Maine Fishing Reports

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. 

Conditions: The striped bass have moved upriver into their summer haunts. Water quality is good and the flow rate will subside this week due to the waning moon. The offshore shark and tuna fishing remains slow... Not sure why but it will turn on any day.

Bait the fish are feeding on: Atlantic herring, sand eel, river herring, eel, pollack

Species to fish for this week: Inshore - Striped Bass, Atlantic Mackerel, Offshore - Porebeagle, Mako, Thresher and Blue sharks

Fishing Tactics: August means focusing on deeper water. With surface temps upriver reaching the mid to high 70s the striped bass are holding deep on ledges and along the mud banks.

My fly fishing tip of the week: Two word: Go Early                

My spin fishing tip of the week: Your fishfinder is your best friend. Look for schools of stripers in 15-30 feet of water. Use bucktails and metal jigs to reach them. Carolina rigged cut bait and live eels are producing.

7 day outlook: Hot and humid this coming week watch out for those afternoon thunderstorms. 

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.

Effective August 1st the cost of my offshore shark and tuna trips will go up $50. This increase is due to the jump in chum and bait expenses. Chum Master chum now costs me $42 per bucket.  I use 2 or 3 on each trip... I will honor the old price on those charters that are booked.

Capt. Dave Pecci

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!