Pictured above: Better bass have moved in with the mackerel according to Tim Moore from TimMooreOutdoors!
It’s not every week that the forecast features a heady combination of ideal temperatures coupled with more big bass bait – but this is one. Guides in New Hampshire are reporting bigger bass now in their home court, but the real glowing reports are coming by way of Maine, where shop managers are calling the fishing the best in decades.
New Hampshire Fishing Report
Zach from Suds N Soda has been sampling the striper goods at Odione Point at the mouth of the Piscataqua River and he reports that 28” bass are very cooperative. Chunking and drifting mackerel on the bottom have been his modus operandi. Mackerel have become more of a factor recently and have been much easier to find between the 2KR Buoy out to Hampton Shoal Ledge. In addition to the river, Hampton Harbor has been hot as has the beaches such as Wallis Sands, Rye and Hampton State Beach. Chunkers fishing mackerel are catching most consistently. However, it might behoove you to be vigilant for pogies. Just to the south (and somewhat to the north), massive schools of pogies have invaded Cape Ann and the striper fishing for corkers has been spectacular. Should that biomass wind its way up north, you folks are going to be in for some very fine fishing.
Chad from Dover Marine suggests getting “gnarly” to catch large. By that he means seeking out messy structure composed of lobster traps and bridge pilling which hold bait and often create current seams where stripers hide in ambush. Top picks are the General Sullivan Bridge, Route 95 Bridge, the “bypass” bridge, the Route 1 Bridge, Pierce Island and over by the PS&H Plant. While others lean to mackerel, Chad chooses pollock which usually you can catch on site and are a more reliable forage.
Southern Maine Fishing Report
“The best bass fishing in 20 years,” trumpeted Kenny from Saco when I called the other day. Woah, it’s hard to top that one. He said that anglers targeting bass that have followed “dropback” herring downstream in the Saco River are catching big fish. There are pogies around and sharp-eyed anglers spotting them off local beaches are sinking a treble hook into them and catching cows. Beaches to keep watch over are Parson’s, Higgins, Old Orchard and Pine Point.
As has been the case along much of the New England coast, more mackerel have moved inshore than possibly all year so far. Chumming among the Saco Bay islands helps in the mack quest. There have been reports of a few cut-offs as roving bluefish are leaving their mark. Regarding bigger toothies, porbeagles are prowling close to Platt’s Ledge. Should you be interested in tuna or groundfish than you’re in luck. A scant 7 miles from shore at Tanta’s Ledge, anglers are finding limits of haddock as well as tuna.
Brandy from Webhannet touted the appearance of pogies when we spoke on Wednesday and that’s a decidedly big deal. Their showing off Wells, Parson’s Beach and Kennebunkport has those craving cows salivating. Anglers fishing eels at night by the Kennunbunk Bell are doing well. Mackerel have moved in, in significant numbers and can occasionally be jigged right off the jetty of Wells Harbor. Clams have been a consistent striped bass catcher throughout the Webhannet River. Flounder are not first on most lists in these parts but as has been the trend in recent years, they are increasingly winding up in the ‘bycatch’ category. A few patrons of the shop are actually targeting them. For a few tips on how we do it in Boston – especially for the big blackbacks – peruse a story I recently wrote for this website. It’s called Finesse Those Flounder, I believe you’ll find it helpful. For “normal” groundfish, the haddock bite on Jeffreys remains heavenly with a smattering of cusk, pollock redfish and hake just adding to the fun.
New Hampshire and Maine Fishing Forecast
Ideal water temperatures, both in the water and on top, combined with an increase in mackerel are making for pretty special striped bass conditions and the catching reflects this. In New Hampshire, jig up some macks by the 2KR Buoy and drift along Little Bay, the Piscataqua River bank or the bridges and see if you can’t coax a hit from some of the better bass which have taken up residence. When a long-term shop manager is boasting about the best bass fishing in 20 years, it might behoove you to set your sites on where he’s referring to. Fallback herring have stripers gorging throughout the Saco River on the spent bluebacks and alewives. More mackerel in the Wells area are resulting in better fishing as well. But the preferred forage for those who are seeking large should not be ignored as pogies have appeared off Parson’s Beach and Kennebunkport and odds are good cows will be grazing nearby.
Spent the last two weeks of June fishing out of Harpswell, ME.
Being from Co. it was all new to me. I’m used to Stripers at Lake Powell. No size restriction and no limit. Same with walleye. Generally make a spring and fall trip to Powell to fill the freezer for winter. But, from Maine’s ocean you can keep only one per day and has to be 28″. Um, the ocean is a little bigger than Powell. I soon got educated on the fisheries management including the commercial overfishing, the criminal element as well as the mistakes government entities have made. Bottom line, the ethical recreational and subsistence fisherman gets punished for the others abuses and mismanagement. Overall had my share of large striper action and look forward to better table fare as my knowledge on targeting other species increases.
Don’t let the stern hit you on the way out
Treble hooked bait is illegal in Maine for Stripers. Must be a non offset circle hook.
More of Maines over regulations. Have you ever noticed that you never see a story in any National hunting or fishing magazine about Maine. Sad.