Fishing Report August 11, 2025

Fishing remains good on all fronts. Some say the occasional cool spells are keeping the fish active. Others couldn’t care less why and are just enjoying it. Striper fishing remains steady and we heard some reports of bluefish in some areas. Salmon fishing on Sebago and Winnipesaukee are steady and we are hearing few complaints. Bass fishing is typical for summer. Deep thick cover for largemouth and deep (about 30 feet) structure for smallmouth.

Maine:
Greg Cutting at Jordan’s Store in Sebago told us that the fishing on Sebago has picked up. “The fishing is good. The seagulls everywhere south of Fry Island are a dead giveaway that there is a ton of bait out there. Go catch some salmon on top. I think the whole fleet is down there fishing right now. When they get sick of catching salmon, they head out a little deeper and catch lake trout. I also heard of bait and good fishing up between Inner and Outer Islands on the Northwest corner of the lake. I think anything with a copper back with some red/orange on the bottom will do just fine. They’re still picking up a few splake on Tricky Pond and the bass fishing on Hancock has been good. Some guys went up to Peabody Pond and caught some nice smallmouth,” he said.

Levi at Saco Bay Tackle in Saco reported that the poggies are starting to move toward the river. “The poggies are starting to go toward the river, so they might make another river run. Eels at night and squid has been working well. White paddle tails and Albie Snax have been great during the day,” he said.

Captain Tim Tower of the Bunny Clark Deep Sea Fishing in Ogunquit posted the following report from a recent deep-sea trip: “The fishing was excellent. The weather and sea state were very enjoyable (no one got seasick) and we had few dogfish. We did get chased around by blue sharks in the afternoon. But I was able to avoid all but one attack. The catching was very good. Landings were good. Most legal fish landed were cusk, by far. Legal landings also included 25 haddock, a whiting, 14 pollock, 6 redfish and a cunner. Released fish included 22 small cod, a 8.5-pound cod, 53 haddock, a small whiting, 15 sub-legal pollock, 7sub-legal redfish, a blue shark and 16 dogfish. We drift fished all day. Jigs and cod flies caught the most fish.”

“Rick Morrell (ME) was high hook with the most legal fish. His largest fish was a 7.5-pound cusk. But he caught five legal haddock, a few pollock, a good sized whiting and a lot of cusks. Ron Baker (MA) was right behind Rick for second hook. Ron won the boat pool for the biggest fish with the biggest fish, a 9.5-pound cusk. He was leading the boat pool for most of the morning with a 7-pound cusk, lost the pool and won it back in the end. He caught the largest haddock at 3.5 pounds. I also weighed a 5.5-pound cusk and a 6.25-pound cusk for him. There was a tie for the second largest fish at 9 pounds. There were 2, both cusk. Luke Cipolla (FL) caught one. Nate Howard (ME) caught the other. Nate also caught a 6.75-pound cusk.”

“Other Angler Highlights: George Ordoñez (ME) caught the largest cod at 8.5 pounds, the fourth largest fish of the trip. Ernie Searles (NH) caught the most sub-legal haddock, a pile. He also lost the biggest haddock of the trip right next to the boat. His largest fish was a 6.5-pound cusk. Becky Searles (FL) had the only shark attack and lost her gear.”

New Hampshire:
Tim from Tim Moore Outdoors/Lake Winnipesaukee Fishing Guide Service on Lake Winnipesaukee reported another excellent week of salmon fishing, but slight disappointment in the lake trout jigging. “We have been doing very well trolling for salmon and rainbows. The fish are down below the 40 foot mark most days, but some early mornings we are getting fish at 30 feet down. The perch have moved out over deeper water and I am seeing some boats catching fish right on top. We have been doing so well down in the cooler water that I haven’t bothered fishing up top. Orange spoons are still number one, with pink being a close second and some days, blues. I really haven’t fished streamer flies much this year; the spoons have been getting it done. The lake trout are smaller again this year. Most fish we are catching are sub-legal. Some good news, I did see proposed rule changes regarding lake trout for next year, so that’s promising. Kudos to NH Fish and Game for not waiting until things got critical before acting,” he told us.

Dana Berry at Berry’s Bait in Alton Bay said that things have picked up with trolling anglers and jigging lake trout. “A lot of guys are starting to jig lake trout. Many of them are using the Crazy Hick tube jigs in glow and white and are doing really well. The size 7 or 8 Swedish Pimples are also hot right now. We are selling a lot more trolling gear all of a sudden. It had died off for a while, but they must be hitting it harder now. We are hearing of a lot of salmon and rainbows being caught,” she said.

Jason Brewster at Brewster’s Bait and Tackle in Portsmouth furnished the following report: “Consistent inconsistency is the name of the game in the Piscataqua this week. The stories in the bait shop range from elation to dread and everything in between. No 2 stories are the same and they run the entire spectrum of results. All I do know is top water plugs, sabiki rigs, and mackerel are what is going out the door.”

Massachusetts:
Martha at Surfland Bait and Tackle on Plum Island reported a slight uptick in striper fishing, but she was happy to report that she had the blues. “We are seeing bluefish out front, and big ones. Some up to 30 inches. I haven’t had any beach reports of bluefish. Trolling the deep CD18 gold/fluorescent red and the Rapala X-Raps do a color called Hot Head that works great. The bluefish have scattered the mackerel a little bit, but not too bad. The uptick in striper fishing is good to see too. On the refuge, parking lots 1, 2, and 3 are the only lots open right now. I am also hearing of some guys targeting flounder out front,” she said.

Pete Santini at Fishing Finatics in Everett told us that there is a decent bite inside the harbor. “There’s a big striper bite up off of Situate, off of Egypt Beach. There’s a lot of poggies there. It’s like a parking lot though. If anyone wants to get away from the crowds, they should fish along the Winthrop shoreline all the way down to Revere Beach. There are bass and blues over there and the red or orange Santini Tubes are doing good. Niner Rigs are good too. There is some topwater action early in the morning along Deer Island Flats over to the airport. White poppers are working good. There is a pile of mackerel at the Number 2 can off of Nahant. Haddock fishing has been good off the northwest corner of Stellwagen. There is still a pile of squid in the harbor too,” he said.