New Hampshire and Maine Fishing Report – June 7, 2018

Some in both New Hampshire and Maine are rounding a bend and thinking they are in heaven as they are greeted with acres of feeding stripers! For a shot at a bigger bass under these schoolies, seek something which will sink quickly and keep it coming below the micros.

New Hampshire Fishing Report

Captain Jon Tregea of Sea Run Charters treated a group from Florida on Wednesday to a nice bite of mid-20” bass. To continue the Sunshine State theme a little further, the lure that was doing the killing was a gold/bone colored soft plastic stick bait made by Slayer Lures of Florida! Chartreuse and olive deceivers have been catching quite nicely as well. The bass action has shifted more towards the mouth of the Piscatagua now making the Portsmouth area particularly productive. For more specifics Jon mentioned Pierce Island and Prescott Park. During one recent outing, Jon commented that he had never seen such a mass of stripers feeding on the surface before!

Jason of Suds ‘N Soda said that there has been a bump in bass size to 38” now! He has even heard from a number of sources of a 48” monster taken from the York River! As usual for this time of the year, mackerel is the magic but they can be spotty. Best bets for that bait are from the 2KR can out to Hampton Shoal Ledge. The shop is selling a lot of eels however as the night time action is heating up in Little Bay as well as Hampton and Rye Harbors. If the fish are persnickety in the Piscatagua it’s because they are zeroing in on silversides but there is a remedy – Daddy Mac Bonito Jigs or the Daddy Mac Elite series jigs. Squid are in and can be found off most lit piers and docks come dark.

Southern Maine Fishing Report

Josh Thelin of All Points Fly Shop and Outfitter in Portland has been seeing a lot of fish around 16-22 inches in ever-increasing numbers. One local estuarine school feeding on the surface looked to be one thousand strong! For the foreseeable future the bulk of the migratory bass will be seeking the warmer water temperatures of rivers, estuaries and marshes but in time the better action will flip towards rocky shorelines and the open ocean. For a chance at culling out that first cow of the season, Josh emphasizes the need to pick a big pattern such as a 9” streamer and select a line or fly which will sink below the little guys and can be worked where the cows graze! In addition to fin fish forage, one of the target species for hungry stripers is green crabs which are increasingly becoming active as temperatures warm. The shop carries patterns which totally mimic these ubiquitous crustaceans.

According to Brandy from Webhannet Boatyard/Bait and Tackle many are catching stripers up to the mid-thirty inch category in rivers and bays. Some of the better have been Wells Harbors, the Mousam River and the Ogunquit. If you luck into the right conditions it may look like it’s raining schoolies – there that many small fish around. Choice wares have been small white and sexy shad Savage Sand Eels, 5” Fin-S-Fish and Storm 360 GT Search Baits. Working terns belie the fact that the bait is on the small side. If you’re looking for mackerel, try the jetties off Kennebunkport, Wells and Drake Island. Haddock remain hot on Jeffrey’s Ledge with bright cod flies doing the trick.

Maine, New Hampshire And Vermont Fishing Forecast

It’s heady times when you can pick your passion! For schoolies and plenty of action emphasize estuaries and similar upstream areas with small streamers and soft plastics. For bigger opt for bigger soft plastics and streamers and emphasize effluences where those rivers, marshes and estuaries dump into bays and harbors. Good choices are the Portsmouth side of the Piscatagua River as well as York River, Saco River and the Mousam. For mackerel, toss a Sabiki jig off the jetties and for groundfish, haddock on Jeffrey’s Ledge is the way to go!