New Hampshire And Maine Fishing Report – July 20, 2017

Anglers in New Hampshire and Maine are reaping the benefits of an improved pogy population. The result is less bass buzz about inches and more about pounds.

New Hampshire Fishing Report

Jason of Suds ‘N Soda in Greenland said that there are pogies throughout the Great Bay, Little Bay, Piscataqua River the likes of which they haven’t seen in years. Not every school has stripers prowling nearby, but keep searching until you find one that does. That other most prized baitfish – mackerel – are in good supply also with promising reports from the mouth of the Piscataqua out to Whaleback Light. Two tackle essentials you should always have at the ready are a sabiki rig and a snagging treble. Two of Suds’ main men – Roland and Rick – have been jigging up mackerel and catching plenty of stripers in the Hampton and Rye Harbors. The beaches remain a best bet for the sand spike/chunk mackerel crew. Some blues have been taken sporadically but it’s not; yet a fishery rewarding enough to target.

Chad from Dover Marine had the ultimate pendulum swing of emotions between Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday his high was courtesy of a 540-pound giant that slammed a live sea herring in the middle of a whale show/bait ball. On Wednesday, unbeknownst to him, his bilge pump failed and his boat sunk. He’s awaiting news on how much of his ride is salvageable. Meanwhile tuna are on a tear. Conventional fishing is all that is required with humps covered with bait often holding tuna. Chad has been doing well by staggering live herring under balloons while under anchor. Bigger bait often means bigger bass and this is precisely the case throughout many of the harbors, the Piscataqua River as well as Little and Great Bay. The talk among striper fisherman not surprisingly has shifted from inches to pounds. If Chad had to single out one stretch as a best bet it would be the General Sullivan Bridge area of the Piscataqua River. Something can be said for structure which doubles as a current cushion/ambush spot and this bridge has it all.. Flounder can still be found but they are beginning to migrate out of the harbors and towards deeper waters. As is the case with many fishing disciplines, chumming helps a lot.

Southern Maine Fishing Report

Thomas from Saco Bay Tackle said that the push of pogies have lured bigger bass into the Saco River from the mouth upstream to mid-river. Some anglers are cruising the Saco in search of the striper/pogy collision and tossing a live mackerel into pogy schools and catching bass into the lower 40” range. The top of the tide through the first few hours of the outgoing have been fishing best. The hot artificial is the Bill Hurley Rat Tail. The night crowd are catching the occasional cow with eels off Higgins Beach. Some blue bite-offs have been occurring off Ogunquit, Cape Porpoise and Biddeford Pool. The most important mackerel tip the shop would like to offer is to chum, chum and chum some more for consistent catches of mackerel. There are a lot of tuna being taken from Cape Porpoise out to Platt’s.

Brandy from Webhannet said that the surge in water temperatures is running parallel with the improving striper fishing. In fact, bay water has bumped from 58 degrees to 67 in some areas. The result of that is better fishing in Wells Harbor as well as the Webhannet River. The guys killing it are the kayak anglers who aren’t afraid of the dark. One hardcore, shop regular has been catching fish up to 48” on Daiwa SP Minnows by day and eels at night. Honorable mention for spots has to go to Drakes Island Beach and the Ogunquit stretch. Chunk mackerel for the surf guys and the tube-and-worm for the boat brigade have been some of the go-to baits. Chumming is the key to catching mackerel. Tuna have been in close with anglers catching Charlie on mackerel, pogies and whiting.

New Hampshire and Maine Fishing Forecast

Hedge your bets by topping off the livewell with mackerel whether you’re fishing the Piscataqua River or York Beach and then search out the pogy schools. While there are no guarantees bass will be with the pogies, one sure bet is that any lingering fish will not pass on a live mackerel. Best bet in the Piscataqua is by the General Sullivan bridge while farther up Maine, the Ogunquit Beach/river has been hot. Of course, it’s all relative, but there are tuna hunters catching giants. If you have the gear and intestinal fortitude to tackle one of these punishing pelagics than look for bait, whales and drop a live mackerel, whiting, pogy or sea herring into the mix to see if Charlie is willing to come out and play.