Late Spring Bite: Mackerel, Cod, and Sea Trout Heating Up Off the Avalon cover art

Late Spring Bite: Mackerel, Cod, and Sea Trout Heating Up Off the Avalon

Late Spring Bite: Mackerel, Cod, and Sea Trout Heating Up Off the Avalon

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This is Artificial Lure with your Newfoundland coast fishing report. We’re in a settled late‑spring pattern now. Along the Avalon and into Conception and Trinity Bays, a cool northwesterly breeze is sliding down this morning, 10–20 km/h, easing later with scattered low cloud and a mix of sun and fog patches hugging the headlands. Air temps are hovering single digits at dawn, pushing into the low teens by afternoon. Offshore, Environment Canada’s marine forecast is calling for light to moderate seas, 1–2 metres, generally manageable inshore, but watch the afternoon onshore chop. Sunrise around the eastern side came just after 5 a.m., with sunset near 8:45 p.m., giving a long, workable day. The morning and evening low‑light windows are lining up nicely with the tide. Tides along the Avalon today are running mid‑range: a higher high mid‑morning, falling through early afternoon, with another push on the evening flood. The best bite yesterday was on that last half of the ebb and the first of the flood, especially around points with a bit of current. Water temps inshore are still cool, single digits to low teens, but warming fast in the backs of the bays. That’s brought in some decent inshore action. Mackerel schools have started to show sporadically off Cape Spear and around Bay Bulls, with a few confirmed catches on small silver and blue feather jigs and basic diamond jigs. Cod (where the spring/food fishery and local regs allow) have been spotty but improving; several boats out of Petty Harbour and Witless Bay reported modest hauls, mostly keepers in the 3–6 lb range, taken in 60–120 feet over broken rock. Best producers on the cod have been 4–6 oz Norwegian‑style jigs in chartreuse/white or silver with a bit of glow, as well as simple dropper rigs baited with fresh mackerel strips or salted capelin. Keep it near bottom, tap the jig up a metre or so and let it flutter back. If the bite is finicky, shorten leaders and downsize hooks a touch. Inside the coves and river mouths, sea‑run trout are active. Anglers on the lower Salmonier and around the mouths of smaller brooks on the southern shore report solid evening action on 1/4 oz spoons in gold or copper, and small smelt‑pattern streamers swung just off the current seam. Best bait has been live worms drifted under a small float when the wind allows. For those poking a bit farther north toward Bonavista Bay and Notre Dame Bay, reports from local skippers say the inshore cod are a bit thicker there, with a mix of smaller fish and the odd 8–10 lb white belly. Again, jigging is the ticket, and bright patterns out‑fished natural yesterday in the overcast. Couple of hot spots to put on your list today: 1. The drop‑off just outside Petty Harbour: work the 70–110 foot contour on the outgoing tide for cod and the odd pollock. Drifting with a single jig and minimal hardware has outfished heavy rigs. 2. The mouth of Witless Bay, along the edge of the bird islands: birds on the water usually mean bait underneath. When the kittiwakes and murres are dipping, slide in quietly and drop small mackerel jigs through the marks. If you’re shorebound, try the rocks around Cape Spear at first light for mackerel when the swell is manageable, or hike into the estuaries for sea‑trout at dusk with a small spinner or a black‑and‑silver streamer. As always, keep an eye on the marine forecast, fog banks, and any swell on the open coast, and make sure you’re up to date on cod, trout, and salmon regulations for your area. That’s your Newfoundland coast fishing rundown from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
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