The following is my summary of fishing in the Merrimack River during the season of 1997 (roughly from mid-May through mid-October). As a guide on this great river estuary, my intent is to provide the reader with the observations both first hand, and through my conversations with fishermen and fisherwomen. I guide and specialize in fly fishing and light spinning. I practice catch and release in hopes of passing on a wonderful fishing legacy to those who will follow.

The season began for me in Mid-May. This is a time when fishing and weather can be unpredictable. Shad are a good fish to target on the river in the West Newbury area and further upstream. The stripers move in following the herring going up river. During these early season days I caught some stripers at the Rocks Village Bridge in West Newbury where I was wading and casting out shad flies. Unfortunately my first charter trip, May 8, was not a winner. My client, was in Boston attending a conference. He was from down south and wanted to get out for some stripers or shad before he headed home. That particular day he could make it was cold and windy and of the few fishermen out there, I didn't see anyone catch a fish, including him. Oh well, that is fishing sometimes!

During the second week of May there were reports stripers being taken around Carr Island, which is above the Route 1 bridge in Newburyport. On the 19th of May, I was out fishing alone and caught 17 inch striper in that area. The following day I caught three or four stripers at the upper end of Joppa Flats on white/chartreuse Deceivers. The next day I got into a bunch of stripers near Buoy #15. Action was definitely picking up with an influx of fish and warming water. Striper action continued to increase over the next few days. However, windy conditions made fly fishing a tough proposition. I had a client out on May 23 and give him much credit for fighting the wind and cold to hook up with 6 or 7 schoolie stripers.

By the 26th of May larger numbers and size stripers were showing up on Joppa Flats. On May 26 I caught and released twelve fish that were between 17 and 20 inches. These fish were readily striking olive/white Clousers. By the last weekend in May striper fishing was a bonanza up river. I had a couple of trips where more than 50 stripers were taken per angler. A few of these fish were in the mid-twenty inch length range. The difficulty in getting the larger fish resulted from the smaller ones voraciously hitting the fly before it could sink down to the larger ones. In early June stripers were broadly dispersed up river and on Joppa Flats. During this time I had the privilege of introducing a couple of new fly fishermen to striped bass fishing. These guys were from Portland, Oregon and had a great time.

By mid-June I received reports of larger stripers (more than 20 inches) being taken on flies outside the mouth of the river. Some of these fish were taken on large Deceivers tied on 4/0 hooks. On June 11 two people, fishing from a canoe, took two keeper size stripers in the middle of the day. One fly rod was broken in the process of landing one of the fish (fortunately, it was a Sage rod with guaranteed replacement). During the last two weeks in June very large stripers were showing up on Joppa Flats as they migrated through. I lost a beauty as it hit my olive/white Clouser near half tide rocks. That fish almost cleared the water as it hit the fly right on the top and broke my leader. My leader and I were not ready for such a fish.

The last weekend in June I caught a 38-inch fish on Joppa Flats. I saw fish that size, and larger, get taken on flies by other anglers. It was the time for BIG stripers on the Flats. These fish were in shallow water and very spooky. A fly hitting the water would result in huge swirls as the fish moved away. A boat moving through the area caused the water boil all around. However, a quiet approach and properly presented fly could result in a hit. The largest fish that I know of being taken was 52 inches, caught by a friend of mine. The fish was released after being photographed and weighed, in the boat. Anyone interested in seeing the photo should visit American Angling Supplies in Salem, N.H. located on Route 97 between Route 93 and Route 28. The weather was a bit unsettled during early July. I had a charter on July 10 where we were rained out in the early morning. We went back into Newburyport to have some coffee and wait for the rain to ease up. When we went out around 8:30 A.M., we saw birds working in the channel near Buoy #13. There were large stripers there. One of my clients landed a 33-inch striper and they caught more than 15 fish in the mid-twenty inch range. The next day, at about the same time, I caught and released a 30-inch striper that took an olive/white Clouser after I let it sink deep.

The weekend of July 12-14 was the 4th of July Fishing Derby to benefit the Coastal Conservation Association. The derby raised about $2500 for CCA. CCA is an organization that each of us who value this wonderful sport should join and actively support. I participated in the derby with a friend and we enjoyed some great fishing in the Plum Island area. We caught some very nice stripers on a couple of beautiful early morning forays. Our largest was 33 inches. We ended up with a total of 49 qualifying fish caught and released (fish had to be more than 18 inches to qualify). We didn't catch the most, or largest fish, but had a great time. Some people from Maine landed the prize for the biggest striper and a couple of colleagues of mine caught the largest number of qualifying fish.

Later in July I had a client from Texas. Prior to coming he informed me that he only wanted to use spinning gear to catch stripers. He did start out using spinng tackle but, I fished with him using flies, he soon realized that flies were producing more fish. I asked him to give fly fishing a try and he agreed. Well, the bottom line is that he wanted details on rod, reel, line and flies before he departed. That is what I love about guiding folks! On the first day of August I took out an experienced fly fisherman and his friend. He told me he wouldn't mind catching some bluefish. As it turned out there were blues all around the mouth of the river as the early morning tide ran out. My clients both caught blues on flies and plugs. One fish caught upstream of the famous Plum Island Point sandbar was first thought to be a big striper. After following the hooked fish around the boat console a few times to keep it from breaking off, we landed it. It was about a 12 pound bluefish. Whew!!

One morning in early August I had a charter with women and her two young children (ages 14 and 8) Joe, age 14, could handle a fly rod but hadn't caught a striper. That morning, although the August doldrums had begun, he managed to catch his first stripers. It was fun to be a part of it. Unfortunately his younger brother didn't have any luck using the spinning gear.

Joseph Pearce with his first striper

Also, in early August, I had the opportunity to take out an older gentleman on his own flats boat which he keeps on the Parker River. His name is Bob and he was just getting into fly fishing and asked me to take him out in his territory and show him how to get stripers on flies (he had tried with no success) We headed out about 6:00 A.M. on a nice morning (too nice for good fishing). We fished the outgoing tide all the way to Cranes Beach. We saw birds working but couldn't get a strike. We were off of Cranes Beach about 10:00 A.M. and the tide had changed to incoming. I decided to try some casts near some rocks right close to the beach and soon caught a few small schoolies. However, Bob could not get one. Finally he suggested it was getting late and we had already exceeded our mutually agreed time limit so we headed back toward the Parker River. The tide was stll at the early incoming stage and we soon found ourselves in shallow water near the Middle Ground. As we worked our way out, I observed bird activity near the channel to which we were heading. As we moved into the area, I asked Bob to cast his fly out. He did, and soon hooked a 20-inch schoolie. This was followed by a couple more stripers and then a different fighting fish. That fish turned out to be a good size bluefish. It made Bob's day (and my day as a successful guide for fine gentlemen).

Late August fishing slowed down as it usually does. However, a lot of small schoolies showed up at the upper end of Joppa Flats near Bouy #15.

In early September the fishing improved, especially near the jetties at the mouth of the river. On September 4 I took a client out along with his dad. They had spectacular fishing off the North Jetty. They each caught more than 20 stripers, most over 20 inches, that morning. That good fishing continued there for about two weeks.

On September 20 I had a client from Florida (he is a guide down there). I feared that this would a day that the stripers would not cooperate. I was wrong! We found fish breaking off the North Jetty when we arrived in the early morning. He caught stripers on Clousers, Deceivers and half- and-half flies until he tired. Then he switched to a floating line and poppers and landed more fish. Although I was very happy about him catching so many nice fish, the best part was that I also fished and enjoyed playing many fine fish to the boat. The charter fishing closed down for me when my wife and I headed down to Cape Cod over Columbus Day Weekend and my boat was hauled out. It was a great season on the mighty Merrimack and I look forward to the next spring to resume fishing for the magnificent striped bass.

Captain Charles Crue, Channel Edge Charters

Captain Charles Crue guides the Merrimack from May until October. He is a frequent contributor to the Reel-Time Metropolitan Boston Reports, a consummate fly tier and knowlegeable teacher of fly casting. He can be reached at (978) 462-9212 for bookings or by e-mail at cec@greennet.net ~ Mark Cahill

Here a couple of links to some other photos taken by Capt. Crue on the Merrimack in the 1997 season:

Dan Howard w/a nice schoolie 9/4/97.

Judy Mizner with her first striper on a fly on 8/17/97.

Liz Tomeau with a 20" striper on 8/9/97.