Equipment

Seasons | Terrain | Gear | Bait | Flies

An ideal South Shore rod is a fast 9-foot, 9- or 10-weight. Either weights are perfect for casting big flies into the wind, especially in the early season. Eleven- or 12-weights are also good choices for tossing big bait patterns, and they help for lifting fish out of weed beds and rocky areas.

If you plan to fish the estuaries and coves, 7- and 8-weights can toss smaller patterns on Intermediate or floating lines. They can also fish a 300-grain sinking line and a 2/0 streamer pattern effectively. Fish 300- to 500-grain Teeny or Orvis Depth Charge lines around the rocks, rips, and guzzles, floating lines for poppers or sliders, and Intermediate lines for beaches and shallower water.

My leaders range between 4 and 10 feet long and have from 10- to 20-pound-test tippets. I favor shorter leaders with heavier tippets (a 5-foot leader tapered to a 16-pound tippet) for aggressive, early-season fish, midseason big-bait patterns, deeper water, or murky spots. When I fish Teeny or Orvis Depth Charge lines, my fly gets down into the strike zone faster and stays down there longer. I like longer leaders with lighter tippets (8 to 10 feet with 10- or 12-pound tippets) for the clearer water on the flats.

When I fish the rock ledges, I sometimes break off big fish when they sound or sulk in the rocks. To avoid this, I use a 10-inch section of 40-pound pre-straightened mono shock tippet to help increase my odds of landing bigger fish. I prefer a monofilament shock tippet over wire, because the water is clear and wire can spook wary bass. Wire or monoshock tippets are essential for bluefish. Prerigging them with flies and storing them in a tarpon stretcher box saves rigging time when the bite is on.

Stripping baskets, polarized glasses, bug repellent, hook hones, lights for night fishing, maybe a Bogagrip for bluefish, and both a nautical and a tide chart are essential. In the summer, a lot of us wet-wade in tropical-weight, quick-drying clothing and neoprene flats boots. You can also wear wading boots with neoprene socks and gravel guards. Felt or cleated soles are fine for most South Shore wading situations, but studs are needed for the slippery rocks.

Bait and Time of Year
Herring runs begin around the first week of May. They make their way into the rivers, and the bass follow right behind. Herring, both blue- and black-backed species, are around for most of the early season. Mackerel are usually in around the middle to the end of May.

Menhaden push through early in the season and make a return visit from July to the end of the season. Silversides, sandeels, and spearing are abundant from the middle of May through October. Shrimp and crabs are on the flats or in the neighboring grassy areas, particularly around the new and full moons. Lobsters and crabs, which large bass love to eat, are around the rocks in June. Pollock are mid- to late-season bait in the deeper water and around the rocks. Squid arrive in the midseason and are usually in the deeper water, too.

Flies
Standard saltwater patterns, like Lefty's Deceivers in white, chartreuse, or blue-and-white, and Clouser Minnows in chartreuse or olive-and-white, catch their share of fish; they imitate small, profiled bait like silversides or sandeels.

I favor #3/0-#5/0 fully-tied, Deceiver-style patterns between 7 and 12 inches long with long saddles or schlappen feathers, and an olive, tan, or blue wing for prospecting in and around the rocks. These patterns also work well for imitating menhaden and herring. On my big patterns, I add several turns of .040" lead wire around the hook shank to help them sink. Local fly shops carry good assortments of other effective patterns.

The next time you're sitting in Cape Cod traffic and the man comes on the radio and says, "Things are looking pretty grim for Cape Cod goers today. Expect at least a three- to four-hour delay, pull off the road and hit the South Shore. You won't be disappointed. It's a great saltwater fishery that can make you forget about the Cape and that endless line of cars.

Related Link: Boston Harbor and the North Shore