Those doing most of the striper catching in the Piscataqua River are vertical jigging interesting bottom structure. Spend some time prior jigging up live mackerel, which still can be found between the 2KR Can and the Isle of Shoals, and you may just cull out the cows. I know of three 30-pound-class stripers that were taken in the last week among rockpiles on York Beach, and not surprisingly the fish fell for live bait!
New Hampshire Fishing Report
According to Chad from Dover Marine there is no shortage of sharks cruising around Jeffreys Ledge, but regarding tuna – less so. Marine-mate Jamie did have on a thresher estimated to have had a body length of 10 feet that chomped onto a groundfish, scrubbed him off and proceeded to make like a mako and clear the water as if to mock the luckless angler. The pollock, haddock and cod fishing has been depth specific and when sticking to that depth the catching has been good. As an example, Chad was into pollock up to 39” long in 200’ of water and provided that he traced that contour line, they caught. As soon as they drifted into a depression or ascended onto a hump, the bite died off. You really have to poke around to find the fish and stick to a small strike zone.
Squid jigs remain a hot shop item and when asked for particular places Chad said just to find a lit area at night just outside of the current in the Piscataqua River. Striper fishing remains slow although he did have one angler boasting about his best day yet. This guy jigged up a mess of mackerel somewhere between the mouth of the Piscataqua River and the Isle of Shoals and proceeded to put a whooping on mid to upper 30-inch stripers in the river.
Tim from Suds ‘N Soda told me that there’s been a bump in black sea bass numbers in the Piscataqua River. The results are nowhere near what they were last year but they’ll take even a slight improvement over the recent slump. Just remember that black sea bass are regulated in New Hampshire now to the tune of a 13” minimum size with a 10-fish bag limit. For black sea bass as well as stripers one of the best options is to vertically jig the fish. Tim continues to do well with the Daddy Mac diamond jig/soft plastic Whisperer combination and he’s finding more than the typical schoolies which others are complaining about. A method which I’ve employed and has been deadly in the past is “squidding”. Jigs such as the heretofore Daddy Mac are free-spooled quickly down to marked fish or irregular bottom while drifting in current and upon the lure’s touchdown, the clutch of the conventional reel is immediately thrown and the jig reeled up 5 or 6 cranks. A fluid, fast motion is imperative for this method to work since the erratic action is what triggers a reflex strike out of the fish. Let the lure languish on the bottom even for two seconds and the predator loses interest. But have the lure immediately rocket up and then drop down smoothly and stripers, black sea bass, blues and even fluke love it. Plaice Cove is a best bet for surfcasters with chunk mackerel the bait of choice. Tim put an interesting spin on the tough striper year, he’s been telling customers that when they learn to catch under the challenging conditions of this season they are going to be better long-term anglers because of it.
Southern Maine Fishing Report
The word from Saco Bay Tackle Company is that the beaches are where to be for those looking to best a bass. Pine Point and Bayview Beach during higher tides while dark have been the hottest and with high tide coinciding with late evenings the foreseeable future looks promising. Plenty of slot-sized fish are in the mix with the occasional upper 30” or bigger adding real excitement. Boaters should load up on mackerel by Richmond Island and live line them under a balloon/float in the windward wash of the island or try slipping a sinker on and drop one out a bit where bass may be staging.
Brandy from Webhanet B&T told me of a 45-inch, 30-pound, 10-ounce striper which was taken on a live mackerel among a rockpile off York Beach. Not coincidentally my friend Russ Burgess took first and second prize this past weekend in a tournament up there and he took both fish – an upper 20-pound and mid-30 pound bass – on fresh mackerel at night from a York Beach rockpile! Surfcasters and kayak anglers working York at night with eels are also scoring stripers. The day kayak crew is catching dragging while dragging the tube-and-worm around while light and the shop even makes casting tubes which surfcasters are putting to good use at Drakes Beach and Moody Beach. At Kennebunkport there was a blitz just observed yet not fished which looked to be the handiwork of bluefish. For mackerel stick to Walkers Point off Kennebunkport and for an offshore ordeal check out the cod fishing off Jeffreys Ledge. Brandy’s hubby Scott did and hauled in a 34” white belly for his efforts.
Fishing Forecast
For striped bass and for that matter black sea bass, master vertical jigging structure and depth edges along the Piscataqua River. To short-circuit the catching load up the livewell with mackerel and drift over similar structure. Saco is still sizzling with beaches at high tide while dark fishing best while boaters jigging up mackerel by Richmond Island should do well among the rough stuff of the island. However, If you are truly yearning for a cow recent results indicate that York Beach rockpiles at night are the way to go!