Castle Island

Terrain: Docks, Fish Pier, Rocks, Sand

Description: If you have ever talked to anyone about fishing in Boston you have most likely already heard about Castle Island. On any given day, at any given time, you will see at least 10 to 20 people fishing from the pier and surrounding areas. You will notice that the majority of people who fish here use the bait and sinker method due to the height you have to fish from in most locations. For saltwater fishing in Boston there is no better place to start than Castle Island. On hot days plan on spending a while to find a parking spot. If I am driving I will usually take the first spot I can find and walk to where I want to fish which can be a 10 or 15 minute walk.

If the crowds aren’t bad and I am planning on using bait I will often start at the pier. When it is quiet you can often find a place to set up camp along the fence and get a line in the water. When the pier gets crowded you can walk along the water clockwise until you find a spot. If you follow the path along the harbor side you will find some rocks you can get on to so you are closer the the water level. In the center of the circular walking path you will find Pleasure Bay, or the bowl as it is know by most fisherman. One side of the bowl has a beach that is often filled with screaming children splashing in the water. As you can imagine this is not a good fishing environment. The side directly across from the beach contains two inlets that direct water from the harbor in and out of the bowl as the tides change. If you plan on using lures or fly fishing this is the place to be. A heavy current forces baitfish into and out of the bowl. You will find often the larger fish along the outer edges of the fast water waiting for something to come through.