It’s seek-and-destroy time for those who are chasing striped bass. When found the fish aren’t fussy but finding them can be challenging. Fortunately one of our sources has some sound logic to pass on to help short-circuit your search.
New Hampshire Fishing Report
Captain Bob Weathersby of Seacoast NH Sportfishing said that the passing storm moved stripers away from predictable haunts and put them on the move. Once the post-storm, super moon weed clears up, look for linesiders to be found in the lower Piscataqua River. If you’re looking for bait to tempt those bass then mackerel at the Isles of Shoals should be on your list. Giant tuna are on a tear throughout Jeffrey’s Ledge as anglers are reporting them over a 20-mile swath. Those big bluefin have a taste for haddock as anglers are reporting tear-offs as the groundfish are led to the boat. If you don’t mind donating a legal haddock to a bigger cause, you’ll have the ideal bait. That haddock are on Charlie’s menu says a lot about how common they are on Jeffrey’s Ledge. Halfbeaks have arrived, resulting in tuna, of all sizes, taking flight as they pursue the evasive halfbeaks. Many consider the show alone worth the price of admission. In addition to haddock, pollock are prominent and cod common. Considering that the opener for cod is September 1st, this bodes well for that fishery.
Captain Andy of Adventure and Catch Charters had to tend to family obligations this week so he only got out once but during that trip found plenty of silver hake in the 19-20” range on Jeffrey’s. Some of those hake were sent down in the deep to coax Charlie into hitting but all the skipper got was “sharked”.
Southern Maine Fishing Report
Captain Lou Tirado of Diamond Pass Outfitters has noticed a pattern which should benefit you folks who don’t get out as much as charter captains do! You could almost call his method, the “seek and destroy” technique. Because bass are on the move Lou, and other striper sharpies, are trolling the tube-and-worm, trolling plugs and mackerel and covering a lot of water until the fish are found. Once a bead is put on those bass they are proving easy to catch. Beaches are holding a lot of fish but look for ledgy, rocky sections – especially those at the ends of beaches – to hold the most amount of fish. What is working is paddle tails, bucktails, and flutter spoons – if they are holding deep – and Docs and pencil poppers – if there are surface feeds, birds working or a bait slick.
Brandy from Webhannet Bait and Tackle/Boatyard told me that anglers working eels or big soft plastics at night are having incredible luck with reports of up to thirty 40”+ fish outings. The York area has been especially hot with even a few blues mixing it up with the bass. Schoolies through slots have been active in the Saco River with clams and chunk mackerel working well. Wells Harbor is holding bass and just outside mackerel. Mackerel have also been reported among the humps just outside of Kennebunk.
New Hampshire And Southern Maine Fishing Forecast
Now that the seas have settled, Granite State anglers can expect stripers to reassemble in the Lower Piscatagua River as well as among rocky structure bordering beaches. York Beach has been hot with mackerel working well by day and eels/soft plastic stick baits at night. Expect stripers to remain on the move for the duration of their stay in northern New England but once found the fish should have their feedbag firmly strapped on. Haddock are hanging in there on Jeffrey’s Ledge where pollock and whiting are also cooperating. However if you’re counting on your catch winding up in the cooler than you had better make haste hauling that fish on board since Charlie is on the prowl and he has a taste for groundfish.
Hey editor,
It’s the Piscataqua River, not Piscatagua please.