New Hampshire and Maine Fishing Report - June 22, 2017

If you see an inordinate number of Massachusetts license plates heading north toward the coast of Maine, it might be because they peeked at the Saco River report – woah, there’s some serious stripers swimming in there! If you can resist the pull from the potential of hooking one of those big bass, squid are appearing in larger numbers in the Piscataqua River and the offshore haddock fishing remains hot!

New Hampshire Fishing Report

Tim Moore of TimMooreOutdoors is telling folks that local striped bass fishing is the way it’s supposed to be – you have to put your time into it to catch better bass. Chuck Fritz, who guides for the outfit, has been finding feeding fish up on top throughout the Piscataqua River and they are willing to take a Big Fish Bait Co. popper. Another option is to drop a jig onto the heads of marked fish. Tim developed a jointed jig especially for this sort of fishing after years of research and experimentation and it has now seen the light of day: the Tim Moore Signature Series Nervous Minnow, marketed by Daddy Mac Lures.

Jason from Suds ‘N Soda said that striper size has bumped up considerably leading with a 48-inch fish! While he can’t say for sure, Jason’s is leaning toward mackerel as the magic bullet and Little Bay as the spot. Mackerel remain inconsistent with first light searchers, who are already jigging and chumming before most are roused, catching them most consistently. What are becoming more consistent as well is squid and they are beginning to get them at night among lit locations in New Castle and Kittery. Peperell Cove in Kittery along with the harbors of Hampton, Rye and Wentworth have fine flounder fishing. Regarding “flounder”, a few are being caught on top of Jeffrey’s Ledge while targeting haddock.

Chad from Dover Marine was nearly delirious when we spoke after being smitten by shots of super-sized Saco River stripers that a shop regular showed him! One of the stripers was over 50 inches long and undoubtedly those fish are giving it up for river herring. Begin your big bass search at the dam where the stripers have the bait concentrated. The shop is still moving plenty of shad darts with Salmon Falls getting the nod as the best for shad. Rivers still hold plenty of river herring with solid bass nearby. Squid are making inroads with lit areas by the Portsmouth Shipyard as well as nearby power plant.

Southern Maine Fishing Report

Thomas from Saco Bay confirmed the blistering big bass bite in the Saco River by adding that he saw a picture of a 50-inch, 50-pound monster! The bass bedlam has been most predictable by the dam and especially with herring as bait. Considering that the harvest of river herring in Maine is allowed and because the bass are there for the prey it makes any artificial alternatives almost moot because you can’t beat the real thing. Avid kayak anglers are telling tales of long “sleigh rides” as hooked big bass tow their boats almost at will. There have been mackerel off the Camp Ellis Jetty and anglers catching and then livelining the macks are catching slot-sized and bigger bass on site. With all the herring in the rivers, the beaches have been relegated to schoolie status. It appears the calling card for the beach brigade is to spike a rod in the sand and then chill until a striper comes calling, but the fish are far smaller than the rivers.

Before we delve into the Webhannet Bait And Tackle fishing report, if you haven’t checked out their website and watched their webcam, then you’re missing out on one cathartic, relaxing experience. But don’t doze for long, the striper fishing is just too good! Schoolies swarm most of the shoreline with white and pink Clousers, Storm 360 Searchbaits and Savage Saltwater Sand Eels doing most of the catching. The Webhannet River and Wells Harbor are full of fish! Bait may be your best choice for culling out the better bass with eels, chunk, sandworms and clams all having their cheering section. York Beach and Kittery Point have been productive for surf fisherman while the kayak crew is scoring with the tube-and-worm. The Mousam River has no shortage of river herring with bass of mixed sizes on the chase. Mackerel can occasionally be caught right off the Wells Harbor jetty. Now that seas have subsided, the groundfish gang has set sail again and they are finding plenty of pollock and haddock willing to hit white and purple cod flies off Jeffreys Ledge.

Fishing Forecast

The Saco River herring run/big bass bonanza has to be tops for best bets for this week. Those cows could be coursing the coast beyond this spot by now, but you’ll never know if you don’t give it a try. Elsewhere the New Hampshire harbors are still holding flounder and the haddock off shore fishing remains fantastic for those on top of Jeffreys Ledge fishing a purple or white cod fly.