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.
Tom and Naomi Nicholl from Plattsburg, NY enjoyed a morning of fly fishing for striped bass on the Kennebec River this week. Here’s some of the action caught on video. We had a good blend of surface feeding fish and blind casting throughout the morning despite very high water levels, turbidity and strong current. There are more stripers showing up in the River daily thanks to the huge amount of bait available for them to munch on! 2014 is going to be a very good year!
Fishing Conditions: Mid June fishing is here! Schools of Striped Bass are arriving in the Kennebec River daily. Water levels will be high this week. Run off from heavy rains over the past weekend will lower the water clarity through mid-week.
Bait the striped bass are eating: Sand eels, Juvenile herring, river herring, mackerel
Best Fly fishing and Light Tackle Fishing Technics: Watch for surface feeding striped bass throughout the river and along the beaches. Use floating and intermediate lines and smaller flies at the mouth and along the beaches. Use large, brighter flies in the river until the water clarity improves mid week.
Fishng Tip of the Week: Great time of year to watch for bird activity indicating surface feeding striped bass.
7 Day Kennebec Fishng Outlook: By mid week the water clarity and flow level in the River should improve until then, the beach is the place to be.
Our 5th season in Boca Grande / Charlotte Harbor winds down June 7th. We’ll be closing up the house and heading north a few days later. Along the way we’ll be stopping in the Orvis Stores in Atlanta, GA and Charlotte, NC to do some networking and drop off some brochures. There are several posts, videos and pictures about the great season we had in the Florida section of the website.
We’ll be operating from the Kennebec Tavern and Marina again this year (our 23rd year there!) A great big Thank you to Gene, Kristy and Peter for putting up with me and the steady flow of clients passing through their dockside deck every summer. Can’t wait to “Kick Back on the Kennebec” with a cold HSA and a plate Tavern Nachos with Barb. Hope to see you there!
Memorial Day weekend is the start of striped bass fishing on the Kennebec River. With a bit of work you can find the first Kennebec striped bass. They show up in the River at the same time as they do on the flats and in the marshes of southern Maine. Tip; work the edges of mud flats with light tackle jigs and fly fish for them with a sinking fly line. The sun warms the water over the dark colored mud attracting bait. The stripers will be there too. Now don't catch them all before I gat back to Maine on the 14th!
Thanks to my good friend Jerry Jamison for this selfy.
We’ve been doing weekly Kennebec Estuary fishing reports for the Orvis website for over 5 years. You’ll find; water conditions, hot flies, tactics that are working, an outlook for the coming week and tips on how to increase your catch. There are Orvis Fishing Reports from all across the country and international destinations at: www.orvis.com/fishingreports . This is a great resource for planning your next fishing trip. Past Reports can be viewed in our Maine Fishing Reports section. We also do the Orvis Fishing Report for our winter haunt: Charlotte Harbor, Pine Island Sound and Ding Darling Refuge.
I serve as the ASMFC Striped Bass Advisory Panel Vice Chair and thought it important to post this.
The ASMFC Striped Bass Management Board is drafting an addendum to address potential overfishing. The addendum will be voted on at the August meeting. If approved, public scoping meetings will take place along the entire Atlantic coast this fall. The Striped Bass Technical Committee has recommended reducing mortality to avoid reaching the overfishing threshold. Striped bass mortality has been steadily increasing and the young of the year index (spawning in Chesapeake Bay) has been below average for several years resulting in an overall reduction in striped bass abundance. It is extremely important for striped bass anglers all along the coast to urge their State fisheries agencies to put this important addendum out for public comment. The fishing public deserves the opportunity to express their views on this valuable public resource FMI> ASMFC press release: http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/53766f04pr15StripedBassDraftAddIVupdate.pdf
Justin Pecar (eleven) from Colorado lands this 100 pound plus blue shark with a little help from his dad and Capt. Dave.
Really cool underwater shot of a 26" striped bass caught off the beach at the mouth of the Kennebec River.
The Ishee family had a great day shark fishing on the Obsession. This one was caught on a whole mackerel using 30# stand up gear.
Justin Pecar (eleven) from Colorado lands this 100 pound plus blue shark with a little help from his dad and Capt. Dave
June and July striped bass fishing on the Kennebec River With Obsession Sportfishing Charters.
Landing doubles using spinning rods in July on the Kennebec River. Just two of many fish caught on their trip with Capt. Dave Pecci - Obsession Sportfishing Charters.
The Oniells enjoy a June striped bass blitz on the Kennebec River with Obsession Sportfishing Charters.
Check out the youngster's facial expressions when the striper comes along side...
Riding the swells in 6 feet of water while fly casting into the breakers... It doesn't get much better than that. July striper action on the Kennebec with Obsession Sportfishing Charters and Capt. Dave Pecci.
Ocean sunfish (mola - mola) 15 miles offshore in the Gulf of Maine. We cam across this odd looking thing in August on our way home from a tuna / shark charter. It was 7-8 feel long. Great end to a fun day on Obsession Sportfishing Charters.
Spring is coming. I'm guiding in Charlotte Harbor currently and making plans for the upcoming Maine guiding season. I'm looking forward to seeing you all in June! Capt. Dave Pecci
When the stripers go deep you need to do the same... The half and half is a deceiver tied with bumbell eyes and an inverted hook like a clouser. This one pictured is tied on a 2/0 hook with BIG bumbells and an epoxy head. Its not much fun to cast but it will get down to the fish. Usually fished on a 10wt rod and a 450 or 500 grain Depthcharge line.
Yep, its a go to fly for schoolies and bigger striped bass too. Usually in #2 or 1/0 but there are times #4s and even #6s work too. Perfect for hopping across the sand or mud flats on an outgoing tide...
