Grieg McCully and his brother-in-law Dan joined me for a Saturday morning of striped bass fishing on the Kennebec River. Most of the action was spin fishing with Carolina rigged live eels.
Along with some great fishing we shared many fond memories of family outings on the Kennebec with Grieg’s dad Jim who passed on recently. Jim was a longtime client, friend, a true sportsman and gentleman. He will be greatly missed by fly fishing and light tackle guides in Maine and many other fishing destinations. I have been truly blessed through knowing him. God’s speed my friend.
Conditions: Water temps upriver are in the mid to low 70s and high 50s on the beaches. The river has lots of bait throughout the 11 miles from Bath to Popham Beach. Water flow is average as is the clarity.
Bait the fish are feeding on: Juvenile Atlantic herring, sand eel, river herring, eel
Species to fish for this week: Striped Bass, Atlantic Mackerel
Fishing Tactics: We’re closing in on August so the striped bass are hanging on the ledges in deeper water my mid morning. Sight fishing with surface lures and flies is productive early then switch to flies and sinking lines and bucktail jigs while spin fishing as the sun gets higher in the sky.
My fly fishing tip of the week: go early and look for tails, dorsal fins and nervous water on the flats.
My spin fishing tip of the week: Carolina rigged eels and cut bait is doing the trick mid day. Bucktails and shad bodies are working great too.
7 day outlook: great tides and fishing conditions all week. Some hot weather coming in late in the week on southerly winds. The wind shifts westerly during the weekend.
I’ve been getting behind on video editing so here is a short compilation showing some of this week’s action. We’ve been having good success early mornings with lures and fly fishing. When the sun gets overhead we’re swapping to spin fishing live eels in the rips and along the ledges.
Long time clients the Pecars, joined me for a morning of Kennebec River striped bass fishing while on vacation at their Popham Beach cottage. We had some good action spin fishing with live eels.
Michael Arthur from Brunswick and is buddies Jeff from MA and John from PA had some really good light tackle striped bass action on the Kennebec River Saturday. Carolina rigged eels and bucktail jigs were both effective. The weather couldn’t have been better. They followed their morning of fishing and exploring the River with beverages and a bite of food at the Kennebec Tavern. It was a pleasure getting to know all three of you, Hopefully we can do it again next year!
Conditions: The water clarity has improved greatly this week flow is still a bit high. Temps upriver are in the low to mid 70s. mid 50s at the beaches.
Bait the fish are feeding on: Juvenile Atlantic herring, sand eel, river herring, eel
My fly fishing tip of the week: Work rips and structure with sinking lines. Your fishfinder is your very best friend.
My spin fishing tip of the week: Carolina rigged eels and cut bait is doing the trick mid day. Bucktails and shad bodies are working great too.
7 day outlook: Hot and humid this coming week. Chance of showers now and then. Lots of striped bass can be found from Bath to the beaches. Go Fishing!
Bill Lambert from Florida enjoys some cooler temps and great striped bass fishing on the Kennebec the 2nd week of July. The fly fishing was slow but we had steady action on Carolina rigged live eels. Safe travels home Bill.
Longtime client Bob Emmons had a great morning on the Kennebec catching striped bass on light tackle jigs and live eels. The best fishing in years continues.
Rob and Kristine From MA had some good striped bass action on the lower Kennebec light takle spin fishing with jigs.
Carroll and Lila Ware from Fins and Furs Adventures in Skowhegan kicked off their 4th of July weekend with some striped bass fly fishing action on the lower Kennebec River.
Conditions: The River is a bit muddy due to some heavy rain last week and big tides. Water temps are from the high 50s to high 60s.
Bait the fish are feeding on: Juvenile Atlantic herring, sand eel, river herring, eel
Species to fish for this week: Striped Bass, Atlantic Mackerel, some sharks offshore
Fishing Tactics: Big bulky flies and bright colored lures up river, more life-like offerings downriver in the cleaner water are working best. The striped bass are hanging on structure with sporadic surface feeds happening early and late day.
My fly fishing tip of the week: Sinking lines and medium sized flies fished around structure and banks are producing great right now.
My spin fishing tip of the week: Switch to bait during mid-day when the striped bass go deep. Worms and cut bait are working in many spots on the river.
7 day outlook: great weather and warmer temps will increase the water temps. Post full moon tides will slow the current in the river.
John Kern and his nieces Sara and Jennifer catch a bunch of Kennebec River stripers on spinning and fly fishing gear. We had a 200 pound harbor seal steel the last fish of the morning.
Gregg Jenkins and his wife Shelli fly fishing for striped bass on the Kennebec River. Greg catches the very first fish on his 9wt. bamboo fly rod that he built over the winter. Great work on the catch and the rod Gregg. The rod casted great with both a floating and Depthcharge line and has enough butt strength to lift a spirited striped bass.
Tom & Naomi Nicoll joined me for their 20th year of Kennebc River striped bass fishing. The morning turned out to be one of the best trips we have had. My clients have had great action on both fly and spinning gear over the past three weeks!
Hector, John and Henry Llorens from Atlanta, GA join Capt. Dave Pecci on the Obsession for a morning of great Kennebec River light tackle and fly fishing for striped bass.
Mike & Leslie Harsip from MA with a nice June Kennebec striped bass 06-20-15 photo
Conditions: The striped bass have been moving around the river following bait. Some have moved well upriver. Water temps are in the high 50s to mid 60s.
Bait the fish are feeding on: Juvenile Atlantic herring, sand eel, river herring, eel
Species to fish for this week: Striped Bass, Atlantic Mackerel
Fishing Tactics: The schools of stripers are spending more time on structure now. Rather than feeding on the surface. Use your fishfinder to locate underwater ledges and banks with lots of current.
My fly fishing tip of the week: Time go to Depthcharge lines, weighted flies and focus on structure.
My spin fishing tip of the week: Bucktail jigs and shad bodies will get you down to the fish.
7 day outlook: The weather is looking up after Sunday’s deluge. Inland rainfall amounts were much lower than along the coast so increased flow and run off should not be a problem this week. Falling morning tides should provide great fishing.
Gayle and Michelle Newth from Colorado use their walleye light tackle jig fishing skills on early season Kennebec River striped bass. Falling tide, fog and drizzle provided perfect conditions for nonstop action.
June striped bass light tacke fishing on the Kennebec River with Gayle and Michelle Newth from Colorado. Cool drizzle and fog provided for some pretty good action this morning. We used some of the Newth's waleye jig tactics on these Maine stripers with great success.
Steve Dixon from Colorado joined me today for the first striped bass fly fishing trip of the year. Looks like the 2015 season is going to be a great one. There are more early season striped bass in the River than I've seen in several years.
