Doug Bear from Orvis
The first of the striped bass have arrived in the River. Water temps are a bit ...
The schoolies are feeding on the surface while the tide is moving.
5/29 Report - Capt. Dave Pecci
Maine Fishing Charters
Light Tackle and Fly Fishing in Mid Coast Maine - The rugged beauty of the rocky coast, the miles of pristine beaches and the wooded shores of the mighty Kennebec River all set the tone for a world class fishing trip. During the months of May & June the Kennebec is catch and release, fly and artificial lures only fishing. This provides for some of the very best striped bass fishing on the East Coast. July through September Striped Bass light tackle or fly fishing is very consistent. In July the Bluefish show up along the coastal islands and beaches along with school sized (footballs)bluefin tuna offshore. August and September is the time to try your luck at offshore fishing for shark. Blue Shark, with the occasional Mako mixed in, cruise the cool waters of the Gulf of Maine. Obsession Charters currently holds the State of Maine Blue Shark Fly rod Record.
A very busy guiding season is winding down. I've spent around 120 days on the water and I'll admit it, I'm a bit worn down. But there are things that recharge my batteries. Beautiful sunrises. Smiles of clients when the rod bends. Their wonderment when seeing eagles, seals and ospreys. Those strange and unexpected catches. Spending time with friends who were once just customers. I am a blessed man.
A very busy guiding season is winding down. I'll admit it, I'm a bit worn down but...
Fishing Report 09-01-16
The Dog Days of Summer are Here on the Kennebec River - Striped bass are into a fairly constant night feed because of rising water temperatures. We are taking advantage of this by leaving the dock at or before sunrise. There are fish blitzing on the surface almost every morning for an hour or two. They're eating poppers on both fly and spinning rods. As the sun comes up we change...
"We are taking advantage of this by leaving the dock at or before sunrise"
Fishing Report Aug. 15, 2016
Guides including myself love to post "grip n grin" pictures. Nothing's better for entries in the booking calendar than a pic of a smiling client holding a big fish. You've seen lots of them from me this summer - like this one from back in June. But here's three pictures that from my perspective are every bit impressive...
"Nothing's better for entries in the booking calendar than a pic of a smiling client holding a big fish."
August 8,2016 blog post
Jack and Will with dad and mom; Peter and Karen Fardig joined me again this year for another fishing trip on the Obsession. We caught some striped bass on bucktails and live eels upriver early in the morning. I had help from the boys getting the eels when I needed them.
Will kissed his first striper again this year just he did last year.
July 24th, 2016
Despite 18kt SSE winds and ripping out going tide the Coopers Get it done.
Conditions: Water temps are now in the mid 70s upriver and in the low 60s downriver. Water clarity is slightly diminished in the River due to the runoff from inland rains. The clarity on the beaches is excellent. The River is holding several schools of striped bass ranging from 12" to 28". There are some larger fish staged up on the beaches and the south facing ledges from Indian Point to Cape Small.
Bait the fish are feeding on: River Herring, American eels, Alewives, Mackerel, Sea Herring and Sand eels
Fishing Tactics: Warmer water and bright sunlight is causing the striped bass to move into deeper water by mid morning. So go early, use topwater lures at first light and change to subsurface lures and flies as it brightens up.
July Fishing is Looking Every Bit as Great as June!
Conditions: Water temps in the river range from 65*-75*. The beaches are around 60*. There's tons of bait everywhere so the stripers have full bellies by mid day. The best bite is really early and again at dusk. But, with some patience you'll catch fish from late morning through the afternoon in the deeper water.
This year the River is fishing so good my trips to the beach have been fewer than normal but when I've gone the action has been worth the 12 mile run.
July 11 Fishing Report
Normand Saucier and Bob Emmons with a striper caught on live eel
Ron and Karen Banas from PA enjoying a nice (albeit windy) day of striped bass fishing on the Kennebec river.
We picked up a good bit of internet and social media exposure in Orvis' Blog: the Orvis News with a story titled "A Striper Morning on Maine's Kennebec River" Check it out and share it. It talks about the fantastic striped bass season we are having and the reasons why its happening.
Corporate fishing charters are always fun. Jim Gibbs Dingley Press' VP of sales set up this June trip for two customers Tim and Adam. We had an action packed morning catching striped bass on the lower 12 miles of the Kennebec river. Most of the fish were caught spin fishing with 3/4oz bucktails. we had some luck on poppers and metal jigs too. On the water at 5am and back to the marina for a nice lunch at the Kennebec Tavern before returning the office.
Longtime client John Kern from Salt Lake City joined me Saturday on the Kennebec for a morning of striped bass fly fishing. We had a dropping tide as we left the marina at 5:30am. As we rounded Thorne Head the gulls were diving on bait, a sure sign the stripers were on the ledge. First drift through the gulls provided a solid hookup.
Steve Wrigley and his son had a great morning on the Kennebec. They caught a ton of schoolie stripers and some good ones too. We were fishing the rips on an incoming tide. Bait was being driven to the surface and gulls were diving while tons of stripers stacked up on the ledges. Caught most of them spin fishing with white bucktails fished slow.
Great meeting you guys! Safe travels home and I hope to see you again!
Jackson, David, Kate and Olivia had a really fun morning catching schoolie striped bass on the Kennebec. They caught and released 28 in 4 hours!
Conditions: We are seeing some of the very best early June striped bass fishing in years. Lots of surface blitzes on both the incoming and outgoing tides. Water temp is between 60* and 67* and water clarity is good.
Bait the fish are feeding on: River Herring, Alewives, Mackerel, Sea Herring and Sand Eels
20kt Northwest winds gusting to 35 and a sky rocketing barometer made for an interesting day on the Obsession. Got to the boat an hour before my clients to find a school of striped bass feeding like piranha around the docks (check out the sounder screenshot of the fish stacked up under my slip.
So what was I to do? Break out the 9wt fly rod and a folded foam popper! Went 9 hook ups for 10 casts and then decided I better get the boat ready. My three clients showed up and I did something I rarely do - I suggested they make some casts right there in the Marina. I assured them we were going to cast off and fish elsewhere on the Kennebec. After they caught and released several stripers we did just that.
Dr. Matt Budd (81) a long time client catching schoolie striped bass in the rips of the Kennebec River using a 9wt Helios2 and a 350gr Depthcharge line. The fish were holding on a ledge in 15' of water and feeding on 2" alewives.
Thursday morning proved to be the best kickoff to the striped bass season in many years. I was part of a four boat outing for folks from Sunday River Ski Resort. We had fish busting on the surface for two solid hours. Mostly schoolies but we managed to get two nice 8-10 pounders too. There's tons of small and medium sized river herring around for the bass right now. We caught them on light tackle using MirroLure twitch baits, sluggos, and bucktails. Video coming soon. I've got June dates available - lets go get em!
Thursday morning proved to be the best kickoff to the striped bass season in many years. I was part of a four boat outing for folks from Sunday River Ski Resort. We had fish busting on the surface for two solid hours. Mostly schoolies but we managed to get two nice 8-10 pounders too. There's tons of small and medium sized river herring around for the bass right now. We caught them on light tackle using MirroLure twitch baits, sluggos, and bucktails. Video coming soon. I've got June dates available - lets go get em!
The Dept. of Commerce just released its 2014 Socio - Economic Report on Saltwater Fishing. NOAA's press release stated: "Saltwater angling sales increased 4 percent from 2013, generating $61 billion in 2014 and supporting 439,000 jobs. This year's report includes improvements in data collection and analysis methods for the recreational sector, which helped NOAA scientists gain a more accurate view of the industry's economic landscape."
Saltwater angling is big business across America. 68 million fishing trips took place in 2014. With this, goes a huge responsibility to utilize our marine resources wisely. Those of us who make our living from these resources must do all we can to protect our oceans and the fish along with advocating for our businesses. Great organizations like the National Assn. of Charterboat Operators, the Maine Assn. of Charterboat Captains and the Florida Guides Assn. provide strong voices on fisheries issues. I'm proud to be a member of all three. Read the entire report
