Capt. Dave posts his recent Maine fishing reports.
We are averaging 30 fish per trip right now on fly and spinning gear.
Capt. Dave Pecci 06-20-17 Report
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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
HOT weather this 2nd week of September is continuing to keep the striped bass deep. Good light tackle action is taking place on the ledges of the Kennebec River. The bite is not continuous but there there are lots of stripers to be found if you are persistent. fish deep and slow with worms or eels. I'm still confident that as the days cool off the fly fishing will be great.
Shark fishing is very good right now and will continue for the next 3-4 weeks. Check out the mako shark videos I posted on the Maine Fishing Videos Section of the website.
I can't remember a year with this many striped bass staged on the Ledges of the Kennebec River. The action is still on Carolina rigged bait due to high water temps.
Over the next few weeks the alewives will be dropping down river and the waters temps will drop. That will bring the stripers up off the ledges back to the surface for what I expect will be the best fly fishing and light tackle lure fishing of the 2015 season.
Great day sharking yesterday With Jeremy and Eran Libby and Sumner Crawford. 11 Blue sharks (5 on flyrod) up to 140 pounds. One small Porebeagle and a 5'-6' Mako that went airborne 4 times on light tackle stand up gear. Videos and pics coming soon. Water temp offshore has finally reached 67*. We'll have great fishing through September. Get out there!
Conditions: August conditions, High surface temps are causing the striped bass to hold deep. Offshore, the water temps are finally where they should be.
Bait the fish are feeding on: Atlantic herring, sand eel, river herring, eel, pollock
Species to fish for this week: Striped bass, Bluefish, tuna and shark
Fishing Tactics: Fish the shallows during low light and then fish deep structure where the water is cooler mid day.
My fly fishing tip of the week: August is tuff fly fishing but if you go early and work structure near moving water you can prevail... Sinking lines are a must.
My spin fishing tip of the week: Use your fish finder to locate schools of striped bass in deep structure.
7 day outlook: IN shore: Hot and humid with afternoon thunderstorms. Stripers are now into a night feed so fish early and late. Off shore: Tuna are still a no show but it could happen any day now that the cold water has retracted to the east. Shark fishing is heating up and should be very good.
Nate Rubbo (10), his dad Mike, granddad Dom, and their fishing buddies Marty and Jarred joined me again this year for a great morning of Early August striped bass spin fishing action on the Kennebec River. An early start and cloud cover helped provide nonstop action until the tide went slack.
