Unlike most of their southern New England counterparts, anglers in Northern New England still – hunt! Because of that angling participation drops off a cliff this time of the year making for a golden opportunity for diehard casters who appreciate less harried water, ideal conditions and – plenty of fish!
New Hampshire Fishing Report
Joe from Granite State Rod and Reel Repair in Nashua said that fishing pressure is running inverse of the bite, and for the anglers still in the game, that means that less – is more! Fisherman bouncing Ned Rigs along the bottom of the Nashua River are increasingly picking up largemouth bass. What’s also working are topwaters, especially the Z Man Hellraizer and River2Sea Whopper Plopper. Both those lures are also working well for pike in the Concord River and Merrimack River.
“Charlie” can breathe a big sigh of relief now that Captain Bob Weathersby of Seacoast NH Sportfishing is planning on pulling his ride after this weekend! If anyone can go out with a bang Bob’s the one! Speaking of “bangs”, the captain hooked up to an enormous thresher shark off Scantum which torpedoed twice out of the water after grabbing a mackerel in 100’ of water. A short while later, the captain and his first lady felt and heard a thump on the hull similar to running aground. As near as they could tell, the shark may have cold-cocked itself on the bottom of the boat. While how the shark faired is uncertain, it did make for a clean release! What was more certain were the two tuna Captain Bob caught and released that day.
According to Captain Andy of Adventure and Catch Charters, Jeffrey’s Ledge is loaded with dogs so the word to the wise is to go easy on the bait! Should you stick to jigs you should find pollock hunkered down in tight schools on the bottom. While drifting works for the pollock, you’d be better served pounding wrecks, rocks and ledge for cod.
Southern Maine Fishing Report
While not yet there, Captain Lou of Diamond Pass Outfitters said that the striper run has sputtered. It’s not that bass cannot be caught, it’s just that it’s obvious that resident bass have moved southward as they normally do this time of the year. The good news is that the Casco Bay captain’s counterparts up north still have fish so provided their trajectory takes the bass by the coast as opposed to offshore, there should still be a good couple of weeks left to the season. Fortunately the favorable weather forecast should be an enabler to finding out over the next week. For a best bass bet as the season winds down the skipper recommends the ledges and beach fronts at night with big offerings such as metal lips and soft plastic stick baits. Odds are that it won’t be a numbers game but you’ll be swapping quantity for quality. The other option is the rivers along the grass banks where smaller fish are gorging on small baitfish, shrimp and other prey that live around the eel grass.
When weather permits, Captain Paul Hood of Touch of Gray Fishing Charters has been targeting the northern edge of Jeffrey’s where he has found nice cod, pollock and haddock beginning at depths of 240-300’ and then following the movement of the fish to shoal water between 168-204′. In addition to good groundfishing the captain is throwing in the tuna option on his trips! With topwater tuna a common occurrence the skipper is packing Nomad Chuck Norris poppers to handle the BFTs.
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New Hampshire And Southern Maine Fishing Forecast
Cooling water temperatures have lit a fire under largemouth bass in the Nashua River with even topwaters working well. Pike in the Concord and Merrimack Rivers offer a potentially larger and far more toothier option. With the departure of bluefish, mackerel schools have moved in close again putting those prized bass baitfish within easy reach. While the resident stripers of southern Maine have moved on there is good word that northern reinforcements are on the way. With more than a month to go in the GOM cod season there is no worries on Jeffrey’s Ledge where the brown bomber bite has been joined by pollock and haddock.
Good heads up Ron, about this time of year and the Pike getting more active in the rivers.