Fishing near Essex in Essex County, MA

3.75 Rating based on 137 Reviews
  • Most Caught Species: Largemouth Bass, Common Carp, Striped Bass, Chain Pickerel, Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch
  • # of fishing spots within 25 miles: 111
  • # of reports within 25 miles: 557
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  • Discuss Essex area fishing in our Massachusetts Fishing Forum

Essex Fishing Photos

5 lb 10 oz near Essex

5 lb 10 oz

Added by: jeffgm1031
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4lb 6 oz near Essex

4lb 6 oz

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Chebacco Lake  near Essex

Chebacco Lake

Right outside the weeds
Added by: jeffgm1031
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Top Fishing Spots near Essex

Essex Bay
Essex Bay

Avg. Rating: 4
# Reviews: 2
Views: 1665

Chebacco Lake
Chebacco Lake

Avg. Rating: 3.5
# Reviews: 6
Views: 11415

Beck Pond
Beck Pond

Avg. Rating: 4.333
# Reviews: 3
Views: 5916

Ipswich Bay
Ipswich Bay

Avg. Rating: 4
# Reviews: 2
Views: 1073

Patton Park
Patton Park

Avg. Rating: 0
# Reviews:
Views: 1118

Manchester Harbor
Manchester Harbor

Avg. Rating: 3
# Reviews: 1
Views: 2187

Essex Area Fish Species

Recent Essex Fishing Reports

Last second Lunker Fishing Report Jul 27, 2010

Last second Lunker

Lake Chebacco, MA -

All I can say is what a crazy day we had. When we first got on the water and saw all the wind we thought it was really gonna be a tough day. We first ...

Avg. Rating: 5
# Reviews: 6 Views:
Review Report
Created by: basshunter33
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Chebacco Lake  Fishing Report Sep 21, 2010

Chebacco Lake

Chebacco Lake MA -

Took the wife fishing. Should take her more often. ...

Avg. Rating: 5
# Reviews: 5 Views:
Review Report
Created by: jeffgm1031
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5/18 Chebacco Lake.  Fishing Report May 19, 2014

5/18 Chebacco Lake.

Chebacco Lake, Hamilton MA -

I got out by myself for about 4 hours Sunday morning. It was nice. I was the only boat on the water for the first few hours. It was a good day. I caug...

Avg. Rating: 5
# Reviews: 7 Views:
Review Report
Created by: vguaetta
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Another slow day Fishing Report Jul 25, 2011

Another slow day

Lake Chebacco, MA -

Started out on the water early around 5:30, didn't even have a bite until around 8 and it was just a small pickeral. Managed to get a few small l...

Avg. Rating: 4
# Reviews: 1 Views:
Review Report
Created by: bassman2011
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9/25/11 - M.A.F.F. @ Chebacco Lake Fishing Report Sep 26, 2011

9/25/11 - M.A.F.F. @ Chebacco Lake

Chebacco Lake - Hamilton, MA -

Well, what a frustrating day for Team Angry Meat. Felt like we tried everything. Now we have had a consistent outing on Chebacco, but we had always b...

Avg. Rating: 4
# Reviews: 6 Views:
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Created by: meat7gtk
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Chebacco Lake Fishing Report Sep 15, 2009

Chebacco Lake

Chebacco Lake, MA -

Some worm fishing from a boat....

Avg. Rating: 3
# Reviews: 5 Views:
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Created by: robchummer
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Baits and Tackle used near Essex

Check Prices

  • minnoes NO bobber
  • tip ups with shiners
  • One on and a spinner, one on a swim senko
  • plastic worm
  • clams
  • Just good old chunk bait! Fresh Mac's.
  • Power Eggs
  • Calms - 26" ,and a 15"
  • Clams or seaworms
  • KVD 1.5, sunfish colored

Live Bait (Other) Check Prices

  • Mackerel
  • Sea worms on flounder hook with yellow bead.
  • Live mackerel
  • Sea worm
  • Clams
  • Mackerel on a baitrunner.
  • fishing bottom with hand dug worms
  • Fresh live mackeral
  • live mackerel
  • Seaworms on a custom flounder rig

Tube Check Prices

  • Tube and huge sea worms
  • Flippin a Blue&Black tube with a 1/2oz tungsten weight in and around the pads.
  • 1/4oz white tube jig/ watermelon and and red flake 1/4oz tube jig
  • T-rigged Pearl Damiki Hydra
    White Ice Zoom Small tube
    White Super Fluke Jr drop-shot
  • 3 Bass in the 6 and 7 inch Variety

Creature Check Prices

  • Creature Bait on Shakey Head
  • 1lb 10oz was my best on the day, with a couple 1lbers too
  • My other 5 were:
    2lb 2oz
    two 1-1/2lbers
    two 1lbers
  • Green pumpkin sweet beaver
  • Gary Yamamato Kreature bait 4" green w/ black and purple
  • Mixed it up every half hour, the Hog was caught on a pumpkin creature with black flake, but both the black with red flake and watermelon with black flake were effective.
  • Orange Pumpkin Yama creature... my go-to soft plastic
  • Lightly weighted Kreature drifting in current.

Minnow Check Prices

  • hooked through back on tipup
  • A Couple 2-1/4lbers
    Ten 2lbers
    A Couple 1-3/4lbers
    The rest between 1-1/2lbs and 1lb
  • 1st was 1lb 4oz
    2nd was 10in
  • 1st was 25in 3lb 2oz
    2nd was 15in
  • 1st ever Ice Bass was 1lb-1/4lb, and 2nd was 1lb 10oz
  • Couple 2lbers, 1-3/4lbers, and 1-1/2lbers
  • 1st was 3lb 6oz
    2nd was about 1lb
  • 2lb 9oz
    1-1/2lbs
    3-3/4lbs
  • One 2lber
    Two 1-3/4lbers
    Two 1-1/2lbers
    Five between 1-1/4lbs - 1lbs
  • Used primarily live bait, crawlers and shiners. Creatures work well for bass as well.

Topwater Bait Check Prices

  • Xcalibur jimmy
  • MS Slammer hitch
  • Jitterbug
  • Black buzzbait with a black blade
  • Bone Zara spook
  • FROG
  • Frog...we also caught em on the jig here too
  • Rapala original floater #7 bleeding lip firetiger
  • 3 on Hulla popper and 2 on senko worms
  • Zara spook and jitterbug

Lizard Check Prices

  • Baby bass lizard
  • YUM 6" Chartreuse Lizard
  • hit while sinking
  • green w/ red fleck
  • Chartruese Lizard, weedless rig
  • I was using Daiwa Lexa spinning Rod Pflueger Supreme XT reel with 50lb Braid with a Zoom Purple Lizard .

Jerk Bait Check Prices

  • 8" & 10" Largemouth
  • 4" Senko in pumpkinseed, and Zoom Fluke in Baby Bass.
  • Senko
  • Senko.
  • 4" Senko in Watermelon with Red Flake, fished weightless on a Texas-rig.
  • 4-inch Senko in Watermelon/Red Flake
  • 4.5in Slug-go - Arkansas Shad
  • 5-inch Senko in Black w/Red Flake
  • This hungry 4" Largemouth hit a 3-1/2" Jerkbait
  • 4-inch Senko in Watermelon/REd Flake

Fly (Other) Check Prices

  • Joes fly

Saltwater Swimbait Check Prices

  • BFG Duel Runners

Spinnerbait / Buzzbait Check Prices

  • Dark Colors
  • See photo - chartreuse 3" Mr. Twister trailer.
  • 2lb 2oz, and two 1-3/4lbers on a spinner bait
    1-1/2lber on a craw
  • Giant white double bladed buzzbait
  • Fire Tiger, Double Willow
  • White, double silver blade
  • 1/2 ounce black double bladed buzz bait
  • same as before
  • Chartreuse spinnah
  • White spinnerbait

Frog Bait Check Prices

  • 10" on Senko, 1/2lb and 3/4lb on Rage Frog
  • caught 2 with Yamamoto 5" Senko's and one with frog.
  • Southern Lure Company Scum Frog Weedless Popper

Casting & Trolling Spoon Check Prices

Stick Bait Check Prices

  • Jerkbait
  • Jerkbait
    1st was 12-1/2in 1Lb
    2nd was 14in 1-1/4lbs
    3rd was 8in
  • Rapala Original Silver

In-Line Spinner Check Prices

  • 1/8oz Rooster Tail
  • 1/6oz Rooster Tail - Brown Metallic
  • 1st. 12in 12oz
    2nd. 11.5in 10oz
    3rd. 11.5in 9oz
  • 1st. 7in
    2nd. 7 3/4in
  • silver 1/16 oz single hook rooster tail
  • Smaller bass on a 4" rubber worm
    Lunker on a red inline spinner
  • rooster tail
  • 1st. 5in
    2nd. 10in 8oz
  • 1/6oz Rooster Tail
  • 4" and 5" Sunfish

Saltwater Jig Check Prices

  • Sabiki rig, white
  • Non-Keeper
  • shad darts

Nymph Check Prices

  • Gold bead head Prince black

Worm Check Prices

  • 5 inch dinger
  • Shakey Head
  • Shakey Head
    1st was 1lb 5oz
    2nd was 1lb
  • I caught a 1-1/4lb and a 2-1/4lb Largemouth
  • char. color senko
  • Gulp red "bloodworms"
  • Two 1lbers, and 4 others between 10"-12" off docks, and oeverhanging brush
  • Soft Plastic
  • yamamoto senkos texas rigged or wacky
  • Texas Rigged Weightless.. Deadly when thrown into cover or into structure.

Plastic Swimbait Check Prices

  • Skippyfish 4" Alewife Shad
  • Modeled after a baby yellow perch

Hard Baits Check Prices

  • We each caught 5 Keepers each.
    Best 5 were of Chuck's 4lber, 3lber, 2-3/4lber, and My 4lber, and 1-3/4lber.

    I also had three 1-1/4lbers
  • Topwater, Spinnerbait, Swimbait
  • My Biggest 2lb 13oz, followed by a couple 1-1/2lber, a couple 1lbers, and the rest were runts. Mostly shallow cranks, some jig, and senko too.
  • 2 on F-5 Rapala Floater
    2 on Rooster Tail

Soft Baits Check Prices

  • Zoom Lizard Chartruese Watermelon
  • 1 on a baby bass colored lizard and another on a baby bass colored senko
  • Dropshot - All between 5 and 7 inches - Nice spot for calicos, too bad I was in a Bass tourney, dohhh!
  • 10", 12" & 1-1/4lb Bass on Senko
    3/4lb on Rage Frog

Craw Check Prices

  • Texas rigged craw !/2 ounce red tungsten weight/red hook
  • Yum black/blue craw
  • Crafish plastic on a 1/4 ounce jighead

Lure (Other) Check Prices

  • Rooster tail
  • Just a Strike King 5 inch red and yellow spinner bait
  • Neon yellow Rooster Tail with an orange blade

Hard Swimbait Check Prices

  • trolled it behind the canoe as I paddeled.
  • Trolled behind canoe while paddling. Rapala jointed minnow fire-tiger pattern.
  • Small blue and white Rat-L-Trap.
  • SPRO BBZ1

Saltwater Hard Bait Check Prices

  • metal lures deadly dicks and 3 oz. metal mackerel jigs.

Jigs Check Prices

  • 7lber, 5lber, and a couple shorties
  • Jig/Teaser - 20" and a 15"
  • silver,green skirt
  • Ice Jig
  • 6 Perch on the Ice Jig all between 1/2lb and 1/4lb
  • Nice Bass on the Ice Jig

Crankbait Check Prices

  • Squarebill
  • reaction strike jerk in perch
  • smokey joe lipless crank, and pumpkin senko
  • #3 crank bait dark colored
  • dark colored with red
    Strike king #3
  • and senkos too
  • Strike King bright yellow minnow
  • Strike King Minnow in bright yellow
  • Shiners are cheating here...
    Have to use your shallow swimmer crank bait.
  • Strike King Pro Series 1

Bass Jig Check Prices

  • bucky's/sluggos/worms
  • Brown jig with a black n blue trailer. Chigger craw
  • 1st was 1lb 6oz
    2nd was 1-1/4lb
    3rd was 1-3/4lb
  • All my Fish were caught on a 1/2oz Black/Blue Jig

    1st was 2lb 10oz
    2nd was 1lb 7oz
    3rd was 1lb
  • Bass Jig, plastic worm, jerk bait, Rat-L-Trap, swim bait
  • 3/8 ounce green pumpkin Boag Hog Baits jig that I added rattles to and a black/redflake chigger craw trailer
  • same jig as before
  • Black n blue jig n pig
  • Boag Hog Brush Jig

Soft Swimbait Check Prices

  • Skippyfish 4" Alewife Shad
  • Zoom Super Fluke in Disco Violet
  • 5" Swim Senko in Pumpkin with Blake Flake fished weightless.
  • Panther Martin Holographic Minnows Rainbow Trout 3/8 oz.

Wet Fly Check Prices

Casting & Trolling Spoon;22 Check Prices

  • I was chucking a copper colored Thomas spoon
  • 1/8 ounce gold Phoebe

Nightcrawler Check Prices

  • Worm on a hook with a bober, a classic.
  • on tipups shallow as heck

Herring Check Prices

  • chunks
  • Herring Chunk

Lipless Bait Check Prices

  • smokey joe colored lipless rattletrap
  • All fish on Strike King lipless crank bait; either Shad or silver
  • Lipless crank baits and spinner baits
  • Srike King 3/4 oz red eyed shad,gold black back.7' mojo bass -st.croix crank rod with Seaguar InvizX Fluorocarbon 10lb.Stop and rip out of surmerged grass.

Saltwater Baits Check Prices

  • Clams
  • chunked herrin
  • Calms - 25" and a 18"
  • Calms
  • Calms - 20" and a 8"or 9"
  • Calms - One was about 17", and the Big one was about 30" around 8 or 9 pounds
  • Calms - All Between 10"-12"
  • Clams
    1st was 25"
    2nd was 20"
  • Clams on 5/0 circle hook on slider rig 5oz pyramid weight

Jigging Spoon Check Prices

Topwater Bait (Popper, Plug) Check Prices

  • Caught on Lucky craft Sammy, spinnerbaits, and 9ers umbrella rigs.
  • My Personal best this season. This Hawg nearly ripped the rod out of my hands!!!
  • Popper fishing off the boat
  • Popper Fishing

Blade Bait Check Prices

  • chartruce and whit chatter bait
  • Daredevil

Grub Check Prices

  • gub on worm hook
  • Dropshot
  • Gary Yamamoto Skirted Double Tail Grub in Watermelon Black/Gold.

Live Baits Check Prices

  • Sea Worms
  • Fresh Cut Pogies
  • Seaworms

Other Check Prices

  • Hooks baited with clams above a 1lb weight.
  • clams
  • clam
  • Clam
  • Senkos, jitterbug, and KVD 1.5 sunfish color.
  • Clams fished in 323 feet deep water
  • clams for bait, catching doubles all day
  • Bread
  • Maple-Banana Maize
    Pescaviva sweet corn
    Chicks
    Dat Food Boilies Scopex
  • shiners, p-bait, worms, small spinners,spoons u name it

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