Report Provided By Ron Powers
While the intent of Memorial Day is to pay homage to fallen heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, you can’t help but be stoked about an extra day off this weekend. Timing is good for the extra day gift as bigger striped bass are now around to play with!
New Hampshire Fishing Report
While no one is likely to call the captain of Suds ‘N Soda a soothsayer, he’s nevertheless predicting that the first inshore mackerel and 40” striper is imminent! Meanwhile “suffering” it out with 30” to 35” fish full of herring is not bad. You’ll find the striper-on-herring onslaught in most every tributary of Great Bay. While not many target them, American shad are present in solid numbers in the Cocheco and Salmon Fall rivers. Flounder fishers continue to have all kinds of fun in the harbors as well. When asked if the beaches were giving up bass, Jason hadn’t heard of any even trying as of yet. The surfcasters are a savvy bunch that know that nighttime is the friend of the beach brigade and nighttime temperatures had been cruel to say the least – until now! Look for some beaching of bass from Wallis Sands Beach, Hampton, Rye and others very soon. If you’d like to spend some time this “beachy” holiday weekend mixing in some lounging with some casting, set up by the jetties where you can cast without interrupting beach bathers. Offshore has been off the charts at The Curl section of Jeffreys Ledge with a few pollock crashing the haddock party. Expect harbor pollock to be near the mouth of the Piscataqua River soon. They are almost as good a live bait as mackerel.
Chad from Dover Marine has news of anglers doing well in both the Piscataqua River and local beaches. And conveniently the bite has been during the day at Hampton and Rye on spooks and swimmers with lack of bait not being an issue. He’s also hearing of 38” fish taken among the tributaries on live herring. Harbor pollock and occasionally mackerel have been jigged by humps and ledge between the 2KR Can and Hampton Shoal Ledge. A few are fishing the live baitfish throughout the Piscatagua River and catching keepers! Scantum and Old Scantum feature solid haddock action with both jigs and bait catching well.
Not all is about the salt however, not as long as the occasional hawg largemouth can be caught from Swains, Bellamy, Pawtuckaway, Willand and Baxter. Depending on the water body, the bass are in various stages of the spawn. Either way look for beds, target them with a jig/soft crawfish or a jig/lizard and crawl it slowly near the nest. Handle those breeders gently and send them back to make more bass as quickly as possible.
Southern Maine Fishing Report
From Brandy of Webhannet Marine came word of a slug of better bass that just invaded southern Maine. A paddle-boarder sculling along the waves of Ogunquit Beach saw a big school of keeper-quality fish on the march. Maybe tossing a sandworm into the wash of Ogunquit, Wells or York Beach might get you your first keeper striper this weekend. Meanwhile the rivers such as Mousam, Webhannet and Kennebunkport are still your best bet for schoolies. The tube-and-worm has been put to good effect off Hills Beach and York Beach for short stripers. Mackerel have come cruising in closer in Saco Bay. Jig some up and try drifting past the Camp Ellis Jetties with a live one on. A friend of mine has caught nice bass by targeting rockpiles on Higgins Beach with live mackerel.
According to Kenny from Saco Bay those looking for the most action should focus on stripers and shad in the Saco River. A better bet for a bigger bass is to try and jig up mackerel or pollock from the Camp Ellis Jetty and live line this forage for potentially a far bigger striped bass. The influx of mackerel among the islands of Saco Bay is a reason to think that they could be within casting distance of the shore by now. Sandworms or clams on the bottom of beaches such as Biddeford Pool, Pine Point or Old Orchard should prove too much to pass up for any cruising stripers. The artificial which has been making waves already in this early season is the Al Gag’s Whip-it Fish. It’s ironic but a buddy from Mass has been hammering fish with this same blue mackerel, blue/silver versions of this soft plastic/jighead; just maybe they’re onto something!
L.L. Bean New Hampshire, Maine & Vermont Fishing Forecast
Report Provided By L.L. Bean’s Matt Bickford
Maine Striper Fishing report
Ed Gauvin, Freeport Hunting and Fishing Store Assistant Store Manager
With ocean temps hovering between 49 and 52 degrees the first push of schoolie stripers have entered the Gulf of Maine, following a larger than usual run of alewife that began entering the river systems about three weeks ago. Estuaries and inlets on beaches are a great spot to target these early migrators. 3/8 oz. jig heads rigged with a 6” albino shad slug-go is a go-to for many anglers and has been producing good numbers for the past week. As the biomass of alewife begins to stack up at pinch points in some of the more prominent rivers the feeding frenzy will ensue. I focus my time during the bottom half of the outgoing tide as the bait tends to congregate and become easy prey for waiting bass. My favorite technique for pulling larger fish is to cast a 6” Tsunami swim shad in Pearl spot up river and allow it to drop to bottom, followed by a slow retrieve across current. Be ready as you’ll pick up many fish on the initial drop. If the surface feeding activity is heating up I’ll switch over to the Tactical Anglers BombPOPPER. This plug casts incredibly well and simulates a wounded or escaping River herring to a T.
Central and Southern Maine Freshwater Report
By Matt Bickford
Everything seems to happen all at once at the end of May and first of June. Because of our low water in much of Maine trout fishing is at its peak with good spinner falls happening in the evening and excellent streamer fishing on overcast days or when the shadows get long. A real producer this spring for large brown trout has been Rich Strolis’s Head Banger Sculpin. Fished on a ten foot sink tip or DC 24 this fly gets down quick and hops its way back to the drift boat because of the large Sculpin Helmet on the front of the fly. This past week I have also had excellent luck nymphing riffles at the head of pools on bright days. With the increased macroinvertebrate activity this time of year trout are focusing in on this buffet of drifting insects. On bright days I start with a golden stone as a point fly and a lighter colored mayfly or caddis dropper. My top nymph choices so far have been Pats Rubber Legs, Mercer’s Z- Wing Caddis, Sparkle San Juan Worms and a variety of color variations of Hot Wire Princes in sizes 18 and 20.
The state will continue to stock trout through the month of June so be sure to check the stocking report on a regular basis.