The offshore haddock bite remains hot with most of the action on northern Jeffrey’s Ledge. As befitting late May, striper numbers are swelling with rivers/marshes a best bet.
New Hampshire Fishing Report
From Captain Bob Weathersby of Seacoast NH Sportfishing came news that the fishing has broken open with the warm weather. Lots of stripers are feeding tight to rocks, and under noisy diving terns. Thanks to river herring, tributaries of the Great Bay which support herring runs are the most consistent locations but with those runs withering and mackerel and pogies becoming a factor look for the game to shift to open water soon. In close to the coast, it pays to fish salt marsh and harbor inlets on the outgoing as they will have warmer water, and bait. As for offshore, the haddock action remains topnotch with plenty of 5+ pounders in the mix. Dogfish are starting to move in as the water warms, but the haddock are still partial to clams. Some haddock and a few cod are mixed in. Conservationists are avoiding the hard bottom as released cod don’t have great recovery prospects. There are still a number of porbeagle sharks around, but still a bit cold for blue sharks.
Captain Andy of Adventure and Catch Charters added a little commentary to the dogfish issue by recommending that anglers stick to the northern section of Jeffrey’s to avoid the dogfish scourge. With plenty of haddock there it’s not like anglers will be missing much! Tuna have been encountered by Pigeon Hill; find the sea herring, find the tuna! . Next in the captain’s sites is a trip to Cashes Ledge where he fully expects to catch the enviable trifecta of haddock, tuna and – halibut! As for stripers should you be anywhere near Cape Ann Marina than you are already in the money zone as stripers from 25-32” have been falling for chunk/strip bait and lures such as topwaters.
Southern Maine Fishing Report
Captain Paul Hood of Touch of Gray Fishing Charters out of Portland has been embarking on a few shake-down cruises in preparation of charters he’s planning on running beginning June 1st. Preliminary trips to Southern Jeffrey’s have revealed limits of haddock by as early as ten in the morning thanks to his signature gummy teasers. The preferred color has been chartreuse with the sweet spot around 190’. In his home port in Portland, stripers are seen frequently feeding on the surface.
Zach from Saco Bay Tackle Company said that stripers up to 40 inches have been taken in Scarborough Marsh, the Mousam River, Higgin’s Beach and Old Orchard Beach. White bucktail jigs, Albie Snax and Al Gag’s Whip-it-Fish have done the most damage.
Brandy from Webhannet Bait and Tackle/Boatyard told me that river herring are keeping striped bass in check at the Saco River. She’s also been hearing of good reports from Salmon Falls and the York River. Mackerel are in close near the Wells Harbor jetty and anglers can be seen tossing Sabiki rigs in the hopes of hooking and live-lining them for striped bass. In addition to soft plastics, metal spoons are accounting for fish up to 35”!
Always the optimist, Captain Lou Tirado of Diamond Pass Outfitters said that the fishing is lining up perfectly for a holiday weekend to remember. Stripers are ranging from schoolies around 22” up to 40” inch fish! Most rivers are seeing an abundance of herring in southern Maine, but with that comes some heavy crowds. Anglers will find the best success with large soft plastics that have a baitfish profile, those like the zoom super flukes, 9” Gravity Tackle eels and Zinger baits have been among the best. They are also seeing fish on the flats off the ocean front!
All in all it’s leading up to a promising holiday weekend!
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New Hampshire And Southern Maine Fishing Forecast
Anglers targeting ground fish on Jeffrey’s Ledge are talking as if they are in haddock heaven! Additionally tuna are now terrorizing most everything at Pigeon Hill. The tributaries of Great Bay as well as Little Bay are holding all kinds of striped bass which are feeding on river herring coming and going throughout the watershed but with mackerel out front look for the bass bite to soon be moving out a bit. Maine anglers are using soft plastics, flies and spoons to catch bass up to 35 inches in the York River, Mousam River, Saco River, Scarborough Marsh, Casco Bay and Portland Harbor. With news of pogies just south of the border look for this most prized big bass bait to be a game changer soon and bring along with it some real cows as was the case last season. Who could ask for more? Except maybe a holiday to fish and it looks as if we have that in order also!
Thanks alot