The going in the Granite State is best for those pounding the upper Piscataqua River with the usual striper candy – mackerel, eels and vertical jigs. If your preference leans to fast action, then the superb squid fishing should be on your agenda. Maine is unique thanks to close-to-shore mackerel, which is keeping stripers nearby and making bait acquisition a cinch!
New Hampshire
Jason of Suds ‘N Soda likened the striper fishing to a roulette wheel: unpredictable, a definite gamble but when on is cause for celebration. Schoolies continue to provide most of the action from the upper Piscataqua River through Little Bay. If you’re tired of eating crow, then stop following the birds! The surface feeds are overwhelmingly the result of schoolies, but those not giving chase and targeting drop-offs and rips with eels at dark and macks by day are finding their catch size bumped up to between 30” and 35”. Mackerel remain pure magic and can be found off Kitts Rock on out to the Isle of Shoals. Increasingly, families are exposing their kids to the squid craze and the shop is having a hard time keeping jigs in stock. Latest reports indicate solid squid fishing off Hampton Harbor, Rye Harbor, Portsmouth Harbor, Wentworth Harbor as well as the Route 103 Bridge in Kittery. Groundfishing is a mixture of pleasure and pain. The pleasure is in the consistent catching as close as 5 -7 miles from shoreline, the pain is that mixed in with the haddock and pollock is plenty of beautiful “market-sized” cod which have to be released!
It’s all a matter of degrees, according to Tim Moore. The upper Piscataqua River has been striped bass-comfortable at about 66 degrees. That’s keeping fish put but they are not always in a feeding mood. There’s no substitute for time spent on the water and those doing the most catching are shrugging off doldrums and doubling down with vertical jigs and jigs/soft plastics by bridges, humps and depth edges. Tim did mention that many are licking their chops now that we are in the New Moon period as historically the fishing has improved.
Southern Maine
If there was a category for catch of the week, a strong contender would be the “salter” brown trout that Brandy from Webhannet told me about. The Ogunquit and Mousam Rivers are home to unique sea-run brown trout fisheries and you can never predict when one of these special salmonoids will be caught. Recently a 24” salter was taken on a clam, of all things, between Perkins Cove and the Ogunquit River. For an intended shot at a salter, get the gear and the knowhow from the shop. Striper fishing has picked up over the last few days with most of the action taking place off jetties and docks in the Webhannet area where mackerel can still be caught. Some are catching and live-lining those macks for 25” to 30” stripers but the fishing seems to be better when the bait is fresh chunks. Cape Porpoise gets an honorable mention for bass for boaters. There’s even been some squid darting around under the lights by docks and piers.
Curtis from Saco Bay said that it is beach time! Rivers are running too warm, except for the possible exception of the mouths on the flood. But while the beaches may be cooler the fishing is hotter. Some of the best beaches are those with prominent rock piles such as Bayview and Higgins beaches. Cast a mackerel or soak some seaworms among that structure and fish with confidence that there is a bass lurking behind every rock. Get your mackerel fix by Eagle and Wood islands. There are rumors of random, roaming packs of bluefish just outside of the islands but no one in the shop has seen so much as a tattered leader as proof.
Fishing Forecast
With water temperatures firmly in the striped bass comfort zone, the upper Piscataqua River has potential especially if there’s a live mackerel on the line. If action is your first priority followed closely by culinary delights than squid fishing from lit piers and docks throughout the harbors is for you. Mackerel from the docks of the Webhannet River put the bait and the bass practically at your fingertips!