The excellent striped bass fishing on the Kennebec River is not by happenstance. It comes from decades of stewardship. I recently celebrated this amazing fishery with Maine's Commissioner of Marine Resources Pat Keliher, his wife Deirdre, and daughter Kaitlin.
"A great fishery needs healthy habitat and forage. The Kennebec has both in abundance..."
Capt. Dave Pecci 6-27-22
Despite 15kt northwest wind gusting to 25kts we pushed through and got eleven nice Kennebec river striped bass on fly rod. Bill Farland got the job done with a sinking line and his great casting abilities. First spot, first cast, first fish. It was a fat 30"er weighing over 9 pounds. At that point we knew we were in for a great day. Though the wind kept us from fishing some spots, we were able get on the fish in several places. Absolutely a great day on the water.
Capt. Dave Pecci - Obsession Sportfishing
A beautiful morning on the Kennebec River fly fishing 18-30" striped bass With Richard Ievoli.
Capt. Dave Pecci - Obsession Sportfishing
I returned from the heat of Pine Island Sound and Boca Grande two weeks ago and the Kennebec River striper season is already in high gear! The River is stuffed with stripers ranging from 16" to 32"
"One of the best starts of the Kennebec River striper season in years."
Capt. Dave Pecci
Some great shots of Paul Skydell and Mike Wolfson fly fishing the shallows of the Kennebec for striped bass. The video ends with Paul getting a very nice one on a 7wt. using 10# tippet.
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.
Fred Bogue and Doug Bear catching a bucket load of striped bass on the Kennebec River
Capt. Dave Pecci - Obsession Sportfishing
A fun morning of fly and spin fishing for striped bass on the Kennebec river
Capt. Dave Pecci - Obsession Sportfishing
30 or so fish caught on this charter June 19th.
Capt. Dave Pecci - Obsession Sportfishing
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
Day one - 40* at the boat ramp 60* water and 20mph north winds. Day two - warmer and less wind. Not a stellar day but we got it done.
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.
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: Neap tides of the past week are now behind us. Good flow and water temps in the low 80s will produce great conditions. Watch out for those afternoon storms though.
Bait: threadfin herring, Green back Herring, pinfish, shrimp
Species to target this week: Snook, Redfish, Seatrout, Jack Crevalle, Ladyfish, Bluefish.
Fishing Tactics: Go early and blind cast the first hour or two of the incoming tide. Sight fishing will be good as soon as the sun gets overhead.
My Fly Fishing Tip of the Week: White bait patterns are working on snook. Be prepared for follows and refusals if the strip is not correct. You have to tease the big’uns into biting.
My Spin Fishing Tip of the Week: White and pink soft plastic twitch baits are producing snook. Root beer is the redfish color of the week.
7 day outlook: A lack of weather fronts in the 7 day forecast will provide a steady barometer and light winds. There are a few snook on the beach and some tarpon in Pine Island Sound. Lots of white bait around too. Snook, trout and jacks are on the backcountry flats.
December 16, 2014 “Gone Coastal” column By Amanda Nalley
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Fellow Registered Maine Guides; Carroll and Lila Ware from Fins and Furs Adventures in Skowhegan, Maine fished with me for 3 1/2 days last week. We spent three days tarpon fishing in Pine Island Sound and along the beaches of Sanibel and Captiva Islands. We spent their last morning here doing some inshore sight fishing for snook and redfish in the Matlacha National wildlife Refuge. We were off the water in just enough time for their flight. Great seeing you both again Lila and Carroll, wishing you safe travels home.
Fished Pine Island Sound with Capt. Gordon Gillies today. This snook was staged up where an oyster bed transitioned to mangroves next to a deep channel, in other words, right where a snook should be... We had a good morning on both snook and trout before heading in aound 11:00 when the showers turned to a steady rain.