Late Fall Bite on the Charles River

This is Artificial Lure, bringing you the Charles River, Boston fishing report for Tuesday, November 25th, 2025. The sun rose this morning at 6:53 a.m. and you can expect sunset to be around 4:14 p.m., so if you’re heading out after work, be mindful that daylight’s short this time of year. Let’s check in on the **tides** first. According to NOAA Tide Predictions, high tide rolled in at 2:16 a.m. with a level of 8.37 feet, and low tide will dip at 8:07 a.m. down to about 2 feet. The next high tide after that is around 2:30 p.m., so the outgoing current during late morning into early afternoon has been moving water and bait around — prime for targeting active fish. Early dawn and dusk both overlap with moving water today, so those are solid windows to get lines wet. **Weather** for Boston today is chilly, as expected for late November. The mercury’s been hovering around 45 to 49°F this morning, partly cloudy with a slight breeze out of the northwest — a classic late fall day. Bundle up, especially if you plan to fish from the banks or bridges. On to the **bite**. According to recent daily reports from Boston Charles River Fishing Report Today, we’re in that late-season action where the river’s cooled and fish are concentrating in deeper holes, slack water, and around structures like bridges, docks, and the old dam remnants. Anglers have been picking up **largemouth bass**, the occasional **smallmouth**, and a late push of **yellow perch**, plus a handful of **crappie**. There’s even been a few lucky enough to hook into a **decent northern pike** closer to the Watertown end. Recent catches have included: - Largemouth in the 1-3 lb range, responding to slow-rolled soft plastic swimbaits and downsized jigs - Yellow perch forming aggressive pods, especially off gravel drop-offs, eager for small spinners and live crawlers - A few holdover stripers reported down by the Museum of Science, though most have already dropped out with the colder flows If you’re looking to maximize your chances, here’s your **best lure and bait bets**: - For bass, fish a **smokey tube jig** or **dark green pumpkin worm** slow and deep. The colder water means slow presentations win the day. - For perch and crappie, try a **chartreuse or white curly tail grub** on a 1/16 oz jig head, or small live minnows if you’ve got ‘em. - For pike, big flashy spoons or a soft swimbait worked around slack eddies near overhanging branches has been drawing hits. A few **hot spots**: 1. The Esplanade docks and the area near the Longfellow Bridge are pulling consistent perch and decent bass — easy access from the running paths. 2. Up in Watertown, right off the Greenough Boulevard bends, deeper backwaters and woody debris are holding perch, crappie, and the big predator fish. The **bite** tends to get better during today's major fishing times between 2:45 to 4:45 a.m. and again about 2:45 to 4:45 p.m., correlating with lunar activity and moving tides (courtesy of Tides4Fishing). Over t