Fishing Report June 23, 2025
The heat has put a damper on the freshwater fish and the anglers. Saltwater fishing seems to be heating up with the temperature in most cases. Striper reports from Plum Island and Boston Harbor couldn’t get much better, with lots of fish, and some big ones, being caught. Inland lakes for salmon and trout have slowed with the spike in water temperature, but warmwater fish, such as crappie and bass, have been taking it in stride and feeding a lot.
Maine:
Greg Cutting at Jordan’s Store in Sebago reported excellent crappie and white perch fishing in local ponds and a little slower fishing on Sebago. “Some guys are starting to catch some nice trout, and flatfish are starting to sell faster. We weighed another salmon that was over seven pounds. They’re not catching like they were, but they’re still catching fish. The people who fish the most are able to keep tabs on the movements of the fish. Hancock is still producing browns trolling live shiners and smaller ponds are on fire for crappie and white perch. I also had a lot of guys buying flies and heading to the Saco River for bass,” he said.
Levi at Saco Bay Tackle in Saco reported slower striper fishing in their area. “It’s been pretty slow lately. The heat has slowed things down. There are still fish out in front of the river, but this warm weather should push them out in front of the beaches very soon. White paddletails have been hot. Eels at night, we have eels now. Sand worms and blood worms must be good, because we just ran out of those. We should have more mid-week this week,” he said.
CJ Harmon of Burnt Meadow Guide Service in Brownfield furnished the following report: “We are starting to see the summer fishing patterns show up even with the rainy spring. Fish are going deeper and finding that thermocline layer is definitely important right now. Early mornings have been the most productive for us for sure. We are still slow trolling bait and having plenty of success on everything from lakers to brown trout.”
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 to excellent. The tide was never strong enough to promote tangling, the weather conditions were perfect and everyone had a great time. The catching was excellent. Landings were very good. Most legal fish landed were haddock by far. We didn't get the boat limit but several anglers easily caught the bag limit of haddock. Legal landings also included forty-one cusk, ninety-four pollock, two redfish and a big cunner. Released fish included seven cod that would have been legal to keep had we been able to, nine small cod, seven cusk, more than twenty-eight haddock (most sub-legal), more than one hundred and eighty-two sub-legal pollock and twenty-seven dogfish. We drift fished and anchored. All terminal gear worked well.”
“I couldn't tell you who was high hook with the most legal fish. So many anglers did so well. Dave Stevens (AZ) caught the largest fish, a 17-pound pollock. This is the Bunny Clark's second largest pollock of the fishing season to date. The second largest fish was a 14.5-pound pollock caught by Dean Stevens (VT). He caught this as a double with a 5-pound haddock, both fish caught on the same line at the same time! These were the first two fish boated today. The pollock is tied for the Bunny Clark’s sixth largest pollock of the season so far. Dean also caught an 8-pound cod, the largest haddock of the day at 6.75 pounds and quite a few haddock and pollock as well. Brayden Middlemiss (VT) caught the third largest fish, a 14-pound cod. This is the Bunny Clark's third largest cod of the fishing season to date. None of the anglers above entered the boat pools today.”
“Jonny Stevens (VT) and Bill Estabrook (ME) tied for the fourth largest fish, both with fish of 13 pounds. Jonny caught a 13-pound pollock but did not enter the boat pool. Bill won the boat pool for the largest fish with the fourth largest fish, a 13-pound cod. Currently this is the Bunny Clark's fourth largest cod of the fishing season as well. Bill's biggest haddock weighed 6.5 pounds. Hannah Smith (VT) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the sixth largest fish, an 11-pound pollock. Her largest haddock was 5 pounds or more. I didn't weigh it but it was definitely that big. She and Dave Haberl (VT) caught a lot of fish together. Dave's largest haddock weighed 5 pounds, officially, with his scale.”
“Other Angler Highlights: Gunner Stevens (VT) caught a pollock that weighed 10.5 pounds. Owen Sherman (VT) caught one of the larger cusk at 6.5 pounds. He also caught quite a few haddock. Will Fox (NY) caught an 8-pound pollock, his biggest fish. Rick Turner (NY) caught a 9-pound pollock, his best fish. However, he caught a haddock that looked to be about 6 pounds that I didn't weigh. Sebastian Tellez (AZ) caught a double that included a 9-pound pollock and an 8.5-pound pollock. His largest fish was a 9.5-pound pollock. Bill Kelson (MA) caught a lot of nice haddock. The largest of his that I weighed was 6 pounds, the largest haddock that he has ever caught. The unselfish angler that he is, he did let three good-sized haddock back to the ocean alive, via one of the stern scupper holes! Ateon Whitney (ME) landed a 6.5-pound haddock, his best fish. He caught quite a few haddock with a jig. Jonathan Griffin (MA) and Roger Gavin (MA) fished as a team and caught a lot of fish today. But neither one caught a haddock much more than 5 pounds. Nor did they catch any good-sized pollock; just a lot of them!”
New Hampshire:
Tim from Tim Moore Outdoors/Lake Winnipesaukee Fishing Guide Service on Lake Winnipesaukee reported that the spike in temperature caused a drop in fish activity. “I know slow spells are inevitable, but every one hurts like it was the first one. The heat wave really slowed things down. We went from no thermocline to a thermocline in just a couple days. Some parts of the lake are seeing the thermocline down 40 feet and in others it’s only 30 feet down. I just don’t think the fish are hungry. They’ll eat eventually, and when they do I suspect it will be lights out. For now, we have been picking away and covering water. Spoons and flies with something to impart some action have been the ticket, and color has been a range depending on the day or time of day,” he said.
Alan Nute at Winnisquam Country Store was on his boat in search of fish when we spoke. “The fishing has gone from good to very tough. This heat has things all messed up. I’m seeing thermoclines at 30 feet in some areas and 40 feet in others. The fish are tight lipped. We have been trying everything, but they are slow to bite. I can’t wait for things to settle down with the heat,” he said.
Jason Brewster at Brewster’s Bait and Tackle in Portsmouth furnished us with the following report: “The week we have been waiting for on the Piscataqua. Big fish, little fish, schoolies up and down. The stripers are back in full force hitting everything from clams to umbrella rigs! Got some great new plugs from Maine Fishing Inc. that flew off the shelves this weekend with a huge jump in pole rentals. Even lost one off the end of the wharf Sunday AM.”
Massachusetts:
Martha at Surfland Bait and Tackle reported about the weekend, “It’s been crazy, the number of people that are fishing. The fishing has been spectacular. We didn’t hear a lot over the weekend. I think a lot of the regular fishermen stayed home due to the heat. It’s weird, the water is warming up in the river, but the ocean water temperature dropped. There is a ton of baby sea herring around, which can make things tough. Sea worms and clams have been the hot bait, and eels at night. Tube and worm, Slug-Gos, Super Snax, and Albie Snax have been popular,” she said.
Pete Santini at Fishing Finatics in Everrett reported excellent striper fishing. “Striper fishing is on fire. Spectacle, Long, Castle, and Deer Islands are all doing great with tube and worm, Niner Rigs, and Rapalas. The pogies are still offshore. There has been some mackerel out at Graves and Boston light, but you gotta go early in the morning. The Vella Rigs (lighted bobbers) are working well at night. Rubber shads are good in and around the rivers. Flounder are still around and there are squid around all the piers. There are a lot of tautog around the piers and rock piles this year,” he said.