Spring is here on the North Shore!

The boat has been in a little over a week now and we are off to a running start! Haddock fishing is off the charts with quick limits and great quality fish for all. We only kept fish over 20″ last trip and still limited out in two hours, just crazy fishing. Water has finally reached the magic 50 degree mark and the bass should be here in good numbers any day. Judging by the amount of small bait around right now it should be a great striper season from the outset. Offshore; the mackerel are still thin but there are lots of sandeels and some decent herring here already with a ton of whale and bird action. Plenty to hold the tunas when they decide to show up. The book is filling up fast so if you are thinking of booking me this season please get in touch asap, and I can get you in on some good tides. Thanks everyone, looking forward to seeing you all soon! Capt. Nat

Happy spring everyone

Happy spring everyone!! It seems as though many of you are suffering from cabin fever as badly as I am based on the number of calls I’m getting early this year. Though many of you have booked early, I still have quite a few prime dates open for early haddock, stripers, and tuna for 2018. Please call as early as possible and I can get you in the book for the best tides. As great as the boat was last year I’m making a few updates as we speak. I’ve been named a regional pro ambassador for Raymarine, and as such couldn’t help but add a new 12″ Axiom pro multi-function display, with side scan, down scan, and 3D vision through a new RV-200 transducer. As if i didn’t already spend enough time staring at the 16″ e series display I already had! I have also joined the St. Croix rods pro staff so there will be some new toys on that front as well. I had a great late fall tuna fishery both during the open commercial tuna season, and the catch and release portions as well. Those lucky enough to have decent weather in October and November experienced some of the best tuna action I have ever seen, with several giants averaging 95″ and several fish in the 50″ range every day. Its not often in the bluefin game I have people tell me to take them in early because they can’t physically reel another in.The huge amount of inshore bait this year didn’t hurt the striper fishing either, with some really big fish coming over the rail and very consistent fishing throughout the season. I should be ready to roll when haddock opens the middle of April, and look forward to the incredible bite we have had all of may the last few years. Thank you all for your continued support! tight lines and light winds- Nat

Mid season fishing

Mid season fishing continues to be red hot with tuna and bass here in good numbers. The striper fishing has held up really well despite warm water and summer fishing pressure. Plenty of bait has kept fish active especially in the low light.
Tuna has been crazy, with the seasonal closure in effect we have been releasing two giants a day on average. The fish are mainly in the 90″ range with a few smaller fish in the mix. Commercial re opens September 1st and it ought to be quite a fall. Thank you all for checking in and thanks for a great season of charters so far!!

Spring Has Finally Sprung

Spring has finally sprung here on the North Shore!! The last few weeks have been some of the best haddock fishing I’ve ever seen. The first few trips produced some of the largest haddock I’ve seen as well with many in the high 20″ range. The cod are here in huge numbers as well but are currently off limits, most cod are between 10 and 15 pounds and will wear you out when they come through thick. Both Jeffries and Stellwagen are loaded with bait, sand eels, herring, and mackerel with birds and whales eating them all day. It looks like it’s going to be an early tuna season as the first few reports of sightings are flying through the grapevine. Schoolie bass are here in great numbers. A ton of 8-15 inch babies bode well for the future, but there is a good mix of larger fish here that have followed the herring inshore, and a major bunch of big fish that just hit the cape should be here in the next few days. Charter season is in full swing, please give me a call and we can arrange the best days for striper and tuna trips going forward, and I have a few days left before the haddock move offshore next month. Thanks for visiting!! Capt. Nat Moody

2016 Season Wrap Up

What a great year aboard the Night Heron! I would first like to thank all of the clients who make this possible. Many of you have fished with me since my first few seasons, and over twenty years later I feel privileged to fish with friends every day to make my living. The season began right on schedule with some of the best haddock action I have ever seen. Though parts of May were still chilly we had short runs and easy limits most days, fishing shallow water, to eager bites. Bass showed up in force around the tenth of May with a surprising number of 26-30” fish in with the tiny schoolies. Hope for the future for sure. By the time we wrapped up most of the ground fishing trips the bass were in summer form, with surface feeds in the harbors and rivers providing great action on the fly and light tackle. The bait situation, both mackerel and herring, was very strong most of the year, and the live bait bite stayed strong well into August. Lots of healthy fat keepers for those who wanted one for the table, with a nice mix of 40-48” fish to spice up every day. It’s always a great feeling leaving the dock knowing the fish will be at one spot or another to greet you when you put the time in. Tuna started very early as well.

Most years I’m so caught up with bass I don’t really get tuna fever going until July, but we caught giants on our first two trips of the year on June 4th and 7th. The action stayed steady all year with a better than 50% chance of catching one on every trip, in the end I fished giants 51 days and landed 26 lost 9 and released nearly thirty short fish in the 60” range. Average for the year was over 350lbs so some real monsters in the mix as well. As spring struggles to make its way in, my excitement for getting back out there climbs every day. I can’t wait to catch up with those I’ve known for years, and meet the new people that come every year. Please send me an e-mail and we can start looking at tides for the upcoming year, it will be here before you know it!!!

Welcome

The summer continues to produce exciting fishing, with great action on school bass and a few keepers for the light tackle guys and some very large fish for the live bait fishermen. I’ve been having a great time on both types of trips,and with the monster bluefish that have been around of late it can get crazy quickly when they come through.

On the tuna front I’ve had success with the Giants 350-600 pound fish and it looks like that fishing is about to get really good with the bait we have around. The school tuna fishery has been hot south of the Vineyard and that body of fish appears to be heading our way. I’m looking forward to what looks to be shaping up into an excellent late summer and fall.

Thanks for visiting and please feel free to contact me any time at captnatmoody@gmail.com