For years the wish was for more pogies, with the expectation being that with the bait will come hordes of hungry bass. The irony is that this just might be a case of “being careful what you wish for!” Because not every school of pogies has stripers following them.
New Hampshire Fishing Report
Jon Tregea of Sea Run Charters just can’t seen to shake the river. Of course, after yet another charter full of keepers between 28 & 34 inches while drifting macks along the Piscataqua River, it’s hard to find fault with his logic! In the middle of “menhaden mania” some are ignoring what could be an even more important bait – mackerel. Jon is not minding the lack of crowds taking advantage of the suddenly plentiful mackerel near the 2KR Buoy. According to Jon, there’s a lot of life out there as whales breach among all the bunker which has also attracted mixed classes of tuna in close.
Randy from Suds ‘N Soda told me of a 48” striper that was caught by an angler on a paddleboard, and the hunch is that he was using a paddletail soft plastic. Randy couldn’t say for certain but he surmised that the slob striper was caught in either Hampton Harbor or Rye Harbor.
Pogies are plentiful from Portsmouth through Portland but not every school has stripers on the bait. Look for schools close to structure which allows the bass to bunch up the bait and reduce the escape routes. Better yet, find as shallow a school of pogies as you can especially during low-light conditions. Great Bay has surface action but it is usually the result of schoolies on silversides.
Southern Maine Fishing Report
Brandy from Webhannet Bait and Boatyard called the bass most are catching “beautiful fish.” The stripers are indeed pot-bellied and the thanks is due to all the pogies. The bulk of the pogies are gathering just off beaches, making the inshore areas just off the shore prime places for that 40-inch fish. Live-lined pogies are working the best under the bait balls although some are doing fine on chunk baits. For shore anglers, customers of the shop are clamoring for clams for then even chunk fish, which is strange considering all the pogies which are around. Poppers are catching smaller fish in the rivers making the dock behind the shop pretty good and obviously very convenient. There has also been an encouraging uptick in halibut encounters on southern Jeffreys Ledge. If you’re looking for this monster flatfish opt for fish as bait, such as a fillet of mackerel or whiting, as opposed to clams or squid.
Zach from Saco Bay said that many are experiencing frustration from all the pogies yet not much bass action with them. It’s causing some to move off to deeper water to fish live mackerel looking for a hookup. A Bay State charter captain I know of searches for just the right school of pogies before he even wets a line. What he looks for and often finds is mixed schools of sea herring and pogies. The herring right now are big, averaging 10” in Massachusetts, and the stripers are showing a definite preference for the herring over the pogies. A tell-tale sign that the bass have found herring is a bird show, which you won’t see with the larger, more evasive pogy. Good reports have been coming from Nubile Light, York Beach, Bibb Rock and Cape Porpoise. If you have your druthers, opt for an environment with a compounded structure such as mixture or rocks/soft bottom. Diverse terrain often corresponds to a diversity of prey, meaning there is more forage to attract striped bass. Tuna have been taken surprisingly close to shore thanks to all the pogies. Latest close-in Charlie encounters have been off Wells and Yarmouth.
New Hampshire and Maine Fishing Forecast
For fast-paced action check out the schoolie-on-silversides surface feed in Great Bay. For larger bass, top off the livewell with mackerel by the 2KR Can and drift the Piscataqua River. For a chance at a Maine cow, look for harried pogy schools and live line the baitfish under the mayhem. Should you see birds working over marked fish/bait, stop what you’re doing and just hope that it’s a big bass honey hole thanks to herring!
In the Saco bay they have been net the pogys for the last 3 to 4 weeks. I have a freind that flys banners every day over the beach and he told me that they have netted almost all of them. Just inagine how many stippers went into the nets.
THANK THE STATE FOR INCREASING THE AMOUNT OF POGYS THIS YEAR,
,
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Pogy Seiners set on tightly packed schools of pogies, very little by catch compared to other fisheries. The seines are not gill nets, stripers that are caught can mostly be put back no worse for the wear.