Maine Fishing Reports

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!

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.

Mike & Leslie Harsip from MA with a nice June Kennebec striped bass 06-20-15 photo

Conditions: The striped bass have been moving around the river following bait. Some have moved well upriver. Water temps are in the high 50s to mid 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

Fishing Tactics: The schools of stripers are spending more time on structure now. Rather than feeding on the surface. Use your fishfinder to locate underwater ledges and banks with lots of current.  

My fly fishing tip of the week: Time go to Depthcharge lines, weighted flies and focus on structure.

My spin fishing tip of the week: Bucktail jigs and shad bodies will get you down to the fish.

7 day outlook: The weather is looking up after Sunday’s deluge. Inland rainfall amounts were much lower than along the coast so increased flow and run off should not be a problem this week. Falling morning tides should provide great fishing.

June striped bass light tacke fishing on the Kennebec River with Gayle and Michelle Newth from Colorado. Cool drizzle and fog provided for some pretty good action this morning. We used some of the Newth's waleye jig tactics on these Maine stripers with great success.  

Steve Dixon from Colorado joined me today for the first striped bass fly fishing trip of the year. Looks like the 2015 season is going to be a great one. There are more early season striped bass in the River than I've seen in several years. 

Here's a few pics from this week's charters. We had a great week on the Kennebec River catching striped bass on light tackle and fly fishing gear.

Rob and Christine from Massachusetts had a great morning of striped bass action on the Kennebec River fishing with light tackle and live eels. Here are some of the highlights. Despite bluebird skies and stiff northerly winds from an approaching cold front the stripers were feeding. I love September on the River!

Russell Wakeman and his nephew Jarrin spent a morning striped bass light tackle fishing on the Kennebec River. We started the morning spin fishing with Sluggos catching schooling fish on the flats and finished up live eel fishing the ledges in the upper river. Enjoy the rest of your visit in Maine guys. Safe travels home to Pennsylvania.

"Just wanted to let you know my husband Russell and nephew Jarrin had the best time with you today!! They already want to do it again!! Thank you!!!" - Marcia Wakeman Sept 2, 2014

Last Sunday the Gulf of Maine shark fishing was hot ! 22 hookups on fly, spinning and 30# stand up gear. We boated and released 12+ blue sharks including this 5 foot male on fly rod by Brad Osborn. There's weeks of great offshore action to come. Book your trip today.

Nick, Mysia, Jerzy, Victoria and Dakota had a great day on the Kennebec August 19th catching striped bass on live eels. It took a bit of coaxing to get them to hold the fish for photos.

Just some of the pics from this week... The best August Striped bass fishing on the Kennebec in years.

August light tackle fishing for striped bass continues to be good on the Kennebecv River. Even with muddy water and high flow from Wednesday's rains the stripers are still feeding. This morning we had action on jigs in the lower river. As the tide dropped and the water quality worsened the fishing slowed down. The forecast for coming week looks good and the water quality will improve. We will be venturing offshore to look for tuna and shark. Reports to follow.