Stripers, Panfish, and Tides on the Charles River - Boston Fishing Report for June 20, 2025

Artificial Lure here with your Charles River, Boston fishing report for Friday, June 20, 2025—let’s get right to the action. Weather is shaping up classic for a June outing: early risers saw sunrise at 5:07 AM and sunset tonight stretches all the way to 8:24 PM, so you’ve got a generous window of daylight on the water. Expect mild early-summer temps, with cool mornings in the 50s and afternoons comfortably in the 70s. Breezes will stay light, perfect for working topwater and keeping casting lines tangle-free. For the tides, the morning high peaked at 6:51 AM with another high set for 7:20 PM, both pushing above 9.5 feet according to tide-forecast.com. That means most of the day serves up gentle flows and prime access along the banks, especially near bridges and feeder creeks—great for shore casting and for the folks working in a kayak. Now, for the main event—the fish. The Charles continues to fire on all cylinders with the tail end of the annual striped bass run powering through. Schoolie stripers are thick below the Museum of Science and the Longfellow Bridge, and there’s a sharp shot at slot-size fish right at dawn and dusk. These bass are keying in on river herring and alewives still filtering back down to the harbor, so if you see diving gulls, that’s your cue to cast. Best bets for lures today: white paddletail swimbaits and slender soft plastics are putting fish in the net, especially mackerel-patterned jerkbaits and plugs. Flutter spoons and topwater walkers are also lighting up the early morning and evening bites. If you’re after numbers, mix in the classic tube-and-worm rig, and don’t overlook chunk mackerel or seaworms if you want to tempt a flounder or get a bonus schoolie. Outside of stripers, largemouth bass and panfish are still hanging strong in the shallows and coves, with worms and small swimbaits drawing steady action—especially around the Esplanade and Magazine Beach. Crappie and bluegill bite remains solid for those drifting small jigs or bait near structure. As for the hot spots: - The water below the Museum of Science and the Longfellow Bridge at first and last light is red-hot for stripers. - The banks near the BU Bridge and the mouth of the Muddy River have been giving up mixed bags—bass, panfish, even an occasional carp for the patient. Reports from On The Water confirm that the lower rivers are seeing plenty of action on both stripers dropping back to the harbor and roaming packs of bass chasing bait, so don’t be afraid to roam and keep an eye out for breaking fish and birds. That’s your Charles River fishing forecast for today—get out there, chase those tides, and keep your drag set tight. Thanks for tuning in to your local scoop with Artificial Lure. Don’t forget to subscribe for tomorrow’s fresh update. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.