With abundant alewives in rivers, such as the Lamprey and Saco, those watersheds will continue to hold striped bass over the next few weeks. The appearance of mackerel now may signal a change along beaches and other open ocean areas. Groundfishing remains good and there is now even tuna talk!
New Hampshire Fishing Report
With the coinciding of first light and high tides, ocean fronts from Salisbury Beach to Wallis Sands in New Hampshire should be prime for fishing for striped bass this weekend. Paddletials such as Al Gag’s Whip-it-Fish as well as worms and clams should all catch fish. You may encounter sizes ranging from 15” to over 40” which is about the right mixture of year classes for the present and the future. There should still be plenty of river herring in the Great Bay tributaries such as the Oyster River and Lamprey River but as we move into June more herring will be going than coming so look for staging spots in the bay as well as throughout the Piscataqua River watershed where stripers will be lying in wait. Little Bay is an option as is Odione Point and the General Sullivan Bridge. Flounder fishing has somewhat improved south of you in the Bay State which gives hope that you may have a better blackjack go of it than in previous years! Rye Harbor, Hampton Harbor, Wentworth Harbor and Pepperell Cove are all historically good flounder spots and worthy of an attempt. With some better haddock reports trickling in down south, maybe a peak at Southern Jeffrey’s Ledge or even Tillies Ledge would pay dividends.
For more on a groundfish perspective I heard from one of the Granite State gurus – Captain Andy of Adventure and Catch Charters! The Lower Curl between 165-185’ of water has been giving up limits of haddock easily in spite of the growing presence of dogfish. The captain’s also reporting football and larger tuna at Three Dory Ridge, the Prong and even as close as Boone Island! As for stripers, the area around his slip at Great Bay Marina is swarming with stripers, with many fish well above slot size!
Southern Maine Fishing Report
Brandy from Webhannet Bait and Tackle/Boatyard said that while mackerel are spotty, the anglers putting in the time by chumming or trolling for them, are finding them among islands such as Richmond, Eagle and Monument. A livewell with a few macks or chunking them should pay off by Parson’s Beach as well as Drake’s Island. Bait of all sorts including worms and clams seems to be out-producing lures. The pattern which is working according to Brandy is that low tides are better at beaches such as Parson’s while higher tides seem to be hotter at rivers such as the Ogunquit River, York River, Kennebunk River and Mousam River. A special mention went towards the South Berwick section of the upper York River where stripers are pushing alewives. Regarding rivers, sea run brown trout have purportedly been caught upstream of the Mousam River by Roger’s Pond. Rapala minnow lures have been duping the trout. The tube-and-worm continues to work well in the Webhannet River as well as the Saco River.
Regarding the Saco, Cullen from Saco Bay Tackle Company told me that that river herring are still holding stripers in the Saco River. Old Orchard Beach has been among the more consistent slot-to-bigger bass spots with clams and bloodworms working best. There has also been fish caught from Fortune’s Rocks and Scarborough Marsh.
Captain Lou Tirado of Diamond Pass Outfitters weighed in that they are seeing fish pretty much everywhere. All the major rivers are fishing well including the Mousam, Saco, Presumpscot and Kennebec. A bump in alewives are keeping the bass in check. In the rivers, large soft plastics, deep diving metal lips, and spooks have been best. They are also getting fish off the beaches and out front. Mackerel have become more easy to find and dovetailing nicely with that is a sweet weather forecast for weekend.
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New Hampshire And Southern Maine Fishing Forecast
While herring run action is no secret, it might be time to begin looking to beaches such as Wallis Sands, York and Ogunquit as more stripers move in and herring numbers wane. Bait seems to be working best with herring as well as clams and seaworms all working well. Just be aware that if you take that bait offshore you may have to contend with a few dogfish but when there’s a cooler full of haddock on deck, you’ll probably view the hassle was well worth it!
The Coastal New Hampshire and Maine Fishing Report provides valuable insights for anglers, highlighting the best spots and seasonal trends. A must-read for anyone looking to maximize their fishing experience in these areas.