The fishing has been very good all summer so far. It been a bright spot in this summer of uncertainty...
We are catching 10-20 striped bass per trip on flies and lures. No complaints about that!
Capt. Dave Aug 2, 2020
Maine Fishing Reports
Capt. Dave posts his recent Maine fishing reports.
Fishing Conditions: The striped bass have somewhat settled into their mid-summer habits. Water flow and clarity in the Kennebec River are both good. Water temps are 62*in the lower river and 78* near Merrymeeting Bay. This week will have morning rising tides.
Type of bait fish are feeding on...cont.
Now is the time to start paying attention to your fish finder.
Capt. Da e Pecci 07-29-19
Fishing Conditions: Big tides this week has diminished the water clarity and increased the flow. Surface feeds have been less frequent. Type of bait fish are feeding on:... (continued)
We are settling into typical July fishing. Most of
Capt. Dave Pecci 07-08-19
the striped bass have now are staged along structure waiting for bait to come
to them.
Fishing Conditions: The schools of striped bass in the river are starting to settle into typical summer routines. New schools are showing up too. Water flow will be moderate this week. Clarity is good especially in the lower river...
"There's still some need for exploration but the
Capt. Dave Pecci 07-01-19
fish are settling down and becoming a bit more predictable."
Fishing Conditions: Good and improving. Schools of stripers are entering the estuary daily. They have not settled into their usual patterns, but they are now much easier to find. Surface action is taking place quite often.
"Today we caught somewhere around 40 striped bass up to 24" and, we also caught 5 20-22" shad!"
Capt. Dave Pecci June 19th, 2019
Conditions: There is a large abundance of bait in the Kennebec. Water temps range from 57* to 68*. Water clarity and water flow are average for late June. We are finding stripers feeding on the surface daily but the action is less predictable than in past weeks. The fish are ranging in size from 14"-30" with a few bigger ones here and there. We are averaging 20 fish per trip right now on fly and spinning gear.
Bait the fish are feeding on: Juvenile Atlantic Herring, Sand eel, Alewife, River Herring, American Eel, Mackerel
Target species right now: Striped Bass
The striped bass are becoming more selective due to the huge abundance of bit in the River.
Capt. Dave Pecci
John Kern and his niece Caroline fishing for striped bass on the lower Kennebec in June
Capt. Dave Pecci - Obsession Sportfishing
Another incredible week on the Kennebec River! Pretty much nonstop action every morning on flies and lures. No bate needed. Catching striped bass up to 32" in many spots on the River. Here's three videos from this week:
Bill Farland joined me again on July 25th for a fantastic morning of striped bass fly fishing. We caught over 25 fish and several over 24" the biggest one weighed in at 7 pounds and was 28" long.
The Striped Bass Fishing on the Kennebec River is HOT and shows no signs of slowing down. We're catching them on flies, lures and bait. Averaging 20 fish a trip right now. Keeper sized fish are a bit scarce but tons of nice stripers between 15" and 27". And many of them are fatties! The water temps are starting to rise causing the stripers and the bait to hold in deeper water. Surface action is sporadic but the fishing is excelent if you fish deep.
Reserve your fishing charters soon - I only have 14 open dates between now and Labor day. Capt. Dave Pecci
Micheal Arthur Charter July 21st
Micheal and his buddies caught somewhere around 20 fish on Friday using jigheads with Super Flukes tails. Micheal caught a really nice one on bait. It was almost 28" and weighed about 8 pounds. We had some sporadic surface feeds which is always a bonus in mid-July.
Early morning surface action followed by fish stacking up on ledges and in rips. Water quality is good and water flow is increasing due to the big full moon tides... Continued
"We are catching 20-30 fish per trip on flies and lures! Sizes are ranging from 12" to 32" with some fish over 36"."
Capt. Dave Pecci
Jerry and Karl had a fun morning catching 20+ stripers on fly in just 4 hours June 29th.
Conditions: The striped bass fishing is excellent both on fly and spinning gear. Lots of stripers in the River up to 32" with some biguns around. Water clarity is... cont.
"Fly and lure size matters more than color right now..."
07-01-17 Fishing Report - Capt. Dave Pecci
The schools of stripers are on the move throughout the lower Kennebec. They are feeding on a variety of baitfish ranging in size from 2" – 6". Success requires... cont.
We are averaging 30 fish per trip right now on fly and spinning gear.
Capt. Dave Pecci 06-20-17 Report
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
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
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
