig heads, Cotton Cordell Pencil Poppers, 6" Hogy Pro Tails, and 2 oz Shimano Colt Sniper Jigs. Albie Snax and the Rebel Jumpin' Minnow get the nod for me for smaller offerings. Whatever you use, you want to match the hatch. It could be sandeels, herrings, or small rain bait.
The Shimano Coltsniper in Blue/Pink catch us some bonus fish while drifting.
6) Fishing the Slack - Slack is a transitional period for stripers. As the current slows down, they move to position themselves for the next feeding station. Every slack in the mouth can fish differently. Here are some of your options:
Sometimes, your best bet is to stick it out and pick up a few bonus fish before the turns. It may not be worth it to move, and best to stick it out.
Depending on the time I have left on my trip, I may take a ride down the beachfront looking for any activity. This tactic paid off handsomely for me four days in a row last season. After doing well in the mouth with the tide slacking out, I had about 90 minutes left in my trip and found some pogy schools that were getting blown up on the morning slack in front of the houses on Plum Island. The following week, that group of fish moved north but had the same pattern, except this time it was the afternoon slack. (Which was the same tide, just later in the afternoon)
Try trolling just outside the mouth like described earlier. Try to find the tight bunches of birds and looks for subtle "swirls" on the water for signs of stripers.
5) Fishing the Turn - Now, the tide is starting to turn, life is returning to the river, and you can start adjusting your drifts again. As the tide pushes in, you will clearly see the tide line. One side is crystal clear ocean water, and the other looks like chocolate milk! Stripers can hang on either side of the tide line, but if you are fishing the river water, keep fishing as if it is an outgoing tide starting at the elbow of the north jetty. The current will continue to push out along the jetties as the tideline comes through the middle south. The north jetty drift will keep you moving, straight, along with structure, and out of the swirly tideline if you find fish in the freshwater.
If the clear water is holding fish, I tend to fish near the tideline as close as possible, where my boat can drift perpendicular to the current. The boat can spin and lead to nasty tangles if you get too close to the tideline.
4) Understand What Your Fish Finder is Telling You - I know when I am about to have a solid few drifts just by looking at my fish finder and seeing how the bass are relating to structure underwater. The mouth has a lot of humps and valleys as you drift over it, providing prime ambush spots for hungry stripers. When I start marking fish in front of the drop, I know they are actively feeding. Those are the fish looking for food and are the most jacked up to eat. As I repeat my drifts over that spot, I notice the stripers receding off the high spot and into the trough. Here, they are still feeding, but they are not half as aggressive as when they were stationed ahead of the drop, so I will move to find another pile of active fish. I may take a few drifts off then come back to see if another batch moved in.
3) Teamwork Makes the Dream Work - Working together in various ways with the people on board will 100% put more fish on the deck. Communication is critical to success when moving around, driving the boat, fighting, and landing a fish. We want to fish as many lines as possible to maximize the bite. Get everyone on the same page and if they are new, show them!
2) Using A Spin Rod as a Weapon - I am 100% a conventional reel guy for many reasons for typical drifting live bait situations; however, spinning rods allow a little more flexibility for some situational fishing. We usually keep a baitrunner rod rigged with a 1 oz egg sinker and our circle hook leader ready to go. Here are some things you can specifically use that spin rod for:
When fishing near the jetties, you can cast into the rocks. I have caught a lot of big fish doing this.
When someone hooks up, you can take a spin rod with a live mackerel or chunk/fillet and cast it over and behind the hooked fish. When a striper is hooked, his buddies will often follow him, trying to steal any scraps! Now is the perfect time to double up!
Widen your spread by fishing a "dead" rod by casting straight off the stern and sticking the rod in the rod holder. Use a smaller bait or a chunk, so it doesn't swim over all the other lines. I don't even put the bait runner on in this situation. I keep it locked up since no one is manning the rod. If a fish hits, we either get him or don't. If you let them run, it can be a cluster as people race to put their rods down and engage the drag, often missing the bite anyway.
1) Target the Big One - Here is something interesting that I took note of many years ago and still occurs to this day. While on your trip, you will have time frames where the fishing is pretty hot. As you repeat your drift on the hot spot, the current will slow down. Suddenly your numbers on the drift go down as well. Maybe your drifts yielded 10, 8, 6, then just two fish. Do NOT leave. Take a FRESH DEAD mackerel and hook it through both lips from the bottom out through the top, grab just behind the mackerel's gills, and give it a shake to snap the backbone. For reasons I will go into in another blog, this is where I usually get my biggest fish of the trip. Does it always work? No, but 75% of the time, it works every time! Here is a fish that was 52” and close to if not 50# we caught last year using this method!
I hope this was helpful to make you aware of the different situations that can present themselves and help you come up with a plan to put more or better fish in the boat! If you would like to come out and see how we do it live, please BOOK A TRIP with us!