New Hampshire, Maine & Vermont Fishing Report – June 9, 2016

New Hampshire, Maine And Vermont Report

New Hampshire, Maine And Vermont Report Provided By Ron Powers
The striper catch ceiling has been raised with fish of over 40” falling primarily for mackerel in both New Hampshire and Maine. Groundfishing remains great with encouraging news of two types of flatfish, one potentially big in stature and the other just plain fun to catch.

New Hampshire Fishing Report

It’s not often that you hear of anglers disappointed when they are catching 35” to 40” fish but that is exactly the emotion Chad from Dover Marine experienced recently. The irony is that those big fish were cod that were caught while targeting haddock on Jeffrey’s Ledge and we know full well of the problem with cod! The other problem was that the dogs were out in force but the cooler full of haddock that Chad and a chum caught made the occasional dogfish tangle worth the effort. What worked were cod flies that had anything remotely blue in them: teal, purple, pure blue all caught well. Additionally purplish 280g flat sided Shimano Butterfly Jigs did most of the damage in about 190’ of water. Eight to ten pound pollock provided a nice mix to the catching. Herring runs are drying up in the tributaries of Great Bay and with that the bass bite is moving more coastal such as at Peirce Island in Portsmouth as well off the Route 1A stretch off Rye. With water temperatures up stripers are more inclined to smack lures and fish up to 40” are falling for SP Minnows, Slug-Gos and jointed Shad Raps. With saltwater dominating now, chances of leisurely freshwater fishing are an attractive option. Odds are however that there was nothing leisurely about catching the 7-13 pound largemouth which ate a blue/black Senko at Swains Pond recently. Considering that this hawg was spawned out, imagine what it weighed a few weeks ago? Post-spawn bass are now hitting topwater lures aggressively.

Jason of Suds ‘N Soda said that the Granite State gang is still fishing live bait from the shore but the source has shifted from rive herring to mackerel. You can find mackerel and lurking bass off the Route 103 Bridge in Kittery as well as from New Castle. Those same bridges now harbor squid at night! Boaters are doing well trolling and drifting the mackerel through the Piscatagua River. A hot artificial is the 6” Daddy Mac Viper which for some is negating the need for catching live mackerel. Bass up to the low 40” are now being caught. Massachusetts has solid numbers of pogies on the North Shore so you folks who have good memories and recall snagging them in Great Bay may have another shot this season, keep your eyes peeled. Water temperatures are still firmly in the comfort zone of flounder and the harbors and bays still have plenty in the shallows. Groundfishermen are having their way with haddock by The Curl as well as Old and New Scantum. Because of the 15 haddock per person limit interest in groundfishing is far better than last season. The only griping is all the quality cod anglers have to wade through.

Tim from Tim Moore Outdoors told me that his Kayak University gig at Squam Lake was a smallie-slam-fest. The hardest part about this picturesque lake is to stop staring and start casting, it’s that gorgeous. Tim caught with his own design – the Daddy Mac Whisperer – while others did well with wacky-rigged Senkos. Some particularly good smallies were taken by one of Massachusetts top plug builders, Larry Wentworth of BigFish Bait Company. Larry makes a miniature version of his striper-slayer metal lip – Prey – which is awesome for freshwater bass. In addition to its action one of the reasons for its success may be because they’ve never seen anything like it before.

Southern Maine Fishing Report

The striper ceiling has been raised to 40” according to Brandy from Webhannet! Not surprisingly the nice bass inhaled a trolled mackerel at Kennebunkport. Schoolies have been joined by keeper-size stripers off Drakes Island and from docks of Wells Harbor. The shop has a steady stream of fresh mackerel in stock and that’s what most anglers are using. In fact many are catching mackerel right from the shore. Fly fishers are catching stripers from pools in the Mousam and Ogunquit Rivers. Olive/white striped and white/black Clousers and Deceivers are working well. Few target flounder in these parts but they are there! By catch “blackbacks” such as a 15” caught on a sandworm by an angler searching for stripers are not uncommon. To tilt the odds in your favor for flounder tie on a dropper loop so that one hook hangs slightly above the bottom. If you’re looking for a hook which can handle a striper and a flounder, the size 2 Mustad Ultra Point Wide Gap passes the muster. A spinner blade above the hooks adds visual appeal and will attract the curious flounder. Also every few seconds lift and drop your rig repeatedly, the sinker pounding on the bottom will create mud clouds which attract the opportunistic flounder. It’s the same song for Webhannet patrons who are making the haul out to Jeffey’s Ledge for haddock, no worries catching haddock but they’re also finding plenty of healthy, hefty cod!

Peter from Saco Bay told me that Saco River has been featuring some exciting surface feeds! The source is often a combination of sand eels, mackerel and stripers which are now pushing 40”! Anything white seems to be working best, in fact the shop is carrying hand tied ¾ ounce jigs which are catching really well. There’s still plenty of shad at the Saco River Dam and with river herring still present there’s an occasional surface assault as a big bass belts a blueback. Anglers targeting haddock off Platts and Jeffreys are not only catching the intended species but finding cod and ever-increasing numbers of halibut. As for their smaller cousins – winter flounder – a contingent of tight-lipped casters are catching them among estuarial mudflats and not saying a word where. The fact that the shop is selling flounder gear and sandworms speaks volumes. Drop some loot and get some gear and worms from the shop and odds are they will point you in the right direction. What anglers are saying is that in areas where they were catching nothing but crabs in seasons past, they now are finding flounder!

New Hampshire, Maine & Vermont Fishing Forecast

A best bet for bass for shore guys in New Hampshire is to catch and then live-line mackerel off the bridges of Newcastle. Boaters should stick to trolling/drifting mackerel throughout the Piscatagua River. Spent river herring by the Saco River Dam are attracting some of Southern Maine’s larger linesiders to date. Shore casters off Wells Harbor are finding mackerel, stripers and even the occasional flounder so long as they are using smaller hooks, sandworms and are bouncing and stirring up that bottom.

L.L. Bean Maine Fishing Report

L.L. Bean Maine Report Provided By L.L. Bean’s Matt Bickford

June Stripers

Mackerel have arrived in abundance along southern and mid-coast Maine. This provides anglers a great opportunity to target stripers that have keyed in on this prolific baitfish. I focus my efforts during the falling tide on deep ledges and points in close proximity beaches and inlets. The falling tide will expose ledge and provide for better presentation. I’m always looking for ledges that connect to beaches allowing for long casts parallel to the beach. This will place your plug just behind the surf in the beach trough or cut where stripers cruise looking for an opportunistic meal. My go to plug during this time is the Daiwa SP Minnow in green or blue mackerel. I find a slow steady retrieve with an occasional rod twitch to be extremely effective. When working a section of ledges I look for any changes in structure such as drop offs, points or coves that bass may use as an ambush location for unsuspecting schools of bait. Areas of foam, tidal seams and moving water are also very productive and should not go unfished.