They are here! Striped bass have migrated as far north as Casco Bay with fish up to 30” part of the mix! Groundifishing remains a strong option with huge haddock a staple of the catch. With word of stripers in our midst, now might be the perfect time to revisit freshwater where crappie are crushing jigs in shallow water and there might be little competition.
New Hampshire Fishing Report
This week, arguably, Captain Bob Weathersby’s report on what he saw was more valuable than what he caught! The skipper at the helm of Seacoast NH Sportfishing recently spotted the unmistakable melee of terns working over bass busting on bait! The captain’s instincts tell him that the feeds were making their way through the Piscatagua River watershed possibly on the way to Little Bay/Great Bay! Anglers who enjoy fishing the herring river runs such as the Lamprey and Oyster Rivers – get ready! Regarding species which are more his “specialty”, Bob said that Jeffreys Ledge continues to produce, with haddock up to 11 pounds along with some quality redfish and small pollock. It continues to be a banner year on that front. A few dogfish are mixing in but not enough to make clams an ill-advised bait choice.wea With water temps approaching 50, you can expect more dogfish and blue sharks.
Just because the saltwater bite is getting hot doesn’t mean it would be prudent to ignore freshwater. A recent email with pictures from Gabe Gries drove home that point. Slab crappie, which would be the envy of most of the rest of the country, are there for the taking throughout New Hampshire and Maine! With water temperatures nearing the idyllic mid-60s look for crappie to be in shallow water and mixed in among brush and blowdowns. Line as light as 4 pound test makes a big difference in the bite rate with 1/8th to 1/16th ounce jigs/soft plastics just about right.
Southern Maine Fishing Report
Props to Captain Lou Tirado of Diamond Pass Outfitters for “sacrificing” himself in the name of digging up a fresh striped bass report for this week’s column. He spent some time bouncing around the marshes in Casco Bay this past week and was happy to see piles of bait and birds on the water. He didn’t get a good look at the forage, other than it was 1-3” and silver, but his guess is it was herring/alewives. Lou was throwing with his fly rod and using small size 2 Clousers, and was able to connect with a handful of bass ranging from 24-30”, plus – a bonus shad! He’s also been getting reports of fish in some of the rivers (Mousam and Saco) with those fish falling for sandorms and bloodworms. Always the optimist, Lou summed it up with, “Things are just kicking off here and once we can get a stretch of good weather it will be really good!”
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New Hampshire And Southern Maine Fishing Forecast
With fresh striped bass in attendance look for surface feeds in Hampton Harbor, Portsmouth Harbor, Portland Harbor and tributaries. Those tributaries which hold herring are places to focus as schoolies, slots and eventually much bigger will sniff out the bait. Should you be looking to top off the cooler than you just have to haul out to where the haddock bite is hot! Jeffrey’s Ledge continues to be consistent especially for those with clams on the hook. For those in need of a sweetwater change, slab crappie are in close and on the feed!