Salt Fish should be around

Plum Island

Newbury / Newburyport, MA · about 45 min from Portsmouth (typical, off-peak)

The classic North Shore fly beach when it is open. Worth the drive from town.

Salt River / stream Lake / pond Shop (desk) Guide only Parking Stay State access Private — ask first

Season

Harvest is year-round on paper (28" to under 31", one fish). Schoolies are the usual fly fish here in season. Confirm current DMF rules. Official rule

License

Massachusetts saltwater permit

Park

Parker River NWR lots and town lots. Refuge lots have their own hours and closures.

Walk in

5–20 minutes depending on lot and dune path.

Wading

Beach and inlet. Current at the mouth is no joke.

Usual window

Moving water, especially around the inlet. Check refuge access first.

Tuesday conditions

SW 6 mph around dawn. Fine to go.

Sky: ⛅ 80° partly
Sun and moon: Rise 5:59 · 🌔 Waxing gibbous · Set 7:32
Wind at dawn: SW 6 mph offshore · Sunny · 62°F
Wind later: dawn: SW 6 mph

10am: W 8 mph

2pm: W 10 mph

dusk: W 9 mph
Tide: Low 4:05 am (1.2 ft) · High 10:18 am (8.5 ft) · Low 4:07 pm (1.8 ft) · High 10:24 pm (9.8 ft) Best moving water is the three hours into 10:18 am high. · Confirm local Newburyport/Merrimack tide; Boston is a rough stand-in

A setup that belongs here

8- or 9-wt, sand-eel patterns, Clousers.

Notes

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge has seasonal beach closures for nesting birds. Read the refuge board before you walk.

Refuge rules are a fourth rulebook. If the lot or beach is closed, leave.

Maps Call shop

Log this trip

Private. On this phone, and in your test book if you signed in on Journal.

Shops

Concord Outfitters

113 Commonwealth Ave, Concord, MA 01742
Mon–Fri 10am–6pm (confirm before you go)

The MetroWest / Concord River shop. Call before a first trip on the Concord or Sudbury.

Call Website

Guides

Shop desks, plus a few independents who fish public water. We do not take a cut. Call them.

Concord Outfitters — book a day

Concord, MA · wade / shore · Half or full day — ask the shop

Good for: MetroWest rivers and ponds, first local trout day

Shop desk, not a scraped independent. Call them; they put you with someone they trust.

Call the shop Website

Bear's Den — salt and South Shore

Taunton, MA · shore / wade · Half or full day — ask the shop

Good for: First striper from the beach or Canal, South Shore

Book through the shop. We do not take the money.