Fishing Report June 8, 2026
Stripers have made their way up into the Saco River area. Outside Portsmouth and Hampton Harbors, the Merrimack River, and Boston Harbor are all loaded with Stripers. Salmon and lake trout fishing has slowed a bit over the past week, likely weather related. There are still some trout being caught in cooler rivers and deeper lakes and ponds in central and northern New England. Mountain rivers are your best bet right now. Flounder are biting well and should stay in shallow for another week or two before they move to deeper water.
Maine:
Greg Cutting at Jordan’s Store in Sebago reported that the fishing was still good on Sebago, but like a lot of salmon anglers across New England are reporting, things have slowed down a bit. “I don’t know if it is fewer fish left in the lake, pressure, or some other weather-related factor, but people are reporting catching fewer salmon. It’s typical to have the fishing slow down throughout the season. That said, they’re still catching lake trout if you can find the bait. That seems to be the key, and there is a lot of bait in Sebago right now. Lake trout numbers were good over the past week. Some guys are trolling and some are jigging. They’re using a lot of bait, but most of the guys fishing deep are trolling hardware. The #1 DB Smelt has been good, and the Mooselooks and Northeast Trollers are starting to move more now. They’re picking up a few splake over to Tricky. Nothing huge and not the usual numbers, but the fish are there,” he said.
Gavin at Saco Bay Tackle in Saco reported lots of big stripers in the river that are beginning to head back out. “The stripers are in all the rivers, but they’re starting to move out a little bit. White paddletails, sand worms, and mackerel are all working good. Al Gag’s stuff is one of the hottest right now. Other than that, it’s been just bait. Eels at night and bait during the day,” he said.
Tim Tower of the Bunny Clark Deep Sea Fishing in Ogunquit posted the following report on his website: “The fishing was good, no better than that. The tide was too strong on anchor and promoted tangling. The tide was too strong to drift. Our best catching was completed on anchor. The catching was good on every stop except the last one. It was excellent on the last stop. Landings, overall, were very good. Most legal fish landed were an equal number of haddock and pollock. We could never have reached the bag limit for all the pollock we were catching. We did find a couple of spots where all we caught were cusk and, mostly, haddock. But in the afternoon, it was mostly pollock. Legal landings also included 36 cusk and four redfish. Released fish included three cod of 6 pounds or so, 12 small cod, 5or 6 cusk, 3 sub-legal haddock and 52 sub-legal pollock. We had the most success on anchor. Bait worked best for the haddock, Jigs and flies were best for the pollock.”
“I couldn't tell you who was high hook. Steve Laflam (NH) had the most fish, but he was given a lot of cusks. His biggest fish was a 6.5-pound pollock. I always expect him to perform as one of the best; he never disappoints me! Chuck Gramness (NJ) won the boat pool for the largest, a 14.75-pound pollock. This is the biggest pollock caught on the Bunny Clark this season so far. His largest haddock weighed 6 pounds. Chris Tankred (OH) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 12.5-pound pollock. This is Bunny Clark's second-largest pollock of the season to date. Chris also caught the largest haddock that he has ever caught, his second trophy in two trips. The fish today was a 7.75-pound Maine state trophy haddock. Mark Hayes (ME) landed the third-largest fish, a 10-pound pollock. This is a tie for Bunny Clark's fourth-largest pollock of the 2026 fishing season so far. The biggest haddock of Mark's that I weighed was 5.5 pounds. He might have caught a bigger one that I didn't weigh.”
“Other Angler Highlights: On the first stop, Lee Atherton (ME) and Jim Feeney (MA) caught their biggest haddock, each, of the trip. They were two of the first three fish boated today. Jim's weighed 6 pounds. Lee weighed 5.5 pounds. Tom Zido (NY) caught a lot of fish. But his biggest haddock was 5 pounds. Garry Golden (NY) boated a 6-pound haddock and a 6.5-pound haddock, his two biggest haddock. Aidan Maguire (MA) landed a 6.75-pound cusk, his biggest fish. Phil Ashe (NY) caught two haddock of 6 pounds each, his best fish. Dave Robitaille (NH) caught an 8-pounder, his biggest fish and the largest cusk of the trip. It's also the second largest cusk of the Bunny Clark fishing season to date. Eric Blair (WI) caught the largest haddock of the trip and the largest haddock of his life, an 8.25-pound Maine state trophy! Not fifteen minutes later, he caught another trophy haddock of 7.5 pounds! Dana Ferrande (FL) also landed a Maine state trophy haddock. Dana's weighed exactly 7 pounds, a trophy by definition. He caught two other haddock of 6 pounds each. Dave Bagaley (NH) caught a 7.25-pound pollock, his biggest fish. Meredith Howard (NH) caught a 6-pound haddock, her largest fish.”
New Hampshire:
Tim from Tim Moore Outdoors/Lake Winnipesaukee Fishing Guide Service reported another slow week on Lake Winnipesaukee. “Last week was tough. We caught fish, but the downtime between fish gets old. It seems to be mostly lake-wide. I am hearing more reports of tough fishing than productive reports. Surface water temps hit 63 degrees, then fell to 61 degrees with more cool overnight temps. AJ’s single hook firesmelt streamer was my hottest lure. We have been catching a lot of lake trout down 35 feet over water 100 feet deep or deeper. It took a while to figure out what they were doing up so high, but then we landed a decent lake trout that had a salmon parr in its throat and more of them in its belly. Salmon are mostly 20 feet down, but with no thermocline, their depth can vary,” he said.
Alan Nute at Winnisquam Country Store in Tilton says that the fishing was hit or miss, depending on who he talked to. “Paugus Bay has been the hot bay this week. Some guys were down 2-3 colors of lead core and some guys are using spinners on downriggers. Orange is a hot color. The firesmelt fly has been selling good, so they must be catching fish on it. For spoons, BB Guns, Mini BB Guns, and Top Guns are all selling about equal,” he said.
Camden at Dover Marine/Covered Bridge Sports says that the rivers are warming up, but trout are still biting. “Your best bet right now is to head toward the mountain rivers and streams for better trout fishing. The big lake tributaries are fishing well. People are catching salmon and lake trout on tandem trolling flies in the bigger lakes. Brook trout fishing in the remote trout ponds is still really good. May flies, stone flies, and dragonflies are starting to go off now. Bassa are beginning to move off the beds. They are still chasing a lot of swim stuff, but finesse stuff fished a bit deeper is great right now. Southern lakes and rivers are getting pretty warm now. Northern New Hampshire trout fishing is lights out right now,” he told us.
Captain Les Eastman at Eastman’s Fleet posted the following report on their website: “Fishing depends on what boat (6/4/26, Thursday) The two all-day boats were extremely slow, zigged when they should have zagged. It was a late bite and before the boats catching them could get word to the other boats, it was too late. Marathon ended up with limits, Stan and Stacey had 60 between them, helping those who only had 10, lock and load the last 90 minutes of fishing. Three 6 packs had limits or at least very close, the few that didn’t limit had 12/13. I guess I missed a day, Wednesday, two mackerel trips split the day. Morning trip was very slow, just a handful, but the afternoon they did well, dozens per person. Next week is usually one of our slowest weeks of the year, transitioning into the tourist season, schools getting out and families moving to the beach, so best time to go. Fishing is still good, the weather is looking perfect and less crowds. It is also when reservations come in at the last minute, so always smart to book as soon as you decide to go. Summer is here, half-day haddock trips, striper trips and mackerel. We don’t start the Fireworks cruises until 6/24.”
Massachusetts:
Pete Santini at Fishing Finatics in Everett furnished the following report: “Plenty of mackerel from Nahant to Boston light to B Buoy. There are some big bass on the offshore ledges trolling live bait, X-raps, and mystic mojos on lead core line. Closer to shore along Long Peddocks, Gallops, and along Winthrop to the point of pines. Big bass are hammering Santini tubes at high tide to 2 hours out. Again, with lead core and in close, 9 to 12 ft. Flounder are still active at Peddocks, Deer Island Flats, and Hospital Shoals. Chum for better results and use Zobo rigs tipped with seaworm and sea clams. Don’t be surprised if you pick up nice tog, cunner, or seabass. Squid are just starting at Nut Island pier. Plenty of bass at both dams, Charles and Mystic River. They’re hitting topwater and paddle tails. The trout have gone deep, but are still biting at Horn, Walden, and Jamaica Ponds.”