August 31 We don’t know exactly why but it seems when school opens fishing pressure closes! Not to that extreme but all of our reporting sources noted a definite slow down in fishing pressure, in spite of good words about the fishing in general.
Joe Hutter at Kittery Trading Post’s fishing department has some suggestions for diehard fishermen wanting to stretch their opportunities long into the fall season coming up.
“One of the unsung fall fishing opportunities is the opening of several bodies of water in Maine to year around fishing and of course in the Granite State there are the non-designated trout waters that stay open year round for rainbow trout and other species. Although landlocked salmon must be released, some of these ponds do allow the possession of trout. Surprisingly few are taken and not released by these dedicated late season fishermen. You'd better check the rule books for any exceptions to any pond you plan on fishing.”
“Trout and salmon will get right up into the surface chop when the water temperatures cool, chasing young-of-the-year smelt. Small flies and lures fished right on top are what you need.”
“Brook and brown trout spawn in the fall, which often concentrates these fish in the mouth of some of the inlets and outlets of lakes. These fish are not as easy to catch as the rainbows, but persistent fishermen get some real trophies. Some of the more northern trout ponds will have schools of pre-spawning brookies schooled up on shallow sandy or gravel flats. Stealth is the key here, especially in the clear water of fall. Small nymphs drifted in front of these brookies will usually bring a response.”
“If you think you're a great fly fisherman and really want to challenge your skills you might want to try spending some time chasing the sea-run browns at Berry Brook in Rye, New Hampshire. Some of these fish are probably in the river now and if they aren't, the next full or new moon tides should sweep some in from the open ocean.”
“We’ve seen fussy fish before but these browns will drive the normal man nuts. They often put a big rush on for your fly or lure, only to turn away at the last minute. We’ve heard that these monster browns will open their mouths wide, showing lots of white and when you thought your fly had been swallowed a hook-set would prove that it was only another one of those nerve racking rejections.”
“Most of the time that brown probably had seen or sensed you and your chances are nil at taking him. You're better off to rest the fish, and go look for a new one and try to make your stalk without any fish being able to sense your presence,” Joe warns.
MAINE: Maine Master Guide Stu Bristol isn’t putting his fishing gear away, saying that now is his favorite time for both fresh and saltwater fishing.
“When the crowds start to thin out and the air, especially in the evening, turns cool you can count on me to be out there somewhere with a rod in my hand more often than not. I especially like to work the shorelines for the migrating stripers and often bluefish, which can start anytime now. In the evenings it’s hard to chase the moving fish so we pick a logical place on the beach and using both clams and cut bait, try to keep our baits out deep enough for the bigger fish, that usually means about the third wave or breaker off the beach.”
“When we’re fishing the shorelines in the daytime, both from boat and land, the birds are a good indication of what’s going on. Seeing a flock of birds working over a bunch of stripers or bluefish that are doing a number on a school of baitfish near shore is as exciting as it gets! You can’t wait too long to get there and cast a lure or bait to them. In most instances we prefer topwater, popping plugs as they imitate a wounded baitfish and you don’t have to mess with bait. The strikes are visible and exciting, especially when two, three or lots of bluefish will simultaneously try to grab that popper!”
“Freshwater fishing in the early fall can be just as exciting but the evening isn’t always the best. Early in the month of September, yes, you’ll find great evening rises on some of the trout and salmon waters but as the month goes and the temperatures drop, you’ll often find that mid-morning can be good. As the water temperatures rise from the sunshine, a mid-morning hatch of insects often promotes a great time to fly fish with both dry flies, emergers or wet flies fished just under the surface. This hatch usually only happens for an hour or so. It’s good to be on the water by no later than 9am and then use sinking lines until the surface action starts. Then switch to floating lines and have a blast. Those male brookies with their fall spawning colors are enough to make you want to spend every morning in their pursuit!”
Captain Barry Gibson of SALTWATER MAGAZINE fame sent us this report this morning: “The big news in the Boothbay Region is the arrival of good-sized bluefish over this past weekend. Charter boats Charger, Blackjack, and Shark Six all took blues in the six- to 14-pound range, on swimming plugs trolled just off the western beaches. We also hooked a couple of nice ones on live mackerel fished on wire leaders at the mouth of the Kennebec River near the fort.”
“The blues seem to be in small pods and spread over a large area, as several of our live macks intended for tuna were chopped off four miles south of the Sheepcot River bell buoy on Sunday.”
“Striper fishing continues to be a challenge, but most anglers are picking up a fish or two per trip, many of which are just outside the 26" maximum size. Schools of spike mackerel are virtually everywhere, both in the bays and off the exposed shorelines, and some huge "clubs" to nearly 20 inches are mixed in as well.” Capt. Barry Gibson, Shark Six Charters, Boothbay Harbor; www.saltwatermaine.com
Craig Bergeron at Saco Bay Bait and Tackle sends this info: “I can't believe it is the end of August already! Summer has flown by so quickly. Some of the trees are already showing signs of change; the kids will be heading to school soon. But the next two months coming I think are the best for fishing and the beaches and rivers are much less crowded.”
“The bass fishing is starting to heat up again as the waters cool a bit. I talked to Cal Robinson a few days ago and he said the fishing was excellent in Saco Bay. He's catching some fat slot-fish using chunks of herring rigged on a small circle hook.”
“The beaches have been producing some bigger fish with anglers using live eel's. The bigger the better said a few guys on eel sizes. Use short-shank hooks to keep the eel from balling up on your line.”
“We have had some bluefish blitzes off of Old Orchard beach, Pine Point and Biddeford Pool. Make sure to have plenty of steel leaders and a good pair of pliers to remove the hooks from the fish’s mouth.”
“Mackerel fishing has been tough due to the presence of blues. You can try in front of Wood Island or Stratton and Bluff. Most of the macs we are catching now are tiny spikes.”
“Shark fishing is red-hot now with many anglers catching dozens of fish per outing. Scott Smith came by the shop last week and said he caught so many blue sharks that he ran out of hooks and leaders. It was like the old days, Smith said. The rods were bent all day and all the guys aboard were exhausted.”
“The Down East shark tournament was this past week and plenty of sharks were caught. My father, Butch and Jack Savasta took first place with a 393lb. 9'7" blue shark. Chris Cantara aboard Mad Dog landed a six foot-long mako and many other boats landed multiple blue sharks.”
“Tuna fishing is still excellent right now with plenty of fish down on Stellwagen Bank all the way up to Prince Edward Island. Most anglers are having the best luck using live or stitched bait. A few northern anglers are catching tuna using squid rigs, Green Machines and Sluggo bars. As long as the bait stays and we don't have some wicked hurricanes we are looking at a great fall season here in northern New England.”
Dave Garcia at Naples Bait and Tackle on Long Lake in the Sebago Region says that it seems like the landlocked salmon at Sebago Lake have moved up in the water column. “Instead of fishing as deep as 50 feet, a few fish are being caught above that depth. And early in the morning, before the light really gets on the water, some fish are still being taken with full sinking fly lines or lead core, with not a lot of it out, from five to seven colors.”
“Orange seems to be the dominant color for both flies and lures. Flies like the Barnse Special, Pink Ladies and others with orange as well as lures such as DB Smelts, Mooselook Wobblers and Flash Kings.”
“We had a friend just come back from fishing Moosehead Lake. He did well on the landlocks fishing off the Moose River area.”
“Here on Long Lake, it’s hard not to catch white perch. They’re not huge ones but good eating size. It doesn’t mater if you’re fishing five feet deep or 15 feet deep, you’re bound to run into a school of them and if you do stick with them you’ll come back in with a good catch. They’ll hit small lures but the choice of most of the dedicated white perch people this time of year is a small spinner followed by a snelled hook baited with a piece of worm, the old standby.”
“Our waters are very low, especially the rivers. The Muddy River, which is a tributary of Sebago Lake is full of weeds and also full of hungry pickerel. I love to go over there and toss topwater frog baits to them. The pickerel just love them and will jump like a salmon when hooked. Also a small Johnson Silver Minnow lure with a pork rind is also a good bet for those pickerel.”
Dave hadn’t fished a bass tourney in a couple of weeks and said he was having withdrawals. “There are two off them this weekend and would like to fish them both but don’t know if I have enough stamina. Maybe I’ll just choose to fish the one at Kezar Lake on Saturday.”
At Jordan’s Store in East Sebago Greg Cutting reports that fishing pressure has dropped off a bit. “One of our regulars, Roger Bacon has been out on the lake and was back here at 9 o’clock. He gets out on the water very early and always seems to catch fish. He loves to fish wire line and sewed-on bait but early he’ll use a fly line near the surface.”
“Some of our other regular fishermen have been staying on shore, telling us that it’s just to hot to be out there on the water and it sure has been hot here. But there are places that are full of fish that take a bit of effort to get to but have some incredible fishing. We had a fellow in here last week that was showing us brook trout after brook trout he’d caught on the Crooked River. These were beautiful brookies, all in the nine to 13 inch range and very fat. He also said that there were a lot of small salmon in the river. He caught all of those brookies on dry flies and had an incredible time.”
“Things are pretty slow up here,” reports Ken at River’s Edge Sports in Oquossoc in the Rangeley Lakes Region. “ Not much doing here on Rangeley Lake recently but we have had reports that Mooselookmeguntic Lake has had some good action. The fish there are much smaller than some of our other lakes but there are a lot of them, actually an overpopulation problem that is being worked on by the Maine fisheries people.”
“The rivers are desperately low. If we’re going to have a good fall fishery in the rivers we’re needing rain, plenty of it and please bring it soon. Maybe this hurricane coming will help.”
“While we haven't had significant rain in the past week we have seen some really cool nighttime temperatures and the fishing has really improved,” reports Master Maine Guide Dan Legere at the Maine Guide Fly Shop in Greenville in the Moosehead Lake Region.
“Most river temperatures are beginning to move into the mid to lower 60's! We are catching fish in all the major rivers, Kennebec, Moose, Roach and The West Branch. We are also beginning to see many silvery chrome Salmon in the river which is a good sign that the fall run is beginning.”
“Streamers are becoming very effective, larger patterns as well; gray ghost, pink Floyds, and Mitchell creeks. Nymphing is still consistent, especially in the sunnier times of the day; pheasant tails, prince nymphs, and assorted copper johns can generally do the trick. If you’re lucky enough to fish during one of the cloudy or overcast days tie on some small dries. Parachute type patterns are great--and be patient. Big fish are still coming up for properly drifted dries.”
“As of late there have been many good reports coming in from the West Branch below Rip dam. Lots of salmon in the 12-14 inch variety and as always the possibility of something really big!”
“The seven day outlook is looking very favorable; they are currently tracking hurricane Earl to hit Maine by Saturday. We could use a big dose of rain and a hurricane or tropical storm could be just what the doctor ordered,” Dan ended.
NEW HAMPSHIRE: “Tuna are still creating quite a bit of excitement here still but some of the striper fishermen have taken a break with all the hot weather.” According to Jason MacKenzie at Suds-n-Soda Sports in Greenland.
“There seem to be quite a few of the giant-size bluefins mixed in with the smaller ones. Along with the tuna, cod and haddock seemed to have moved back in closer to shore, within sight of the Isles of Shoals. Those people that are fishing for the groundfish are the ones that seem to be reporting the most tuna sightings.”
“There seems to be more and more bluefish, both at the mouth of the river and up around Dover Point at the Piscataqua and Little Bay. Mackerel are very spotty and if you do catch any they are very likely to be the little spike mackerel but the stripers and bluefish as well as the tuna will eat those like candy.”
“Very few, if any, flounder have been caught lately but people should know that they also will move back in as fall approaches with good catches starting out around the Isles of Shoals.”
Captain Jamie Savage at Dover Marine’s Sports says that he finally hooked up and landed a nice giant bluefin. “I was using only 80 pound mono leader and had to be very easy with the fish that went close to 300 pounds before dressing it out and measured 81 inches long.”
“A few days before that we landed a nice mako shark that was over 60 inches long. There have been a lot of very small makos around, in the two to three foot-range, and we’ve caught and released a bunch of them. Along with the makos, we had three very good sources tell us that they’d spotted tiger sharks around the Isles of Shoals. When questioning them it appeared that they were right-on, as the only sharks I know of that have stripes on them are tigers. This is highly unusual to have them here, especially around the Shoals.”
“In the last few days and especially during the weekend there was a great bluefish bite around the mouth of the river (Piscataqua), with big blues in the 10 to 15 pound range. Rapala Magnum 18’s were the hot plug to be trolled. Of course wire leaders are a must!”
Alan Nute at AJ’s Bait and Tackle said that the windy weather of last week had mixed the top warm water with the deeper colder water and had sent the trout and salmon deeper by about 20 feet. “They dropped from around 30 to 50 feet and many of the people out there didn’t have this figured out. But those that did caught quite a few salmon and a few lakers and occasional rainbow trout.”
“But the successful patterns or flies and lures didn’t change any. The small flies that mimic white perch young-of-the-year in size and similar sized lures were what were doing the job. Several of our flies we designed have been hot including the white perch, fire smelt and brown/orange pattern (which we haven’t named yet). Also, the Top Gun lures in any pattern with orange, in combination with copper, white and several other colors, still are working.”
“Boy, if you want lake trout now is the time to head down into the Alton Bay area, especially around Black Point. The lakers are really stacking up down there and if the day is calm enough to drift-jig over these schools of fish you’re going to be into some world class laker fishing. Otherwise try trolling in the depths they are marking at with wire, leadcore or downriggers.”
Cindy Caron Howe furnished this info from Tall Timber Lodge located on Back Lake in Pittsburg: “It was in the 80′s today and our forecast is saying several more days of the same. I’ll take it! Jon and I went out on the lake last night and right at dark there was a massive hatch of midges and the trout were jumping out of the water. It took me awhile to find what they wanted but finally I tied on a Foam PT Emerger and that was the fly. I had read that as a midge emerges it hangs suspended in the film and that’s when trout take them. That fly does just that.”
“The Connecticut River water flows are still great. The Trophy Stretch is fishing well. Jon guided last week and the top fly was a Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail as a dropper, behind a Tung Head PT. I also heard good things about Black Ghost streamer fly.”
“Jon just got home from his drift on the Connecticut, and this is his report”: “On top, Flying Cinnamon Ants, down below, Olive Sculpzillas and at the end of the day BWO’s (blue winged olives--a mayfly) in size 20. Eight fish landed and another ten hooked. They had a pretty good day.”
MASSACHUSETTS: Martha, who is Kay Moulton daughter, works at Surfland at Plum Island on her summer break from school teaching. Here’s her news: “It’s all gloom and doom on the fishing front this weekend. Seems like the storm last week didn’t improve the fishing, but diminished it. Only a few catches reported, none of the standard bluefish blitzes, but we did get a huge photo from the Parker River. Smallest bluefish ever caught around here? Caught by Dave Rimmer who said, “I got a couple fish under 30” down around Sandy Pt before the sun came up--zippo after that except the little fellow in the photo. I may be mistaken, but I believe it to be the smallest bluefish ever caught in Massachusetts! Some terns were diving on small bait off the mouth of the Essex River and this is what was feeding on the bait and my fly. I originally wanted a photo as an example of a nice small herring, which I thought it was, and then it started biting my finger.”
“The weather has turned very nice, and the river at least is calmer. Off shore the waves from our NE wind were kicking up to 3 feet with whitecaps, so no-especially flat water to watch tuna or whales. And no bluefish in their regular haunts off High Sandy either.”
“However there is some excellent news from the Parker River Refuge. Lots 2 and 3 are now open. That means the fishermen now have access to the beach for the first time this year. We hope this will allow you folks to get to the water’s edge and shuck some bait. Before the blow earlier this week, some nice bass were being taken on the beachfront at Lot 1, so 2 and 3 should produce as well. Clams seemed to be the primary winner for bait, though Big Kenny insists it’s a worm beach. Your choice, or try out both.”
“Trolling eels at night in the river has not been that productive. Your author spent 5 hours last night creeping along at 1.5 mph with only 1 fish to show for the effort. The Flats seemed devoid of life. Only one brief bluefish hit to speak of.”
Pete Santini at Fishing FINatics in Everett had caught and released a big bluefin that was over 200 pounds while fishing on the SE Corner of Stellwagen Bank. “The fish took a live pogy. We also caught a few smaller ones. Most of the tuna are feeding on the small spike mackerel so what we do is take a small Rapala XRAP lure and modify it to hold a strong tuna. We remove all hooks and put on a single 8/0 Gamakatsu live bait hook on the rear, attaching it with a heavy duty ring.”
“While we were out there we moved out into some deeper water to the east of the bank in 260 to 280 feet of water. We just hammered the haddock along with a few codfish and all the cusk you wanted. The key was to use a two-hook rig and sixteen-ounce weight, no jig. We tied on two loop knots above the weight and put on two 5/0 circle hooks with the Green Pelican Teasers. The key was to use only a small amount of bait and drop the weight right to bottom and try to keep it there. Just bounce the rod a little bit and the haddock just couldn’t stay away. We also picked up a few pollock.”
“Coming in around the B Buoy in around 250 feet of water we saw the biggest blue shark we’d ever seen! It had to be 13 feet long and as big around as a wine barrel! There’s also been quite a few big bluefins in that area.”
“In Boston Harbor the Santini Tube-and-worm rig seems to be key right now to the larger stripers. They’ve been around Lovell Island and Ram’s Head. At Revere Beach a few stripers are being taken in the surf on clam bait. It seems like all the small bait has left the harbor. There’s been a few bluefish at Graves Light and also at the B Buoy,” he ended, and so did we.”
Because of the inherent time restrictions of gathering fresh, up-to-date information, editing and producing this report in a timely manner, occasional errors or marginal information may slip by us. We try our hardest to provide accurate information. We urge readers to use this report as a tool to increase their fishing pleasure and not to rely on as their sole resource. First or second hand information is offered by fishing guides, commercial fishing charters or party boats, bait and tackle dealers, well known successful anglers and state and federal fisheries and natural resource law enforcement officials. We also welcome and use reports forwarded to us by fishermen that use this report.
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