Joining the slug of schoolie and slot stripers are clam-chowing cows that are even hitting during the day! Some are finding that the stripers are maddeningly fussy, but we have a remedy – read on! Groundfishing remains an attractive alternative with the heady prospects of a halibut seldom better!
New Hampshire Fishing Report
Captain Andy of Adventure and Catch Charters yet again caught two more halibut this past week! They were short, but for those who appreciate historical fisheries in these parts, that’s nothing less than amazing! Almost as incredible is the limits of haddock his charters continue to achieve on Jeffrey’s Ledge and Platt’s. At issue is that the dogs are now running free and complicating things greatly. Striped bass averaging 24-27” are thick in Great Bay and not fussy! Off the rocks and the jetties of the Granite State are fishing best. Mackerel can be caught but aren’t as ubiquitous as other years. Mackerel are however the trick to triggering a halibut to commit, making the effort worth it!
Tim Moore of Tim Moore Outdoors is increasingly taking charters on kayak trips throughout the Piscataqua River watershed. He’s targeting Little Bay and the tributaries where the ideal combination of mid-60 degree water temperatures and plenty of bait is resulting in a pretty solid striper bite. Tim’s tip of the week is to steer clear of micros cruising the shorelines and instead target drop-offs, current seams and any type of structure where larger linesiders lurk to ambush. He’s beginning to transition to the nightshift where he will be employing eels and the Hogy Slappy Eel. That’s not to suggest that Winnipesaukee has grown cold; in fact it’s quite the opposite with the deep water lake trout bite hot as ever!
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Southern Maine Fishing Report
Captain Lou of Diamond Pass Outfitters seems to have solved a puzzle which is befuddling many a striped bass fisherman. Namely how to dupe fussy fish sipping shrimp! He’s been opting for size 4&6 flies, 11’ leaders and ten-pound fluorocarbon. Not all of fishy satisfaction comes from drag-pulling cows; the art of finessing extremely picky fish is something to crow about and Lou’s been pulling it off in Casco Bay. Anglers fishing mackerel are putting some of the nicer fish in the boat with chunk sometimes out-fishing live bait! Some of the pogy schools are being rushed by big bass, so keep an eye out for that. Nights in estuaries and marshes remain a best bet for a shore fisher to catch a cow with eels and needlefish the preferred offering.
Running contrary to the dusk to dawn maxim is this weeks report from Brandy of Webhannet Bait and Tackle. Anglers have been doing just fine for stripers up to 45” in the middle of the day! Bait is your best ally when the sun is up and both clams an chunk are doing the trick off Ogunquit Beach, by the Kennebunk River and Drakes Island! Higher tides regardless of the time seem to do the trick. Slot stripers have also been caught in the Saco River. Macks are a tough pick but harbor pollock are common and make for an excellent bait alternative for bass with both live and chunk working well. More sea run brown trout have been caught on tinker mackerel outside of the Saco, Ogunquit and Kennebunk Rivers. No matter how many times I hear of it, the brown trout eating a mackerel story makes me shake my head!
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New Hampshire And Southern Maine Fishing Forecast
Great Bay, and throughout the Piscatagua River, holds no shortage of striped bass but to pull the larger out of the micros target drop-offs and breaks in structure and current. Groundfishing remains great for haddock on Jeffrey’s Ledge in spite of the dog pack at large. Spend a little time prior by the Isle of Shoals and see if you can jig up a few macks, which are a halibut delight. Clams by day are working well off Ogunquit and Kennebunk with flies and long leaders the trick to fool fussy Casco Bay stripers.
Are there stripers in or around Deere Isle Maine?
Went stripper fishing two years ago around Surry/East Blue Hill area in the August time frame. We saw strippers blowing up on mackerel in Morgan Bay which is an inlet that is not too far from Little Deer Island. We caught a few from the shore, 10-15lbs. If the strippers are not there yet, believe they soon will be. Sorry don’t have any recent news. Plan to fish same area towards the end of this August. Good Luck.