This week's striped bass, tuna, and haddock report from MA and NH! The fishing in Massachusetts and NH remains outstanding as we transition into the summer patterns. Listen to the good stuff from the past week and a little talk about what to expect in the week ahead.

Fishing has been absolutely wild this past week as we have been experiencing some of the best early-season striper fishing that I can ever remember. Big fish, slot fish, and schoolies up and down the coast and the length of the Merrimack River. Chris and Dan discuss what has been working for us the past week including last night's epic bite, We included our friend Jim Morabito, who is the secretary of the Plum Island Surfcasters to come give us a nice surf report.

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Chris and Dan just got off the boat after a great afternoon of fishing and took some time to recap the fishing report from the last week and what to look forward to in the weekend coming up!

Mouths of the Merrimack welcomes Paul Hogg the Newburyport Harbor Master. Paul is a man of many hats. In addition to being the Harbor Master, he also runs a bait shop "Hogg Tide Tackle", a charter boat "Hogg Tide Charters", the Newburyport Shark/Tuna tournament, commercially tuna fishes, and is even the crowned Shellfish Constable for our area. We hit MANY topics and learn a lot about the Newburyport Harbor Master Team, what improvements have been made to the city in regards to the waterways and what the future holds, the Newburyport Shark and Tuna Tournament, safe boating, the zoo at Cashmans, and swap some stories and have some laughs. For those on the Merrimack River, we are very fortunate to have Paul as our harbormaster because he understands our needs as a boating community!

Our boats are finally in the water as we embark on the official start of our saltwater fishing season, In the episode, Chris and Dan discuss some interesting patterns developing in early striper season plus the bonus of a lot slot-sized striped bass around! Offshore, the haddock fishing continues to be outstanding. We also talk about lures that have been productive, tides, new boat improvements, and the start of the Mouths of the Merrimack Fish Bingo Tournament!

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Growing up in Buffalo, NY Dan Graovoc is an avid outdoorsman spending time fishing, kayaking, or taking some amazing photography. He is currently the Board President of the Merrimack Watershed Council, a non-profit organization that aims to improve and conserve the Merrimack Watershed for the animals and the people who rely on the river. Entering its 48th year of existence, the MWC has been involved in testing, clean-ups, legislative recommendations, and much more, In addition to everything Dan has to teach us about the improving health of the Merrimack, we also talk a lot about fishing all over the world, kayak fishing, and boat fishing. This was a fun episode to record with a wealth of information. For more info on the Merrimack Watershed Council, please check out www.merrimack.org and our website www.mouthsofthemerrimack.com

Capt. Scott Maguire of Summer Job Charters has been putting people on stripers and bluefish out of Plum Island, MA since 1999. His experience guiding both the Merrimack and Parker Rivers are second to none and we are excited to share our conversation with Capt. Scott! In this episode we discuss the importance of mackerel to our fishery, how to catch them, and how to take care of them. Scott is one of the better, if not best, bait fisherman out there! Other topics that come up include trolling motors changing how we fish, early season striper migrations, schoolie fishing techniques, and swap some classic stories. Thanks for coming on the show Capt. Scott! .

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In this episode, Capt Chris and Dan recap last weeks Newburyport Fishing Fair, our 2nd haddock trip of the season, Dan's new custom haddock rods built by Harry at Ledge Life Tackle, and our first Mouths of the Merrimack giveaway contest thanks to Mike at Crossroads Bait and Tackle!

To enter the giveaway contest, like and share Mouths of the Merrimack and then join our community with a membership for only $7 a month to win a huge assortment of striper lures provided by Crossroads.

Go to www.mouthsofthemerrimack.com to sign up!

Dan and Chris hit the road and head to see Mike Hogg at Crossroads Bait and Tackle in Salisbury, MA. A staple in the Merrimack River fishing community for 25 years, Crossroads has provided anglers with quality bait, tackle, and excellent customer service. The entire Hogg family have been friends of ours since I was 9 years old.

In this episode, Mike tackles a wide variety of topics including early season striper patterns, night fishing for stripers with eels, tuna feeding behavior, choosing the appropriate tackle for the job, dealing with the fishing companies, and a bunch of stories that can only accrue from 25 years of friendship. We also got the bonus of having Jim Lynch jumping in for some of the podcast!

The Crossroads team has put together an awesome prize package for members of Mouths of the Merrimack. Over $100 in striper lures to help kick off your 2022 season. We will be pulling a raffle in two weeks to see who wins. To be eligible, please go to https://www.mouthsofthemerrimack.com/fishingclubmembers to become a member for a chance to win.

In this episode, we sit down with Eric Roach who is affectionately locally known as "The Shad Guy". In addition to being an excellent fisherman for all species, Eric does a wonderful job educating people about the shad fishery. The dude is an encyclopedia and we nerd out so hard during this podcast, we started laughing about it! We talk migration, biology, fishing gear, locations, and bounce off some ideas. Dan and I learned a ton during the recording of this episode and cannot wait to take a crack at the elusive shad in a couple weeks thanks to Eric';s knowledge.