Coastal New Hampshire and Maine Coast Fishing Report – August 15, 2024 – On The Water

The calendar may say August but the feeding frenzies are saying “fall.” Spike mackerel are swarming inshore and are the key to much of the catching. Larger macks can be found offshore and are proving too appealing for Charlie Tuna to pass up.

There’s great news from Captain Bob Weathersby of Seacoast NH Sportfishing as it  looks as if the stellar striped bass fishing of a few weeks ago has returned. Live and free-lined mackerel drifting along the Piscataqua River has been productive as has hopscotching along coastal “fingers.” There has been a resurgence of the offshore Isles of Shoals big bass bite with open-water blitzes tipping off the bedlam below. Mackerel remain abundant along the coastal ledges and Isles. Ironically, should you find mackerel on the surface that are reluctant to feed, odds are pretty good you’ve found the bass or maybe even bluefin. Regarding bluefin, Captain Bob has been putting anglers onto some serious standup tuna including an 85” that was schooled on standup gear! During the same trip, they missed a rec fish. The go-to tuna treat has been mackerel. Jeffrey’s Ledge has been the venue for pollock and haddock with sharks less of a factor than before.

Captain Andy from Adventureandcatch Charters said that haddock and tuna are the big stories. Provided that you don’t mind wading through dogfish, you will find haddock on Jeffrey’s Ledge. There are also good size pollock but they are not plentiful as of yet. Rec-size tuna can finally be found throughout Scantum, South and North Jeffrey’s and even at the Isles of Shoals as well as up and down the coast, Charlie is chewing anything and everything from haddock to herring to mackerel. Regarding mackerel they are an easy find by the 2KR Can and if you don’t find stripers there, take a livewell full over to the Isles of Shoals where big bass are back.

Peter from Saco Bay said that stripers are on the move all along the coast as they seem to head the need to feed. While certainly not fall, the first leg of the highly anticipated “fall run” seems to be happening. Hot spots to consider are Kennebunk, Pine Point and Freeport. Anglers are catching on the Albie Snax XL, Al Gag’s Whip-it-Fish and GT Eels. As for bait, spike mackerel have been an easy score with many anglers using them for bait. Pogies are prevalent just north of Saco with big bass hounding the schools. As for groundfish, if Jeffrey’s or Platt’s is too far to reach, consider Tantas which is much closer yet still giving up a few haddock and pollock.

From our friend Captain Lou of Diamond Pass Charters comes word of an uptick in the bite over the last few days. They’ve have been getting fish mostly off the beach fronts. Slowly trolled mackerel have been like dowsing rods for finding the bass, and once found anglers are staying with the school and pounding them with flutter spoons or jigs/soft plastics. They are also seeing some sporadic surface blitzes off the beaches with school sized bass feeding on spike mackerel. Albie Snax XLs, spooks, and pencil poppers have been best bets for those blitzes. The night bite continues to impress as well. Live eels, and imitation style soft plastics have been best. They are seeing some bite offs and hearing a little about the random bluefish being caught but nothing to write home about.

Spike mackerel caught up by the 2KR Can and drifted among the current of the Piscataqua River are accounting for steady striper action. However with the reappearance of a big bass bite near the Isles of Shoals, you may be better served going on a boat ride. Farther up the coast, soft plastics such as Albie Snax are accounting for striper action off Wells, Saco, Pine Point and Kennebunk. Offshore, some haddock can be found off Tantas while the better bet is Jeffrey’s Ledge but beware there are tuna as interested in your grounffish as you are!