FIshing Reports from The Tackle Shop

   There are plenty of stripers all through out southern Maine three words that are key to catching fish.     LOW LIGHT CONDITIONS! 

     I have had three opportunites to fish in the last few weeks.

  Trip 1- was on the flats off Martins point 1am-6am not the best tide for that area fishing with a 5″ black mambo as soon as tide started to move we caught fish till we couln’t stay on flat any more, then we moved up the river at a perfect tide sun started to come up and we caught two fish. poor!

  Trip 2- On the boat 3:30 am - 10am started out at Mackworth Island and had busting fish and were catching a bunch of fish on X-raps and Juming Minnows as soon as the sun peeked its nose over the horizo n it was all over. We mover out to the Cape shore, the water was calm, clear, full of bait and stripers that wouldn’t eat they were following the lures but with all the bait around, bright sun and clear water those 26″ and up bass wasted nothing to do with our lures and I had no bait set ups on the boat. Still a good day of fishing it just all happened early…

Trip 3- This Tuesday left the dock at 3:30 big tides and a pesistant south wind made for tough fishing until 6ish. We brought the bait rods and headed for the Cape but the Wind,fog and rough seas made for a tough ride in a small boat and very hard to find bait, we managed a cooler full of mack and pollack and yes we used circle hooks. Every piece of bait caught a fish or at least had a run. After we got done we moved to the Falmouth shore and finished up the day with a couple more mid size bass and one well over 30′ at noon time in the fog and a couple of good bass chasing baits around on the suface shows.

     I teold you those so you could see taht the common thing in all these trips was that when it was brite and sunny the fishing was off. Thats what most poeple are saying. Guys that are up early are haveing a few hours off fast fishing on lures and flies and by 6am it has quieted down, and people leaving the dock at 9 are having a hard time especially on lure and flies but have been getting some fish on live/dead bait. Best night lures have been black any thing fished slow my fav is a 5″ Mambo but other guys working here  like the Slug-gos its personal preference but its got to be black. Snake flies in black are the fly of choice. Best bait has been sandworms frozen macks and if you can catch em live baits.

   Hot spots- River mouths dropping tide Saco, Presumpscot, Spurwink, Harriseekat you get the idea.. Richmond Isle area has bee good some times along the breakwater some time on the rocks.  Just find the spots in those areas that have moving water and structure, I like spots that have a sand rock transition but thats me.

  Macks have thinned out a bit in the last week but are still readily available in good numbers to people in boats troll the tide lines and chum em up if needed.. As far as pollack just find some rocks and troll  around them and you will get em!

                                                                       GOOD LUCK!

Striper fishing on fire in this part of the state! Seems like just about everything can catch a fish right now, however Mackerel patterns seem to be taking the biggest of the fish during the day right now. The Mackerel Mambo and the X-Rap Xr 10 and 12 sizes and good choices bucktail jigs in chartreuse and white with a Slug-go or for the picky fish the Gulp jerk shad on the back9 (The Gulp has a yummy flavor and smell to it). Early risers can expect plenty of top water action on Schoolie Poppers, Jumpin Minnows and Chug bugs. Fly fisherman have done well on either small epoxy patterns or BIG patterns that catch the fishes attention when they are feeding on schools of small bait. Again no spot has been better that the next so just go fishing any place that there is current, structure and some bait…

       Night fishing has also been very productive Black lures like Mambos,Bombers, bucktail jigs with the Slug-go or Jerk Shad on the back, also the School Bus patterns have been doing well. We had a customer visiting from Georgia that went fishing with and employee who shall remain nameless (so his head doesn’t swell!!) and landed a 43″ bass on the bus the other night. Fly Patterns that are always popular at night are snake flies and black gumdrops.

      Bait has turned into a 50/50 tie with mackerel and worms both catching a lot of fish. Live macks have been taking a lot of solid fish a few trophies as well.

**** A personal note to the bait guysa lot of fish have been turning up dead with J hooks and treble hooks in their throats. First note PLEASE don’t use treble hooks for bait if a fish swallows it…. its flat out dead if you release it alive it doesn’t matter its dead! And if you gut hook one with a J hook don’t even try to get it out just cut the line and get them back in the water you do more damage trying to get the hook out than if you just leave it, even with the J hook in the throat they can still feed and do have a chance.

     Try circle hooks only Tournament approved Circles not the offset or octopus circles the are garbage and gut hook fish as bad as J hooks. If you have any questions about the circles please call or stop in the shop we are more than willing to spend the time educating you on them in order to save a what ends up being alot of fish for the future and after the last few years we all know what summers are like around here without Stripers… they suck..

       While I’m on the subject of saving some bass let me talk about fish handling.. Trout, bass,cod perch or bluefish it doesn’t matter knowing the fish and handling them properly it important. I’m going to focus on Stripers things like dragging a fish up the beach through 15 feet of sand, keeping them out of the water for 5 minuets and then throwing them back in the water…In most cases you don’t even need to take em out of the water and if you want a picture by all means take one just don’t make a photo shoot out of it. If the fish are smaller size this isn’t as important but if the fish have any girth  when you hold them support their belly’s with your hand or cradling them, a lot of  damage can be done to bigger fish holing them vertically because their bodys are not designed to be positioned in such a matter and it does internal damage to them.

      I mention all of this because a study was done on the east coast  by recreational groups that showed in pounds that the mortality rate of caught and released striped bass is greater that that of the commercial kill on the east coast!!! And that circle hooks and proper fish handling could great reduce the number of deaths in released fish…

OK I will get of the high horse now…. Good Luck, be safe and have fun!!!!!!!

Striper fishing is as hot as it gets right now, all the rivers and bays and most of the beaches are full of fish in the 16-34″ size range and the fish are healthy…. Jigs, Mambos and Bombers are catching a lot of fish and we even had a good night of top water action on Jumping Minnows, Bubble Pops and Schoolie Poppers. Fly fishing has been good also Ferry Beach has been a good place not only because of the amount of fish there but its a pretty friendly casting environment, try white or brown and white clousers or a small sand eel pattern. Other good places have been further up in the marsh off Clay Pits and Woodside Dr. Top bait is still sandworms but with the large amount of macks around the chunks have started to get better.

       Still huge schools of mackerel around pretty much everywhere boat, shore …. doesn’t seem to matter cast or troll sabikis and jigs you’ll catch em’… Boaters can try Hussy Sound, Catfish Rock, Richmond Island or even off The Brothers.. From shore try State Pier, Spring Point, Bug Light or Falmouth Town Landing…

       PLEASE REMEMBER TO TAKE YOUR TRASH OR TRASH LEFT BEHIND BY OTHERS (I KNOW ITS A PAIN AND IT CAN BE A BIT GROSS) IF WE DONT TAKE CARE OF IT WE WILL LOSE THE ACESS!!!!

 Freshwater hasn’t changed much since last report. Bass fishing is outstanding right now lure selection doesn’t seem to matter and the trout and salmon fishing is slowing a bit with warmer water but is still worth going. The best flies this past eek seem to be the Caddis and Mosquito as well as the Phesant Tail Nymphs and Dry-Emergers….

          Good Luck….

MACKEREL SHOWED UP IN GOOD NUMBERS AT THE STATE PIER TODAY. JIGS AND SABIKIS ARE CATCHING GOOD. HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND!!!

Plenty of stripers around, fish are as far north as the Kennebec River.  Fish sizes are running between 15 and 30″ for the most part.

All fisherman have been catching fish-

- Fly- Best flies have been clouser minnows and alewive patterns. Hot spots have been Ferry and Hills Beaches and up in the marsh

-Spin- Best lures continue to be buck tail jig with a shad or CT grub on them, Mambo minnows in black white and a yellow or tan color, small X-raps and 7″ Slug-gos

-Bait- Sandworms “Surprise”

** Remember that fishing in low light conditions is an important part of finding stripers with clear weather. Many fisherman are catching far more fish early am and at night.**

Some Mackerel have started to show up around Richmond Island and the Cape shore, they have not moved into the bay in andy huge numbers yet but it shouldn’t be long before they do.

     The freshwater fishing remains very good. People are still catching lots of trout out of local streams and rivers. Fly fisherman have had better numbers mostly because of the amount in insects hatching lately. Hot flies have been gnats,elk hair caddis, mosquitos and adams. Lots or good reports from the Rangley and Moosehead areas, and  Sebago is still producing nice salmon and togue.

       The bass fishing has been exceptional so far. If you hit a few days of fishing remember the bass get picky around the spawn and they spawn at different times in every pond. They may spawn two weeks apart in ponds 2 miles apart becuase of various conditions. Seinkos, Dingers, lizards and spinner baits have been very successful.

         Stripers Started moving into rivers up to about Falmouth as of this weekend. Several fish came out of the Presumpscot and Spurwink Rivers, A couple of fish were also taken at Ferry Beach on closers. The fish in the Spurwink were taken on bucktail jigs with a curly tail grubs on them and the fish in the Presumpscot wre taken on Bombers and Mambos one lucky soul had a fish hit a top water. I will keep you up to date on things as they heat up. Shad have moved into the Saco and Mousam Rivers and I would assume that some are mixed in with all the alewives in the Presumpscot ( That is still a recovering fishery so it doesn’t yet have the numbers that some of the other rivers do).

     Freshwater fishing remains the same lots of trout in all the rivers. The fly fishing has started to out do the spin fishing because of all the bugs hatching. Salmon and togue are still keeping rods bent on Sebago. Bass are moving up onto spawning beds. (Remember most of the big fish that you are catching a most likely females full of eggs,, so let them go… Thats the future!) Lots of white and yellow perch willing to take bait,lures and flies all over the souther part of the state…

Good Luck!!!!!!!!!

        Fishing hasn’t changed all that much from the previous report. However the stocking trucks are putting in some time filling up the rivers with trout. Both fly and spin fishing has produced plenty of fish. One thing that has changed is that the waters are warming up enough that plenty of hatches are coming off and that the bass have started to get much more active. I have seen some good pics of smallies that have taken poppers on Sebago, Large mouth that have aggressively hit Gulp Lizards and  deep crank baits. Pike are still active in all the waters they habitate and if you enjoy catching white/yellow perch and crappie now is a great time to be out around sunset in the Sebago region (Turtle Cove, Muddy & Sticky R. to name a few) also Arrowhead and Parker fish well.

     Not alot happening in the salt yet. Have good reports of stripers moving up from the south even a few blues. Mid month is a good time to be hitting the marshes and river mouths with bucktails and shads…  Shad should be showing up any time now and alewives are already starting to move in.

     If you have the means to get out and go cod/haddock fishing, now is a great time. I have had some reports of fantastic catches in the last week..

             No matter where you go remember the bug dope…Its that time of year again!!!!

                                            Good Luck…Be safe and catch some biguns!!!!!

Its been a good start to this years freshwater season water levels and temps are good for this time of year and the fish are responding. Here is a list of some of the best action and whats been working so far

Salmon/Togue- Sebago is the spot most people have been fishing and its bee good. If you are fishing from shore fish around the station, trussell or the Songo Locks they seem to be the best spots. Live smelt when you can get em are always best in the spring however fly fisherman have caught some good fish on   the Grey Ghost, Montreal Whore, and Pin Smelt in the last week. The pins minnow, Mooselook Wobbler and Speedy Shiners have been goo lures also. Same Ares have been good if you fishing form a boat you can add Fryes Leap and The mouth of the Songo to your area list . Same Flies working well while trolling. Shiners are catching some fish for people having a hard time finding smelt. Other lakes and ponds that have been good also with the same techniques are Highland,Thompson,Panther and Long.

   River and stream fishing is pretty good. Some of the major river are still a little high but most of the secondary/feeder streams are at good levels. Mill Brook, Little River, Pleasant River, Collyer Brook and The Royal River have all had good reports on both spin and fly. Small pheasant tail and prince nymphs have been popular with fly fisherman while the spin guys have been producing on small Mepps and Panther Martins and of course worms…

    Bass fishing is still a little slow we need the water to warm op a bit but if you must go pick a lake or pond with a dark bottom 6-10ft and on a sunny day bass will be up warming themselves making them more active. Spinner baits fished slow and bouncing worms on the bottom will be your best bet. Water an bit cold for bass….. that means pike are going to be on the prowl The Belgrade Lakes region and Sabbatus pond are the best places to go plenty of fish being taken on big spoons spinner baits and 6 -7″ Slug gos. If you want to catch some on the fly bunny strip flies work best..

Good Luck and Tight Lines….

     Its nice to have a quick start to the season for a change.. Major rivers are still high but many of the smaller streams are fish able. Lakes and ponds have been free of ice for weeks and are in late April conditions. Sebago has been fishing well plenty of salmon and togue all around the lake. Trolling smelt and shiners is as always best but several people have been using Speedy Shiners and Mooselooks and doing well. Also remember that when you are fishing Sebago that smelt are not the only baits that are prolific in the lake over the last couple of years alewives have found their way in to the lake and are now a big food source especially for togue, so use some fatter fly patterns and lues. Hot spots from shore around the lake have been the trussle off 114, the mouth of the Muddy River and The Songo River. Seems like boat fisherman have caught fish in all areas of the lake.

       We fished for a few hours on Sunday and managed to pick up a salmon and a few pickerel on Highland, we would have caught more but the ol’ hook set is still a bit rusty after a long winter, and I was driving the boat (Nice Excuse!!!!). Other people we talked to had caught white perch and Bass. We caught the salmon and had a couple of real nice hit trolling shiners on sliding bait rigs with fly rods and a level 8 sinking line and the pickerel were on a spoon. The guy had taken a fat smallie on a seinko/yum dinger and the perch were hitting worms.   Good Luck!

Now that the ice is getting a bit safer and more people are venturing out I have been getting reports of some pretty good fishing on the smaller local ponds. Great Pond, Highland Lake, Crystal Lake,North Gorham Pond, and the Otter Ponds have all produced fish lately. Most of the people reporting are fishing for what ever hits the bait so lots of pickerel,bass, perch  and crappie but the people targeting trout and salmon have been taken some healthy fish. I saw a picture of a big brown caught at an undisclosed “secret spot” on Highland Lake.

       Smelting has gotten better in the last week Jims and Sonnys have had the best reports. Small jig rods and sabikis are a must.. good luck and be safe….