midtempo Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 It's that time of year! I love salt marsh kayaking, but unfortunately the little buggers can ruin a quiet day getting joyfully lost in a creek somewhere! We all know that the marshes of Ipswich, Essex, and the Great Marsh (Newbury, Salisbury, etc.) are infested with them for the rest of July. I am thinking of going to the Jones River in Gloucester (by the Annisquam) as an alternative. Are the greenheads usually there too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pintail Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 Yes, why not? However, I had only seen <one> greenhead fly this season, on the water, recently, until a couple of days ago when a big bugger tried to bite me <in my car> here in Gloucester! Perhaps their range is increasing -- or she simply wanted to go shopping? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejwilliams Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 I visited some friends in Gloucester yesterday and they told me that greenheads have been particularly bad this year out on the Annisquam and other marshy areas around there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midtempo Posted July 19, 2019 Author Share Posted July 19, 2019 Thanks for the heads up folks. I am still going, but I may cancel early if they end up really bad. I will be mostly staying near the Long Wharf landing. I will also use the Skin So Soft bug repellant formula, which I know Crane Beach sells to beachgoers and some people claim it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midtempo Posted July 19, 2019 Author Share Posted July 19, 2019 It is a full moon lately and *supposedly* that makes a difference because it may flood their eggs with the highest tide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midtempo Posted July 21, 2019 Author Share Posted July 21, 2019 I just paddled there. I can confirm that there are greenhead flies in the Jones RIver and Annisquam River areas. Actually if you stick to those two rivers you won't encounter them. You may encounter them if you venture into the creeks in that area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetL Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 They were fairly obnoxious at the Odiorne boat launch yesterday. Not a problem once on the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prudenceb Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 11 hours ago, JRL said: They were fairly obnoxious at the Odiorne boat launch yesterday. Not a problem once on the water. A week ago, nary a greenhead there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanetL Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 1 hour ago, prudenceb said: A week ago, nary a greenhead there... My itchy legs are very envious! ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshall Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 During the Blackburn, they were quite insistent at the place I was staying on Jeffery's Neck Rd. in Ipswich. Woodsy, reedy, marshy sort of terrain around the place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josko Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 On the Cape, we don't have greenheads, but we got sharks. Anybody want to trade? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Sylvester Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 You have salt marshes, sand dunes and no Greenheads? Not sure I buy that and the jury is still out.. Need further data.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josko Posted July 23, 2019 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Maybe I don't hang out in swamps enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midtempo Posted August 3, 2019 Author Share Posted August 3, 2019 Crane Beach says the greenheads are on decline. I am leaving now to explore the Great Marsh from the Great Neck launch in Ipswich. I will report my findings here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leong Posted August 3, 2019 Share Posted August 3, 2019 On 7/22/2019 at 5:26 PM, Paul Sylvester said: You have salt marshes, sand dunes and no Greenheads? Not sure I buy that and the jury is still out.. Need further data.. I thought Herr Hair drained the swamps and marshes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midtempo Posted August 5, 2019 Author Share Posted August 5, 2019 I paddled the Ipswich marshes from Great Neck on Saturday. On Sunday I did the Jones River again. I can confirm that greenhead flies are practically gone. I saw exactly one fly in Ipswich while I hung out at a stagnant pool near the end of a creek and none at the Jones. I may have been bitten once or twice on the back and did not notice till I got home. By the time you read this, there may be no greenhead fly activity, so don't be afraid to go into the marshes and dunes anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pintail Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 God, you're all so <sensitive> about the little greenheads! You really don't know what biting flies are all about until you've encountered the tsetse! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemmingjay Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 On 8/3/2019 at 12:47 PM, midtempo said: Crane Beach says the greenheads are on decline. I am leaving now to explore the Great Marsh from the Great Neck launch in Ipswich. I will report my findings here. Crane Beach marshes still had a very healthy population of the sky sharks as of August 3. Not sure if they are gone yet, but I hope to spend much of September in and out of there. Doing my part to feed the starving mosquitoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Foster Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 Paddled the Ipswich river from Pavilion Beach and the town landing at high tide over the last two days. One greenhead encountered, quickly dispatched by my crazy, fly-loving SUP pup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnHuth Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 Josko - I frequently paddle along the coast and up the Herring River (Dennis), and when I get to the marshy section, had a bunch of green flies attack me. They seemed particularly bad this season. So, yup, in Cape Cod. [been wanting to go around Monomoy, haven't had the time to set it up] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josko Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 I'm up for Monomoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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