Fishing Report May 4, 2026

We are getting confirmed reports of fresh striped bass in Boston Harbor and the Merrimack River. A few warm days should warm the oceans up a bit and push more stripers further north. Trout have been stocked all over and anglers are filling their creels. Smallmouth bass are moving onto beds in southern New England and are actively hitting surface baits. Haddock are being caught, but the weather has been making the fishing tough most days. All the larger salmon lakes seem to be producing good numbers of salmon and rainbow trout on bait, spoons, and flies.

Maine:
Greg Cutting at Jordan’s Store in Sebago took time out from tagging turkeys to give us a report. “They did good this weekend. Guys were fishing off of Nassan’s Beach in deep water. They were trolling shiners three colors down over 115 feet of water. Quite a few guys are fishing off of Sanborn Point and picking up fish trolling bait as well. Most of the fish caught are salmon—a lot of fish, 19 to 23 inches. Not a lot of guys are jigging lake trout, but that’s probably because the salmon fishing is so good. I guess they are still catching browns over to Square Pond. I’m not hearing anything from Tricky, except from one guy who lives over there and said that hardly anyone is fishing it. I wish this weather would give us a break. I suggest fishing the north end of the lake for the next few days,” he said.

Tim Tower of the Bunny Clark Deep Sea Fishing in Ogunquit posted the following report on his website: “The fishing was very good. It could have been excellent, but the seas, wind and tide held us back from doing everything I wanted to do. The catching was very good to excellent. Landings were very good, bordering on excellent. Most legal fish landed were haddock, by far. I called the day at our normal departure time, thinking we had the bag limit for every person aboard. We were 5 haddock shy of the total boat bag limit. I also raised the minimum size for a while, thinking that we were catching them too fast. But this amounted to releasing only 11 legal haddock before I decided to go back to the regulations as they stand. Legal landings also included 17 cusk, 6 pollock and 15 redfish. Released fish, besides the legal haddock, included 10 sub-legal haddock, 9 small cod to 5 pounds, 30 sub-legal pollock, 2 sub-legal redfish and a wolffish. We anchored for every single spot. Bait worked best.”

“Jeff Corey (MA) was high hook with the most legal fish. The largest fish of his that I weighed was a 4.5-pound haddock. Fred Kunz (NH) or Phil Devereaux (MA) was second. I know how many fish Fred caught; he was just behind Jeff Corey. But I didn't get the total count from Phil as he wasn't counting his fish. His frequency of catch was phenomenal; he had quite a few bags of fillets and it was the most haddock that he had ever caught. This he admitted to me afterward. He's an excellent fisherman, but he has only been on the Bunny Clark one other time. I weighed a 5.25-pound haddock and a 4.75-pound haddock for Fred. Stanley Johnson (MA) won the boat pool for the largest fish with the largest fish, an 8-pound wolffish. His largest haddock weighed 4.5 pounds. Dave Symes (ME) won the boat pool for the second largest fish with the second largest fish, a 6.5-pound haddock. He also caught a 4.5-pound haddock and tied for the third-largest fish with a 5.5-pound haddock. Captain Bryan Lewer (ME) also caught a 5.5-pound haddock, as did Phil Devereaux. Bryan also caught two haddock of 4 pounds each.”

“Other Angler Highlights: Chris Spooner (NH), on his maiden voyage aboard the Bunny Clark, caught the largest cod at 5 pounds, two haddock of 4.5 pounds each and a 4-pound haddock. Rebekah Norton (ME) landed a 5-pound haddock, her largest fish. Matt Luce (ME) caught a 4.5-pound haddock.”

New Hampshire:
Tim from Tim Moore Outdoors/Lake Winnipesaukee Fishing Guide Service reported a busy week with lots of ups and downs in the weather. “It was a cold week overall. The full moon didn’t help the fishing any, but a few overcast days helped out. We also had a fair amount of wind to deal with. The salmon and rainbows are down anywhere from 5 to 35 feet, but most of the fish we are catching are 5 to 10 feet down. Yellows, pinks and greens are working well. Lots of neutral or natural colors. Both streamer flies and spoons are working. Highliner lures included AJ’s Custom Products Golden Demon and Salty Special streamers, and Governor Aiken and Smelt BB Gun spoons,” he said.

Alan Nute at Winnisquam Country Store in Tilton told us that he expects some great fishing on Winnisquam this spring. “They stocked 300 brood stock salmon in Winnisquam. The average size is 6 pounds. Once they acclimate to the lake, there should be some decent catches coming. Add to the 5,500 rainbows they stocked, and there should be some good fishing on Winnisquam this year. I saw that Sunapee produced a good number of salmon over the weekend. Winnipesaukee has been good when the weather cooperates. Copper/red and Governor Aiken spoons are starting to catch some fish, and so is the smelt pattern spoon,” he said.

Ki ant Dover Marine/Covered Bridge Sports reported a busy weekend with bass and trout anglers. “We have been super busy. There are haddock around, but very sparse. They’re using white bucktail teasers, sometimes tipped with sea worms. I’m hearing of a few flounder, but not many. They are mostly around the rocky outcroppings right now. Trout fishing is good everywhere and smallies are on beds in the southern part of the state and down in Mass. They are just setting up on beds, so they’ll still hit topwater early in the morning,” he told us.

Massachusetts:
Pete Santini at Fishing Finatics in Everett sent in the following report: “Flounder are getting thicker by the day as water temp rises and they get active. Lynn Pier, Lynn Harbor, Peddocks Island, Deer Island, Long Island are all starting to produce flounder, just in time for the annual Zobo Flounder Tournament on Sunday, May 17. Sign up at the shop, top 10 heaviest winter flounder win cash and a fried fish dinner. Stripers at both dams, Mystic and Charles. Herring are in good and bass are eating rubber shads, plugs, and Santini tube and worm. Rainbow and brown trout are being caught at Horn Pond in Woburn. Any day for mackerel.”

Martha at Surfland Bait and Tackle on Plum Island reported fresh stripers showing up in the Merrimack River. “We have caught some fish, and some nice ones. Most of the ones we have seen are around 35 inches and loaded with sea lice. Down at the river at low tide on paddle tails has been good. The weather has been a bit rough, so getting fresh bait has been a challenge. We have sea worms coming this week and should have clams too. They are picking up a few shad, but most guys are complaining that the water is too low coming over the falls. Hopefully, things turn around with the weather,” she said.