Merrimack River help!

[ed mancini]

Hey gents-

Been out a few times this season and have had the most success with trolling a Storm shad around the river and catching mostly schoolies.

I have had NO SUCCESS with drifting chunks on an outgoing tide through the mouth or with jigging parachute rigs or santini tubes on wire line. Would like to catch a nice keeper soon.

Any information is mucho appreciado!

-Ed-

[Fish On]

that's funny jsut caught a 41" striper on outgoing tide. But I was using a live mack....

[ed mancini]

Right after I wrote the initial post, some guy walked in the marina with the biggest striper I have ever seen. He caught it on a mackeral chunk while anchored in the month near the south jetty. It was well over 40 inches....I took a photo of it.

-Ed-

[Fly Rod]

A little imput may not be worth much!!!

When chunk fishing and chumming chunks watch how your chunks are floating in the water and remember that the chunk on your line has a weight [your hook]!!! That little bit of weight makes your chunk act differant then the others!!! Use a bigger chunk on your line to compensate and bury the hook in the bait and let free drift with the other chunks!!!

[Fish On]

You can also break off a piece of a foam peanut and insert it into the chuck to help balance it. A lot of the tuna chunkers do this since tuna have keen eyes and can be very finicky.

[gf2020]

Yes, Ed, that was me with the boat full of kids passing you behind Carr Island yesterday. Sorry if my wake rocked you too much.

I usually have luck drifting with a whole live (or dead, for that matter) mackerel or pollock. If they are alive, hook them through the back, if dead, up through the jaw. I put a 2 ounce barrel sinker above a swivel or snap-swivel and toss them out.

[jsullivan]

Just go out the mouth catch bait ....use a sabiki rig and a chum bag run back up river and drift out. rig with a 50 lb leader and a 1-2 oz egg sinker. #1 rule for that river NEVER DROP ANCHOR there are so many people that anchor up in front of the rips there bacause they are LAZY or dont know how to navigate around others its beyond me just keep bait on the bottom whyle u drift and you will do well I boated 15 fish in the outgoing yesterday. all small but 4 keepers to 31 on live pollock