Striper Fishing (Striped Bass)

longtime client and friend John Kern invited his two nieces along on a Kennebec River charter July 1^st. The fun and fishing was nonstop. Caroline Kern and Emily Roig had never fished with light tackle for striped bass before. As you can see they both took it quite well! Uncle John is excellent at fly fishing. He caught a bunch of stripers on a floating line and a popper and on sinking line with an olive and white deceiver. We lost track of how many fish we caught but none of us will forget the bigun that Caroline landed! This is a fairly long video (6 minutes) but hang in there to the end… The expressions on the faces are priceless! Safe travel home John, Caroline and Emily. I look forward to seeing you again in 2015.

A fun July 1st fishing for striped bass on the Kennebec River with Doug Bear from Orvis and his Dad. They both caught a bunch of stripers on fly rod and spinning gear. This is a short video showing two of Doug’s fly rod fish.  Dad out fished Doug 3 to 1 with his spinning rod and was texting the family back on shore to rub it in... The best early season fishing we have seen in years continues! Get out on the River and get in on the action!

Fishing Conditions: Water levels and flow are returning to normal. The River is clearing up from all the run off last week. Water temp is in the mid-60s. There is an abundance of bait throughout the lower river.

Bait the fish are eating: Sand eels, Juvenile herring, river herring, mackerel

Best Technics:Look for surface action early then fish the rips and banks when the sun gets bright. 

Tip of the Week: Rig up with both floating and sinking lines. Late June fly fishing provides a variety of situations from surface feeds to fish staged on structure 15-20 feet below the surface.

 7 Day Outlook: In a word – Great! We are seeing some of the best striped bass fly fishing in years here on the Kennebec. There are fish arriving in the River daily and the bait is plentiful.

Fly fishing on a windy and overcast June morning on the Kennebec River.  We had these fish all to ourselves for almost an hour. Fred boated over twenty fish before the tide changed and the school settled out. We were using an 8wt Orvis H2 with a floating line and 16# tippet.

Tom and Naomi Nicholl from Plattsburg, NY enjoyed a morning of fly fishing for striped bass on the Kennebec River this week. Here’s some of the action caught on video. We had a good blend of surface feeding fish and blind casting throughout the morning despite very high water levels, turbidity and strong current. There are more stripers showing up in the River daily thanks to the huge amount of bait available for them to munch on! 2014 is going to be a very good year!

Fishing Conditions: Mid June fishing is here! Schools of Striped Bass are arriving in the Kennebec River daily. Water levels will be high this week. Run off from heavy rains over the past weekend will lower the water clarity through mid-week.

Bait the striped bass  are eating: Sand eels, Juvenile herring, river herring, mackerel

Best Fly fishing and Light Tackle Fishing Technics: Watch for surface feeding striped bass throughout the river and along the beaches. Use floating and intermediate lines and smaller flies at the mouth and along the beaches. Use large, brighter flies in the river until the water clarity improves mid week.

Fishng Tip of the Week: Great time of year to watch for bird activity indicating surface feeding striped bass.

7 Day Kennebec Fishng Outlook: By mid week the water clarity and flow level in the River should improve until then, the beach is the place to be.

Memorial Day weekend is the start of striped bass fishing on the Kennebec River. With a bit of work you can find the first Kennebec striped bass. They show up in the River at the same time as they do on the flats and in the marshes of southern Maine. Tip; work the edges of mud flats with light tackle jigs and fly fish for them with a sinking fly line. The sun warms the water over the dark colored mud attracting bait. The stripers will be there too. Now don't catch them all before I gat back to Maine on the 14th!

Thanks to my good friend Jerry Jamison for this selfy.

I serve as the ASMFC Striped Bass Advisory Panel Vice Chair and thought it important to post this.

The ASMFC Striped Bass Management Board is drafting an addendum to address potential overfishing. The addendum will be voted on at the August meeting. If approved, public scoping meetings will take place along the entire Atlantic coast this fall. The Striped Bass Technical Committee has recommended reducing mortality to avoid reaching the overfishing threshold. Striped bass mortality has been steadily increasing and the young of the year index (spawning in Chesapeake Bay) has been below average for several years resulting in an overall reduction in striped bass abundance. It is extremely important for striped bass anglers all along the coast to urge their State fisheries agencies to put this important addendum out for public comment. The fishing public deserves the opportunity to express their views on this valuable public resource FMI> ASMFC press release: http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/53766f04pr15StripedBassDraftAddIVupdate.pdf

Really cool underwater shot of a 26" striped bass caught off the beach at the mouth of the Kennebec River.

June and July striped bass fishing on the Kennebec River With Obsession Sportfishing Charters.

Landing doubles using spinning rods in July on the Kennebec River. Just two of many fish caught on their trip with Capt. Dave Pecci - Obsession Sportfishing Charters.

The Oniells enjoy a June striped bass blitz on the Kennebec River with Obsession Sportfishing Charters.

Check out the youngster's facial expressions when the striper comes along side...

Riding the swells in 6 feet of water while fly casting into the breakers... It doesn't get much better than that. July striper action on the Kennebec with Obsession Sportfishing Charters and Capt. Dave Pecci.

Spring is coming. I'm guiding in Charlotte Harbor currently and making plans for the upcoming Maine guiding season. I'm looking forward to seeing you all in June! Capt. Dave Pecci

Low light conditions provide excellent top water striped bass and bluefish action. The Gurgler is easy to cast and retrieve. It works as good if not better than a folded foam popper! Keep a rod rigged with a floating line and a Gurgler on the boat at all times.

When the stripers go deep you need to do the same... The half and half is a deceiver tied with bumbell eyes and an inverted hook like a clouser. This one pictured is tied on a 2/0 hook with BIG bumbells and an epoxy head. Its not much fun to cast but it will get down to the fish. Usually fished on a 10wt rod and a 450 or 500 grain Depthcharge line.

Yep, its a go to fly for schoolies and bigger striped bass too. Usually in #2 or 1/0 but there are times #4s and even #6s work too. Perfect for hopping across the sand or mud flats on an outgoing tide...

The olive and white deciever - matches many of the baitfish striped bass chase. Tied on a 2/0 - 4/0 hook with a slight bit of weight added to get it down to where the stripers are. It's what's for diner... You can tell I'm a left handed tier from the pcture can't you.

Long day yesterday. Prepping the boat at 4:45am cleaned up and left the dock at 6:30pm. Both striped bass trips were fun and productive though the afternoon was a bit slower than the morning. Burton McConnell and his son-in-law from Canada got a 17 pound 37" Kennebec River striped bass on spinning fishing gear during the morning trip along with two slot fish and 4 other stripers from 28" to 33". The girls on the afternoon trip with their parents caught smaller striped bass in the lower Kennebec near Popham Beach including one for supper.