New Hampshire and Maine Fishing Report | September 18, 2014

It just could be the best of all worlds. The stripers are still biting but a lot less anglers are fishing. The beaches remain a best bet but I’m betting a lively eel worked at night from an estuarial bridge would pay off in bigger bass. Mackerel are plentiful by the Isle of Shoals and in Maine right off the shore of Route 103.

New Hampshire

Tim from said that although less anglers are chasing stripers there is still success stories among the suds. The beaches are your best bet right now and those targeting jetties, rockpiles and ledge are doing best. DM Minnows with their weight transfer chamber are enabling casters to reach feeding fish by the Beach Plum Restaurant in North Hampton. It seems there are more mackerel by the Isle of Shoals and some are topping off the livewell and then cruising out The Curl to catch “Charlie”. A nice consolation prize is the big pollock which are pulverizing jigs throughout Jeffrey’s Ledge. There is even the occasional halibut hauled out from Jeffreys as there have been reports of 42” plus fish falling for a live herring or mackerel. Crappie are starting to aggregate and feed aggressively in basins of water bodies such as Pawtuckaway Lake and if you find one fish, odds are you’ll find the whole school.

Chad from Dover Marine cashed in recently in the tuna craze as he and some friends took a 110” giant on a live herring at a depth edge off Jeffrey’s Ledge. That tuna was a late sleeper as it didn’t hit until 3:45! Elsewhere shop-mate Jamie was busy showing a 151” thresher shark who was boss at Jeffrey’s while using a live mackerel. With shop sportsman taking in hunting few are fishing for striped bass although one angler took a 40” on a pollock chunk right from the shore at the mouth of the Piscatagua River. This guy even jigged up the bait on site! Crappie fishing has become a sweetwater alternative as suspending fish are feeding aggressively from such places as Bellamy Reservoir. Look for fish to be holding 5’ to 8’ down in deeper water and often just outside of a weedline. Play it safe, drop a shiner in front of those fish.

Southern Maine

There doesn’t seem to be much waning with striper fishing in the Webhanet area according to Matt from Webhanet B&T. There is a lot of catching still in a lot of different ways. Matt has been picking up 20” plus fish while trolling the tube and worm throughout the Webhanet and Saco area. Fly fishermen casting Clousers from the sandbar on the Webhanet River are doing well also. One patron of the shop observed a tightly-wound school of stripers at the mouth of the Kennebunk River which initially seemed disinterested in everything he threw at them until he opted for Deadly Dicks and SP Minnows. The perseverance was well worth it since the fish were all over 30”. Another area to consider, for snapper blues as well, is the section between Colony Beach and St. Anne’s Church. Mackerel are no problem, in fact they are being taken right off the shoreline by Route 103.

Nick from Saco Bay said that there isn’t as much buzz about bigger bass but still plenty of 16” to 28” fish, which isn’t bad! The rivers have grown quiet but Old Orchard Beach and Pine Point remain plenty productive. I beg to differ with that river avoidance; find a fishable bridge in a nearby marsh or estuary at night preferably around the turn of the tide and pound any shadow lines with eels! In the Boston area we have good fish in those type areas into the last days of October. Lob that eel so that it “splats” at touchdown, it’s uncanny how stripers key in on that sound. If you were to fish those same places by day, there is nothing but boy do they come alive as soon as the sun sets. Mackerel are easy pickings among Wood, Ram and Eagle Islands. While some of the macks are fun in their own right to catch, if you take a live-well full out to Platts you may be rewarded with a tuna since they are on a tear. Stick to depth drop-offs for a best chance at a bluefin.

Fishing Forecast

Punch a DM Minnow as far into the horizon you can by the Beach Plum off North Hampton for a beach bass. Or jig up some mackerel and drift along or live-line under a balloon/float at the mouth of the Piscatagua River. Pine Point Beach and Old Orchard are good options for late stage linesiders with sandworms and clams a solid bait choice. Cast an SP Minnow in the Kennebunk River mouth area and just maybe you’ll find that swarming school of stripers is still there!