Fishing Report June 22, 2026

Summer is officially here and the fish are mostly behaving predictably. Striped bass are seemingly everywhere and sometimes seem to bite almost anything. We are hearing of some great nighttime fishing on live eels, which we just got restocked on. Flounder are still biting, but they are beginning to move out a bit deeper. Trolling for trout and salmon is still good, but smaller southern ponds are warming up. Anglers might want to head to larger deep lakes for better fishing. Largemouth and smallmouth bass are biting excellently all over New England. With spawning over, they are hungry.

Maine:
Greg Cutting at Jordan’s Store in Sebago says that the salmon fishing on Sebago remains good, and the lake trout jigging has started to pick up. “They caught some very nice salmon last week. They’ve been catching some fish off of Straight Shore, which is on Raymon Neck. A lot of guys are using bait if they can find it. Some guys are picking up lake trout trolling Flatfish. We have been catching some nice fish trolling streamers right on top. We caught some nice fish off the back of the boat in the prop wash, believe it or not. We also fished the western side of the buoys off the Songo and we laid into them trolling streamers up on top. I heard that the lake trout are biting a little more readily on the jig. Smaller soft baits have been the ticket. Some guys caught a few browns up to Hancock. Nothing huge, but they had a good day. Bass fishing is still good up there, too,” he said.

Weston at Saco Bay Tackle said that the stripers are still moving out of the rivers and the beaches are producing better. “Sand eels are definitely in now and the stripers have been feeding on them. Anything eel look-alike has been getting smoked. Haddock fishing is starting to pick up offshore, too,” he said.

Tim Tower of the Bunny Clark Deep Sea Fishing in Ogunquit posted the following report from a recent trip on his website: “The fishing was good, no better than that. The tide into the wind was a bit too much and there were so many mackerel that most anglers couldn't get down to the bottom without getting two. This inhibited landings to a large degree, at first, until we adapted to it. And we really never fully adapted. Anything artificial or feathered attracted them, including flies and jigs. The catching was excellent, particularly if you included the mackerel. Landings were good. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. We didn't have so many that we were afraid to go over the boat's bag limit. We did have a few anglers who went over their personal bag limit, two for sure. Legal landings also included 22 cusk, two whiting, 23 pollock, 6 redfish and just shy of a hundred mackerel. Released fish included one 7-pound cod, 18 small cod, 4 legal haddock, 3 sub-legal haddock, 88 sub-legal pollock and well over a hundred mackerel; too many to count. We drift fished and anchored. Anchoring caught the most fish. The jig and fly combination was the most popular setup, but the bait caught the most legal fish.”

“Fred Kunz (NH) was high hook with the most legal fish, a count of thirty-two, mostly haddock. He lost a trophy haddock right next to the boat on the surface. He doesn't like to gaff haddock or have them gaffed. He lost another big one too far down to gaff. Some of the good haddock Fred did land weighed 5.5 pounds, 5 pounds, 6.5 pounds and 5.5 pounds. Paul Smith (NY) won the boat pool for the largest, a 9-pound Maine state trophy haddock. This haddock ties for the second-largest haddock of the Bunny Clark fishing season to date. The fish was 29" caliper fork length. He also caught the second largest fish of the trip, a 7.75-pound Maine state trophy haddock. This other fish was short at 26" but very fat, big in girth. These are the only trophy haddock Paul has ever caught. The third largest fish was a 7-pound cod caught by Rich Mallott (NY). Of course, he couldn't keep it. Rich's largest haddock weighed 6 pounds.”

“Other Angler Highlights: Tom "Ollie" Bruyere (NY), my freshman year college roommate, landed a 5.75-pound haddock, his largest haddock. He did lose a big one on the surface but I didn't really see it. Joe Briggs (NY) caught the third-largest haddock of the trip, one that weighed 6.75 pounds. He caught a haddock of 5.75 pounds earlier in the trip. Bob Tebo (NY) caught 16 legal haddock today. His largest weighed 6 pounds, but there was another I didn't weigh that could have equaled that one or been slightly larger? He also caught a cod that might have been 5 or 6 pounds.”

New Hampshire:
Tim from Tim Moore Outdoors/Lake Winnipesaukee Fishing Guide Servicereported an up-and-down week. “We had some pretty horrendous fishing mixed in with some really nice fish last week. Just when things started to really warm up, cool stormy weather moved in, cooled the lake back down, and shut the fishing down quite a bit. Some of my best lures this week were a yellow/silver BB Gun and a copper/orange head BB gun, and the Bleeding Winnipesaukee Smelt streamer. 35 feet deep was the most productive depth,” he said.

Alan Nute at Winnisquam Country Store in Tilton said that things are starting to turn around on the trolling front. “Things have been pretty good. The flasher rigs for downriggers are starting to produce down 30 or 35 feet. The Patriot spoon that I make has been good for a few guys. I’m still tying a lot of Blood and Guts and Firesmelt streamers,” he told us.

Massachusetts:
Pete Santini at Fishing Finatics in Everett furnished the following report: “There has been a lot of early morning topwater action on bass between Spectacle and Castle Islands. The fish are smashing pencil poppers in red and white and Albie Snax. Mackerel have been a little tough offshore. They are getting a few out past B Buoy. Bass are being caught sporadically in deep water on the offshore humps with X Raps, live mackerel, Mystic Mojos, 9er Rigs, and Boston Massacre Rigs. The more consistent action is trolling Santini Tubes on lead core from high tide through the outgoing along rocky island points and bars. Pick your spot and get in 8 to 10 feet of water. Let out 2 colors of lead and hang on. Flounder fishing is still good at Lynn Pier, Point of Pines, and off Swampscott Yacht Club.”

Massachusetts:
Martha at Surfland Bait and Tackle on Plum Island reported good striper fishing, but says the fish are a bit “fussy” right now. “They are just falling back from the dams, but they’re fussy. You can see fish and hit them with a lure, and they ignore it. The fly guys are having the most success because we are loaded with sand eels and they can focus on that size. Things are starting to change, but that’s how it’s been. I haven’t had a report from the flats, but the sound has been good. It’s going to change very soon. Once they are acclimated to the bait down here, they’ll turn on. The surf has been slow; it’s been mostly boat fishermen doing the best,” she said.