Maine Striper Fishing Spring 2011

Well here we go, it's May and this to me is a indicator month on how the Striper fishing here in Maine will shape up for the 2011 season.The reports south are spotty, everything from very good fishing to big blown out rivers and cooler water water than average equaling slow fishing, but this looks to be a opportunity for us, we already have bait and the water temps are shaping up to be in our favor!!! It has been awhile sense we have been so equal with the states to the south, just a few years ago we had a 9 degree difference with Rhode Island in mid May and the season had a real slow start!! This year it goes like this as of now- Long Island 51.6 Block Island  48.0 Newport RI 50.3 Boston 47.3 Western Maine Self 46 Portland 47.7, that being said we also had a ton of northeast winds that spring and I hope that we don't get into that pattern again. So as of now there really is not a big temperature wall that may trun them away from following the bait that is starting to move throughout Maine's coast.. Would I stop everything I am doing as soon as the water hits 50 maybe,maybe not I would start looking for reports around the cape to improve and hope the crew that does a little pre season searching contuine to report there efforts, I will continue to chase around skinny water Carp I love challenging fish on the fly and we are already getting some good shots but weather and wind has to match a perfect tide is still giving us a very short window but should improve over then next few weeks..Give a call if you would like to give Tidal Carp fishing a try...207-671-4330    


Mid April Report, Connect

Maine Striper Fishing check out May-June 2011 Eastern Fly Fishing Magazine,cover shot of Maine's Casco Bay, and the photo essay taken by Jim Klug,fishing the flats here in Maine while working on Confluance films follow up to Drift and Rise The Movie is called Connect
coming out this fall,,Sorry for the lack of reports for Maine striper fishing, Permit and Tarpon have taken up most of my time and now my wives on book tour for her new book (This Life is in your Hands by Melissa Coleman) sorry for the plug!!!
So I am here in Maine for a few weeks getting the little skiff ready for chasing carp on Merrymeeting bay and early season Striper on Cape Cod and here in Maine,as well finishing up a feature story for Fly Fishing in Saltwater on flats fishing in the Portland Maine area coming out this summer.

The reports I have been getting from the Cape Cod area are Herring are moving and Bass are moving with them so let hope for some warm southwest winds soon!!!until then if you are looking for a little skinny water fix, give a call and try the tidal carp, weather and tides are key, so is the vehicle to join the quit chase these fish will often take you on, like Permit, Carp in tidal waters can give you a mental beating that you will like most want more.
Check out the little Skiff we added for this fishery this past season, after years of fishing from my 17 action craft, the new skiff is half the weight and poles in 5 inches of water perfect for this fishery!!!!

Maine Striper Fishing April 2011

About Photo- Capt John Ford and I both cancelled trips due to wind gust up to 30kts.
But decided to give it a go anyhow, in 2 ft water 25 mph winds, John had all the fun while I poled the the boat, fall 2010 will be remembered for it's wind,but I guess it did not bother this fish,,


If you Spend anytime Striper Fishing in Maine, Please Try to make it to the CCA- Maine annual Meeting, over the last year or so I have watched CCA Maine take what seems to me a new direction, and what I see I like!!! We are going to need a voice or a least try to be our own voice with the new DMR commisoner not really showing any understanding of the Recerational Striped Bass fishing here in Maine, Do I have to remind you that He made Maine the only state to vote with Virgina on the Poggie issue, just last month!!! Add into the proposed backwards fishery management on the kennebec - opening it up to more pressure during spawning season
And you can see we are going have to dig in our heels over the next few years!!! Hope to See you There!!!!!





CCA-Maine Annual Meeting
April 28, 5:30-7:30pm
Harraseeket Inn
Freeport, Maine
 
Please plan on attending the Coastal Conservation Association of Maine's Annual Meeting on Thursday, April 28, 2011 from 5:30pm to 7:30pm at the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport. This free event will feature the Harraseeket Inn's award-winning food, a cash bar, plus raffles to win some great prizes. 
 
Pat Keliher, Acting Deputy Commissioner with the Maine Department of Marine Resources will be the featured speaker, discussing a variety of topics. Mac McKeever, CCA-Maine President will also be giving an update on some work CCA-Maine has accomplished recently, as well as projects CCA-Maine will be embarking on in the coming year.
 
The event is free and is open to everyone, members and non-members alike. Donations are welcomed and much appreciated! There will also be opportunities to sign up for a CCA-Maine membership.  Please RSVP by April 21st to: carolgay@gwi.net. For more information, please contact Mac McKeever, emckeever@llbean.com.
 
Please help spread the word. Thanks! We look forward to seeing you on the 28th.   

Maine Saltwater Fishing

First Light Anglers will once again be hosting the Fly Fishing Film Tour at Chunky's Cinema in Haverhill on April 17th at 7pm. Please call or email the shop to purchase tickets. Tickets are $15.00. All proceeds will go to the Parker River Sea Run Trout Stocking Program!!!

Many of you drove up for the sold-out show here in Maine last month, and help raised money for the Mycobacteriosis Research fund that Striper Forever has put together..It a good time and Nat and Derek are doing good stuff working on the Sea Run Trout program get out and support there show...By the way as a saltwater fisherman this years film tour is heavy, with good saltwater footage!!! We have already booked next year showing for Maine so look forward to seeing you then or hopefully sooner doing a little Maine Striper Fishing..


info@firstlightanglers.com
978-948-7004
BUY TICKETS HERE:
https://shop.firstlightanglers.com/cgi- ... &key=25786

Fly Fishing Film Tour Website and Trailers:
http://www.flyfishingfilmtour.com/

Chunky's Directions:
http://www.chunkys.com/contact.asp

Maine Striper Fishing Reports

Here is a Cape Cod report from Capt Bob Paccia of shoreline guides service, Stripers are on the Move!!!!!

Alewives (river herring) and blueback herring are moving into Buzzards Bay via the Cape Cod Canal on their way to local herring runs. You can be sure that the stripers are right on their tails. Now, it is illegal to fish with or even be in possession of river herring in Massachusetts. In years past, live-lining herring was the "way to go” for catching jumbo stripers in the canal and the banks of the canal were lined shoulder to shoulder with anglers fishing with live herring. Today, savvy saltwater fly fishermen have a definite advantage over their plug and plastic bait casters, as nothing looks and behaves like a live herring then a well tied large herring fly. We tie up a lot of alewives and blueback herrings patterns each year to "match the hatch" when the river herring are the "food of choice" for big stripers bulking-up during their spring migration through Buzzards Bay and the Cape Cod Canal. The flies that we tie are weighted and sometimes rattled in sizes from 6 to 14 inches. These flies are tied mostly with synthetic materials to prevent "water-logging" which used to be a problem when we were forced to use only natural materials such as buck-tail, feathers, etc.
Casting these large weighted flies is a learning process and each year we get on the water early in the spring showing clients how to use these large flies so that they will be prepared when the season gets into full swing.
Peek water temperature for great striper fishing in the Cape Cod Canal is when the canal water temperature reaches 55 degrees. Remember one of the old saying: "Cape Cod Canal striper fishing is at its best when the lilac leaves are the size of a mouse’s ears." Guess what? That's just about the time that the canal water temperature is right around 55 degrees. You’ve got too love the old timer's way of using nature’s calendar for predicting fishing conditions...
Keep in mind that water temperatures in the Cape Cod Canal vary throughout the day due to tide changes and current direction. Also, there’s plenty of good fishing when the water temperature is below that 55 degree mark. The best time to be on the water is whenever you can get there.