Weekly Fishing Report: May 15, 2023
Fishing Conditions & Updates for Maine, New Hampshire & Massachusetts
Week of May 15, 2023
If you’ve been waiting for striped bass to show up, wait no more. They are arriving everywhere along the New England coast in droves. We are hearing reports of schoolies as far north as Casco Bay and bigger fish as far north as Boston Harbor. Trout stocking is winding down in most parts, but bass have moved in shallow to spawn. If you like deep sea fishing, there’s no shortage of fish around on Jeffreys Ledge and Stellwagen Bank. There’s something for everyone, and it’s only going to get better in the coming weeks!
Greg Cutting at Jordan’s Store in Sebago reported better fishing on Sebago in the past week. “Well, the lake is showing a little life. The lake trout fishing is picking up, and they’re catching some salmon. They’re catching salmon up to 20 inches. There’s an occasional one that is bigger than that, so the fishermen are a little more optimistic,” he said. Greg said for salmon, most people are trolling bait. For lake trout, he says you can’t go wrong with live bait, but the Flatfish is king on Sebago. He also told us that there are a lot of people finding good crappie fishing. One angler reported finding fish in deep water, which is unusual for this time of year. Most spring crappie are caught around structure. Any sunken wood, including beaver dams, are great places to find them. Greg called back to tell us that there were a lot of white perch hanging below the Songo Locks, but he said it was winding down. Greg also reminded us that the Laketrout Shootout derby was coming up on Saturday May 20 and said registration is available online at www.laketroutshootout.com.
Captain Tim Tower of the Bunny Clark furnished the following report on their website: “On the fishing grounds, the wind blew out of the southwest at five to ten and then ten to fifteen with higher winds on the way back to Perkins Cove. But not much higher. Seas were chops of a foot to two feet, larger on the way home. The air temperature reached a high of 58°F. The visibility ranged to over twenty miles. The tide (current) was moderate. The sky was overcast all day. The surface water temperature reached a high of 52°F.”
“Dana Decormier (NH) was far and away high hook with the most number of legal fish and haddock. He was a fishing machine today. Tanis Carr (ME) won the boat pool for the largest fish with an 8.25-pound cod. The second largest fish was an 8-pound cod caught by Jack Decormier (NH). John Russell (ME) caught the third and fourth largest fish. Both were cod of 7 pounds each.”
Photo courtesy of Tim Moore.
Full-time New Hampshire fishing guide Tim from Tim Moore Outdoors told us that after a tough week of salmon fishing, things seem to be picking back up…for now. He says that the upcoming Winni Derby always has an impact on the salmon fishing for a time. “It’s hard not to impact the fishing with that many boats catching that many salmon. The fishing pressure alone changes things for a few days after the derby. There seem to be more fish than last season, so there’s that. The fish are following the bait this time of year, so covering water seems to be a good tactic. I fish a lot of streamer flies, since they allow me to troll faster,” he said. Tim also says that the bass are up shallow in their spawning phase and wanted to remind anglers that the artificial lure catch and release only season in New Hampshire runs from May 15 thru June 15.
Lon Berry at Berry’s Bait in New Durham reported a fairly slow weekend at his shop. “There wasn’t a ton of guys that I could see on the big lake, but we did have a few fish come in to be weighed. We had a couple of 5-pound salmon. The fishing on the local ponds has been heating up and so is the bass fishing. Lon said they were finishing out the coming weekend at their current location. Then they will be closed while they move to their new location on the Alton traffic circle. They hope to be open by Memorial Day, but will open sooner if they get moved in.
Jason MacKenzie at Pawtuckaway Trading Post in Raymond reported a busy week at the shop. “So, we are getting a lot of striper action now. Hampton/Seabrook Harbor has been doing well. All the usual areas have been good, especially the head of tide dams in the Piscataqua River, such as the Lamprey and Coheco Rivers. There should be some flounder around, but I’m not hearing much about them. The ground fishing was good early last week but seemed to die off later in the week. Trout fishing has been going gangbuster though.
Pete Santini at Fishing Finatics in Everett reported excellent flounder fishing in Boston Harbor. “The flounder are everywhere inside the harbor right now. They’re getting them off the piers in Charlestown and Chelsea Creek, and there are some tautog mixed in with them. Lynn Pier, Deer Island Pier, and all along south Boston. They’ve really come back in numbers. There’s a pile of stripers inside the Charles and the Mystic Rivers, in Quincy Bay, and along Spectacle Island. Fish up to 45-inches. Some on topwater, some jigging, and some trolling tube and worm,” he said. Pete says the last “slug” of trout went into Horn, Walden, and White’s Ponds
Martha at Surfland Bait and Tackle on Plum Island told us that there are a ton of stripers around. “The fish are here for sure. They’re catching on everything; it depends on what you like to do. It’s all working right now. If you’re a bait fisherman, there’s been a lot of action on the beach front in the morning and worms have been working well. Some guys like to use mackerel and clams when they fish down to Sandy Point. For lures, bucktails and paddletails have been most popular lately,” she said. Martha told us that soft plastics rule on Joppa Flats, and she has been selling a lot of Slug-Gos and Gravity Tackle Eels.
Because of inherent time restrictions of gathering fresh, up-to-date information, editing & producing this report in a timely manner, occasional errors or marginal information may slip by us. We try our hardest to provide accurate information. We urge readers to use this report as a tool to increase their fishing pleasure and not to rely on as their sole resource. First or second-hand information is offered by fishing guides, commercial fishing charters or party boats, bait & tackle dealers, well-known successful anglers, and state & federal fisheries and natural resources enforcement officials. We also welcome and use reports forwarded to us by fishermen that use this report. - Kittery Trading Post Fishing Report Editor