New Hampshire and Maine Fishing Report – July 8, 2021

New Hampshire and Coastal Maine Fishing Report

As typical of July, striped bass remain the headline fish but interesting alternatives abound. Foremost is the great groundfishing, which lately includes whiting and pollock to go along with the ever-reliable haddock. Winnipesaukee rainbows and lakers remain a nice  sweetwater choice while their sea run relatives – salter brown trout – are stealing a bit of thunder from stripers!

New Hampshire Fishing Report

With Captain Andy of Adventure and Catch Charters, our conversation seemed like one-stop-shopping for New Hampshire information. Andy’s been covering all the bases. First up, he’d found s little “notch” on the Southern side of Pigeon Hill where he’s been finding no dogfish, plenty of haddock, and pesky pollock, the pollock are on the small side so to dissuade them from hooking up, the skipper has been upping the size of his hooks to 9/0 to 10/0!  More toward Stellwagen Bank, Andy’s finding a different class of pollock – 20″ to 30” – which haven’t been frowned on in the least.

Off the edges of Lower Jeffreys Ledge in 350’ of water are schools of perfect, grilling-size silver hake – 16″ to 18” long. For mackerel, check out Anderson Ledge and Smuddy Nose Island, both of which are near the Isles of Shoals. You may want to put those macks to good use by the Bubbler on the Merrimack River or near the prison in the Piscataqua River. Both spots have been productive for striped bass of mixed sizes. Surprising news is the volume of squid throughout the river. Lit marinas/bridges at night are looking like a Nat Geo scene as squid take flight with striped bass in hot pursuit. In past years when squid numbers have been up there has been a black sea bass presence, it’ll be interesting to see if they show.

Tim from TimMooreOutdoors caught a corker 22” 5-pound rainbow trout from Winnipesaukee the other day. Additionally, the laker bite is on fire still. The bows can be tempted by trolling streamers, shiners and spoons while the lake trout are best fished by vertical jigging over marked fish.

Southern Maine Fishing Report

If you are still holding on to the notion that trout fishing is a finesse-full passion than obviously you’re not aware of the sea-run brown trout fishery in Southern Maine. Whether caught on tinker mackerel, clams or – this weeks bait of choice – Slug-Gos, those sea run trout have attitude. Brandy from Webhannet B&T continues to hear reports and see photos of sea run brown trout up to nearly 30” long. They are flourishing in the Webhannet River, Ogunquit River, Mousam River and Kennebunk River.

Macks remain a tough find, but the plentiful pollock make for a fine live bait alternative. A 46” striper was recently caught off the Ogunquit Beach on a clam, and mid-20-inch fish have been bashing topwater lures near the Mile Road section of Wells Harbor. The shop has a few flounder sharpies who are catching well in the Mousam and York rivers with some fish pushing 18 inches. Regardless of what you fish for, you’ll find no shortage of inshore bait. With reports of blues just south of the border, expect the first toothy to reign terror on unsuspecting baitfish in the next few weeks.

Apparently some good came out of the recent downpours, according to Captain Lou of Diamond Pass Charters that flow is flushing out remaining river herring to waiting 30” striped bass that are crashing topwater lures. Nights, eels and July go together like cows and singing drags which pretty much describes what’s going on in estuaries in the Casco Bay Area. With the New Moon coming it’s expected to peak. Needlefish are an effective alternative to eels. Hot spots to consider are East End Beach, Mackworth and the Kennebec River. Fishing the rips and deep structure has been the ticket. Top lures are Two Lights Tackle spooks, Albie Snax, Magic Swimmers and 7” Hollow and Dragon Tail flies. When keying in on small shrimp, shrimp patterns are a must.

Fishing Forecast

A slug of squid in the Piscataqua River has presented a quandary to anglers: do they fish for “calmari” or use them for bait? An alternative to consider is the Al Gag’s skirted Whip-it-Fish, which has proven to be deadly when stripers are focused on squid in Massachusetts. Macks, while not as numerous as past seasons, are available in the Isle of Shoals area. Groundfishing remains a unique alternative with cooperative pollock and silver hake hitting almost as well as the haddock. While on the subject of “unique,” that aptly describes what’s going on in Southern Maine rivers as sea-run brown trout continue to surprise.