Coastal New Hampshire and Maine Fishing Report- July 18, 2024 – On The Water

Just off the New Hampshire coast lies a mass of big striped bass which is about as good as it gets in New England! While that has been a constant for weeks what has changed is that the fish are now moving around making it a right-place/right-time fishery. While Maine has no shortage of stripers either, not every school is cooperative with one captain calling them the most finicky fish he’s ever encountered.

New Hampshire Fishing Report

According to Captain Bob Weathersby of Seacoast NH Sportfishing, the big bass that had been residing in the Isles of Shoals area for weeks are now on the move. The pogy schools which held them in check are getting blasted by larger predators including tuna, and because of that, they are on the run. Those feeds are now likely to be encountered from Salisbury through the mouth of the Piscataqua River, with the latter especially productive. Just be prepared to look deep – as in 30-50’ of water – which makes trolling deep diving plugs deadly. School tuna are blitzing those pogy schools too, but not with any predictability. Mackerel are still available at the Isles of Shoals, but in reduced numbers from recent weeks. In particular “bluefin-size” mackerel are hard to get after first light.

Offshore bottom fishing continues to offer steady haddock, whiting and increasing numbers of cusk, and pollock. Captain Bob recommends The Prong through Jeffreys for a mixed bag of groundfish. Commercial size bluefin are being seen and taken on both Scantum and Jeffreys, but more of a picky bite right now. The upcoming moon tides will make live baiting challenging as the current creates a lot of scope in the line and the bait tends to hug the bottom.

Southern Maine Fishing Report

Captain Lou of Diamond Pass Outfitters told me that the action level is attributable to the type of bait the stripers are focusing in on. The fishing is fantastic when bass push pogies in tight to area beaches. But then there’s the flip side with bass picking off smaller bait and reluctant to hit anything, save a well-presented Mush Mouth or Mud Dog fly. Even when managing to match the hatch, the fish are not nearly as aggressive as they ordinarily are. Anglers are not even getting any love live-lining mackerel or trolling a tube-and-worm in spite of fish finders marking all kinds of stripers. Expect to be similarly frustrated if nothing but terns are working over the feeds which is a sure indicator there is micro bait which is very difficult to match. Beaches with pogies are a better bet and you may find them at Old Orchard, Oguinquit, Biddeford Pool, Pine Point and Higgins. Estuaries/rivers such as the Saco, Mousam, Scarborough, Kennebunk and Spurwink are more likely to have smaller bait along with hit-or-miss action.

New Hampshire And Southern Maine Fishing Forecast

New Hampshire anglers looking to land one of those big bass that have made the rest of New England jealous should begin their search at the mouth of the Piscataqua River. Pogy schools are under duress from all comers so expect to search for the bait/bass even in water as deep as 50’. Shorten your search by covering water with a trolling plug and once found toss their way one of the pogies they are chasing or one of the ubiquitous mackerel. Crossing into Maine, bass have been pushing pogies right up onto area beaches where the bite has been fantastic. Schools chasing smaller bait will require smaller profile wares such as flies and a good deal of patience. School tuna have been in close and chasing the same pogy schools which the bass are following. Offshore is holding bigger bluefin as well as haddock, pollock, cusk and whiting. The Prong, Scantum as well as Jeffrey’s Ledge are all good places to start for pelagics and groundfish.