New Hampshire and Maine Fishing Report – September 13, 2018

Pictured above: Charlie Desourdy landed this 69-inch tuna fishing with Capt. Bob Weathersby. The fish ate a live mackerel on Jeffreys Ledge.

If schoolies are no longer on your agenda, then “eel-up” and enlist in the nightshift at Little Bay, Little Harbor, and most anywhere stripers swim along the New Hampshire coast. As we gear up for the imminent fall run, expect an exponential increase in striped bass numbers in rivers, estuaries and beaches in Maine.

New Hampshire Fishing Report

While schoolies by the bay-full and teen-sized fish are fun, some have been scheming to take it to the next level. That could be construed as code for fishing eels after dark. And if you have a choice opt for the biggest eels you can find. It’s more than a case of big fish, big bait, but a bigger bait has a larger profile and gives off more vibrations making it more noticeable to a big bass. If you’re tooling around Little Bay, Little Harbor, Hampton Harbor, Rye Harbor or most anyplace you wet a line, try switching things up and set your sights on “serpents” after dark and see if you don’t find a whole different class of fish. All is not lost for the daytime gang, however, as schoolies are more than willing to put on a surface display and they aren’t too fussy!

The crew at Suds ‘N Soda are also telling patrons the better bass fishing is taking place at night. Some select spots are the Hampton and Merrimack rivers, but for those more inclined to fish days, search for mackerel which can be found randomly between Boars Head off Hampton Beach to as far out as Jeffreys Ledge. Should you load up on mackerel, try drifting along those rivers while either free-lining mackerel or suspending them under a balloon. Squid can still be found, especially among the New Castle stretch as well as Kittery. The quandary with squid is whether to eat them or use them as bait, since some feel that they are at least as effective as mackerel.

The haddock season in the GOM closes on for-hire vessels as of September 15th so if you can free up Friday or Saturday you may want to strike while you still can. Anglers have been finding haddock, whiting, cusk and pollock between 180’ and 250 of water with clams the best bait. Embellish the bait rigs with “flies” of blue/green for pollock while pink/purple are hotter for haddock. For haddock try resting the bait in the bottom while shaking the rod tip in what is often referred to as the haddock “wiggle”; the speedier, aggressive pollock are often suspended much higher in the water column.

Southern Maine Fishing Report

Word from Saco Bay Tackle is that the beaches are fishing best at the moment. He suggests chunk mackerel for bigger fish and clams and sandworms for steadier action. The hottest beaches at this time are Old Orchard, Ocean Park and Camp Elllis. You can get your mackerel fix by Wood Island. There has been rumblings of bluefish “bite-offs” by Richmond Island. While they are not hearing of much in the rivers such as the Saco, Spurwink and the marshes such as Scarborough, in Massachusetts similar estuarial environments are seeing life. While it’s debatable whether the much-hyped fall run is officially on, those who have put decades into paying attention to this sort of thing see the first stirrings right now. It might be time to revisit your favorite river/estuary/marsh now!

Brandy from Webhannet Bait and Tackle echoed what others have said – night time is the right time for bigger bass now! Eels are the enabler to those better fish with chunk fresh mackerel a close second. If you prefer to use something artificial than the venerable tube and worm is a best bet. If she had to pick specific spots it would be the Saco River, Parson’s Beach and Drake’s Beach in that order. And best of all is that the feeling is that the fall run has just begun!

New Hampshire And Maine Fishing Forecast

For a squid supper or as swell striper bait jig some up at Newcastle and Kittery. If you’re serious about upping your personal best bass, sling eels during the graveyard shift among the bays and harbors throughout the Piscatagua River watershed and the Saco River. Beaches are a good choice in the Wells area and best of all it’s only going to get better!