Will Stobart (7) had a fun morning of Kennebec River striped bass fishing with his dad and granddad.
Longtime clients Larry and Celeste DeMarco from Brightwaters, NY joined me on august 7th for some great Kennebec River striped bass light tackle action. Larry prefers fly fishing (as do I) but whith the stripers holding deep in heavy current we opted for drifting live eels.
Graig White and his Dad Mike joined Capt. Dave for an early August morning of fly and spin fishing for striped bass on the Kennebec River. Fly fishing was a bit slow but the live eels worked just fine.
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.
Jack (five) and Will (four) help mom and dad land some Kennebec Striped bass on a beautiful late July morning. The last fish of the day was stolen by a 200 pound seal. The boys got a big kick out of that!
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.
