Maine Striper Fishing Reports

Weather forecast HOT near 90 on Tuesday, Fishing to the south of us Hot!!!! I have my hopes up that is going to be a good year!!! I can tell you this, we are off to a good start here in Casco Bay. We hit a fat 31 inch off a island flat near a river mouth followed up by a 14 inch striper two cast later a mixed bag and that seems to be the word on the water from Long Island NY to Casco Bay.

A few days ago on Maine Striper Fishing Reports blog, I recommended to stay near the rivers, and yes they are holding lots of fish and bait, well the fog had everyone staying in the river today, I hate crowds!! so I ran off to some flats in the hope to pick up a few more before calling it a day, well we found fish scattered and feeding 3-4 miles away from any river system with plenty of small fin bait to keep them here for a few days. I have a feeling there going to just keep moving into our waters pretty thick over the next few weeks, we have the bait!!!! but something we have not had in 3 years is water temps pretty equal to other area in the migration zone.
Long Island 55.0 Block Island 54.0 Buzzard 54.3 Portland 52.0 last year we where 7-9 degrees off in water temps in early June,

A few days just opened up that are prime time and tides June 16-19
I also have few day open in early June. Call for July Dates 207-671-4330
Also I have some angler looking to trade in there rods and reels for the latest greatest, if you ae looking for a used 7-12 wt there are some great deals to be had!! drop a line and I can get in touch with the seller.

Maine Striper Fishing Reports& Guides

Quick update going into the weekend, found a few nice fish this morning in Casco Bay, some good reports to the south, wind direction and temps look good and getting better. things could bust open in the next few days!!! Did get a couple of fish near 30 today, the real story was a group of little punks that where full of it at 14-17 inches, great to see!!! Stay near the river systems!! and things turned on about 2.5 hr into the outgoing. I just had some June dates open up due to a angler who had to change his travel plan till Aug they are great tides!!!June 16-19 I also have few days in the first and second week of June For either Maine tidal Carp or striped Bass, Give a call for more info 207-671-4330



May 18, 2010
Here we go, my first Maine fishing report for 2010, Stripers are showing from Portland South and in some area's in good numbers!!!for mid May, and that's the word Cape Cod North. Water temps are not to bad even with a few chilly nights we had this past week. Looking forward with the amount of baitfish that have moved into Maine's water we should here about some big fish being caught in the bigger rivers, I've fished the sand flats near Portland a couple of times on the few sunny days we have had, and have seen some nice groups of fish moving around, they where playing follow the leader and not stoping by for any thing we casted at them, have had good luck around Plum Island and Kittery area last week. Fished the Carp flats had five shots one day to some real large fish but really need a spike in the water temp for that to turn on!!! It's still early but off to a good start!!!!


Cathy Beck hitting her target, skinny water striped bass on Casco Bay.














Lodging Deals!!!!
We have some great lodging deals for the anglers coming from out of state. When you book a trip with Coastal Fly Angler You Can add a room at the Applewood Inn B&B for $125/night (and they pack you a lobster roll lunch).

Harraseeket Inn Discount
A member of the Conde Nast Gold List of the top 50 resorts in the United States, the Harraseeket has offered special pricing for anglers fishing with Coastal Fly Angler.

Lodging Package: Applewood Inn B&B
Fish for stripers and bluefish on Casco Bay by day, relax at the charming Applewood Inn B&B in the Freeport village by night. Delicious lobster roll lunch and fishing gear included.
LODGING PACKAGE PRICING
$550 - one day guided fishing, one night
$1050 - two days guided fishing, two nights
(Add 40.00 a night on weekends)
$200 deposit required at time of booking.





If you're gearing up for your next trip, then we strongly recommend that you support your local fly shop and buy through a specialty retailer! If you need assistance locating the right retailer, we will be happy to help. However, if you are thinking that you do not want to buy a new rod and reel set-up (or multiple rod and reel set-ups), then we can also help.

Coastal Fly Angler has an equipment demo and rental program that we offer as a service to our customers. You can rent high-end, top-of-the-line rod and reel set-ups that include Scott Rods,Sage and Winston , Hatch Reels,Tibor and Able and Air-Flow fly lines. For approximately $100.00 per rod/reel set-up, we will ship you what you need for your upcoming trip. Rod and reels combos from 6 wt. through 12 wt. are available. Please feel free to contact CFA by phone at (207) 671-4330 or via email for more information. Note Any trip you are fishing on our skiffs there is no Fee this use.

Maine Stiper Fishing Reports & Guides

Here it is, our new skinny water skiff at CFA, adding to our 17 Action Craft with a 115, the IPB is half the weight allowing us to enter the flat earlier with the tide and stay longer,Power will be a 40 4 stroke Suzuki tiler, Can't wait for it to get here!!!


Reports of Stripers being caught in Southern Maine today May 8 th- here we go!!!!!






ASMFC Striped Bass Board Approves Draft Addendum II for Public Comment
Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board has approved Draft Addendum II to Amendment 6 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass for public comment. The Draft Addendum proposes two changes to the striped bass management program: (1) an increase in the coastal commercial quota, and (2) revising the definition of recruitment failure based on Technical Committee advice.

***** A big WTF!! we really need to make it a GAME FISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



The proposal to increase the coastal commercial quota is intended to improve equality between the commercial and recreational fishery sectors. Although Amendment 6 established management programs for both fisheries based on the same target fishing mortality rate, the implementation of state-specific quotas for coastal commercial harvest (and not for recreational harvest) has prevented the commercial and recreational fisheries from responding equally to changes in striped bass population size. Since 2004, coastal commercial harvest has decreased by 3.6 percent, while recreational harvest has increased by 13.7 percent. Under the option, the Board would select a percent increase to be applied to the coastal commercial allocations assigned in Amendment 6.

The Management Board voted to include a second issue in the Draft Addendum based on information presented at the meeting. As part of its review of the juvenile abundance indices, the Striped Bass Technical Committee recommended to the Management Board a revision to how striped bass recruitment failure is defined. Juvenile abundance indices are an important component of the striped bass monitoring program and are used to determine periods of recruitment failure which can trigger management action under Amendment 6. Adopting the proposed recommendation would result in a fixed value to determine recruitment failure in each surveyed area rather than a value that changes from year to year. Use of either the Amendment 6 definition or the Technical Committee recommendation for recruitment failure does not result in any necessary changes to the current management program.

It is anticipated that the majority of states will be conducting public hearings on the Draft Addendum. A press release will be issued once the details of the hearings have been finalized and the Draft Addendum is available for public comment. For more information, please contact Nichola Meserve, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator at (202) 289-6400 or nmeserve@asmfc.org.

Please Support this fishery by calling or emailing and asking them to not approve Addendum II and Join the Maine based stripers forever or your local CCA make some noise on this one.

Maine Striper Fishing Reports

Hope you all are well and are getting excited for another Striper season in the Northeast. Thank you to all who have booked trips and sent in deposits, I'm looking forward to fishing with you. Today I heard reports of anglers catching striped bass in the 15-32 inch range in Boston Harbor so the good news is fish are starting to make it around the Cape. The bait reports here in Maine are looking good with ospreys and seals moving in to feed on the alewives and herring working the way into Maine rivers. Stripers will follow soon!!!!

Last year I started fishing in Maine on May 18 with good success despite the muddy water from 27 days of rain June and July. In the end 2009 proved to fish better than 2008 and we may see an even better season this year. Water temps in Rhode Island are 7 degrees up from a year ago and the amount of fish that have made it to CT and RI sounds promising as in the past they often stopped in New Jersey. Fish size will continue to be on the bigger side the next few years as we wait for the low recruitment of juvenal fish in 2005-06 to be replaced. There are some signs of improvement, with a better spawn the last few years, but for a year or two we will be chasing bigger, smarter fish and I'm enjoying that challenge.


Many of you have asked about carp fishing in Maine, and have booked trips in the next few weeks. The carp came up on the grass flats for a few days then some cold nights put them back down, but by the beginning of May we will be in good shape, so anyone looking for the challenge of the tidal ravine carp let me know ASAP. Also for early season, the sand flats south of Portland have been producing the last few years. These are shorter window trips due to the tide swamping us out, but we usually get a good 4-5 hrs of fun.

It amazes me how cool of a fishery Casco Bay is when you hit the right tides, and I really can't think of prettier place to chase striped bass on the flats and I look forward to seeing you soon.

Capt Eric Wallace
207-671-4330
www.coastalflyangler.com

Maine Striper Fishing Reports

Tarpon and Permit Fishing in the Keys, I'll be Striper Fishing Between Maine and Cape Cod in May, I will try to post some Maine Fishing updates and reports!!! The Keys are turning on!!!! we are seeing lots of Permit and the Tarpon moving back in!!!

Reports that stripers are entering the Chessy in full swing for the spawn, post spawn they drop out and start moving north looking for food, not long now guys let's hope for a good season and some better weather than last summer.

Maine Striper Fishing Reports 2010

GET OUT And Cast Some Rods!!!!!!!

Eldredge Bros. Fly Shop
7th Annual Flyfishing Expo

April 3, 2010 from 9:00am till 4:00pm here at the Fly Shop. This is a "RAIN OR SHINE" event.

This event is always a big hit and a very festive gathering of fly fishermen who are getting ready for the start of a new fishing season. There will be hundreds of rods to test cast, manufacturer's reps from Sage, Winston, Scott, Ross, Hatch, Tibor, Simms, Fishpond, Rio, and much more. We'll have door prizes, raffles, professional tying demos, free aquatic entomology seminars, free antique tackle appraisals, and all of the free food you can eat.

Maine Striper Fishing Reports

I'm going to start throwing out some patterns I'm tying for my upcoming time in the Florida Keys, as well as for Maine and Cape Cod striper fishing.


Bruja Crab: This is an interesting pattern from the tying vice of Lex Hochner that has all the right ingredients to be an awesome Permit Bonefish and Striper pattern. First of all it looks very crabby, especially when wet in saltwater. The buoyant synthetic body material gathers light and ungulates giving the creature life. The knotted rubber legs are swept back for maximum wiggleness during the initial dive. Last the four color schemes are all well suited for the various bottom colors you will encounter. All in all, a good new pattern to try on Mr. I-don't-eat-many-flies. Permit, or the those big cow bass hanging around the sandy bottom flats. The fly should be fished with more of a permit style stripe or casting the fly real close to the fish, the fly drop into the water colum nicely. It's an Umpqua pattern, tie your own or grab some from your local shop.

Striped Bass fishing the flats of Casco Bay

In 2008 John Frazier of Saltwater Sportsman Magazine did an article called the Maine Event- Fish for stripers the unconventional way- on the flats. This Past fall, during one of the strongest cold fronts of the season, we set out with Sportfish TV to do a follow up for there TV show on Versus- Check it out.
VERSUS -MAINE EVENT – SKINNY WATER STRIPERS Date 2/13/10 and 2/19/10 airtime 12:30 and 6:30 pm
*** Thanks for all the positive feedback on the show <"))))><

I watched the forecast for the week, and I wonder is this going to be worth it, the Host of the show Dean Travis Clarke was driving up towing a 17 ft Yellow Fin flats skiff one of the shows sponsors, so there was no way we where going to be using my flats skiff, a new skiff, temp drop of 25 degrees, wind gusting to 30 out of the northeast and some frozen Floridian boys trying to film, I thought shit, I would love to take this day off - we stuck it out and found fish in areas I have not fished in years, had one of the most incredible sun-sets and met some new friends. In the end it proved what permit guides already knows, working hard long days in the wind to picky bigger fish, often pay-off!!!!!

Maine Striper Fishing Reports

It sure was very refreshing to be at a party last week talking about some great days on the mud and sand flats and how important learning to fish crab patterns has become to get a few of the bigger fish to eat.If you are spending anytime looking around the chats boards, there sure is a lot of doom and gloom, and even starting an thread about anything good get's crushed by a few who had a tough go. Capt John ford and i went out scouting for some early season fish and we Scored, it was May 18 then On June 3 rd had one of the best trips I've had in 3 years. A week later I was chasing clean water and lee's to get out of the wind, and muddy waters,and the kennebec guides had to do the same, for the most part we had the area to ourselfs never a boat at the ramp, parking lot at the boat yard was empty, Still we manage a few fish in the high 30's on the flats. Then came some stable weather and WOW we had some real good fishing, The season continued to be that way for me, fishing areas that I had not fished in 4 or 5 years to run from the wind and a change of scenery and we found fish in places that i did not in 2008 every now and then we would get some stable weather, warm humid light wind and good tide and it all came together and that's what I'm looking forward to in the 2010.

Maine Striper Fishing Reports

The 2009 Atlantic striped stock assessment update indicates that the resource remains in good condition with female spawning stock biomass (SSB) percent of the SSB target and 185 percent of the SSB threshold (see Figure 1). Estimated fishing mortality rates (F) in 2008 are equal to or less than 0.21 and below the target (0.30) and threshold (0.34) rates. The assessment provides stock status for the combination of the three primary stocks (Hudson River, Delaware River, and Chesapeake and tributaries). The striped bass stock complex is determined to be not overfished with overfishing not occurring.

Although spawning stock and total biomass have remained relatively stable over the last several years, stock abundance declined from 2004 to 2007 with a small increase in 2008. The decrease in abundance is reflected in a decline in coastwide landings in 2007 and 2008. The decline is more prevalent in areas largely dependent on contributions from the Chesapeake stocks (such as Maine) than areas that are dominated by the Hudson stock (such as New York). The spawning stock has remained relatively stable due to the growth and maturation of the 2003 year class and the accumulation of spawning biomass from year classes prior to 1996. The latest results of the statistical catch-at-age model also exhibit an increasing retrospective bias where F is overestimated and abundance and biomass underestimated. Retrospective bias may be the result of error in catch estimates, natural mortality, unequal stock mixing, and changes in catchability or selectivity. Analysis of tag data also suggests an increasing natural mortality in Chesapeake Bay, likely the result of the mycobacteriosis.

Recruitment estimates have averaged 12.5 million fish since 1995 when the stock complex was declared restored. The 2006 and 2007 estimates were the lowest in recent years at 7.4 million and 5.8 million fish, respectively. The 2003 cohort remains the largest since 1982 at 22.8 million fish. Recruitment in 2008 of 13.3 million fish was slightly above the recent average.

Striped bass are one of the most sought after species by recreational anglers along the Atlantic coast. In 2008, recreational anglers landed over 2.2 million striped bass weighing 12,310 metric tons (mt) (see Figure 2). Recreational landings have ranged from a low of 336 mt in 1989 to a high of 13,814 mt in 2006. The coastwide landings in 2008 reflect a 17 percent decline from a high of 2.7 million fish in 2006. Changes in landings have varied by state, with MA, CT, and NY showing an increase in landings and the remaining states showing a 32% decrease on average. Recreational discard mortalities (assuming an 8 percent mortality of releases) in 2008 were 950,000 fish, a 64 percent decrease from a high of 2.1 million fish in 2006.

Landings from the commercial striped bass fishery have been consistently lower than the recreational catch. Commercial landings increased from 63 mt in 1987 to 2,679 mt in 1997 and have remained steady due to quota restrictions. Landings in 2008 were 3,281 mt. Gill nets are the dominant commercial gear used to target striped bass. Other commercial fishing gears include hook and line, pound nets, seines, and trawls.

Copies of the stock assessment update will be available via the Commission’s website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News. For more information, please contact Nichola Meserve, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator at (202) 289-6400 or nmeserve@asmfc.org.

Maine Striper Fishing Reports Oct 6 th 2009

Steve Straq with a nice fish off the sand flats on Oct 6 th 2009

Maine Striper fishing reports
Poling a shoreline flat on the outer islands of Casco Bay Maine and looking for a dark back to run up on the sand and hoping the sun stays out of the clouds long enough to get a shot, is something I look forward to in say Late June - August?? but sight fishing to stripes in the low sun angles of Oct in Maine come-on this is cool!!!! With a lack of little fish showing the last few years, and few and far in-between blitzes on the outgoing tides, we really started working the incoming tides and taking shots at the bigger fish we see on the sand, this has become standard way for us to fish, along with chasing waking fish on the mud flats, So quite chasing birds and start working the flats the fish are still around!!!!!!!!! On the Kennebec there has been reports of some good surface action between Richmond and Bath, the lower river should produce good for another week or so. Give one of the local guides up there a call, October can be some great fishing here in Maine and so far this is holding true once again.

On the beaches there are some reports from the guys at Eldrige Bro fly shop in Cape Nedic of some very good fishing there as well, the beach guys around OOB are still struggling??? Tuna bite with the on and off weather seems to be holding the light tackle boats from the chase. Overall the reports I've got from the boats guys for the season have been much better than last year with high hopes for a real good season early on with good catches reported in late may and early June than the rain just kept coming killing the Kennebec and the Saco area, Casco Bay held it's own but you had to search for clean water then you found plenty of fish, and for the most part you had the place to yourself!!!! On the beaches my friends who fish crab patterns and have been for years and do it well had a good season, but others had a tough year, Lets hope the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission can get there shit together and manage this fishery!!!! because the lack of small fish in the system is very worrisome, these jokers are actually voting on rolling over the uncaught commercial harvest from the year past this is a shame and total BS, many of you live in Mass call write or what you can!! and ask them to manage this fishery, not just bend over for the commercial guys.