Salty options this September are remarkably numerous and diverse with Jeffrey’s Ledge pollock/haddock a standout. There are good and bad prowling among the groundfiish with tuna ready to take down a bait but also blue sharks ready to tear apart most everything! Striper fishing remains strong with the more successful angers closely matching the size/shape of their lures with the forage.
New Hampshire Fishing Report
Captain Andy from Adventure and Catch Charters has found big pollock on northern Jeffrey’s – and lots of them and in only 175’ of water. Rocky bottom is holding these “Boston bluefish” with the bite so good that on a recent trip all available storage space was filled in just a couple of hours. The feeds have been so ferocious with 35” fish coming over the gunwale four at a time. Anglers will have to deal with some dogfish but most will find it worth it. Jigs as well a mackerel are all working. He’s also been limiting out on haddock in 220’ of water on northern Jeffrey’s Ledge. The haul has been so hot that at times the crew has been taking a break so the captain can catch up with cutting up the fish.
From Captain Bob Weathersby of Seacoast NH Sportfishing is word that the bass bite has been strong in the lower Piscataqua in the area of the Navy Yard out to Pepperrell Cove. Mini Macs have been a bass best bet. Coastwise conditions are recovering from last weekend’s swell and should be fishable by the weekend. Mackerel are easy peasy at the Isles of Shoals, and inshore early in the morning. Groundfishing is going strong with hard bottom yielding steady numbers of cod and cusk, while the mud is offering up haddock and whiting. Clams are best so long as the dogfish aren’t too bad. Rec tuna are on Jeffreys and they are keyed in on small “spike” mackerel. An unweighted mackerel fished far behind the boat on lighter luorocarbon leader has been the ticket for Captain Bob and his crew. Surface feeds are scattered but hopefully on the increase with the onset of halfbeaks. Giant tuna on northern and central Jeffreys has held steady, but hordes of blue sharks are making conditions challenging at times. Seacoast NH Sportfishing has had several trips where they released or broke off up to eight full grown blue sharks, wreaking havoc with the gear. Yesterday they took up residence beneath the boat, stripping not just hook baits but soon-to-be-bait haddock being retrieved. Tuna were there, but not reachable. Hopefully the cooling water temps will push the blue dogs out.
Southern Maine Fishing Report
Brandy from Webhannet Bait and Tackle/Boatyard told me that mornings have been good for stripers in the Kennebunkport area with fish up to 35” falling for mackerel. Mackerel are mainly small but numerous with anglers wielding a sabiki are topping off their livewell with no problem. Anglers working the night shift off Drakes Island with big soft plastic stick baits are still catching cows! For a quick cod, Brandy is steering anglers towards the “Peaks” off Cape Porpoise while Platts is steadier for pollock and haddock as well.
According to Captain Lou Tirado of Diamond Pass Outfitters the bass bite remains strong in the Casco Bay Area despite recent heavy winds which churned things up. Anglers are reporting abundant schools of juvenile herring, plenty of mackerel and piles of small sand eels up in the shallows. The pattern has been that the day bite kicks off as soon as the sun comes up with blitzing bass pushing bait into coves and pinch points. Almost all offerings are working as long as anglers match the general profile of the herring – 3-6”. As the day progresses and provided that the weather remains stable, venturing offshore between the one and three mile mark has been effective as roving schools of bigger bass will basically hit anything thrown at them as long as it has a mackerel profile. The night bite has been consistent off the beach fronts, these bass seem to be moving so staying mobile and hitting multiple beaches is often necessary. Live eels, needlefish and large soft plastics have been the ticket.
New Hampshire And Southern Maine Fishing Forecast
With the addition of big schools of pollock the already solid Jeffrey’s groundfish bite has gotten even better. Tuna are present among the schools of haddock in deeper water but the volume of blue sharks necessitate constantly changing leaders. Bass in the Lower Piscataqua River are prolific with tinker macks the perfect snack. Maine angers wringing the most out of the fall run are deploying lures which closely match in size and shape available forage. That forage consists of small herring inshore with small mackerel out deeper.