Fishing Report August 4, 2025
We are hearing more reports of slot sized keeper stripers being caught, along with some big cows. Boston Harbor is hot right now. Plum Island is in a typical August pattern, with night fishing being most productive. Those fishing salmon lakes are reporting much better catches by trolling. Trolling 30 feet to 40 feet at first light and moving as deep as 60 feet seems to be what most reports account for. Some reports claim it doesn’t matter what you troll, as long as you get your lines down to where the fish are.
Maine:
Greg Cutting at Jordan’s Store in Sebago reported great fishing on Sebago. “They’re catching salmon, and some good ones too. There’s bait up on the top of the shoals. A friend of mine was out there yesterday and caught 4 salmon, but he didn’t go until late and didn’t fish very long. Guys have been hammering the area off of Long Point off Frye’s Island. There’s a lot of bait there. They’re catching them right on top too. The lake trout are still suspended, so they must be chasing bait out over deep water. 20 feet to 40 feet down with Northeast Troller spoons, watermelon and orange crush with a copper back. Copper back seems to be the key. Some guys are even catching salmon on streamers with fly line. They’re still catching splake up to Tricky too,” he said.
Levi at Saco Bay Tackle in Saco says not much has changed on the striper front. “The stripers are on the beach and killing squid. Eels are working amazing at night. White paddletails during the day and purple ones at night are working good. Just about anything white when the sun is going down. SP Minnows are working good too,” 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 very good. It could have been excellent if people had dressed a bit better for the weather and we didn't have the dogfish. But the dogs really weren't that bad. And drifting or anchoring worked great. The catching was excellent, particularly if you included the small pollock and dogfish. Landings were very good. Most legal fish landed were pollock, by far. Legal landings also included 52 cusk, 15 haddock, 5 redfish and a pile of mackerel. Released fish included 2 cod over 7 pounds, 5 small cod, over 100 small pollock, quite a few mackerel, 40 dogfish and 1 sub-legal redfish. We drift fished, mostly but we had a couple good anchor stops. Drifting was best. Jigs and cod flies caught the most fish.”
“Ray Westermann (MA) was high hook with the most legal fish. His largest fish was a 14-pound pollock, the second largest fish of the trip. Some of his other fish included a 3.25-pound haddock, an 11-pound pollock, a 9.5-pound pollock, a 7.25-pound pollock, an 8-pound cod and a 7-pound pollock. Jonathan "Griff" Griffin (MA) was second hook. Griff caught the third largest fish, a 13-pound pollock. Carl Balliet (PA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, a 20.25-pound pollock. This is the Bunny Clark's largest pollock of the fishing season to date. I also weighed a 9-pound pollock for Carl.”
“Other Angler Highlights: Mark (pronounced Maaack) Constance (NY) caught a 6-pound cusk, a 10-pound pollock and a 9.5-pound pollock, his best fish today. Micky Tanguay (NH) landed a 5.5-pound cusk and a 6.5-pound pollock. I believe I weighed a bigger pollock for him, but I forgot to write down the weight! John Tanguay (ME) caught an 8-pound pollock, his biggest fish. Roger Gavin (MA) caught the largest cusk at 7.25 pounds. I also weighed a 5.75-pound cusk for him. Matt Elmer (NY) caught the largest cod at 12 pounds. David Archambault (NH) caught a 6-pound cusk, a 7.5 pound pollock and an 11 pound pollock. R.J. Froebel (NY) boated a 6.25-pound pollock and a 9-pound pollock. Ali Laflamme (ME) landed the largest haddock of the day. It weighed 3.75 pounds but had the frame of a 5 pounder. Tony Pinto (NY) boated an 11.5-pound pollock. Charlie Collier (NY) caught an 8-pound pollock, his biggest fish. Alicia Constance (NY) caught an 11.25-pound pollock.”
New Hampshire:
Tim from Tim Moore Outdoors/Lake Winnipesaukee Fishing Guide Service on Lake Winnipesaukee said that outside of the recent cold front that slowed the fishing slightly, you might need to bring a fire extinguisher because the fishing on Lake Winnipesaukee is so hot. “I love this time of year for trolling. The fishing is excellent. Smelt are moving into deep water and perch fry are moving out over deep water. If you see gulls floating and terns diving, there are perch under them. Those areas will be hot early and late in the day. Orange, pink, and purple have been my best spoons,” he said.
Alan Nute at Winnisquam Country Store in Tilton says the fishing is still excellent on Winnipesaukee. “Most of my fish are coming from down 50 or 60 feet. Some days it doesn’t seem to matter what you put down there. Streamer flies are working well again too. There are some nice 3 pound salmon and even bigger rainbows being caught,” he said.
Massachusetts:
Martha at Surfland Bait and Tackle on Plum Island says the beach fishing is picking up slightly, but things are still a little on the slow side for most. “We are starting to see a little improvement, but that’s typical for this time of year. We’re still waiting on bluefish. Tube and worm rigs had slowed down for a week or so and all of a sudden, they sold out over the weekend, so they must be picking back up. The night bite is definitely still better. There’s still lots of mackerel around. I also had a few guys targeting flounder out here again. It should be swinging around soon to being more productive,” she told us.
Pete Santini at Fishing Finatics in Everett told us that there is a decent bite inside the harbor. “There’s a lot of pogies inside the harbor, from the casino all the way out to Castle Island. They have been getting them in the morning on top, trolling Niner rigs, Rapalas, and throwing poppers. Tube and worm have been good along Deer, Long, and Spectacle Islands trolling shallow in the incoming tide. There’s a pile of squid in the harbor. They are doing well at nighttime with the lighted Vella Rigs. There are some fluke up in the Pines River and some black sea bass out off of Hull Gut. A few bluefish off of Winthrop shoreline. Mackerel are all the way up inside the harbor. There’s also a little bit of tuna action out on Middle Bank,” he said.