The real harbinger on how long the fall run will last is the bluefish factor. Being a more temperate bruiser than their seven striped counterparts, blues depart earlier. With news that those toothy creatures remain abundant in Northern New England leads to the inescapable conclusion that it’s not even close to being over!
Ordinarily this report reads from South through North but this time, the headline just begs to begin with Maine.
Southern Maine Fishing Report
Brandy from Webhannet Bait and Tackle/Boatyard told me that bluefish are suddenly as abundant as they have all season long off the coast of Maine! As to where they came from, who knows or really cares as efforts are better served taking advantage of the toothy bite. Far from an aberration a number of of anglers reported catching them on mackerel, trolling plugs and the tube-and-worm at the mouth of the Little River, Drakes Island and even from the jetties of Wells Harbor. The choppers have been averaging between 6-9 pounds. One crew had a banner day to say the least. After filling up on those yellow-eyed tackle busters they set their sites on stripers and found a big school of aggressive fish off of York. If you’re looking for prime bait, that should not be a problem as mackerel of different sizes are omnipresent.
Corroborating the bluefish report was a similar report from Captain Lou of Diamond Pass Outfitters. The skipper said that the action has been all of the beaches with a good mix of sizes from 3-10 pounds! Some of the better bites have been off Higgin’s Beach and all the way down to Wells. If ever there was indeterminate locations, now would be it because both stripers and blues are on the move! According to Lou, they are also still getting some nice fish out front that are keyed in on mackerel. He suggests that anglers fish the rock piles, and look for transition zones where the bass can set up shop and ambush prey as it swims by. “Search for the school with either your sonar or by using a loud topwater to cover as much ground as possible”, emphasized Lou. “Once located using soft plastics to get down to them has been the best tactic. Spots have been moving so staying mobile and agile has been the best, but you will have to burn some fuel as these fish are moving daily”, said Lou.
New Hampshire Fishing Report
While I have no anecdotal evidence that blues are swimming off the New Hampshire coast, Captain Andy from Adventure and Catch Charters has a hunch he was marking them. Off Boone Island while looking for mackerel he saw some unusual large marks darting in and out of the mackerel schools but wasn’t sure what they were. When I tipped him off about the blues up north, he started thinking that’s probably what the marauders were. As for stripers he’s seeing all kinds of striper action under dock/pier lights throughout marinas in the Piscatqua River and nearby environs, His tip is to troll or flip tinkers towards those feeds: it shouldn’t take long to connect with a striper there, especially at Great Bay Marina. On the groundfish front be prepared to hunt around numerous locations whether it be the Prong, the Curl or even a haul out to southern Jeffrey’s Ledge for haddock and pollock. Be prepared to wade through dogfish until you find your intended quarry but as the picture that Captain Andy submitted proves – the results are well worth it!
Captain Bob Weathersby of Seacoast NH Sportfishing said that recent reports on coastwide striped bass were once again blown out by an offshore-driven swell. It’s been safe to gather mackerel near the 2KR Can at the mouth of the Piscataqua River, then head back inside to drift the lower River spots. Little Harbor has also been producing on an outgoing tide near the Wentworth Marina. Rye Harbor has still been holding young-of-year pogy fry. Bob recommends matching the hatch there with a paddletail shad bait. As for bluefin, “rec”-sized fish are there in fair-to-good numbers, but are moving around on a daily basis. He theorizes that it is because mackerel are EVERYWHERE on Scantum and Jeffreys. The first day of the commercial October opener saw multiple fish docked from middle Jeffreys. Northern Jeffreys no doubt was holding fish too. Blue sharks are still a problem on both Jeffreys and Scantum. Perhaps this weekends’ NE wind will cool the water enough to push them south.
As for groundfish, it’s much the same as last week. Pollock are getting bigger and more numerous. Haddock cooperative but may take some moving around on Jeffreys to find larger versions, and cod and cusk are nearby over harder bottom/dropoffs.
New Hampshire And Southern Maine Fishing Forecast
With blues still in abundance in Maine, trolling an X-Rap or. Rapala Magnum off of Portsmouth, Seabrook or Salisbury is bound to produce some toothy action. In spite of the proximity of one of their primary predators, mackerel remain thick from the 2KR Can to the Isles of Shoals and well into Maine. Trolling or live-lining mackerel in tight along beaches or ledge should payoff is striper dividends. Higgin’s Beach has been hot for blues with big schools of bass busting bait just off York. Offshore it may take some time poking around Jeffrey’s Ledge but the payoff has been big pollock!