Coastal New Hampshire and Maine Fishing Report- June 13, 2024 – On The Water

With sizeable striped bass keyed in on Mackerel, and bottom fishing for Haddock on fire, summer fishing doldrums still seem far away in northern New England. Striped bass to 45-inches have been reported in Maine, while bottom fishing excursions to deep water are finding an array of haddock and pollock. Meanwhile, offshore-oriented anglers are now pursuing their first tuna of the 2024 season.

New Hampshire Fishing Report

Based out of Newington NH, Captain Andy from Adventure and Catch Charters was on the way to tuna grounds at Stellwagen Bank when contacted for this week’s report. Capt. Andy had heard positive reports of tuna at Stellwagen, and was on his way to target the offshore Thunnus species this afternoon.
 
Earlier this week, Captain Andy said that he and his customers had found haddock willing to bite at Jeffreys ledge in approximately 225’ of water. Squid were the bait of choice for hungry haddock, as well as pollock from 25 to 30-inches. Unfortunately, dogfish, a less-desirable by-catch, have moved in and mixed in alongside the haddock and pollock this week.

Inshore, Captain Andy also mentioned that mackerel were the primary forage for striped bass in the Piscataqua River; he caught schoolie and slot-sized fish chasing live mackerel in the past week. Although he was using live bait, not artificials, any stripers on sustained surface feeds of Mackerel would undoubtedly be susceptible to a broad array of topwater plugs and swimming lures for anglers who prefer tossing artificials.

Southern Maine Fishing Report

Crossing over into Maine, more fish on mackerel were reported at the mouth of the Saco river, according to Brandy at Webhannet Bait and Tackle/Boatyard. Pogies are also present in this area, and boat anglers are targeting fish holding here on the tube & worm, with bass caught up to 45-inches!

Surf anglers are also able to join in on the action all around Southern Maine. Brandy mentioned she had found fish from the surf in the Wells Harbor area, catching on small, white topwaters, soft plastic paddletails, and straight-tailed soft baits such as the ever-popular Lunker City Sluggo®. She had heard of fish up to 38-inches being caught in the surf in the past week! The abundance of a broad array of bait in this area should make blitzing striped bass a very viable target for shore-bound surf and boat-based anglers alike.

On the groundfishing front, Brandy’s report mirrored that of Captain Paul Hood of Touch of Gray Fishing Charters. Captain Paul has found haddock to 25-inches from 180 to 215-feet of water on Jefferies ledge. The current calmer conditions have allowed his clients to reach these fish with sea clams and soft artificials weighed down with only 16 ounces of lead.

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New Hampshire And Southern Maine Fishing Forecast

In the coming week, inshore anglers should be able to have their fill of striped bass fishing, no matter if they are hiking the shoreline, or chasing blitzing fish from boats. Plentiful pogies and mackerel, especially around the mouth of the Saco river, should keep schoolie, slot, and over-slot sized bass occupied for the time being.

Ground fishermen inclined to venture further out in search of table fare will be able to quickly fill limits of haddock and pollock from 180 to 225’ of water on sea clams and squid. With rising water temperatures, increasingly abundant dogfish are the only adversity groundfishing anglers must contend with.

For offshore anglers, tuna are now an option. Confirmed reports from Stellwagen should keep those targeting tuna satisfied during these earliest stages of the season.