Finding river herring fry among natal watersheds is a best bet for an inshore striper bite. Not to be ignored are the bait balls of tinker mackerel which at river mouths and embayments are holding stripers as well. As for groundish, finding hard bottom is the key to catching cod while pockets of cooler water are bringing on haddock and pollock.
New Hampshire Fishing Report
Captain Andy of Adventure and Catch Charters said that swarms of tinker mackerel are the key to catching schoolies throughout the Piscataqua River watershed. Those tinkers are easy pickings from the mouth of the river to the ledges as well as the isles of Shoals. Drifting along with an outgoing tide just after high has been working at the Merrimack River as well. The caveat is that cows are in short supply with most fish sub-slot size. Some of the skippers groundifsh trips have been impressive with haddock of over 20” and big pollock! He mentioned Outer Pigeon Hill specifically. As for cod, if you’re not knocking some paint off your jigs or dinging chrome than you’re not in rocky enough bottom to hold cod. As water temperatures dip expect dogfish to lessen and pollock numbers to increase. In addition to looking for the right bottom composition Captain Andy watches out for cooler water breaks which will hold haddock and pollock.
Captain Bob Weathersby of Seacoast NH Sportfishing said that compared to recent weeks the striped bass bite has improved along the coast of the Granite State. Bob feels that cleaner water has improved the fishing with rocky points being especially effective. Rye Harbor is holding 4” bait which has been leading to impressive surface feeds. Mackerel have been no problem to obtain with inshore ledges, such as Hampton Shoals Ledge. Holding mackerel. Get while the getting is good because the predicted ocean swells should quell the bite at least for a while. Offshore groundfish has everyone happily retaining their sole codfish through next month with abundant haddock still available on Jeffrey’s Ledge but it’s usually taking some searching to find the pile. Bluefin fishing is excellent right now! Rec-sized fish are mixed in with medium-sized giants on middle Jeffreys. The season’s first influx of herring has the bluefin chewing and whales abundant. The Seacoast NH Sportfishing crew saw the first halfbeaks of the season on Tuesday, so some good surface feeds of rec-sized fish should be ahead. They released an 84″ bluefin on Tuesday along with a rec fish. There are truly enormous blue and porbeagle sharks making frequent fluorocarbon leader changes a necessary evil. Surface water temps on Jeffreys have cooled over 5 degrees in the last week, so hopefully the blue sharks will push out.
Southern Maine Fishing Report
Peter from Saco Bay Tackle Company said that brit herring schools are holding mixed sizes of stripers and even bluefish from Portland to Casco Bay! Tinker mackerel have been prevalent in the Saco Bay Area with stripers observed spraying bait onto the surface. Fish Snax XLs, Slug-Gos and GT Eels are accounting for some of the bigger bass after dark off HIggin’s Beach, Moody Point, Scarborough Marsh and at the mouth of the York River. For a shot at a blue, try trolling X-Raps as well as Rapala Magnums among the islands of Casco Bay and Saco Bay. Offshore the haddock/cod bite has been good with 200-250’ the sweet spot. Clams are working well with reports of dogfish not that prevalent. Bigger sharks such as blues and porbeagles are on the prowl making live-baiting for tuna challenging. Considering that the commercial quota is still open, most are handling the annoyance of changing out fluorocarbon leaders a small price to pay for a shot at a giant!
Captain Lou Tirado of Diamond Pass Outfitters told me that Downeast anglers still have bluefish to go along with the solid striper fishing! Morning temps in the high forties have triggered feeding frenzies especially at first light. The fish have become so aggressive that they’ve been knocking herring a foot into the air! Zoom super flukes, Albie XL’s, Nuc Spooks, and hydro pencils have been among the better baits. Estuaries as well as ocean fronts are all producing blues and solid bass. The pattern is: on calm days look for the fins, when windy use your sonar and find the schools. Pencil poppers, and Docs have been the key to covering a lot of water while eliciting strikes.
New Hampshire And Southern Maine Fishing Forecast
River herring fry moving through the Piscataqua River and out towards the mouth are resulting in surface feeds as bait and bass collide. Inshore ledges are holding tinker mackerel with bass spraying the surface with them. The Merrimack River on the outgoing has also been good for mackerel drifting. The dark to dawn brigade has been catching some of the larger linesiders in northern New England with big soft plastic stick baits ruling. Offshore Pigeon Hill is holding haddock and pollock with prowling sharks never far away. Sea herring and halfbeaks have moved into the offshore ledges and Charlie has taken notice.