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Fishing Report June 27th.
The rain has finally passed,the sun is shinning and the fish are biting....This pass week reminded me of last summer wth monsoon rains and brutal thunderstorms every day.Well lets keep our fingers crossed that the weather settles down a bit.The striper fishing has been very good in Saco Bay the past few days,we have had many calls recently of bass over 40".Fish out around the islands or beaches wth. live mackerel or pollock for the larger fish.....the water in the rivers are still high and dirty from the past weeks rain making it difficult to locate the fish.Our reel repair expert Ashley Dame said the bass were feeding heavily Thurs on mackerel along the Camp Ellis jetty...He said every other cast you had a fish on.Mike Lorrello of South Portland also reported good fishing at dusk around the rock ledges using eel's,to fish eel's effectively you take a 5/0 Gamakatsu livebait hook and start from the bottom jaw go up through the top jaw then come out one eye.Cast the eel out along the ledges and retrieve very slow.....when you feel a tap or bump lower your rod and give the bass a couple of seconds then set the hook..We should start seeing bluefish anytime now,Capt. Cal said some of the mackerel he was catching had scrapes on them so you know the blues are close by.The ground fishing has been good on Tanta's and Jeffrey's ledge,one customer fished North West Tanta's Fri morning and caught his limit of cod using 12 and 20oz. chrome cod jigs rigged wth. a teaser fly above(NO BAIT NEEDED).He also caught a half dozen pollock in the 30 inch range,they also hooked a few dogfish but said they were few and far between.....GOOD.The tuna bite is heating up wth the harpoon boats having a banner year,the fishing is the best we have seen in 10 years said one angler.The hot item this season is a 3 or 4 ft. squid bar rigged wth. Slug O's,pink or pearl are the hot colors.Troll these guys the same way you would a squid rig about 3 to 5 knots and 50 to 75 yds behind the boat..Pete and I won't be fishing this weekend do to his prior arrangements.He roasted 2 pigs on Thurs,did the duck dance in the beer tent Friday at the 27th annual La Kermesse festival(C'est le Temps)What a life......Hope to have a great report for you next week wth, some tuna hot spots and maybe some shark action to.......
Tight lines
Craig
Post Spawn-Don't Leave Any Rock Unturned!
Northern Jeffery’s 27 Cod 24-40” largest 31LB Jigging and then switched over to baiting for haddock 53 Haddock on clam bait the charter decided to call the trip for they had enough fish lucky for me we were back at the dock at 2:30 PM Did spot a couple Poor Beagles on the way out 0530 just inside of Long Hill getting some morning sun. More fish reports to come John Shusta Special J 06/20/09
Lots and lots of rain the past few days, but our customers braved the rain to send us a few photos and reports of Stripers busting out of Saco BAy during the incoming evening tides. Pods of schoolies (25"-30") over 50 fisherman were on the Camp Ellis Jetty last night seeing a
schools of herring busting right out. Swim shads and the Al GAg's poppers and Robert's new Peppy lure attracted a few schoolies to the rocks. Naturals on the Beaches are also producing large bass with Sea worms, chunk fresh mackerel,and clams. Herring below the Dam are fading out and the mackerel are taking off! Saco BAy and Portland. Pat Donahue saw many people catching the Macks off of Diamond island while operating the Bay View Lady in the Bay. Great time of year to take young children out for some fast action. Try the Mustad baby shrimp rigs w/ a 1 2 oz diamond jig as a stinger. Shad are slowing down.....stay close to the bottom below the dam..woo spoons and shad darts... Jefferey's is still hot with a mix of cod and haddock..Some guys swear to use a Berkley Gulp sand worm as a teaser, but Scott Mcintyre still swears by the clams on the rig and teaser.."If it aint broke, don't fix it!" Red teasers180-220 feet for market size cod and 300' plus for larger fish. Tantas is producing more cod with many guys pulling up 30+ cod. Try the Northern end of Tantas for shots at slammer pollock. Great reports of fish throughout Stellwagon and the souther end of Jeffrey's on trolled rigs..PAtrick Simmons broke in his new boat the Kelley Anne She managed to troll up a 82 inch 350lb tuna on Thursday. That should get everyone pumped up for this season!! Crew included Anthony Cook, Morey "Mudhake" Fontaine, Patrick and Brian Valle.
Be sure to update your permits @ hmspermits.gov check our related links for the site.
Also check out our new slug-go rigged spreader bars and Daisey chains. That were so successful last year. Hopefully we keep them in stock!
Tight Lines,
Peter
Craig,
On Tuesday's charter the East wind kept us in the river and we scraped up about a dozen Bass all nice fish on the tube. On Thursday we got out side and caught some Tinkers but the wind chased us back after a couple of nice fish, we ended up in the river and caught 15 fish on the tube. I was frozen both days when I got off the boat.................Calvin Fishing Report June 7th.
I have plenty of info for you this week wth. all the calls and e-mails from our fishing friends.The striped bass fishing is excellent now in the Saco river and also in the bay,my father and Butch fished Fri night out around Wood Island wth. pods of stripers busting large schools of small sand eel's.There was so much bait in the water that the bass were tough to hook.Butch caught a slot fish on a small popper that resembled a sand eel.Capt. Cal Robinson fished wth his wife Amy last week and did very well trolling a surgical tube around Twin Island and below the Narrows in the Saco,Amy had some fish to the boat that were close to 30 inches.Our expert reel repair man Ashley Dame has been slaughtering bass the past couple of weeks at a new secret hot spot using bloodworms fished on a sliding bait rig,he said he and his friends have been catching fish up to the mid 30 inch range.Ground fishing has also been hot on Southern Jeffrey's Ledge the past week wth a mixed bag of cod and haddock.Only a few reports of dogfish so that's a good thing.....The haddock have been hitting the red/white,purple,and dark green cod flies tipped wth a strip of clam or shrimp.Jean and Keith aboard Primate had a great day out on Jeffery's last week loading up on both cod and haddock.Make sure to bring your camera wth. you as the whales have have been putting on quite a show feeding on large schools of herring and sand eel's.The blue fin tuna season opened June 1st. wth. the commercial fleet harpooning fish on New Ledge,Jeffrey's Ledge and also Stellwagen bank.....we also heard of a couple of trolled fish caught on the North West corner of Stellwagen Bank.We have a good fishing forecast for the next few days and hope to have more reports from our local fishermen and guides to keep you up to date on whats happening here in Southern Maine....
Good Luck
Craig June 7, 2009
Wow, the last three weeks have been short of incredible. My guest have really been crackin the smallies. Catch rates have been over 30 fish a day and even broke that mark on a half day trip last week. We have had to travel north to still find them still spawning and actually found some beauties today (20 over 3lbs!) with one of my long standing guest Bill Bacon. Top catch this year is a 21" beauty caught on a shakey head. Majority of the Belgrade Lakes smallies are now in post spawn, but are still real shallow. They have taken up residence at the most local piece of structure next to where they have spawned. Which could be a dock, rock or drop. The best way to catch these fish is the wacky senko, topwater, and tube. The natural colors work best such as green pumkin, motor oil and black with red or blue flake. The thumbs were raw and now are callous. Tight Lines, John Blais, RMG www.belgradebassin.com June6,2009
It has been Crazy here in Saco with Customers and fish.. We are grateful for the loyal customers that have been coming in throughout the month. fresh mackerel, Blood and sea worms for the most have been the most effective bait this week. Cal Robinson reported catching a few fat keepers in the river near Marblehead on white shad and on the troll. hour before and a couple on the outgoing. Water temps in the Saco River close to 67 degrees. YArmouth Boatyard told us of seeing lots of bait and catching Stripers on a few poppers and slug-gos. Andrew MAbee caught the first 40 inch striper to win a St. Croix Rod this year. Andrew released his 42 inch back to lay a few more eggs.
Shad have slowed down by the dam, but we are still getting some reports of guys still catching them..Most of us have switched to the stripers.
Mike Bergeron watched the birds work on the sand eels at the mouth of the river. They threw everything they had with no luck until Butch Boisvert tossed a slug-go out to land a 24 incher. Fresh Mackerel can be found outside of Wood Island and off the pier in Casco and Spring Point. White sabiki rigs with a diamond jig yielded us the most yesterday.
Off shore still some positive reports out at Jeffereys with a shrimp on a teaser and a diamond jig. Clams are the choice bait for Scott Mckintyre at Jeffereys and another successful day for Richard Crause last Wednesday jigging up 20-25 pound cod with just a jig at Tantas filling his quota and tossing back small market cod. "Best day out there yet!" Not much haddock for Rich though. Plenty of reports and not enough time to get it out to you June 5th.. Plenty of Fresh Mackerel in the store if you cannot get out to your boat here in the store..hurry while they last or until I through them into Craig's trunk. Thanks. Peter
June 5th 2009
Boys:
Took Amy out today for a couple of hours, We had ten fish including these fat 26" bass. We caught them tubing and casting the Spro Shads. All the fish were keepers although I saw more 20 inch fish today than I have the last week or so. We fished two hours after HIgh Tide.......................Calvin May 30, 2009
We have been crackin the smallmouth the last couple of weeks. The spawn is in full swing and the guest who picked the early trips are getting rewarded. We are averaging over twenty fish an outing and often times putting over fifty in the boat on a full day. In some parts of the lakes the spwn is in full swing and others they are over. We taped/shot a nice show on Great Pond today with Cole Outdoor Productions. It should be airing by the end of this year. The best way to catch bedding smallmouth is by making really accurate cast at there beds with a tube or shaky head. Look for the glowing disturbed rings and cast to the center and then hold on! The other key to sight fishing for smallmouth is a good pair of polarized sun glasses which cut glare on the water conciderably. This will help you find beds and make those accurate cast! It will be a busy next few weeks, but looking forward to meeting new guest and seeing old ones. Tight Lines, John Blais, RMG www.belgradebassin.com Fishing Report May 30th.
Things were hopping at the shop as I was typing the fishing report Sat morning Richard was dancing around the bait freezers,angler's lined at the cash register buying clams and sandworms.Now that the rain has stopped and the sun is out the Saco river was busy wth. fishermen fishing from shore and the boat,the Camp Ellis jetty has been productive the last few days wth. bass up to 30 inches being caught.Try using cut bait(clams,mackerel)fished on a sliding bait rig wth. a 2 or 3 ounce pyramid sinker,also try some small rubber shad (white),Crystal minnows,and gag's striper popper if your not into the bait fishin...We still have good reports of shad action down below the dam in Saco,fish mid tide to high tide for best results.Use 1/4oz. Shad darts or our new Woow's Shad Spoons to entice emm.The offshore report has also been promising wth. many cod and haddock landed off of Jeffery's and Tanta's ledge.16oz. cod jigs rigged wth. a fly or Amazing worm teaser has been the winning ticket.....Don't feel like jigging all day try our cod or haddock rig baited wth. clams,squid or shrimp.This rig has been excellent on haddock the last couple of weeks.June 1st. is opening day for bluefin tuna,make sure you check over your gear before the bites on.....Look over your rods to make sure all the rollers spin free,check the reels and make sure the mono is still good.Then don't forget to check your tackle station for hooks,swivels,chaf tube,rubber bands,balloons,tuna bombs,fluro carbon,and so on....Many of our commercial fishermen friends are going to tuna fish this year wth. the low lobster prices and larger fish making a comeback in New England.Last season we saw large schools of medium sized tuna under 70 inches.well if these fish return this summer and fall we could have a descent giant season.....Keep your fingers crossed..
Tight lines
Craig
Saturday May 30th
I want to apologize to the two or three customers who drove up and found that we were not open yet on Saturday Morning...Blue Hull Jones Brothers I thought...I had a family emergency and Craig got there a little after 8..If you would swing back some time , we have a gift card waiting for you for your next purchase.. Sorry to ruin your morning..
Peter May 27th
Fished oqunquit. from 5pm till 7am. water and wind were good and light. water temp about 54. Bait fish were scooling along the rocks by the ball full. with large schools of stripers getting in from the bottom. From a high point on the rocks and clear water could see large schoolsm of stripers swimming north chasing the bait and ignoring most lures. caught a few in slot. kept one 24" tasted real good.
Paul Doucette May 24th
Well last Wednesday to today has had nothing but good things to report on the Saco River. First Dave Cook and the gang went after a few stripers chasing bait from Marstons Marina to Marblehead. Lure of choice was gag's poppers...I saw Cal out on the water the other day near the Dam with Jim Bollinger getting ready for their season. A few catches on white shad and slug-go's. Steve Martin was generous enough to let me use Game On to bring the kids fishing..Max landed a few shad while Megan was busy with her two foot twig. It did not take long for customers to come in and give us some more info and they were kind enough to tell us where they caught them.."In the water" . "5/22 @ Ferry Beach 2 keepers caught on chart./white Clouser minnow 24"
5/23 @ Ferry Beach 1 keeper 23 " caught on chart./wht Clouser minnow all fish caught on oncoming tide using a single handed retrieve". from Jeff Tucker.. Off Shore fishing has had some great luck on haddock and cod at Tantas.. Tom Zoney corrected me to say "some cod" at Tantas, but good size. Dave Johnson filled his cooler today at Jeffereys.175 feet on the first drop, dog fish, after that all haddock. A few guys will be out there Monday, Hopefully i will get a couple of filets from some of them!! If you do not have a boat, try the inlets at Goose Fair Brook, Sacrborough Marsh, Hills Beach side as well as Sandy Bottom outgoing tide. Do Not have a boat, but still need to get out there, we have a few good Captain's that will be Happy to show you the ropes this year and give you some pointers. Some of them will even go on your boat to set it up..
Have a Great Memorial Day. Say a prayer to all who are and who have served this great Nation. Thanks Again,
Peter
May 20th
Lots of action this morning and well into the afternoon. Birds were working the water throughout the Saco River. After catching a couple of shad at the dam with 1/4 oz shad darts, I towed in a friend to Marblehead with the "passing wind". We arrived to see a few other boats were launching. Some to put out their traps, one launching their docks and others going out for the first time. Paul Bois could be seen hooking up to a couple of keepers trolling tube and worm with the current. Steve Martin also repaired his boat at the dock with the help from Pat Donahue and the new gas e tech treatment we have at the store. Steve went out with a couple of rods and trolled white/red chin storm shad and a crystal minnow, both having success today. Matt Gardiner mentioned catching a slot striper in the Nonesuch river. Sea worms seem to be the choice of fisherman for the past week. JB Had some hook ups at his dock with sea worms in the current. A couple of customers reported New news at Tantas. Great success on cod. Market size and a couple of 10 pounders.
Craig has another report coming up before the weekend, but I had to mention this early. Good Luck this week and have a safe week fishing and boating. Don't forget! Check your safety equipment..throw rings, flares, Extinguishers,horns, etc..If we do not have it, we will get it for you in a day...i Hope
Peter
May 18th,
Word is that keepers are being caught in the river. Paul was in this morning and he ended up with a 21" keeper by UNE this weekend. He spoke to a couple other anglers who were as successful with there own 23" and 21" respectively. Another 21" caught over by the dam area of the river using surgical tube and worm.
Fishing Report May 16th.
As the water warms in the Saco angler's are having great success catching shad below the dam near the Saco Yacht Club.Try using a yellow/red 1/4oz. shad dart on a spinning rod rigged wth. light line 4-6Lb.These fish put on quite a show sometimes jumping out of the water several times.Local shad specialist Keith Hall,Matt and Ben Gardiner have been harassing the shad for a couple of weeks now,they say it's best to fish at high tide and the falling tide.Capt.Dave Guerard from York reported schools of stripers in the York river hitting on small rubber shad and sandworms,that means they are only a few days from reaching us here in the Saco/Scarborough area.We have had a few reports of holdovers being caught in the Saco river and the Scarborough marsh,I fished the Saco wth. a couple of friends Gary Bates,and Paul Dupuis last Monday and we didn't even get a nibble.Were gonna try again this Mon and hopefully I will have better news in the next report.Groundfishing has been good this pass week on Southern Jeffrey's ledge wth. plenty of keeper cod and haddock.The 14/16oz. chrome cod jigs rigged wth. cod fly or amazing worm seems to be the hot setup right now.....Purple,blue,and red/white have been productive this past week.Also make sure to bring some cut bait(clams,squid,shrimp)for the haddock....They love bait,use one of our haddock teaser rigs wth. a 10/12oz. bank sinker send it to the bottom then crank it off the bottom just a hair.......HANG ON TIGHT.Pete is launching the Megamalmax as I write this report,we hope to get out and do some groundfishing within a couple of days and give you an accurate report of what is happening on Northern Jeffrey's
Tight Lines
Craig
Saco Bay Tackle
977 Portland Road Saco Maine 04072 207 284-4453 May 15, 2009
A southern threat is found in the waters of Maine. Many fisheries biologist would indicate that Black Crappie is an exotic invasive and should be removed from any Maine waterbody where it is present. Well, I'm the type of person that takes advantage of a opportunity and that opportunity is a tasty meal swiming in the waters of lakes and ponds of Maine. Black Crappie are in the sunfish family and look like a cross between a largemouth and an over grown sunfish with distinct black markings and and a large paper mouth. Some folks would refer to them as crappie, papermouths or calco bass. The crappie is a spring spawner and are found in large schools in relatively shallow water. Often times they relate to some type of structure such as stumps, brush and humps. They will readily take small shiners fished on slip bobbers and will take a variety of small artificals such as grubs, tubes and spinnerbaits. Once you find one fish it can be non-stop action for long periods of time because of there schooling nature.
The crappie can be found in many Maine waters to include, but is not limited to Messalonskee Lake, East Pond, Granny Kent, North Shapleigh, Unity and Sebasticook lake. It is recommended that a minimum of a 11-12" fish be kept for getting proper filets worth cleaning and cooking. I like to cook my fish dipped in egg yolk and then rolled in breaded italian seasoning cook on high for 1 minute on each side in virgin olive oil. Serve with a cold brew of choice and some fries and life is good! John Blais, RMG 6 Vose Street Waterville, ME 04901 207-872-9688 Fishing Report May 10th.
Dan Gayer of Cape Elizabeth came by the store on Friday to report some shad in the Saco river just below the dam by the Saco Yacht Club...Dan said the secret weapon was the 1/4oz. Yellow/Red shad dart.You have to fish them wth. very light line(4-6Lb.),and if you don't catch bottom one in a while your not fishing them properly.Fishermen also reporting some stripers in the Saco,and Mousam river.....I think these are the hold overs starting to wake up as the water warms to 57 degree's.Our friends at the fish ladder in Saco said they raised the first bunch of herring last Wednesday so we should start to see some of the bigger bass move in as more bait-fish show up.The boy's down at the Saco Yacht Club were busy Saturday launching boats and fishing for the river herring off the docks.To catch these bait-fish you need a smaller fishing rod wth.a #6-8 Sabiki rig(wth gold hooks)and a 1 to 2 ounce sinker or jig on the bottom of the rig.Fish them where the water starts to slow down and eddy at the launch in Saco.Ground-fishing reports are still good but you have to fish on Southern Jefferey's ledge,the purple or blue are the teaser colors are hot this week.Capt. Cal reported slow fishing on the Northern edge,and a few angler's fished Tanta's last weekend and only caught small red-fish and cod..Tanta's usually starts heating up around the first of June.
Good Fishin
Craig May 9, 2009
The fishing today was a little better in the mid morning than it was in the afternoon. Many would think that the mid afternoon would be better with warming temperatures in the spring afternoon sun, but a front with serious weather- could change all predictions. My fishing partners where not all joining me until later in the day and fishing was better before they all arrived. The front arrived in the afternoon and the fish responed with "no strikes". We did manage a few bites with reaction type baits such as the jerkbait (soft & hard) and crankbait. The best bite again came on the spinnerbait burned along the surface. The key to the spinnerbait is to engage the reel as soon as it hits the the water to impart a fleeing baitfish which in turn creates the reaction strike! All in all, it was great day on the water with my fishing partners Peter Kallin and Charlie Baeder. They both did an excellent job under difficult changing conditions. A special note for Charlie, who was able to catch the largest bass of his life! Way to go Charlie. I think I was more excited than he was. Not many people can say they caught a legitimate 3lb smallmouth bass on one of there first smallmouth outings! Tight Lines, John Blais, RMG Fishing Report May 3rd.
Stripers are here,that's what we heard from several of our customers this weekend.Our good friends at Chevy's Bait down in Camp Ellis reported small holdovers caught off the jetty on the river side.Good news for all the angler's who have been calling the past couple of weeks looking for stripers in the Saco area.Paul Cote snagged a couple of alwives in the river on Sat Morning .Pete also reported herring down by the dam in Saco,he said some of the members of the Saco Yacht Club were catching them ......These guys make great bait for the bigger bass that should be here within a week or so.To catch the herring you need a Sabiki rig wth. small gold hooks and a 2 to 4 ounce sinker on the bottom of the rig.Toss the rig out in the current and jig it a bit,if the herring are there it won't take long to catch em.After you catch a few live line one on your striper pole,use a 6/0 or 7/0 Gamakatsu Octopus hook hooked through the nose or the pec fin....Hang on tight,big bass love herring.Ground fishing is still very good,most angler's are having the best luck down on southern Jeffery's ledge.Plenty of haddock are mixed in wth the cod to.Try using some clam strips,fresh shrimp,and squid for bait if your not into jigging all day long.
Tight lines
Craig May 3rd, 2009
Wow, has the fishing really heated-up this past week. With warming temperatures the lakes have responded very well with most of the main lake water temperatures over 50 degrees. That is the magic temperature for the feed bag to really come on before the spawn. The Great Pond Open was this past Saturday and the bags that came in where really impressive. The top bag weighed-in at whopping 26lbs for a eight fish limit-that is an impressive for a Smallmouth Bass only tournament. The team of Delashaw and Blais weighed-in a little over 20lbs for a seventh place finish out of thirty plus boats. The bite was on in the morning with a limit in the boat in the first half-hour of fishing. We found our fish on a small isolated sand/hard bottom flat that is a known spawning nursey for this Maine Guide. We caught and released over 25 fish in this one small spot throughout the day! The fishing was fast and furious as the smallmouth where crushing spinnerbaits burned on the surface. The only downfall was the size class was just a little too small for the tournament win. It was a great day on the water and my thumb is feeling the results of catching and lipping over thirty bass. April 29th
Get your rods out! we have the worms, and bait, and the SACO has the stripers!!!! Stripers are here. We just got a call this afternoon from Chevy's telling me that a couple of schoolies were caught by the Saco Launch. Check the dam as well, cormorants have been working the water as well as a couple of ospreys, and a bald eagle chasing fish along Marblehead boat launch. Keep an eye out and give us a call if you have any more to report!!!
Ken Foss reports great ground fishing on the Bunny Clark. Jefferyes still is the spot for some great haddock and some keeper cod. Ken came in second on the fishing pool the day he was out with a 26 1/2 pound cod. Beating him was a 51 pound cod. Tim Towers has been having some great days on the Bunny Clark , give him a call.
Tight Lines,
Peter
April 25, 2009 The weather has been awesome the last couple of days, but deeper cold water lakes are having a hard time warming-up with the cool nights and some rainy days. Main lake temperatures are still under 50 degrees on Lake St. Goerge in Liberty and that makes fishing for bass relatively tough. Had many follows today, but only managed 4 fish in the boat. The key to success today was the jerkbait in a warmer small section of the lake which was, seven (7) degrees warmer than the main lake, but still temperatures where still in the low 50's. Spring will soon be in full swing and the bite should be really on within the next couple of weeks. A note to you trout fisherman out there. Lots of folks where launching the "trolling boats" in search of cold water species such as brook trout and landlock salmon. It seems as though this clear deep water lake must be a good spot for nice cold water fish on a streamer fly such as a black ghost. Fishing Report April 17th.
The weather is finally starting to shape up here in Southern Maine,I glanced at the thermometer as I was working on the report and to my amazement it was reading 60 degree's at 7am.Well thats good news for the local anglers,we are waiting for the magic number 50 degrees.Thats roughly the temp we start seeing holdover stripers in the Saco and Mousam river.Capt. Cal Robinson swung by the shop Thurs to see what was going on,he's been so busy running his dogs he hasen't even uncovered the boat yet.That will change soon though wth the warmer weather approaching,we have seen many local guides thye last few weeks wth. their list in hand of items they need to start the season.Capt.Keith hall parked his beautiful Lund Alaskan in front of the store to sell,he's upgrading this season to a bigger boat so he can do more offshore trips especially for the school bluefin tuna that have really made a showing the past few years.I* have also had quite a few calls on the shad fishing,still a bit early to see these guys.Once the water warms a bit more we should get some reports of fish being caught below the dam in Saco.Capt. Ben Gardiner of Scarborough usually catches some as soon as there here,he gives us all the details when it happens.Ground fishing has been good the last couple of weeks,Capt. Tim Tower of the Bunny Clark had a great trip last week wth a customer catching a monster cod weighing in at over 50Lbs.Dan Kelley fished on the boat last week and caught many market sized cod and some a bunch of haddock to boot.Well thats a;ll the info I have right now but give it a couple of weeks and there should be plenty of fishing action to write about.
Tight Lines
Craig 04/11/09
Well I did not get my son Max out for fishing on his birthday today and I was hoping to give you a freshwater report. However, Maine Guide, John Blais who helped us at this years seminar,has been out a couple of times and had a few things to put down for us. John will be giving us updates for some bass fisherman in the Belgrade area this year..more to come. Happy Easter
Peter
April 12, 2009 Ice Out Bass Fishing: Many people think that smallmouth & largemouth bass are really a warm water fish species and many people don’t bother fishing for them until say, the Memorial Day weekend when at that point the spawn is in full swing and the fish are shallow and easy to catch. Well, I’m here to let the cat out of the bag! These fish species, both largemouth and smallmouth can be caught right after ice out and in relatively shallow water as you would expect to catch bass. There are just a few items that you need to pay attention to- making this all possible. They include the following: Water temperature, sun, flats and of course baits that you can only find at Saco Bay Tackle. Water Temperature: One would think that water temperature is just cold right after ice out, but on many lakes and ponds in Maine that is almost always untrue. Lakes & ponds are influenced by many physical and environmental factors that effect water temperature almost instantly after ice out. They include springs, inlets, outlets and bottom types. Without going into detail about anyone of these points, water temperature can differ in any of these locations and often times it’s the warmer temperatures that are going to hold fish. For example, one may think of a natural spring as cold water. Well, water coming out of the earth is actually warmer. I fish a natural spring in a pond in central Maine and see water temperatures as much as 6-8 degrees warmer than the main lake and this location always holds fish! So the short lesson hear is watch your temperature gauge and if you locate warm water you find fish! Sun: Many people reading the last paragraph may have said well that’s great, but I don’t have one those expensive fish finder things that indicate water temperature. The old way to make good guesses as to where the warm water is on a given body of water is the sun. Pay attention to the sun or where the sun would be (on a cloudy day). Most banks that receive the sun for most of the day will have the warmest water especially if that bank is related to a flat. Fish these locations and you will be pleasantly surprised. Flats: Is a flat something you would fish somewhere in the Florida Keys? Well, guess what, we have them hear in Maine and they hold fish! These flats are areas that have relatively constant depths usually around 2-4’ shallow expansive areas that warm up quickly. Every lake & pond in Maine has a flat somewhere. Find them and you will find fish on them or near them. This is the spawning habitat that they are staging to enter. Often times, they are really eating at these locations getting ready for the spawn. Lures/Baits: Covering water is key to this time of year. So I like to use search baits such as rattle traps, chatter baits and stickbaits. If you find concentrations of fish you could slow down with a jig or tube bait. The key to fishing any of these lures this time of year is to fish them slow. When I say slow I mean once you think you fishing slow enough, slow it down even more. The rattle type and vibrating type baits should move just fast enough to impart the rattle and vibration. This should feel like a slight bounce on the rod tip. Stickbaits should be swept this time of year instead of twitched. The stickbaits should be suspending type and can be often left alone to “deadstick” for as much as 30 seconds. Remember even though we are fishing the warmest water in the waterbody, it still cold and the fish are lethargic until you get one on and then its hold on! Visit Saco Bay and they can hook you up with right color and sizes provided by your local expert. Tight Lines, John Blais, RMG 6 Vose Street Fishing Report April 4th.
Our open water fishing season is finally here,anglers were out in full force hoping to catch some brookies or browns.The rivers and streams looked good opening day,the flow was normal and the water was clear.That all changed as of Fri Apr.3rd,the rain was heavy and hard all day....Gonna take at least a couple days before we can venture out again.The sea run brown trout fishing has been good on the Mousam river in Kennebunk,the fly fisherman had good luck wth. shrimp,and scud patterns.Guys using the light spin rods did well wth. small Rapala Husky Jerk baits, yoz pin minnows.Had a few guys heading offshore on Apr 1st. aboard the Bunny Clark,guess the fishing was good wth. a bunch of keeper haddock and market size cod.The week before Our friend Dan Kelly was on the American during our seminar. I guess that would be a good excuse for snubbing us. the boat had some great luck with haddock and a few cod. Dan won the pool with an 11.5 pound cod. Nows a good time to bring in your rods and reels in for service and line,before things get crazy here.In just a few weeks we should see some stripers in the Saco river,Capt. Cal is anxious to get the boat uncovered and ready for the upcoming season.This year at Saco Bay Tackle we are offering saltwater fishing classes, limit of 40 people for this. For more info and details please call the shop..(207)284-4453.
Tight Lines
Craig Sunday March 29th 2009.
We are only a few days away from open water fishing here in Maine,looks like the local brooks and streams should be flowing at normal levels.We are getting a bit of rain this morning but I don't think it will be that bad.We have a good selection of hard to find trout and salmon tackle to help you make your trip successful.Our good friend Dan Kelley fished aboard the American Classic on Saturday,can't wait to hear how the trip went.The last few times the boat has sailed they have slammed the market size cod. We would like to thank everyone who attended our annual fishing seminar Sat March 28th,again it was a fun filled day wth. great speakers and vendors.Ron McKee had an outstanding seminar on surf fishing(standing room only)at the end of his presentation he finished it off outside of the Clambake with a casting demo in the Scarborough marsh. Capt Joe Tufts(Rock n Reel),John Turgeon, Scott Smith and crew had a great hands on shark fishing seminar.Keith hall owner of Maine Coast guide service talked about canyon fishing aboard party boats which was a big hit,he also covered the school bluefin tuna fishery here in Northern New England. Al Gag Was his entertaining self in between Laughs he educated us on how all of his plugs are suppose to work and how to play them in the water. Again thanks to everyone for making our 2009 seminar a success again. New this year at Saco Bay Tackle we will be adding Summer fishing classes with. Scarborough Community programs,our first class begins on April 27th. and will cover surf casting in Southern Maine.For more information please call the shop.Before I let you go I heard the sea runs are biting in the Mousam river down in Kennebunk..A few locals that came up to the seminar said the fishing was good.I would like to post some sea run pic's if you have em.Send them to our website www.sacobaytackle.com or sacobaytackle@maine.rr.com with your name and a few words and we will post them...Good fishing.
Craig Fishing Report March 21st.
I can finally see grass in the backyard,wow what a long winter it has been.We were busy wth. friends and customers preparing for the upcoming season,Maine's freshwater fishing starts April 1st.So far the brooks and streams look good wth. not much run off,thats great for local anglers.Ice fishing is just about done for the season except for our northern friends,we talked wth. Capt. Mike Jancovic and he said the belgrade lakes still had 3ft. of ice.....wow.A few fisherman went out over the weekend to try for some sea run browns in the Mousam river,hopefully I will have good news in next weeks report.Since we have lost quite a bit of snow there should be a few fish in the river below Roger's pond in the pools.If your a fly fisherman try using shrimp,scud,and pheasant tail flashback pattern's.If your a spin fisherman a Mepp's or Panther Martin spinner should do the trick.We should have an offshore report in a few weeks wth. some customers venturing out for groundfish,Capt. Tim Tower on the Bunny Clark starts his trips on April 2nd.This is a great time to fill the freezer wth. fresh cod and haddock.Our annual fishing seminar is now only a week away,call the store for a reservation or more info.You can also go online at www.sacobaytackle.com
Craig Fishing Report March 14th.
Looks like our ice fishing season is coming to a close,talked to the smelt camps last week and most of them have pulled in the shacks.The warmer days have been chipping away at the ice,before you know it we will have open water.Anglers are having a great time up north fishing for some big pike on lake Sabattus.The bait of choice is large shiners and suckers fished close to shore.The pike are getting ready to spawn now and this is the time when the trophy fish are caught.We have been busy at the store answering the phone and replying to emails regarding our annual seminar.Looks like it's gonna be a packed house......This year we are going to have many new vendors and a great line up of local speakers.2 more weeks and our freshwater fishing season will open,we will have all our new products out and bait will be available.....Good Luck
Craig
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. Fishing Report Jan 24th.
The wind was howling Sat as I was working on the fishing report,we have a busy weekend ahead of us.anglers were busy buying bait Fri night and Sat morning for the 5th annual Horne pond ice fishing derby.The weather was mild early in the morning but temps started to drop as the artic air moved in.Anglers dealt wth. plenty of wind flags.Local anglers are slaying smelts in Bowdoinham,and Dresden.We have a listing of smelt camps on our website,give em a call.It's a great time,inexpensive,and fun for the whole family. Don't forget to put some of the smelt scent and blood worm potions (Bio Edge) on your baits when you are out there..Local angler Cody Petit caught a beautiful 26" salmon on Ossipee lake in Waterboro Fri,said there was little action besides his trophy fish.Local commercial fisherman have been busy catching Maine shrimp this winter,instead of buying frozen imported shrimp try these Delicious,fresh Maine gems.Don't forget to save a few bags for the freezer the cod and haddock love just as much as we do.Our seminar we be on March 28th at the Clambake restaurant is Scarborough.We will post a schedule of events on our website soon,you can also call the store for directions or more details.Check out our report next week for a listing of Horne pond tournament winners.Remember we still have after hour bait, but you need to call ahead to get a key.........Stay Warm.
Craig
..Jan 20th ...sorry to inform you guys, but the bait tank is locked up for the bait.. You can still get into it after hours call us to make arrangements 207 284453 call the shop and talk to craig to arrange us to get you a key for the tank...there are just a couple of pain in the balls, that screw up a good thing...Thank you again to all who have kepted the honor bucket going. it was a great feeling to have guys come in the next day and pay, and give us some great feedback to the fact that we could leave something out for everyone. we will still continue to have shiners, suckers and worms Thanks again, Peter
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(from John Shusta)
Craig
Sorry it took so long to get this to you.
Cashes Ledge was one of the best research trips ever aboard the Special J. The target species was Red Cod or what they might call Rock Cod or Kelp Cod, which were anywhere from 12-27 inches. This trip, for the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI), was to target these fish during spawning to find out what they are dieting on. Cod fish need a fatty type of diet to encourage spawning activity and the results of past trips to Cashes revealed this strain of Cod fish have been mostly feeding on crab lobster and krill. So, time to find out what they’re eating now when they are supposed to be spawning at Cashes!
We Left on Friday December 5th at 0430 and arrived and started fishing at 1037, which was a little later than I desired. We had a 20-25 knot NW wind at our stern the whole way there and when we arrive we fished in 6-10 fathoms of water with 5-8 foot seas about 6-7 seconds. It was a rough start, but it seemed that every drop we made produced the target species with the occasional ocean Cunner. We had to move several times to avoid massive schools of Pollock, which would strike half way to the 50 foot bottom - all this action kept our minds off the angry seas. We used Clam and Shrimp as bait and I swung a 12 oz Norwegian with a teaser and a 5/0 fly, the bite was on as soon as the hooks reached bottom. The great fishing was nonstop all the way to 1530.
We anchored for the evening and by midnight the wind turned around to the SE at 10-15 knots and the seas dropped to 1-2 feet every 11 seconds. By morning the wind was a dead calm and the air temperature was a balmy 55 degrees with seas of a foot or less. We started fishing again in the morning after washing down an inch of snow on deck and continued fishing and targeting just juvenile Red Cod - once again the bites were nonstop. We then switched over to get a control sample of White Cod on the outer edge of the ledge. These cod ranged from 5-25 lbs and it was also nonstop in 27-34 fathoms. With these Cod ran Monster sized Cusk (30 lbs) –unfortunately with the LOA Letter of Authorization we are not allowed to keep any by catch on these trips, So it is just another fish story! We stopped fishing at 1015 on December 6th after Graham and Jon of the GMRI called the trip after they had enough samples to compete their work back in Portland. I prepared a hot lunch for our ride back while my mate Dana Anderson of York took the helm.
We arrived back at the dock at 1437 and unloaded six 128 quart coolers chock full of Red and White Cod samples. Both Graham Sherwood. PHD and Jon Grabowski. PHD of the GMRI have worked on countless projects together but never got to sea together. They both commented that this will be a most memorable trip! Above is a photo of me holding a Red Cod and a White Cod which started running together once we drifted out of the kelp on top of the ledge. The Red cod are not the type you see inshore - they are almost tropical, orange rather than the normal brown bellies.
The special J will be running some trips to Cashes and Fippennies this coming summer of 2009 so if anyone is interested please get in touch.
Best regards
John
(Guest) Captain's Log
Fishing Southwest Corner of Stellwagen Bank (30 mi south of the NWC of same)
I took a vacation day yesterday to take advantage of the last few days of BFT season near Cape Cod and was a guest on Jeremy's boat 'Nina'; our crew for the day was Jeremy, Shannon (from the Epic Battle day) and myself
Launched @ 515am- short run 15 miles~ these seas were totally flat- calm!! Mill pond flat !! Whales & birds everywhere~ no schools of busting tuna at sun up~ only splashes of single breaking fish and all of them outside of casting range
4-5 line spread-
2 sluggos wayyyyyyyyyy back
2 deep divers down the middle
1 4-ft bar down the middle
We worked hard for the entire morning~ mixing up the spread~ playing with combos and outriggers and everything~ hearing reports on the radio of the charter boats hooking fish (some casting/ jigging/ some on black bars/ etc)
We trolled past boats and watched them hookup as we crossed the same water- frustrating
Our luck would improve through the guise of a 4 - line tangle....
Jeremy announces the tangle at
Just then the 50W starts dumping~ sluggo (type of soft bait lure)....waaaaaayyyy back (the lure must have been dropping deeper in the water column.......BAM! Set up
Fish wraps the motor bracket- hooks the transducer, we're in trouble......gaff shot....gaff shot....
Good gaff shot (right Jer?)~ tail rope job by me- 3-man pull onboard.......he's in the boat~ nice job crew~ taped out at 58" and probably over 150 lbs (substantially larger & fatter than the first fish boated way back on
We cleared the deck~ set a 4-line spread
We pass the camera around (these shots above).....whereby taking turns holding the fish and enjoying the moment
Jeremy's turn to pose-
BBBBBBBBBBBBBZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
The Tiagra 80W reel goes off beside Jeremy on the port stern rod holder~ fish hits the short deep X-Rap and surfaces on his first run
The boys set me up with the harness and fighting belt~ this 80W reel is a lot more powerful and heavier than the 50W to which I am accustomed~ a lot more fighting power and tons of drag strength
Of course, this fish had to put up a good fight that would last 30min plus~ and I was getting whipped as the young guys on the boat were PUMMELING me with 'girly-man' insinuations.....I responded by bringing the leader to the boat~ Shannon leadered the fish and Jeremy tail-roped this badboy- and we were able to lay the fish on the motor bracket (flat platform attached to the stern)~ taped him at 57" and released him for next year.
Time check- 1:
Wrapped up the day at
*these were the first few photos forwarded by Jeremy this AM- fat fish, or what?
*we got the whole day on digital video too....so, these fights capture the highlights of life on a BFT~ will forward once complete
Until next (slack) tide~
(Guest) Captain Rich Goodenough
Fishing Report Nov. 1st.
> Sunday Oct 5th, Emily Hockney, age 10 and Allie Hockney, age 8 report too
> much chop to go off shore, but in the visinity of Ram Island light in
> portland harbor there was excelent mackeral fishing of all sizes. Emily
> landed a "Mac" @ 16" where at on point rod and all were hung over the side
> bent completely under the boat. Suprisingly, Allie caught similar size
> pollac. They say to tell your readers that indian summer would be a great
> last chance to get in one more family fishing activity. Sincerely, Brian
> Hockney
tight lines guys
steven morse
The tournament was won this year by Team "Off the Rocks", captained by Corey Sherrill out of Barrington, NH. They won first place by weighing in a 446 lb blue shark on the first day of the tournament, and a 448 lb blue shark on the second day, for a total of 894 points. The current Maine State record for the blue shark is 451 lbs, so both of these fish were very close to being a new state record (which would have won them the $10,000 bonus prize, should they have broken the state record). They also won the calcutta (they were in both pools) as the 448 lb blue shark was the biggest shark weighed in for the calcutta.
Counting the prize money from both the tournament (about $2400.00...still haven't got the final numbers) and the calcutta (about $4000.00), they won approximately $6,400 in cash, as well as two Penn International 50 VSW reels on Penn International stand-up rods, which are top end sharkfishing tackle, retailing at about $1000.00 apiece.
Second Place went to Team Sea Monkeys, captained by Richard Robichaud and Jean Bealu out of Westbrook, Maine. They weighed in a 364 lb blue shark on day one, and a 415 lb lb blue shark on day 2 for a total of 779 points.
Third place went to Team N'Pursuit, captained by John Turgeon out of Saco, Maine. They weighed in a 405 lb mako shark on day two, for a total of 608 points.
Fourth Place went to Team Reel Addiction, captained by Mike Keegan out of Saco, Maine. The local boys weighed in a 345 lb blue shark on day one, and a 167 lb mako shark on day 2, for a total of 596 points.
Fifth place went to Team Malmax, captained by Peter Mourmouras out of Biddeford, Maine. The boys from Saco Bay Tackle Company weighed in a 447 lb lb blue shark on day two, for a total of 447 points.
Sixth place went to Team Sailfish, captained by Mike Perrino out of Freeport, Maine. They weighed in a 260 lb thresher shark on day one, for a total of 390 points.
Seventh place went to Team Unreel, captained by Phil Breton out of Wells, Maine, weighed in a 332 lb blue shark on day two for a total of 332 points.
Eight place went to Team Tuna Bound, captained by DJ Creswell out of Saco, Maine.They weighed in a 330 lb blue shark on day one for a total of 330 points.
Ninth place went to Team Lone Shark, captained by Steve Feinberg out of Dover, NH. They weighed in a 304 lb blue shark on day one for 304 points. They also caught a 270 lb thresher shark on day two, but were not able to make the weigh in before the cutoff time so it did not count towards their point total.
Tenth place went to Team St. Patrick, captained by John Murphy out of Pittsfield Mass, who weighed in 296 lb blue shark on day one for a total of 296 points.
Well I tried to make the best of the weather this weekend and land
some fish. I started Saturday morning, I headed out for mackerel it was
a bit foggy but that didn't stop us. We loaded up on mackerel in about
an hour with a little help form our chum bucket. We went on to find
some stripers, we landed one nice 30 inch fish and a number of slot
fish. I would have to say that the fishing is still pretty slow and will
hopefully pick up in this area in the next couple of weeks. The blues
have been scattered and a running on the small side at this time. I did
find an area where there was about 200-300 dead pogies laying on the top
of the water. There is a ton of bait in the area. Pogies, herring, baby
mackerel. In fact one of the stripers I caught last week had a handful
of shrimp in it. Well a week of good weather on its way should equel a
good weekend of fishing so hopefully things will really start to heat
up. Well tight lines for now.
Steve morse
Kennebunkport At your request I wanted to give you a report of fishing and boating for Saturday, July 26, 2008.
Plan "A" Goal - catch live Mackerel for use as live bait for Strippers.
Plan "B" Goal - Catch some rays after way too many days of rain.
Saco Bay Tackle Supplies:
1.) 4 quarts of frozen fish chum (used three)
2.) 4 tubs of frozen clams (used three)
3.) Plastic bottle of Herring Oil
Late Saturday morning launch from the Saco River Marblehead public boat ramp at 9:00 AM. at mid tide going for a low tide at approximately 11:30 AM. Not a cloud in the sky going for a 80 to 82 degree bright sunny day.
Anchored off of the upside slope on the SE side Ram Island among the lobster buoys in 25 feet of water. The current was running fairly strong to the SE into 30 to 40 feet of water.
Once the anchor was secured we dispersed approximately one third of the Herring Oil into the current with the aid of the engine (in and out of gear) in order to get a slick going. The first quart of frozen fish chum was in a bait bag over the side by 9:30 AM. We then proceeded to cut up the first tub of clams into tiny morsels as additional chum.
By 9:45 AM we had mackerel directly behind the boat in the chum slick. Tossing the clam bits into the chum slick made the mackerel go into a feeding frenzy. For the next two hours we caught literally dozens of mackerel with a six weight fly rod, keeping approximately 15 to 20 for live bait.
After the tide change we moved to the outside of Biddeford Pool along the rocks. We choose a spot where the surf would eventually crash over the rocks as the tide rose, with a calmer pool area separating various rock out cropping behind the first set of rocks. A solid anchor set is very necessary when exposed to the open ocean and backed up against the rocks.
We repeated an abbreviated chumming process at three different Biddeford Pool locations before casting the live mackerel close into the rocks. Using 17 pound spinning outfits and circle hooks we had slow but steady takes for a couple hours with several break off's as the hooked stripers made direct shots into and around the rocks. As is usually the case the best hook up came when the rod was in the rod holder.
No tournament trophies but a couple nice fish released at the boat.
Back at the boat ramp by 5:00 PM
incoming tide against rocks between Kittery and York.
7/17 - Jeffrey's fingers. Beautiful day, 5 foot swell. Drifted from 200ft to
360ft with 14oz Cod Jigs behind teaser bucktail flies (green, purple and
red/white - green outdid others 2 to 1). Several keeper Cod and 8 keeper
Haddock with a few small (but keeper) Pollock in the mix. Lots of whales, dogs
up top, no sign of Tuna.
7/18 - Water Temp 59 degrees. Jigged up loads of macks for livewell at 2KR then
headed for the shore for some Stripers. Caught a few slot fish on incoming tide
(still a significant swell from Bertha). Fished the back side of Isle of Shoals
for Stripers with no luck. Tried some bottom fishing about 2 miles east of
Isles with little success - few small Cod.
No sign of Blues, still loads of bait in Piscataqua
| Water Temperature (WTMP): | 65.3 °F |
| Water Temperature (WTMP): | 60.4 °F |
Air Temperature (ATMP):
58.6 °F
Water Temperature (WTMP):
57.7 °F
06/16/08
Fishing Report
Southern Maine has been blessed with bait like we haven't seen since I was young,silversides,mackerel pogies,river herring,and sandeels have invaded our bays and rivers.This large band of baitfish has affected our inshore,and offshore fishery from Casco Bay to Cape Cod.Local anglers fishing on Tanta's and Jeffery's ledge are reporting numerous whales and porpoise feeding on herring,tinker mack's,and sandeels.Tanta's is producing keeper cod,cusk,and redfish.Dad and Butch fished on the southern and northern edge of Tanta's on 6/13 wth many legal cod and a few cusk in the mix(NO DOGS). Try using a 16oz. silver jig rigged with a teaser fly ahead of it tipped with a strip of clam,or squid.Southern Jeffery's has had some excellent fishing the last few weeks,Peter Mourmouras and Chris Cantara aboard the MAD DOG caught numerous cod,haddock and wolf~fish using the new Shimano butterfly and Lucanus jig.Striper fishing in Saco Bay has been good with many anglers catching fish wth. tube and worm,drifting a chunk of mackerel or herring in the surf or casting small poppers and surface swimmers at the mouth of the Saco.Capt. Cal Robinson of Saco Bay Guide Service reported large schools of mackerel in the bay wth some bluefish showing up.Make sure you have some steel leaders,(lip Grippers) and pliers to take care of these toothy critters.Capt. Vince Miniutti reported bigger stripers off the beaches and islands around Saco bay,also Capt. Paul Bois said if you can't catch a bass in the Saco now better take up golfing because you can walk across them there so thick......Schoolie tuna action out on Stellwagen bank and south of P Town...get your squid rigs and daisy chains ready to catch some of these unbelievable fish.....Good Luck&Tight Lines.
06/03/08
Water Temperature (WTMP):
54.7 °F
New Moon
We Just received a large order of R M Smith plugs early Monday Morning! Good news is we are almost sold out of them in one day. Bad news is we almost sold out of them the first day. Hopefully we will have more of Ryan's Plugs in the shop. Do not be afraid to come in and see the other wood plugs from a few local builders: Al Gag's , lonely Angler, Tatoo, Mucci Glitter Plugs, Red Neck, Ocean, and many more...First 40 inch striper was caught below the Factory Island Dam by Phil Hussey of Biddeford while he was on Ripp'n Lipps. So Far chunk bait is working and schoolies are coming in chasing bait throughout the area. Steve Martin had caught small keepers on white buck tail jigs and small crippled herring . Good ol reliable tube and worm are working great trolling with the current throughout the Saco river. Lots and Lots of fisherman can be seen off of the Ferry Road in Saco at Sandy Bottom. i could not see what eveyone uses but chances are you would see clams and worms on the end of their line. Up on the Scarborough Marsh Pogies are spotted quite early this season. Lots of warm weather is starting to come in and that is bringing in quite a bit of fish. Earlier on during the week it seemed that there was so much bait the bass had quite a bit of feed and not too much competition. This week seemed to change things with water temp, and warmer weather and bigger bass moving in. Off shore the Macks were at Tantas, slow starts for a lot of cod fisherman , but deep water was the place to get some large cod. new cod and haddock teasers with purple and red buck tail seem to be working best. Some anglers from SOL took a trip offshore and tried the new Lucanus jig on some cod and haddock. Still waiting on their trip. Nick Masi went out with John Bergeron to get some cod and haddock and did quite well with just jigs, and cod bombs...no bait. Clams are still working well for Scott Mcintyre at Jeffereys. I guess it is safe to say the bite is on and I am not afraid to say that quite a few customers are still going out, charter guys are still getting call and reservations. Fuel is a major factor, but if fisherman are finding fish they will still go out the next day. We are just getting a little more selective on the locations to fish and going back to domestic beer to save money.
Good Luck to all this season, and thank you again for all of your support.
Peter Mourmouras
05/25/08
We still are close to the 50 degree mark making it difficult to find stripe bass on the beaches...the best chance is to go to the warmer water inlets in Scarborough, goosefair brook, up the Saco, and Mousam. Bait is still running and that is what the bass are chasing. Dave Cook and Steve Martin were in the Saco catching fish on Friday, but Saturday morning was quiet. Steve Martin called me later in the afternoon and saw some boats catching stripers on tube and worm from Marblehead to Cocktail cove. Kevin Grondin and I spent the afternoon on my new aluminum 14' "Passing Wind" at the dam catching 20"+ shad on shad darts with a ultra lite rod/reel. Great Time!!! Good news is bait is everywhere, whales out on Tantas, Jeffereys,
Water Temperature (WTMP):
49.5 °F
05/21/08
We just got some great news from Scott Macintyre that he was out on Jeffereys where he also caught a lot of keeper haddock using the new jitter fly glow eye. Scott also had a halibut with a cod killer and clams. LOTS OF WHALES! Shad Darts are working great at the Dam in Saco and Kevin Grondin found one keeper striper and a few 16 -18" with sea worms in the Scarborough Marsh. Outgoing Tide at Camp Ellis also with clams, sea worms,Yo-zuri Pin Minnow, white/yellow bucktail jig, and rubber shad!!!!!
Good Luck
05/20/08
From Capt Ben Gardiner:I ran a charter offshore on Sunday the 18th. We fished NE Jefferies in
anywhere from 180-350 FOW. The bite was slow I thought, but the haddock
we landed were all fat and healthy. There were a lot of short cod around
too, but we managed a couple keepers. Flies worked best. Pink and
red/white I regret to inform you that we also caught 5 dog fish. Never
seen them this early so it's not a good sign. The whales and bait were
everywhere but the fish seemed a little tight lipped. I have 3 trips this
week so I'll keep you posted.
Hope to see you aboard,
Capt. Ben Gardner
05/10/2008
Spring is here and things are happening in Southern Maine. Customers have been reporting good action on Sebago Lake trolling for salmon with smelt rigs. Anglers are also having good luck fishing brooks near the shop. Try Deep and Cascade Brooks for brook trout action. Use small Mepps and Panther Martin spinners to catch some of the bigger brookies. Saltwater anglers were excited to know that there are stripers being caught locally in the Saco and Mousam Rivers, as well as the Scarborough Marsh area. Try using small rubber shads, bucktail jigs, and sandworms drifting on the bottom for best results. All of which you can find in stock at the shop. Local angler Shawn Day called Thursday to report shad and herring action down by the Saco Yatch Club. Offshore fishing is also heating up with anglers catching thier limit of cod and many haddock off of Jeffrey's Ledge. Use 16/20 ounce lead jigs rigged with a teaser fly to increase your hook up ratio. If you are unsuccessful catching haddock with jigs, switch to clams, squid, or shrimp. Haddock love bait and easier to catch this way. Don't forget to have a shark rod out for Porbeagle Sharks that are attracted to your boat while offshore in the early season. Set rod with a 10 foot wire leader attached to a 9/0 Mustad (7731AD) hook baited with mackerel and send it 20 or so feet off the bottom. Leave your reel in free spool and have your clicker on. It's the right time to get your gear out and ready to go. Before you know it the mackerel will be running in the bay, commercial anglers will be harpooning tuna, and surf anglers slinging eels for stripers. We're all looking forward to a successful, and safe season..... Tight lines and stop by the shop for some coffee and chat.
05/07/08
bought stuff for haddock and cod from you today. Went to (5/7/08) West Cod Ledge #4 red bouey. Caught a bunch of Scalpin. Winds were low and perfect for our 18' boat outing. Can't wait to crush the Tuna in this boat.
05/07/08
recent report from Mike
Our three man party arrived at the north edge of Jeffries ledge at appx. 9 am. to light rain, 2-3 ft. seas and light winds blowing s to sw. We started out in 200 ft. of water with minimal success. after a moving a couple of times over 2 hrs. we spotted a couple of party boats and aligned ourselves with them in about 170 ft. of water. over the next three hours we caught pollack, keeper cod, keeper haddock and redfish. At the end of the day we had several cod and a haddock in the fishwell. We used Saco bay jigs w/ red and purple top flies and 16 oz bottom jigs with green or orange, the crippled herring also yielded positive results. My advice BRING YOUR RAIN GEAR!! MY gear was a life savor. and be patient, We were in a 22 ft. Grady White, and at times had to work a bit to keep the lines clear.
WE are planning another run on saturday weather permitting.
Just a little info for your website.
I'll stay in touch,
Mike boyd
April 28th 2008
We have had a great run of dry weather that has given us a chance to do some fresh water fishing in York County. This week the rain will mud up the waters a bit but bette now than June. We have had many calls from excited fisherman looking for stripers. I just heard of a few hold over stripers waking up in Scarborough, but I can tell you that the Portland water buoy read 49 degrees last Friday (surface temp) and the birds were working the water in the Nonesuch river early this morning. Shad will start to show up first in 50 degree water in the Mousam and Saco. Usually a good sign for bait to show is when Mother nature opens up the apple blossoms that is a good sign that the Macks start to show up in Saco Bay.
Off Shore Cod trips have shown some great size keeper cod. Dan Kelly caught a 41 pound cod on the Bunny Clark last week. And John Turgeon put in his boat and tested his lines over the weekend and landed some haddock and small cod. Lots of wind made it difficult to keep the lines straight, but they said they felt great getting out there. stop in to check out the new cod teaser flies we are making in the store....Lots of new items in the store if you have not been in for a while you will see a whole wall full of new products made for SBT and wood plugs.
The store was full of Turkeys on Youth day tagging over 17 adult birds over 18 pounds!! and we also saw over 11 birds tagged in the store this morning.
April 6th 2008
Just a quick note to thank everyone who attended this years seminar in Biddeford. It was a pleasure seeing everyone there hopefully you had a great time and getting some new and old information. I first wanted to thank all of our speakers: Striper Maine-iac Ron Mckee, Capt. Rob Odlin and Capt. John Shusta, Al Gag, Captain Keith Hall, Capt. Mike Jankovic, Apex Predator Program, UNH Tuna Tagging Program, and I want to Apologize to Gowan Marine for not having enough time for speaking about rigging up you boat, trolling, and live well baiting techniques....I also want to thank everyone who worked hard to get you as much information and product to that show all in one day. It felt like we were setting up for a concert and moving out for another show at the end of the night. Just a long day, but a fun one. Thanks again to Craig, Richard, Mike Bergeron, Butch Boisvert, Steve Gale (your Bud Bus Driver), Cowboy Ken Pouliot, SOL Member Steve Martin, and the guys helped clean up...i think I still owe you a couple of Beers. Also Thanks to my 8 year old son Max for video taping the speakers at the seminar. If you missed any topics, I will have dvd's available for you in the store that you can bring home to watch and learn, for a small donation for Max's College fund.
Let's move on to some fishing reports.....
Capt. Tim Towers on the Bunny Clark had to cancel his first two trips because of high gale force winds. April 3rd, Capt Ian Kenistan and Tim ran their first trip out for the start of the 2008 season.
"The fishing was good to very good for catching but only fair for landing legal fish. Most fish landed were cod including about a hundred or more sub-legal cod. Landings also included twenty-three haddock (thirteen were sub-legal and had to be returned), two legal pollock (unusual for this time of year) and two cusk. Most of the day was spent drifting but we did make a couple of anchor stops. Jigs, flies and bait all worked about the same with some gear working better on some spots than others. Jigs seemed to work better in the morning. " (Capt. Tim Towers) www.bunnyclark.com Today will be their first marathon trip...Good Luck.
Fresh water is going to be a challenge York and Cumberland areas that are opened up and flowing have been visited by a few customers with some small catches. Check the areas that have been stocked last fall for browns like the Mousam River, Ogunquit River, and below Skelton dam. There have been some spring stocking, but it has been in areas where the flow and waters have opened up. Check out www.mefishwildlife.com for stocking updates.
02/23/2008
Well we're only a few weeks away from our exciting all-day seminar. Pete and Craig are extremely busy with final preparations. Thousands of post-cards are being labeled and stamped as we speak. All 2008 product arriving on a daily basis. Craig has been building dozens of our Saco Bay Tackle squid rigs. We are still working on the schedule of events during this 11-9 all day extravaganza. Some of the scheduled speakers are as follows: Capt. Cal Robinson (Saco Bay Guide Services 207-283-0712) with great tips on how to rig your boat, Ron Mckee with extremely valuable info for striper fishing, Capt. Keith Hall (Maine Coast Guide Services 207-632-1061), Daryl Delancey from Redneck Lures, Capt. Mike Jancovic updating us in regards to new shark fishing techniques. There will also be information covering the Maine shark tagging program. We're extremely busy with reel repairs and service. So don't get caught with your boat ready to roll, but no rods/reels ready to accompany it with. Call for reservations so we have enough food and beverage. It won't be long now!!!!!!!!!!!!
02/03/2008
Just for a quick update. Our hours have changed due to the increase in ice fishing sales. We want to make sure we are here for your needs and requirements. We are available on Mondays, by appointment. Open Tuesday thru Friday 10-6, Saturday 8-6, and Sunday 8-3. We offer a large variety of ice fishing tackle. From sleds, sled covers, hitches, augers ( power and manual ), bait buckets, tackle boxes, fishing rods, traps, and much more. Shiners are still plentiful in our outside eel tank, available to you folks 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at $5 per dozen. Happy ice fishing!!!!!!
PS: ALL DAY SEMINAR MARCH 29TH AT THE NORTH DAM MILL. CALL STORE FOR RESERVATIONS AND MORE INFO.
01/17/2008
Hoping all your Holidays were wonderful. Another year gone by, and it's now just getting through the next couple months of winter. Ice fishing is going strong with this cold weather. We have a large inventory of ice fishing gear and still have bait outside available 24/7. We are officially open Thurs-Sun, however find ourselves in and out Mon - Wed. So feel free to stop on in and join us for a cup of coffee. Spring orders are beginning to filter in and remeber if we don't have it in stock, we can order it for you. REMEBER OUR SEMINAR IS SCHEDULED FOR 3/29. Call for reservations.
12/07/2007
Ice fishing tackle is now part of our inventory. Hand powered augers, gas powered augers, traps, hooks, ice grabbers, ect... If we don't have what you are looking for in stock, we'll order it for you. Once the ice is ready, we'll once again supply you with shiners set up in our eel tank, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. So come on by and take a look around. Discounted items throughout the store, and we have GIFT CARDS available in all denominations.
12/06/2007
First storm of the season has not stopped our customers from coming in and picking up some sale items for the holidays. Do not forget to bring in your gear for routine service or line..Now is the time instead of the middle of the season when reels can take up to 2 weeks!
Smelt Fishing is coming up. you can look on our link for tide charts in the area. Below is a list of rental spots:
You will find these towns on Map 6 of the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer.
Prudy's Smelt Camps
334 Cedar Grove
Dresden
207-737-8826
207-737-4553
Cell 207-458-9474
James Eddy Smelt Camp
Dresden Mills
207-737-2596
Cork Cove Camps
Dresden
207-737-8856.
Little Fish
Bowdoinham
207-666-5945
Riverbend
Bowdoinham
207-666-5945
Leighton
Bowdoinham
207-666-5551
Smith's
Richmond
207-737-4739
Sonny's
Richmond
207-737-8115
Hyde
Brunswick
(no number available)
Jim Worthing Smelt Camps
Rt. 9 Randolph
207-582-3199
Bark
Patten
207-582-4257
Jim'sQuality Bait
207-725-4090
10/19/2007 Guys are still calling for a fishing report and we still have lots to report. Kyle Gagne and Dave Dube landed a nice 300lb Bluefin Wednesday. Lots of Bait busting out of the waters from Saco Bay to Wells. John Bergeron and Kevin Hall took in a 62 in bluefin on live bait close to shore Thursday. in this foggy day, Andy Donovan landed a fat 41 inch striper near Wood Island also on live bait. Dave Johnson and I went out Thursday on flat seas and caught a few cod and small pollock. sea temp was 55 degrees and flat as could be. Great time to be in Maine. We tagged a couple of nice bucks in the store. After doing that I am heading out of the river passing a few duck hunters, seeing some fly fisherman and other fisherman trolling and having a little luck in the river, then i see bait and reports of tuna still jumping...A great way to end a summer season..hopefully we can still salvage another couple of weeks.
Peter
10/09/2007 report from Dave Johnson
:Check out the cod and haddock we picked up on TANTA's of all places yesterday (monday).......fishing was hot all morning, with lots of sublegal cod in surface temp of 64 degrees. We brought home 4 nice keeper cod, some nice keeper haddock, a big hake, and several nice cusk for chowdah.......
10/05/2007
Don't put away your boat and rods yet. This weather has kept pods of bait fish in the Mousam and Saco River and spike mackeral in the bay. Butch Boisvert was out Tuesday duck hunting in the Saco River and came across bluefish chasing peanut bunker. Steve Martin had some luck chunking herring inside of Wood island, and using artificial Port jude and other cast masters. Bluefish in the Mousam as well. so keep on tossing the plugs and get us some late season pics.
Frank Williams and his son Marc, and Ron Porter are still Shark fishing and brought in a 188 pound Mako and landed some big blueshark 9-12 foot males still on Tantas last weekend. Tim Swenson also had some luck with some makos in the same general area. Football tuna are still out there and close to shore. reports off of Goose rocks and Richmond are keeping fisherman busy.
Good Luck.
Peter
09/20/07
The Beaches May be empty in September, but it has been a busy in the water with a lot of action. Tuna and stripers have been exploding out of the water in Saco Bay and up in Casco Bay. Reports from Jack Salvasta, John Bergeron, Guy Bouthot, Bob Laflamme, Leon foster, have hooked on to a few from Wood Island and giants from Tantas to the other ledges close by.Capt. Paul Brady wrestled wth a beauty out on Tanta's Tues,the fish weighed in at 100lbs.If your casting at these breaking fish use shiny metal lures weighing about 4oz.Try the Crippled Herring,Point Jude,Hydro Metals,Butterfly Jigs,and Deadly Dicks for best results.Many anglers reporting hot action trolling squid rigs and daisy chains,Killa Tomato/Widow Maker/Rainbow/and Green Gas Foil are the colors of choice right now.Troll around 31/2 to 6 knots and hang on tight.......Captain Dave Johnson reported hot action on Northern Jeffrey's Tues morning,he slammed the cod and haddock using clams and shrimp.He was busy filleting his 8 keeper cod,and 18 haddock,surface water temp was 62 degrees and the magic depth was 170/190ft.Get there early as things died off by 11:00am.Striper fishing is as hot as it gets with little pressure from local anglers,try fishing Old Orchard Beach,Camp Ellis,Biddeford Pool,and Higgins Beach wth clams/cut mackerel/and sandworms.Watch for bird activity and have some small topwater lures ready to cast when you see a blitz close to shore,Gag's Popper,Lonley Angler,and Gibb's needlefish are sure bets.
Happy Labor Day. There are going to be some spectactular days coming up. winds are easing up, water is clear, and the fishing is going to be great this month.I can feel it!!!
Striper fishing should be at its best early morning or evening tides. Try OOB< FERRY Beach, Bidd Pool Bathhouse, Higgins Beach, and Goosefair Brook. Try chunking Macks or pogies, clams, and Herring. We have some new colors of Surg. tubes, glow, pink, Tinkie Winkie, or olive colors..don't forget to uses a worm on the end of your Tube. Blue fish are running 6-12 in the rivers, and islands of Saco Bay, Richmond Island.Keep an eye for the birds, use bright color poppers,and deep diving lures for best results.
GroundFish: Tantas has been producing some keeper cod on red teasers and crippled herring. Jefferey's Ledge has been decent too with some large pollock using chunks of clams, shrimp.
Tuna Tuna and Tuna have been seen but not caught when they are jumping. Most of the fisherman have been trolling and had landed tuna when there are no signs at all. If you see any jumpers, stay in the area and keep trolling after they appear to be gone. Dark rigs on overcast days and the bright rainbow pride and green in the sun.
Thanks again for supporting our little store. We are not perfect by any means, but we have tried hard to answer everyone and take care of our customers. Thanks for a great season! Eeven though it is not over, for most people it is just starting.
08/28/07
Gentlemen...
There were a total of 8 blue sharks, and one mako shark weighed in this year at the Downeast Maine Shark Tournament.
First place was team "Reel Deep", and the captain of the team is Phil Breton, from Wells. They weighed in a 291 lb blue shark on the first day (fork length 8' 8.5") and a 359 lb blue shark on the second day (fork length 9'4"), resulting in a total of 650 points (blue sharks count 1 point per lb), making them the winner of this years Downeast Maine Shark Tournament.
Second place was Jean Baulu's team (Prime 8) with a 268 lb mako shark, fork length 7'8", worth 402 total points (non blue sharks were worth 1.5 pts per lb).
Third place was Brad McDonald, with a 397 lb blue shark (thus, 397 points total). However, the big news of course is that Brad's shark is a potential new Maine state rod and reel record for blue shark (previous record was 391 lbs).
Fourth place was Team Isurus weighing in a 383 lb blue shark (fork length 9', 1.5") on day 1 for 383 points.
Fifth place was Team Bonnie Lynne, weighing in a 346 lb blue shark (fork length 9', 3") on day 1, worth 346 points.
Sixth place was Team Seagar, weighing in a 342 lb blue shark (fork length 8', 11") on day 2, worth 342 points.
Seventh place was Team K+C, weighing in a 336 lb blue shark (fork length 9', 0") on day 1, worth 336 points.
Eighth place was Team St. Patrick, weighing in a 332 lb blue shark (fork length 9', 3") on day 1, worth 332 points.
In the youth division, Scott Peacock from Team Ruth-Less won the catch and release division, landing and releasing 3 blue sharks unassisted.
8/22/07 Fly fishing update from Jon Hall at Higgins Beach , Jon caught his first 40 inch on a 9wt fly rod on 20 lb test. Using a black snake rig...Chart/white also working on the lower end of the outgoing tide. Hopefully jim Herlihy has not given up hope yet.
Stripe Bass are still hitting hard on tube and worm in the Saco. chunking is still working around the islands of Saco Bay. Gab Grabber and Ron Mckee's Have been a big hit in Biddeford Pool and Off Kennebunk Beach for Nate Wescott. He also managed to get a couple of bluefish off the Kennebunkport Jetty with a Gibb's Popper and a Lonely Angler Popper. Redneck lure that has been successful off the Rocks in By Richmond Island is the Bunker Colored Needle fish.
Big bbiat catching Big Fish off the rocks in York and Ogunquit. Incoming late night tides.
report from Matt Charland 08/23/07: I Work at the Navy Yard here in Kittery and today at dead low tide thousands of pogeys sufaceing in approximately 0-10 feet of water. Area must have been 60 yrds square. Just thought id write to inform if interested.
08/14/07
(Some Reports to Dave Johnson on Shark Fishing in the area)
I fished today. One tuna, then, one small blueshark, after that 100 dog
fish. I just keep chumming and wait till I spot a shark. Three days ago we
released a dogfish and a blueshark ate it.
We lucked out today and hooked one decent female blueshark, after many many
dogs.
Guys, the dogs are everywhere, its nothing new. I've heard guys surprised
they get them in deep water, it's always been that way, I catch them
gillnetting by the tens of thousands all the time. We fish 400 to 600 feet
all the time, and we get dogged up hard.
They will eventually subsise, they may even leave after a tide change or
wind change. They can be clear 2 or 3 miles away too.
The real question is what are they eating? I haven't jigged a herring all
summer and I'm out more than most. Are the dogs eating all the herring?
Also, don't kill them just for killings sake. It will never put a dent in
them. Kill them if you are going to eat them or sell them. They are a
valuable fishery in Mass. They fetch 25 cents a pound down in New Bedford
and the Cape. At the Portland Fish Pier its been 15 cents but that might go
up. We need a fishery to help reduce the numbers not just a slaughter.
By the way they taste good breaded and fried, just gut and skin them right
away.
Rob Odlin
F/V Maine Lady III
www.mainefishin.com
HI DAVE,
I ALSO HAVE FISHED 4 TIMES THIS YEAR...THE FIRST 3 WE WERE DONE IN BY HUNDREDS OF DOGS...BUT SATURDAY 8/11 WE FISHED 12 HOURS. THE FIRST 2 SPOTS ONE WEST OF JEFFRIES..AND THE OTHER EAST OF TANTIS ...FIRST BAIT IN THE WATER BOTH SPOTS TO SEE IF THE DOG'S WERE HERE 14 MILKES APART...THEY WERE...NO CHUM, OIL OR ANYTHING IN THE WATER..3 MINUTES BOTH SPOTS DOG'S...
SO I STARTED TROLLING FOR SHARKS WITH WHOLE RIGGED BLUEFISH...AND OTHER ASSORTED THINGS I HAD MADE..3 HOURS NO LUCK...THEN WE FIGURED WE WOULD TRY ONE MORE TIME FOR A DRIFT...6 HOURS NO DOG'S...ONE SMALL BLUE SHARK AND HAD ANOTHER LARGE FIN IN THE SLICK SHORTLY AFTER TAGGING THE LITTLE GUT...WHAT EVER IT WAS ???WE SAW OR CAUGHT NOTHING THE REST OF THE DRIFT...
SO I THINK WE CAN FISH THEM...WITH CHUM...GIVEN THE RIGHT SPOT...
THANKS RICK
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Air Temperature (ATMP): | 58.6 °F |
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Water Temperature (WTMP): | 57.7 °F |
| Water Temperature (WTMP): | 54.7 °F |
| Water Temperature (WTMP): | 49.5 °F |
anywhere from 180-350 FOW. The bite was slow I thought, but the haddock
we landed were all fat and healthy. There were a lot of short cod around
too, but we managed a couple keepers. Flies worked best. Pink and
red/white I regret to inform you that we also caught 5 dog fish. Never
seen them this early so it's not a good sign. The whales and bait were
everywhere but the fish seemed a little tight lipped. I have 3 trips this
week so I'll keep you posted.
Hope to see you aboard,
Capt. Ben Gardner
WE are planning another run on saturday weather permitting.
Just a little info for your website.
I'll stay in touch,
Mike boyd
You will find these towns on Map 6 of the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer.
Prudy's Smelt Camps
334 Cedar Grove
Dresden
207-737-8826
207-737-4553
Cell 207-458-9474
James Eddy Smelt Camp
Dresden Mills
207-737-2596
Cork Cove Camps
Dresden
207-737-8856.
Little Fish
Bowdoinham
207-666-5945
Riverbend
Bowdoinham
207-666-5945
Leighton
Bowdoinham
207-666-5551
Smith's
Richmond
207-737-4739
Sonny's
Richmond
207-737-8115
Hyde
Brunswick
(no number available)
Jim Worthing Smelt Camps
Rt. 9 Randolph
207-582-3199
Bark
Patten
207-582-4257
Jim'sQuality Bait
207-725-4090
There were a total of 8 blue sharks, and one mako shark weighed in this year at the Downeast Maine Shark Tournament.
First place was team "Reel Deep", and the captain of the team is Phil Breton, from Wells. They weighed in a 291 lb blue shark on the first day (fork length 8' 8.5") and a 359 lb blue shark on the second day (fork length 9'4"), resulting in a total of 650 points (blue sharks count 1 point per lb), making them the winner of this years Downeast Maine Shark Tournament.
Second place was Jean Baulu's team (Prime 8) with a 268 lb mako shark, fork length 7'8", worth 402 total points (non blue sharks were worth 1.5 pts per lb).
Third place was Brad McDonald, with a 397 lb blue shark (thus, 397 points total). However, the big news of course is that Brad's shark is a potential new Maine state rod and reel record for blue shark (previous record was 391 lbs).
Fourth place was Team Isurus weighing in a 383 lb blue shark (fork length 9', 1.5") on day 1 for 383 points.
Fifth place was Team Bonnie Lynne, weighing in a 346 lb blue shark (fork length 9', 3") on day 1, worth 346 points.
Sixth place was Team Seagar, weighing in a 342 lb blue shark (fork length 8', 11") on day 2, worth 342 points.
Seventh place was Team K+C, weighing in a 336 lb blue shark (fork length 9', 0") on day 1, worth 336 points.
Eighth place was Team St. Patrick, weighing in a 332 lb blue shark (fork length 9', 3") on day 1, worth 332 points.
In the youth division, Scott Peacock from Team Ruth-Less won the catch and release division, landing and releasing 3 blue sharks unassisted.
fish. I just keep chumming and wait till I spot a shark. Three days ago we
released a dogfish and a blueshark ate it.
We lucked out today and hooked one decent female blueshark, after many many
dogs.
Guys, the dogs are everywhere, its nothing new. I've heard guys surprised
they get them in deep water, it's always been that way, I catch them
gillnetting by the tens of thousands all the time. We fish 400 to 600 feet
all the time, and we get dogged up hard.
They will eventually subsise, they may even leave after a tide change or
wind change. They can be clear 2 or 3 miles away too.
The real question is what are they eating? I haven't jigged a herring all
summer and I'm out more than most. Are the dogs eating all the herring?
Also, don't kill them just for killings sake. It will never put a dent in
them. Kill them if you are going to eat them or sell them. They are a
valuable fishery in Mass. They fetch 25 cents a pound down in New Bedford
and the Cape. At the Portland Fish Pier its been 15 cents but that might go
up. We need a fishery to help reduce the numbers not just a slaughter.
By the way they taste good breaded and fried, just gut and skin them right
away.
Rob Odlin
F/V Maine Lady III
www.mainefishin.com
Boyzzzz....
Just a reminder the Captain's dinner is only two weeks away for the
Downeast Maine Shark Tournament. Many of you have already registered,
and we currently have 7 new teams in the event who were not in last year
(and last year we had 39 boats). So we are pushing a 50 boat tournament
now......
Couple things to be aware of, if you do not already know (it has been up
on the website for months):
1. We are using a point system this year (1 point for bluesharks over
8.5 foot forklength that are weighed in, and 1.5 points for thresher,
mako, or porbeagle weighed in). There will only be a SINGLE OVERALL
WINNER of the tournament this year......however totals the most points
over the two days of the tournament.
2. We are also running a 'lottery' this year (it's legal!). So in
addition to the regular prizes and cash for the winner, there will also
be a $100 and $200 pool that registered boats can enter into if they
choose (you can get into one, both, or neither!). The tournament takes
no money from this...100% is returned to whoever wins each pool. Bring
cash to the captain's dinner if you want to participate, as there will
be someone there collecting it and registering you in these pools if you
decide to get in. It is possible to win both the tournament, AND one or
both of the pools.
3. We have a 'Youth Division' this year, to allow fishermen to get their
sons and daughters involved in the sport of big game fishing. Any
individual who is 17 years of age or younger (NOTE: IT SAYS 15 YEARS OR
YOUNGER ON THE WEBSITE, BUT WE HAVE CHANGED IT TO 17 OR UNDER) and is
fishing on a boat that is
registered in the tournament is eligible to fish in this division. We
will award $250.00 in cash (as well as other prizes) and a nice plaque
to two individuals in this division: The youth who weighs in the
heaviest eligible shark overall in this division (blue shark minimum
length of 8.5 feet applies in the youth division), as well as to the
youth who catches and releases the most sharks overall during the
tournament. The number of sharks caught and released will be based on an
honor system, and has to be confirmed by the Captain of the registered
vessel on which the youth is fishing.
A shark weighed in by a boat to count towards the youth division will
also count towards that team's point total for the tournament...in other
words, if Team Spankbottom comes in with a 375 lb blue shark on friday,
and it was landed by a 16 year old on the team - who is also registered
in the youth division - then it counts towards him/her winning the youth
division, and the total points accrued for that shark will also go to
that team towards winning the tournament overall.
There is no additional cost to participate in this division. However,
YOU MUST REGISTER THE YOUTH AT THE CAPTAIN'S DINNER in order to fish in
this division.
Thanks!
dave j
August 10
Stripers around University of New England, schoolies taking on small gags poppers. Some fish coming on the beach near Parsons Beach. Rumor of some school tuna chasing bait on the beach near Little River Rock. Two anglers spooled in 15 minutes while trying to find striped bass. Nice stripers hanging off the rock piles, Biddeford Pool, the Graveyard, and Fortunes. They're hitting chunk mackerel and artificials, with a few being landed on flies. Mouth of the Dunstan producing good fishing, near the bottom of the tide on the sandbar, working the whitewater. Lead heads, poppers, and bait drifting out in the current is working best. School Bluefin Tuna in the Saco Bay area seen near Stratton and Bluff Islands, inside of Tantas, as well. Trolling is working and our squid rigs have been successful. Don't forget about the Downeast Shark Tournament in two weeks...
Tight Lines,
Peter
July 31st. Stripers are back in still chasing pogies in the rivers. Big news are the tournaments . Val Borg Landed the winning Tuna in the Bailey Island last Weekend. Fisherman have been keeping Craig busy building squid rigs 24/7. Black,green,purple, pink,and rainbow. hot colors!! We went out last Thursday to try out the rigs. Birds are a must to get the action going on the 9 and 13 inch squid. We saw quite a few shoties south of Tantas, and inside by Peaks and the flagpole. Sturdivant island Captain's dinner is Weds night with a lot of anticipation of the double grand prize and full boat entry. it should be an exciting weekend. Dogfish have kepted a lot of Captains site fishing and not putting bait in the water. We are working on a dogfish repellant in the store...turns out, they hate squid rigs!!!!!! Shark fishing has been spotty, just getting your bait deep is a challenge. try just chumming, then toss out bait when you see them. Good Luck this weekend,
Peter
Mike Mullen report...blue shark 7 foot this morning out at Tantas if you guys want to head out for shark.....deep water
July 23
Quiet week last week. Bait is still in the Rivers, but fisherman have been working hard to land slot fish. Chevy in Camp Ellis took a photo of a 42 inch striper off the jetty Friday. Clams were the weapon of choice. Kevin Grondin had luck with Herring in Pine Point, and a 34 inch Striper on live eels last night. Jim Herlihy has been having a hard time on flies in Pine point and was about to take up golf, but he has a change in plan and is going to try fishing the pool and Hills Beach side with a black fish hair clouser,with some red, lefty's deceiver, olive and white, incoming tide. Steve Martin has been working hard in Saco Bay and following birds for the bluefish. "slow this week". The Saco River and the bay has seen more success with chunking bait, but the Biddeford Pool area, still using artificials at evening high tide along the rocks. Not large but a few good hits off the rocks. Dog Fish are still on Tantas and eating our cod on the way up Sunday. We landed a few keeper cod with crippled herring and Nor. Jigs, without bait. Another halibut was caught on a red teaser with clam at Jeffery's. Captain Ben Gardiner reported his trip over the weekend "one of 2 coolers that were stuffed with haddock , cod, cusk, pollock, and even a nice size Hake. Only 6 dogfish too, so that is a great sign!! Easily over 20 keeper haddock on the day....and they were deep"
Tuna fisherman have been trolling with success. but it is still hit or miss. Green, rainbow, black , colors of choice. Craig has not seen daylight for 2 weeks repairing and creating new rigs. If you need some call ahead or check out the selection in the store. Consider the z wing to get thos rigs deeper for the giants that are settling in.
Sharks are also at Trinidad, a bunch were caught there recently. Blue sharks are there, but dogfish are still around. Keep checking your bait!
Preping for the upcoming shark outings. Make sure your line is fresh and reels ready.
Downeast Shark Tournament
August 24-25
Captain's Meeting August 23 at Saco Bay Tackle
Sign up now and stock up on supplies early!
Good Luck this week,
Peter
July 14th
Some Crazy thunderstorms have kept a few people off the water and in the store with some interesting stories and pictures. Last night Scott Macintyre dropped off a 32 pound halibut on one of Sea Wolfe's pink cod bomb. Every time scott comes in he tries something dfferent. "Never Hurts to drop something new out there!" So far we have Still been seeing birds playing the waters by Goose fair Brook, the islands and the inlets of Pine Point and Saco. Some Large Stripers are being caught in Biddeford Pool By the Bath House and By the rocks near the Coast Guard Station...Ron Mckee as ready to chew his arm off being in a sling for Most of the summer. he has been watching fish jumping and fisherman catching while he is watching through his spy glasses. After he explained to the police that he was watching fish and not the sun bathers, he reported that the bait was close to shore and mostly the early morning high tide had the striped bass hitting lures and his slug-go's by the sand bars. Blue fish are still in the river as well as the pogies.
Off shore President Bush will be trying his luck on some of Craig's squid rigs..Craig said these are the way to go. Bill Green will be on Phil Grondin's boat landing a Tuna with one of Craig's rigs. It will be On Monday the 16th 6 pm. haddock still on northern Tantas, some small Cod. Bunny Clark is still showing off some large cod, by working the ledges hard. Lots of herring on Tantas, but still lots of Dog fish. Keep trolling. John Tarbox got his first experience on a giant. "It kept coming up to the bait, busting water but stayed away." John later checked and found his stinger to have had some seaweed on it. Keep checking your rigs. So it may be a pain trolling for stripers, bluefish and tuna, but it is rewarding.
Have a great week. Tight Lines to all
Peter.
July 8th
Great job to Ben and Dana Sevigny of Biddeford for the offshore rescue of a fisherman! After spotting a flare, they proceeded to the spot only to find the fisherman in the water. No boat in sight or sign of any damage. A great ending of what could have been a terrible loss.
So far so good. the last few days of hot weather was just what we needed to get the bait and big fish moving. the cold front that came in slowed things down a bit, but it has picked up all up and down the coast. Blue fish are still chasing bait up the river and can be caught all the way up to the dam. orange gab's grabber poppers have been the hot bluefish lure and Yozuri orange/black hydro series are still the favorites.
Worms and clams still the favorite at Pine Point. The beach is doing well with the clams, herring and Macks. Tube and worm with the current and rocky structure at Biddeford pull with the wood Plugs. Water temp has been warming up to 64 degrees in Saco Bay.
Scott Mac has been having good luck on Tantas with clams and catching haddock. Keeper cod have been at Jeffereys.
July 1st.
i hope everyone is enjoying this great weather! This has to be the best june on record for all outdoor activities. Fishing is acting up and there is still bait coming up the rivers...Pogies!! Ben Gardiner caught some beauties in the Kennebec, but there are some bad reports up that way that it has been quite slow for the most part. Up By Harpswell, there is tons of bait all the way to the Penobscot, Buxport, Brewer. There are plenty of Fish in Camden and Rockland, but try to avoid the sailboats. Back Here the beaches are doing well at Bidd. Pool, Hills Beach, Higgins, Goose Fair Brook. Fly Fishing Has been picking up in the area. New flies to try are the tube flies from Wiebe's totally tubular flies.
Maine State Pier Hussey Sound, Portland Buoy, Lots of Macks....Blues are still around.
Finally Keep trying the Rivers...tube and WORM!!!!!!
Tight Lines
Peter
6/22/07
Blufish are here! , But the reports are stripers are also still in the river. A thirty nine 1/2 incher was caught out by the 17 marker by the jett of the saco on tube and worm...and there are pogies up and down the river. bluefish though have made it difficult to get fresh mackeral, but they are still out by the whistle and ledges. If you are fishing the jetty or Pine Point, stick with the clams and worms. Chunk bait and clams have been doing well near the islands and beaches. Rob Martin was Offshore last week groundfishing, and a probeagle chased the cod up to the boat....John Tarbox also reported the same while fishing bait off the ledges.
Good Fishing.......
6/18/2007
Another great weekend from reports from our customers...fresh water Panther pond were seeing bass with the rapala cd 7 gold. Yozuri pin minnows were catching small mouths in Durham off route 136.
Blue fish are starting to show up. Chris Ryan caught a couple near Wood Island. capt Keith Hall and Capt. Ben Gardiner caught some in Casco Bay. Just a little bit more fun added to this summers catch(stock up on the steel leaders and Yo Zuri Orange and Black Hy dro Mags..we may have a couple in Stock!!!!!
In the Saco John Bourgourlt gives this report:
Hi Saco Bay Tackle
Just thought I'd share an EPIC evening of fishing on the Saco last night.
We had 25 acres of stripers on the surface between UNE and Windmill Pt (the big open part of the river before Camp Ellis) at times I was seeing a 4-5 acre blitz. This lasted from 4-8PM catching a fishing every 2-3 casts 15-31". This was the best fishing I've ever experienced in the 5 years I've been fishing the Saco. What made last night great was the range in size, not just shoolie but slot and 30"+ fish were everywhere. These fish were only interest in Top water lures and preferred Gag's 3 1/2 schoolie popper, I was using the "blue head" but I don't think color would have mattered.
Only 4-5 boats got in on the action and those without topwater lures struggled, some tried skipping lures on the surface with success.
Have a good summer.
Joe
6/10/07
Great weekend for fishing in Southern Maine. New fisherman converted over from fresh water to salt water have experienced a 30 inch striper at the dam fighting on a 10 pound test line casting Port Jude Lure. He came back set himself up with a nice baitrunner and st. Croix Rod!
Mackerel are out there...Lots of them, then to follow are the big Stripers. You should have plenty of luck up and down the coast. Off shore has been loaded with Bait, but the ledges are still having signs of fish but not too much size to them yet. We went out Friday and Had the best luck with the Wolf fish. Cod were small but we had a half a dozen of Haddock. Lots of Cusk.....We do have knife sharpeners for your knife after you are done.
Pete Presby reports 8 am.. Mackerel and Adult pogies in 20 feet of water outside of goosefair brook. Watch for birds. As fast as it came it went just as fast. play the outgoing tide.
Paul sends his notes
05/31/07
Hope eveyone had a safe weekend. Some troops stopped in the store over the weekend to get some bait. I was overwhelmed by the attention and grateful people that were thanking them and giving them words of encouragement. Next time you see a soldier, give him/her a big handshake and a thank you. Back to fishing. Last week the Sevigny boys and Rod McDonald returned some keeper cod out on Jeffrey's. quite a few reports of bait on the ledges. My kids were catching the big horse mackerel outside of Wood Island until they got their rigs tangled up, then the fight started, then the hooks went flying, so I thought it would be best to haul up and leave the rest for someone else to catch. Stripers are still up and down the Saco, with little size to them. We still have the reel for the first 40 inch in the store. trolling the tube and worm, bubblegum, orange, and red tubes. clams are catching some on the surf, but the inlets are still your best bet while the bait is still running.
Paul Doucette left this info for us last week: 5/23/07 Fished Parsons Beach. Maine. High tide out 1 hour. Caught 1 Striper 19.5 inches 7:30pm Caught 1 Striper 16 inches 8:10pm weather cloudy. Spotted one seal in the river for about 2 hours
GoMOOS Buoy B01 - Western Maine Shelf
Current Conditions:
Last update: 05/23 8:00 PM EDT
Wind speed: 10.0 knots
Wind direction: NE
Wind gust: 11.5 knots
Wave height: 2.2 ft
Period: 10.7 sec
Air temp: 49° F (9.5° C)
Visibility: 1.6 nm (1.8 miles, 3.0 km)
Atmospheric pressure: 1028.49 mb
Water temp: 51° F (10.4° C)
5/26/07 Fished Rocky Ogunquit south of the beach about 2 hours into high tide going out with low tide being about 2:20. Fished from about 9:30 am till 1:00pmAction was good catching 8 fish between 15 and 18 inches and my first keeper of the year 25".
GoMOOS Buoy B01 - Western Maine Shelf
Current Conditions:
Last update: 05/26 4:00 PM EDT
Wind speed: 4.7 knots
Wind direction: NW
Wind gust: 5.5 knots
Wave height: 1.4 ft
Period: 8.0 sec
Air temp: 68° F (19.8° C)
Visibility: 1.6 nm (1.8 miles, 3.0 km)
Atmospheric pressure: 1013.36 mb
Water temp: 57° F (14.0° C)
Thanks Again,
Peter
05/12/07
Well, the stripers are here!!!! Shad are here!! Cod and Haddock are Here! Mostly small schoolies, but they are here. Reports of stripers and shad in the Mousam. Chartruce flies, and white bucktail jigs, cast masters. Small peacock tail fly with a little red tip. Saco River and Marsh are seeing small schoolies and catching on worms and small white rubber baits. Yo-zuri crystal minnows and small lonely angler poppers will have great luck in the Scarbrough Marsh. Shad are hitting 1/4 & 3/8 red white and yellow shad darts. This great week of warm weather have moved the baitfish in and fish to follow. A handful of fisherman went off shore for cod..clams, squid and shrimp were the popular choices. Salmon are still hot at Sebago, as well as lake aurburn. Remember size does matter. So when the big fish show up, switch to big baits. Big fat and lazy, is no way to live, unless you are a striper. So make those large Redneck needle fish big Al Gag or Gibb's lures a treat for the monsters.
Good Luck
Peter
04/26/2007
We currently have bait in the store/ clams,macks,herring and sand worms in next week, just like the stripers.
Holdovers in the saco are still tough and early due to our high water run off. Once the temp in the water picks up and the spring runoff goes down it should start to pick up and pick up fast. York and kittery reported a couple of catches, but still quiet be patient. Sea run Browns are plentiful in the mousam with Yo zuri pin minnows, panther martin, and mepps.
If you can get off shore, Scantam and Northern Jeffereys have had great success with market size cod and keeper haddock. Bait of choice are the shrimp and clams. Tim Towers has been a great source of information and has been booking trips. www.bunnyclark.com . Also check out the Ugly Ann. Jean Young is also another great source and head boat to spend the day on.
Captain Ben Gardiner has been providing us with some great pics of salmon from Sebago Lake. Also try Lake Aurburn Trolling smelts, Streamers..miss Sharon, grey Ghost, Senator Muskie,
Good Luck, and keep us posted if you have any news.
Thanks
Peter
10/25/06
Hunting Season Starts Saturday. We have the ammo and other supplies for the hunting and trapping season.
Still some schoolies hanging around the river and beach. Also some sightings in the casco bay area on Tuna jumping after mackeral.
Fly fishing for salters in the Mousam and Ogunquit River is picking up. Try scud and shrimp patterns, (olive,Brown,Pink). Spin fisherman try yozuri pins minnow and panther Martin spinners.
10/11/06
comments: Craig, not sure if you heard that on sunday,
Dave Cook,John Cook Steve Reese and myself hooked up to a thresher that jumped out of the water 2x. We had him to the boat but did not take him. She was about 5 and a half foot. ALso John cook caught his first blue shark. There was alot of activity in the water. We saw another shark in the slick and think it was a small mako. But not sure with that one
10/06/2006
Garon Mailman and Mike Keegan landed a moster mako in some deep water last saturday at 430 lbs with a big belly full of bait. John tarbox also hooked up the same weekend to a mako, and thresher. Still some time to get out there this weekend. Suppose to be some good weather. Platts and Jefferey's are getting cod and haddock back. Stripers are still on the beach going after clams and mack, herring, try leaving the herring on the hook whole.
Good Lures to use: Yozuri crystal Minnows, Bombers long A Montauk Mikes Big mouth poppers. Flies Lefties deceivers(olive/white, mackerel pattern Black 1/0 clousers. York and Kittery are seeing pogies, bluefish, and stripers last weekend. Macks are still in Saco Bay, so there still should be some stripers on the islands. Troll deep divers, Rapala's, yozuri surface Cruisers. Orang needle lures. Lonely angler, salty's, or Al Gags
Good Luck
Peter
09/25/06
What a great Month!!! and a great place to live! Hunt in the morning, tag your deer here, fish in the afternoon, get your bait here. Well, I want to thank everyone for supporting Saco Bay Tackle this year and making it a successful fishing year. (even though we had to work a little to get the big one) There is still action on the beaches and mackeral are out in the bay. Customers came in with stories of using live macks around the islands and cathing some 25-35 pound stripers. Whole mackeral and herring are effective, cast out and slow retrieve the bait. Eels are having success at dawn and dusk ont the beach. Sharks are still waiting for you on Shark Grounds, Trinidad, and deep water on Tantas. Tuna have some company with dog fish swimming all around them. If you can get your bait pass the dogs, fisherman are having luck on the peaks and Tantas. We still have a few good weeks. Don't waste it watching football, get out there!!!!
New Maine record. Angler Steve York with the 1st place 628 lb thresher shark caught aboard Captain Bob Soucy's boat the Holiday I with crew Mike Soucy
09/12/06
BLUE FISH ARE IN THE BAY AND THE BIG STRIPERS ARE OFF THE BEACH 20-30LB RANGE..AGAIN, THEY ARE USING CLAMS AND HERRING. HERRING HAS A HARD TIME STAYING ON THE HOOK, LITTLE TRICK CAN BE USED..RUBBER BAND ON THE BAIT. SOME GUYS TRIED IT AND IT WORKED WELL. A COUPLE OF HOOK UPS ON TANTAS OVER THE WEEKEND. A LOT OF SIGHTINGS ON THE FOOTBALL TUNA AND SOME GIANTS MIXED IN. REPORTS ARE THAT IF YOU RUN INTO A SCHOOL TROLLING, KKEP YOU MOTORS ON, AND DO NOT CHANGE DIRECTION TO CHASE THEM, LET THEM COME TO YOU. BLACK AND GREEN SQUID STILL SEEM TO BE THE POPULAR TROLLING TOOLS. CASCO BAY SHARK TOURNEY HAD GREAT SUCCESS WITH HOOK UPS ON THE RADIO ALL DAY SATURDAY. FRIDAY WAS SLOW WITH FLAT SEAS, BUT SOME SHARK WERE HOOKED UP. 628 POUND THRESHER CAUGHT BY HOLIDAY ON MIKE AND SOUCEY'S BOAT POTENTIAL STATE RECORD WITH A ROD AND REEL!!!!!!!!!!! CONGRATS TO ALL. THREE OR FOUR MAKO WERE BROUGHT IN ALSO. A GREAT DAY BY EVERYONE AND A JOB WELL DONE BY THE CREW!!! KEEP AN EYE ON NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC FOR AN EPISODE FILMING THIS WEEKEND WITH SOME GREAT FOOTAGE OFF THE MAINE COAST.
09/05/06Thanks Peter, My friend couldn't go so I stayed close to home and
fished the outgoing down the Kennebec (a few small schoolies). I did OK
with cusk on clams on the steep side of an inshore hump (88 down to 200
feet over a very short distance). Nice chowder future with a total of 7
fish the smallest about 4lbs and the largest 10 or so. 2 short cod, reds
and bergals in the bait stealing mix. Lots of spike macs schooled
around with little molestation though a few blues were spooked sunning
on top 3 miles off. One "fin" was assumed to be a small blue shark. Do
tuna ever cruise slowly on the surface like that because that was an
awfully small fin? Thanks, John
08/30/06
Blue fish are bubbling the waters in Saco Bay......You need to watch for the birds, in one day and out the next...Deadly Dicks' and shimano butterfly jigs, and tourmentor jigs are working well casting into the school....
Casco Bay is also having good luck with the Butterfly jigs and working the small football tuna. Seas will be rough till Monday so concentrate inside the bays and in the rivers. Stripers are still on shore at Biddeford Pool, Old Orchard and Saco. Clams, herring!!!!
Good Luck Anglers!!!
Don't work too hard
Peter
08/18/06
Still time to sigh up for the down east Shark Tournament this Wednesday, an the Casco BAy Shark Tournament Sept 7th. Call the shop for details. Thresher and Blueshark are still being caught in deep water towards the Gulch, and Tantas, and Trinidad. (Dave Triggiani.) Jeffreys has had some luck with haddock and keeper cod. Matt Gardiner Kristen K hooked up and landed a 60lb football on a Saco BAy black squid rig!!!!! Heading out towards Trinidad. Keep an ear out for Giants on Jeffreys. Jim Wilson Reported, One of his Blue shark was attacked by a large Mako as they were releasing it. No luck landing the MAko though. That was also in Deep water.
Bluefish trolling out towards the whistle and near Richmond island. Stripers are also still around on the beach and on the islands. Clams and herring. Mackerel as you know are still scarce, Good Luck this Weekend!
Peter
Another Late report for Saco BAy: Sorry
August 14th: Stripers are still hitting on clams and Herring off the beaches in OOB, Higgins, Bidd Pool. Trolling with the surg. tubes & worm are still working in Pine Point and the Saco River. Bluefish are in Saco Bay in the 5- 8 pound range. Tantas had some Blue shark and some small cod. dog fish were on the ledge, but none in deep water. Lots of fisherman trolling for tuna with daisy chains and spreader bar squid with some hookups. Platts ledge has had lots of action for Big Blue shark and Mako. With the warm water, we have even had reports of Fluke and Halibut down toward Kennebunk and outside of Wood Island!!! Drop us some e mails of any pics or reports out there.
Thanks
Peter
July 25th 2006,
Three 40+ stripers stopped by the store last weekend. One 38 pounder was caught off the beach using clams by Jamie Hulit, the other two were caught by the crew of shockwave, using mackerel. Ed Snell brought in a 1.5 pound cunner at 14 1/4 inches this may be the new state record!!
A couple of fisherman hooked up with some huge male blue shark on Jefferey's Sunday. also there was a Thresher caught north of the same area....(in the water). Ground fishing is producing large cod on Jefferey's and some good catches on Tantas Ledge. Dog fish are still the main catch for the tuna fisherman who are anchored up. Trolling has seen some success with Pink and blue dotted squid rigs, and the creamcicle Around Monheegan . Also try the cedar plugs around 4 knots on the second wake.
Mackerel seem to be coming back from vacation in Saco Bay, bluefish have made a small appearence in Saco Bay, but have been seen in the Kennebec with some size to them.
Good Luck
Peter
July 2, 2006.
Sorry , late report. It has been busy tring to keep up with the stock and Bait in the store......Because guys and Girls are catching Stripers everywhere!!! Pine Point, Saco, Beaches. Big ones and schoolies. Mackerel are still working well! Calms, worms, and Artificials were being used by fisherman in the river and on the beach. Yo zuri Crystal Minnow. Atom poppers, and Storm Shad bait. Macks were here..now they are very hard to find. Pine Point and to where the Saco whistle use to be..(should return after repairs). Tuna have been seen and caught near Portsmouth...and signs of the footballs were busting out of the water outside of Richmond Island. Don't forget to look into the seminar page of our web site if you want to participate in upcoming fishing tournaments. That is all for now. Try to get a spot on the Jetty or the Scarborough Marsh and River. Happy 4th!!!!!
Tuesday June 6th. The Mackerel are here!!!!Customers are catching mackerel off the Camp Ellis jetty in Saco using sabiki jigs,and tinsel rigs.Also reports of macs in Saco bay.Better catch them while you can before the bluefish show up.Big strpers are feeding on herring below the dam in Saco,try using large rubber shad bodies,or swimming plugs to catch these large stripers.Groundfishing has improved the last few days out on Southern Jefferies,try fishing in 250/300ft. of water for best results.On the freshwater side of fishing local guide Steve Berry reported good action on Moosehead lake this past weekend,he said the nymphs,and stone flies proved productive for the trout and salmon.All the fish that he kept were chock full of smelt.Make sure you bring a head net cause the black flies are thick.
Sunday June 4th. Congrats to Justin Tijerino for catching the first 40+ striper in Saco!!!! This Beauty weighed in at 28 lbs and was 42 inches. Caught by the dam around 10 am using live bait. this fish had a belly full of alwives. The saco and other rivers are running muddy with the recent rain, but there are still hungry stripers and shad being caught. White Calcuttas and the other 3 inch rubber baits are working great. Sandy bottom has had great luck using clams and sea worms. Hills beach side and Saco Jetty has plenty of space for more fisherman!! Scarborough river and Marsh is having the same luck...Keep trying the artificials! Mackeral are coming, Some fisherman have had sightings at tantas, Jeffereys, and closer by the Whistle.
Saturday May 20th.. Reports of Small stripers are being caught in the Scarborough Marsh. Slugos, white shad and sea worms. Saco River is still running muddy, but that is not scaring the fisherman or the stripers away. Everyone is having luck with sea worms and also the 3-4 inch trans lucent, white, and neon storm shad.
Cal Robinson came in with a beautiful 6 lb salmon from Sebago. (somewhere in Sebago).. Hope we get a sample.. Best of luck to everyone...Have a great week.!!!!
Friday May 19th
comments: High tide- two hours past May 18
Fished by the bridge on the hiking trail on the Scarborough Marsh (Pine Point Rd). I didn't keep count, but a good guess is 30-40 small Stripers between two of us. 10-19 inches.
The bait of choice was 3" gray STORM rubber shad.
I was fishing with JB and his boy Seth last night on his dock from 7:30pm to 8:30 pm. The river is still muddy but we managed to land 11 schoolies and one eel. Of course the eel, unlike the "mystery fish" wouldn't fall off my hook. To make matters worse, it twisted itself around my fishing line before I finally released it. What a friggin slimy mess! Dan Dallaire.
May 17th,
Well, they said we need the rain but c'mon! reports from the pier at Camp Ellis from Mike Mullen, Stripers were being caught, on the pier by the boat ramp. Worms were successful with the 18" range. One large one snapped a fisheman's line. He Probably was using last years line. Try using the new Momoi's Diamond Hi-Catch!!! (wink wink). Once the waters clear up, There should be a high success rate in the Saco River and the Scarborough, ...Cod have been caught off shore with some size to them according to the "Bunny Clark".
As always. Call the store for a daily report..800-499-4453
Thanks Peter
May 3rd...Shad caught in the Mousam River but the rain has chilled the rivers back to 42 degrees. We should be fine after the water clears and the warmer weather returns Friday.... keep the reports coming!
May 1st 2006,
Turkey Hunters Have had a successful youth day tagging 16 birds at the store. Today 23 have been tagged by noon.
Great action for Hen Clams at Old Orchard and Bay View. The beach was full of clammers Thurs Fri and Sat.
Dick Piney From Portsmouth went out Sunday and Picked a meal of Fiddleheads..Signs of warm weather ahead. This week of warm weather should warm the waters. Local anglers have been hitting the Mousam and Saco in search of Shad. No word of any catch yet. Last Friday's water temp at U N E was 45 degrees on the incoming tide.
April 17th
Mackeral and other bait are spotted going up the scarboro river and at the mouth of the Saco... Stripers are right behind them. Garon Mailman said he saw a fisherman catch a striper off the rocks in Camp ellis. Water still seem too cold, but it may be sooner than we think.
Fresh water fishing is quite active at Lake Auburn with live bait on the bottom for some big touge. Salmon are still tough to get, but Sebago lake is having some luck. Hope to see you in the store. We will be going 7 days a week starting next Sunday!!!! all of our bait will be in full stock Thursday April 20th. Good Luck..Peter!
Fishing Report for March 31st... The Stripers are Coming!!!!! One of our customers claims he was breaking in his boat for the season and threw out his lures and caught himself a 28" Striper in Portsmouth. Looks like they will be in early!!!
Fishing Report for March 28th.....Thanks Again for making the seminar a great success and to kick off a great season!
Craig
“The Saco River has been ice-free for a long time. One great place to try early in the season is at Skelton Dam, both right below the dam and just above, where both brook and brown trout are taken. Deer Pond in Hollis, Ossipee Lake in Waterboro and Long Pond in Kezar Falls should also be good bets for early season trout action. As for rivers and brooks, we’ve heard that the sea-run fishing locally has slowed down considerably, but we’ve got some local brooks that should be stocked before the opener, one in particular, Deep Brook in Saco should be a good bet.”
Something that may come in handy for some of you this summer.....
You should wear a fileting glove ( steel mesh ) when fileting any fish, a glove can save the day and maybe your fingers.
The following illustrations are with a fileting knife. Using an electric knife is much faster and easier. If you decide on an electric knife get one with a pointed tip.
| Step 1 | Fileting a Striper starts by holding the fish and making your first cut with a 45 degree angle behind the head, down to the back bone. |  |
| Step 2 | Cut along the back bone with a slight downward pressure, feeling the rib bones when you reach the end of the rib cage extend the knife all the way through the fish while still holding down against the backbone.If the striper is not too large ( This works better with an electric knife ) you can cut all the way through one half side starting at the head and through the rib cage bones all the way to the tail. On larger fish it may be easier for you to cut one side off completely before starting the other side. |  |
| Step 3 | Continue until you reach the tail. Don't cut through the skin at the tail. |  |
| Step 4 | Flip the fish over. (It is easier if you get both sides started before completing either side.) Make the cut along the head on this side the same as step 2. |  |
| Step 5 | Cut along the dorsal fin and backbone on this side the same as step 3 |  |
| Step 6 | Continue to the tail the same as step 4. |  |
| Step 7 | Using the forward curved part of your blade, slide it along the backbone until it reaches the skin at the tail end of the fish and until it reaches the ribs on the head end of the fish. |  |
| Step 8 | Slide the blade part of the way up the ribs on the head end of the fish. Then cut the skin pulling the filet away from the fish. *Do not cut the skin where it is attached to the tail. *On Large Fish it can be easier to cut off at the tail than filet side. |  |
| Step 9 | Flip the filet over the tail, using the attached skin to help hold the filet stationary. Position the filet at the edge of a cutting table, so that the knife blade can be held parallel to the table with part of your hand below the table. |  |
| Step 10 | Slide your knife blade along the filet maintaining slight downward pressure on the forward part of your blade to keep from leaving too much meat on the skin. |  |
| Step 11 | It is at this point bag the filets and you are off to the house with your iced down catch of striper filets. Once you get home, remove the filets from your cooler and finish the preparation process by removing the center red vein and all associated red meat from the filets. You will find that a cold (not frozen) filet can have the center vein removed simply by separating the white meat from the vein by hand, leaving two nice filets of nothing but white delicious meat. A small knife can be useful in removing some layers of unwanted red meat. |  |
| Step 12 | If you are fileting your own striper and wish to finish the process all at one time, do the following. With red vein streak left in center of filet, cut all the way to the cutting board. Be careful to follow the red meat closely so as to not lose the white meat. |  |
| Step 13 | Cut the same way along the other side of the red meat. |  |
| Step 14 | Your filet will now be in two pieces. |  |
| Step 15 | Trim the remaining red meat that you missed from the fileting process. |  |
| To keep that fresh taste without freezing for a few days before cooking: a. Wash the filets good and put them in a sealable refrigerator bag. b. Place the sealed bag in a bowl, covering the filets with water. Get as much air out of the bag as possible. c. Fill the bowl the rest of the way with ice cubes, making sure the bag is completely covered with ice. d. Place in the refrigerator. Replace ice as it melts. This keeps the filets as cold as possible without actually freezing them. The fish can still spoil, so cook them within a few days. Wash them thoroughly again before cooking. To freeze your filets for a future date: |
Feb. 13th 2006
NORMAL WEATHER IS BACK FOR FEBUARY. JUST IN TIME FOR THE FET 7th ANNUAL ICE FISHING DERBY AT LITTLE OSSIPPE LAKE. IF YOU HAVE NOT TAKEN YOUR KIDS ICE FISHING, THIS SUNDAY IS THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO.. COME IN TO THE SHOP AND SIGN UP FOR THE TOURNAMENT UNTIL FRIDAY THE 17TH. OVER THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS IN PRIZES ARE BEING GIVEN AWAY. NASCAR FANS DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY. THERE WILL BE A LARGE SCREEN T.V. SET UP TO GET UPDATES ON THE RACE. SACO BAY TACKLE IS ALSO OFFERING SOME OF CRAIG'S COOKING AT THE SACO BAY TACKLE TRAILER ALONG WITH SOME LAST MINUTE SUPPLIES. CALL THE SHOP FOR MORE DETAILS. 284-4453.
NOT TOO MANY REPORTS ON SEA RUNS, WE NEED SOME FEEDBACK.
WADLEIGH'S POND AND OSSIPEE LAKE HAVE BEEN GETTING SOME GOOD LUCK WITH CRAPPIES. TRY USING THE SWEEDISH PIMPLES OR 1/32 PLASTIC AND 1/16 WITH SHINERS AND NIGHT CRAWLERS.
WE ALSO HAVE TO MENTION OUR SEMINAR MARCH 25TH. CAPTAIN CAL ROBINSON IS WORKING ON THE DAYS AGENDA, SO WE WILL PUT A SCHEDULE UP AS SOON AS WE CAN.
SIX MORE WEEKS TILL SPRING !!HANG IN THERE, AND SEE YOU NEXT MONTH. THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR GOOD WISHES AND SUPPORT.
PETER MOURMOURAS
Nov. 16 2005
Things have been very busy the past couple of months at Saco Bay Tackle,as you may have heard Peter Mourmouras,and I, Craig Bergeron have recently purchased the business. This is very exciting for us,and have many many changes and new products to share with you. We will be stocking rod building components,threads, epoxy, and rod wrapping machines. We will also carry a few new lines of product such as Montauk Mikes, Moosalamoo, and Cape Cod Fisherman's Workshop lures. We are open to any suggestions as in what products,and services that could help us and our customers, feel free to drop us an e-mail or call as at 1-800-499-4453. Patrick Donaghue, and David Belisle are new additions to the store, both have good knowledge on inshore and offshore fishing. David is one of our custom rod builders, and designer. Feel free to call him on any questions regarding rod building materials, components, and blanks.
1/12/2006
We are also planning on bringing back the Spring seminars on March 25th with Captain Cal Robinson. We will have discussions on Stripers, Ground fishing, Shark and Tuna Fishing. Saturday March 25th at the McArthur Hall on 30 Adams Street Biddeford. If you would like to make reservations please call or e-mail us. We are also going to have instore rod building classes this winter. First class is Jan. 17th with David Belisle. This class is full but we will have another 3-4 weeks after. If you are interested, please contact the shop.
This weeks forecast of rain and warm weather has created some dangerous ice. Please use caution when going out next week
However the fresh flow of waterwill provide excellent sea-run brown trout fishing. There's been some pretty nice fish stocked in our local waters . The Presumpscot, Mousam and Kennebunk Rivers have been producing. Also, Keep an eye on the Salmon Falls River in South Berwick. The state has been stocking this area with brown trout for a couple of years. Captain Ben Gardiner sent us some great pictures of sea run brown trout he caught in the Presumpscot river using a black ghost last fall. Try using a light spinning rod rigged with mepps spinners or a Yozuri pins minnow for best results. If your a fly fisherman try using scuds, or shrimp patterns. We will have worms in stock, but no shiners. Feel free to drop buy the shop for new items of Ice fishing supplies from augers, traps, red hooks, braided line ,florocarbon, and much more.
Our customers are the best source of information to keep this fishing report page accurate. It will be my job to get this report out to you as quickly as I can. Please keep the reports coming in by e-mail or by phone. 1800 499 4453.
Capt. Cal Robinson from Saco Bay Guide service on Bayley Hill hunting park, has been busy this past month guiding hunters for trophy bull elk.Anyone interested in booking a hunt can call Cal at (207)283-0712,or (207)205-1130, prices start at $1200.00 and these are truly impressive animals.
Check out our website when you get a chance, we have updated our online store and will have a full line of products in a couple more weeks.We will also update our fishing&hunting report every few weeks to keep you updated on local sporting activity.
This weeks forecast of rain and warm weather has created some dangerous ice. Please use caution when going out next week
However the fresh flow of waterwill provide excellent sea-run brown trout fishing. There's been some pretty nice fish stocked in our local waters . The Presumpscot, Mousam and Kennebunk Rivers have been producing. Also, Keep an eye on the Salmon Falls River in South Berwick. The state has been stocking this area with brown trout for a couple of years. Captain Ben Gardiner sent us some great pictures of sea run brown trout he caught in the Presumpscot river using a black ghost last fall. Try using a light spinning rod rigged with mepps spinners or a Yozuri pins minnow for best results. If your a fly fisherman try using scuds, or shrimp patterns. We will have worms in stock, but no shiners. Feel free to drop buy the shop for new items of Ice fishing supplies from augers, traps, red hooks, braided line ,florocarbon, and much more.
Our customers are the best source of information to keep this fishing report page accurate. It will be my job to get this report out to you as quickly as I can. Please keep the reports coming in by e-mail or by phone. 1800 499 4453.
Capt. Cal Robinson from Saco Bay Guide service on Bayley Hill hunting park, has been busy this past month guiding hunters for trophy bull elk.Anyone interested in booking a hunt can call Cal at (207)283-0712,or (207)205-1130, prices start at $1200.00 and these are truly impressive animals.
Check out our website when you get a chance, we have updated our online store and will have a full line of products in a couple more weeks.We will also update our fishing&hunting report every few weeks to keep you updated on local sporting activity.
Check out our website when you get a chance, we have updated our online store and will have a full line of products in a couple more weeks.We will also update our fishing&hunting report every few weeks to keep you updated on local sporting activity.
James Eddy Smelt Camp
Dresden Mills
207-737-2596
Cork Cove Camps
Dresden
207-737-8856.
Little Fish
Bowdoinham
207-666-5945
Riverbend
Bowdoinham
207-666-5945
Leighton
Bowdoinham
207-666-5551
Smith's
Richmond
207-737-4739
Sonny's
Richmond
207-737-8115
Hyde
Brunswick
(no number available)
Jim Worthing Smelt Camps
Rt. 9 Randolph
207-582-3199
Bark
Patten
207-582-4257
Jim'sQuality Bait
207-725-4090
There were a total of 8 blue sharks, and one mako shark weighed in this year at the Downeast Maine Shark Tournament.
First place was team "Reel Deep", and the captain of the team is Phil Breton, from Wells. They weighed in a 291 lb blue shark on the first day (fork length 8' 8.5") and a 359 lb blue shark on the second day (fork length 9'4"), resulting in a total of 650 points (blue sharks count 1 point per lb), making them the winner of this years Downeast Maine Shark Tournament.
Second place was Jean Baulu's team (Prime 8) with a 268 lb mako shark, fork length 7'8", worth 402 total points (non blue sharks were worth 1.5 pts per lb).
Third place was Brad McDonald, with a 397 lb blue shark (thus, 397 points total). However, the big news of course is that Brad's shark is a potential new Maine state rod and reel record for blue shark (previous record was 391 lbs).
Fourth place was Team Isurus weighing in a 383 lb blue shark (fork length 9', 1.5") on day 1 for 383 points.
Fifth place was Team Bonnie Lynne, weighing in a 346 lb blue shark (fork length 9', 3") on day 1, worth 346 points.
Sixth place was Team Seagar, weighing in a 342 lb blue shark (fork length 8', 11") on day 2, worth 342 points.
Seventh place was Team K+C, weighing in a 336 lb blue shark (fork length 9', 0") on day 1, worth 336 points.
Eighth place was Team St. Patrick, weighing in a 332 lb blue shark (fork length 9', 3") on day 1, worth 332 points.
In the youth division, Scott Peacock from Team Ruth-Less won the catch and release division, landing and releasing 3 blue sharks unassisted.
08/30/06
Blue fish are bubbling the waters in Saco Bay......You need to watch for the birds, in one day and out the next...Deadly Dicks' and shimano butterfly jigs, and tourmentor jigs are working well casting into the school....
Casco Bay is also having good luck with the Butterfly jigs and working the small football tuna. Seas will be rough till Monday so concentrate inside the bays and in the rivers. Stripers are still on shore at Biddeford Pool, Old Orchard and Saco. Clams, herring!!!!
Good Luck Anglers!!!
Don't work too hard
Peter
08/18/06
Still time to sigh up for the down east Shark Tournament this Wednesday, an the Casco BAy Shark Tournament Sept 7th. Call the shop for details. Thresher and Blueshark are still being caught in deep water towards the Gulch, and Tantas, and Trinidad. (Dave Triggiani.) Jeffreys has had some luck with haddock and keeper cod. Matt Gardiner Kristen K hooked up and landed a 60lb football on a Saco BAy black squid rig!!!!! Heading out towards Trinidad. Keep an ear out for Giants on Jeffreys. Jim Wilson Reported, One of his Blue shark was attacked by a large Mako as they were releasing it. No luck landing the MAko though. That was also in Deep water.
Bluefish trolling out towards the whistle and near Richmond island. Stripers are also still around on the beach and on the islands. Clams and herring. Mackerel as you know are still scarce, Good Luck this Weekend!
Peter
Another Late report for Saco BAy: Sorry
August 14th: Stripers are still hitting on clams and Herring off the beaches in OOB, Higgins, Bidd Pool. Trolling with the surg. tubes & worm are still working in Pine Point and the Saco River. Bluefish are in Saco Bay in the 5- 8 pound range. Tantas had some Blue shark and some small cod. dog fish were on the ledge, but none in deep water. Lots of fisherman trolling for tuna with daisy chains and spreader bar squid with some hookups. Platts ledge has had lots of action for Big Blue shark and Mako. With the warm water, we have even had reports of Fluke and Halibut down toward Kennebunk and outside of Wood Island!!! Drop us some e mails of any pics or reports out there.
Thanks
Peter
July 25th 2006,
Three 40+ stripers stopped by the store last weekend. One 38 pounder was caught off the beach using clams by Jamie Hulit, the other two were caught by the crew of shockwave, using mackerel. Ed Snell brought in a 1.5 pound cunner at 14 1/4 inches this may be the new state record!!
A couple of fisherman hooked up with some huge male blue shark on Jefferey's Sunday. also there was a Thresher caught north of the same area....(in the water). Ground fishing is producing large cod on Jefferey's and some good catches on Tantas Ledge. Dog fish are still the main catch for the tuna fisherman who are anchored up. Trolling has seen some success with Pink and blue dotted squid rigs, and the creamcicle Around Monheegan . Also try the cedar plugs around 4 knots on the second wake.
Mackerel seem to be coming back from vacation in Saco Bay, bluefish have made a small appearence in Saco Bay, but have been seen in the Kennebec with some size to them.
Good Luck
Peter
July 2, 2006.
Sorry , late report. It has been busy tring to keep up with the stock and Bait in the store......Because guys and Girls are catching Stripers everywhere!!! Pine Point, Saco, Beaches. Big ones and schoolies. Mackerel are still working well! Calms, worms, and Artificials were being used by fisherman in the river and on the beach. Yo zuri Crystal Minnow. Atom poppers, and Storm Shad bait. Macks were here..now they are very hard to find. Pine Point and to where the Saco whistle use to be..(should return after repairs). Tuna have been seen and caught near Portsmouth...and signs of the footballs were busting out of the water outside of Richmond Island. Don't forget to look into the seminar page of our web site if you want to participate in upcoming fishing tournaments. That is all for now. Try to get a spot on the Jetty or the Scarborough Marsh and River. Happy 4th!!!!!
Tuesday June 6th. The Mackerel are here!!!!Customers are catching mackerel off the Camp Ellis jetty in Saco using sabiki jigs,and tinsel rigs.Also reports of macs in Saco bay.Better catch them while you can before the bluefish show up.Big strpers are feeding on herring below the dam in Saco,try using large rubber shad bodies,or swimming plugs to catch these large stripers.Groundfishing has improved the last few days out on Southern Jefferies,try fishing in 250/300ft. of water for best results.On the freshwater side of fishing local guide Steve Berry reported good action on Moosehead lake this past weekend,he said the nymphs,and stone flies proved productive for the trout and salmon.All the fish that he kept were chock full of smelt.Make sure you bring a head net cause the black flies are thick.
Sunday June 4th. Congrats to Justin Tijerino for catching the first 40+ striper in Saco!!!! This Beauty weighed in at 28 lbs and was 42 inches. Caught by the dam around 10 am using live bait. this fish had a belly full of alwives. The saco and other rivers are running muddy with the recent rain, but there are still hungry stripers and shad being caught. White Calcuttas and the other 3 inch rubber baits are working great. Sandy bottom has had great luck using clams and sea worms. Hills beach side and Saco Jetty has plenty of space for more fisherman!! Scarborough river and Marsh is having the same luck...Keep trying the artificials! Mackeral are coming, Some fisherman have had sightings at tantas, Jeffereys, and closer by the Whistle.
Saturday May 20th.. Reports of Small stripers are being caught in the Scarborough Marsh. Slugos, white shad and sea worms. Saco River is still running muddy, but that is not scaring the fisherman or the stripers away. Everyone is having luck with sea worms and also the 3-4 inch trans lucent, white, and neon storm shad.
Cal Robinson came in with a beautiful 6 lb salmon from Sebago. (somewhere in Sebago).. Hope we get a sample.. Best of luck to everyone...Have a great week.!!!!
Friday May 19th
comments: High tide- two hours past May 18
Fished by the bridge on the hiking trail on the Scarborough Marsh (Pine Point Rd). I didn't keep count, but a good guess is 30-40 small Stripers between two of us. 10-19 inches.
The bait of choice was 3" gray STORM rubber shad.
I was fishing with JB and his boy Seth last night on his dock from 7:30pm to 8:30 pm. The river is still muddy but we managed to land 11 schoolies and one eel. Of course the eel, unlike the "mystery fish" wouldn't fall off my hook. To make matters worse, it twisted itself around my fishing line before I finally released it. What a friggin slimy mess! Dan Dallaire.
May 17th,
Well, they said we need the rain but c'mon! reports from the pier at Camp Ellis from Mike Mullen, Stripers were being caught, on the pier by the boat ramp. Worms were successful with the 18" range. One large one snapped a fisheman's line. He Probably was using last years line. Try using the new Momoi's Diamond Hi-Catch!!! (wink wink). Once the waters clear up, There should be a high success rate in the Saco River and the Scarborough, ...Cod have been caught off shore with some size to them according to the "Bunny Clark".
As always. Call the store for a daily report..800-499-4453
Thanks Peter
May 3rd...Shad caught in the Mousam River but the rain has chilled the rivers back to 42 degrees. We should be fine after the water clears and the warmer weather returns Friday.... keep the reports coming!
May 1st 2006,
Turkey Hunters Have had a successful youth day tagging 16 birds at the store. Today 23 have been tagged by noon.
Great action for Hen Clams at Old Orchard and Bay View. The beach was full of clammers Thurs Fri and Sat.
Dick Piney From Portsmouth went out Sunday and Picked a meal of Fiddleheads..Signs of warm weather ahead. This week of warm weather should warm the waters. Local anglers have been hitting the Mousam and Saco in search of Shad. No word of any catch yet. Last Friday's water temp at U N E was 45 degrees on the incoming tide.
April 17th
Mackeral and other bait are spotted going up the scarboro river and at the mouth of the Saco... Stripers are right behind them. Garon Mailman said he saw a fisherman catch a striper off the rocks in Camp ellis. Water still seem too cold, but it may be sooner than we think.
Fresh water fishing is quite active at Lake Auburn with live bait on the bottom for some big touge. Salmon are still tough to get, but Sebago lake is having some luck. Hope to see you in the store. We will be going 7 days a week starting next Sunday!!!! all of our bait will be in full stock Thursday April 20th. Good Luck..Peter!
Fishing Report for March 31st... The Stripers are Coming!!!!! One of our customers claims he was breaking in his boat for the season and threw out his lures and caught himself a 28" Striper in Portsmouth. Looks like they will be in early!!!
Fishing Report for March 28th.....Thanks Again for making the seminar a great success and to kick off a great season!
Craig
“The Saco River has been ice-free for a long time. One great place to try early in the season is at Skelton Dam, both right below the dam and just above, where both brook and brown trout are taken. Deer Pond in Hollis, Ossipee Lake in Waterboro and Long Pond in Kezar Falls should also be good bets for early season trout action. As for rivers and brooks, we’ve heard that the sea-run fishing locally has slowed down considerably, but we’ve got some local brooks that should be stocked before the opener, one in particular, Deep Brook in Saco should be a good bet.”
Something that may come in handy for some of you this summer.....
You should wear a fileting glove ( steel mesh ) when fileting any fish, a glove can save the day and maybe your fingers.
The following illustrations are with a fileting knife. Using an electric knife is much faster and easier. If you decide on an electric knife get one with a pointed tip.
| Step 1 | Fileting a Striper starts by holding the fish and making your first cut with a 45 degree angle behind the head, down to the back bone. | |
| Step 2 | Cut along the back bone with a slight downward pressure, feeling the rib bones when you reach the end of the rib cage extend the knife all the way through the fish while still holding down against the backbone.If the striper is not too large ( This works better with an electric knife ) you can cut all the way through one half side starting at the head and through the rib cage bones all the way to the tail. On larger fish it may be easier for you to cut one side off completely before starting the other side. | |
| Step 3 | Continue until you reach the tail. Don't cut through the skin at the tail. | |
| Step 4 | Flip the fish over. (It is easier if you get both sides started before completing either side.) Make the cut along the head on this side the same as step 2. | |
| Step 5 | Cut along the dorsal fin and backbone on this side the same as step 3 | |
| Step 6 | Continue to the tail the same as step 4. | |
| Step 7 | Using the forward curved part of your blade, slide it along the backbone until it reaches the skin at the tail end of the fish and until it reaches the ribs on the head end of the fish. | |
| Step 8 | Slide the blade part of the way up the ribs on the head end of the fish. Then cut the skin pulling the filet away from the fish. *Do not cut the skin where it is attached to the tail. *On Large Fish it can be easier to cut off at the tail than filet side. | |
| Step 9 | Flip the filet over the tail, using the attached skin to help hold the filet stationary. Position the filet at the edge of a cutting table, so that the knife blade can be held parallel to the table with part of your hand below the table. | |
| Step 10 | Slide your knife blade along the filet maintaining slight downward pressure on the forward part of your blade to keep from leaving too much meat on the skin. | |
| Step 11 | It is at this point bag the filets and you are off to the house with your iced down catch of striper filets. Once you get home, remove the filets from your cooler and finish the preparation process by removing the center red vein and all associated red meat from the filets. You will find that a cold (not frozen) filet can have the center vein removed simply by separating the white meat from the vein by hand, leaving two nice filets of nothing but white delicious meat. A small knife can be useful in removing some layers of unwanted red meat. | |
| Step 12 | If you are fileting your own striper and wish to finish the process all at one time, do the following. With red vein streak left in center of filet, cut all the way to the cutting board. Be careful to follow the red meat closely so as to not lose the white meat. | |
| Step 13 | Cut the same way along the other side of the red meat. | |
| Step 14 | Your filet will now be in two pieces. | |
| Step 15 | Trim the remaining red meat that you missed from the fileting process. | |
| To keep that fresh taste without freezing for a few days before cooking: a. Wash the filets good and put them in a sealable refrigerator bag. b. Place the sealed bag in a bowl, covering the filets with water. Get as much air out of the bag as possible. c. Fill the bowl the rest of the way with ice cubes, making sure the bag is completely covered with ice. d. Place in the refrigerator. Replace ice as it melts. This keeps the filets as cold as possible without actually freezing them. The fish can still spoil, so cook them within a few days. Wash them thoroughly again before cooking. To freeze your filets for a future date: |
Feb. 13th 2006
NORMAL WEATHER IS BACK FOR FEBUARY. JUST IN TIME FOR THE FET 7th ANNUAL ICE FISHING DERBY AT LITTLE OSSIPPE LAKE. IF YOU HAVE NOT TAKEN YOUR KIDS ICE FISHING, THIS SUNDAY IS THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO.. COME IN TO THE SHOP AND SIGN UP FOR THE TOURNAMENT UNTIL FRIDAY THE 17TH. OVER THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS IN PRIZES ARE BEING GIVEN AWAY. NASCAR FANS DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY. THERE WILL BE A LARGE SCREEN T.V. SET UP TO GET UPDATES ON THE RACE. SACO BAY TACKLE IS ALSO OFFERING SOME OF CRAIG'S COOKING AT THE SACO BAY TACKLE TRAILER ALONG WITH SOME LAST MINUTE SUPPLIES. CALL THE SHOP FOR MORE DETAILS. 284-4453.
NOT TOO MANY REPORTS ON SEA RUNS, WE NEED SOME FEEDBACK.
WADLEIGH'S POND AND OSSIPEE LAKE HAVE BEEN GETTING SOME GOOD LUCK WITH CRAPPIES. TRY USING THE SWEEDISH PIMPLES OR 1/32 PLASTIC AND 1/16 WITH SHINERS AND NIGHT CRAWLERS.
WE ALSO HAVE TO MENTION OUR SEMINAR MARCH 25TH. CAPTAIN CAL ROBINSON IS WORKING ON THE DAYS AGENDA, SO WE WILL PUT A SCHEDULE UP AS SOON AS WE CAN.
SIX MORE WEEKS TILL SPRING !!HANG IN THERE, AND SEE YOU NEXT MONTH. THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR GOOD WISHES AND SUPPORT.
PETER MOURMOURAS
Nov. 16 2005
Things have been very busy the past couple of months at Saco Bay Tackle,as you may have heard Peter Mourmouras,and I, Craig Bergeron have recently purchased the business. This is very exciting for us,and have many many changes and new products to share with you. We will be stocking rod building components,threads, epoxy, and rod wrapping machines. We will also carry a few new lines of product such as Montauk Mikes, Moosalamoo, and Cape Cod Fisherman's Workshop lures. We are open to any suggestions as in what products,and services that could help us and our customers, feel free to drop us an e-mail or call as at 1-800-499-4453. Patrick Donaghue, and David Belisle are new additions to the store, both have good knowledge on inshore and offshore fishing. David is one of our custom rod builders, and designer. Feel free to call him on any questions regarding rod building materials, components, and blanks.
1/12/2006
We are also planning on bringing back the Spring seminars on March 25th with Captain Cal Robinson. We will have discussions on Stripers, Ground fishing, Shark and Tuna Fishing. Saturday March 25th at the McArthur Hall on 30 Adams Street Biddeford. If you would like to make reservations please call or e-mail us. We are also going to have instore rod building classes this winter. First class is Jan. 17th with David Belisle. This class is full but we will have another 3-4 weeks after. If you are interested, please contact the shop.
This weeks forecast of rain and warm weather has created some dangerous ice. Please use caution when going out next week
However the fresh flow of waterwill provide excellent sea-run brown trout fishing. There's been some pretty nice fish stocked in our local waters . The Presumpscot, Mousam and Kennebunk Rivers have been producing. Also, Keep an eye on the Salmon Falls River in South Berwick. The state has been stocking this area with brown trout for a couple of years. Captain Ben Gardiner sent us some great pictures of sea run brown trout he caught in the Presumpscot river using a black ghost last fall. Try using a light spinning rod rigged with mepps spinners or a Yozuri pins minnow for best results. If your a fly fisherman try using scuds, or shrimp patterns. We will have worms in stock, but no shiners. Feel free to drop buy the shop for new items of Ice fishing supplies from augers, traps, red hooks, braided line ,florocarbon, and much more.
Our customers are the best source of information to keep this fishing report page accurate. It will be my job to get this report out to you as quickly as I can. Please keep the reports coming in by e-mail or by phone. 1800 499 4453.
Capt. Cal Robinson from Saco Bay Guide service on Bayley Hill hunting park, has been busy this past month guiding hunters for trophy bull elk.Anyone interested in booking a hunt can call Cal at (207)283-0712,or (207)205-1130, prices start at $1200.00 and these are truly impressive animals.
Check out our website when you get a chance, we have updated our online store and will have a full line of products in a couple more weeks.We will also update our fishing&hunting report every few weeks to keep you updated on local sporting activity.
This weeks forecast of rain and warm weather has created some dangerous ice. Please use caution when going out next week
However the fresh flow of waterwill provide excellent sea-run brown trout fishing. There's been some pretty nice fish stocked in our local waters . The Presumpscot, Mousam and Kennebunk Rivers have been producing. Also, Keep an eye on the Salmon Falls River in South Berwick. The state has been stocking this area with brown trout for a couple of years. Captain Ben Gardiner sent us some great pictures of sea run brown trout he caught in the Presumpscot river using a black ghost last fall. Try using a light spinning rod rigged with mepps spinners or a Yozuri pins minnow for best results. If your a fly fisherman try using scuds, or shrimp patterns. We will have worms in stock, but no shiners. Feel free to drop buy the shop for new items of Ice fishing supplies from augers, traps, red hooks, braided line ,florocarbon, and much more.
Our customers are the best source of information to keep this fishing report page accurate. It will be my job to get this report out to you as quickly as I can. Please keep the reports coming in by e-mail or by phone. 1800 499 4453.
Capt. Cal Robinson from Saco Bay Guide service on Bayley Hill hunting park, has been busy this past month guiding hunters for trophy bull elk.Anyone interested in booking a hunt can call Cal at (207)283-0712,or (207)205-1130, prices start at $1200.00 and these are truly impressive animals.
Check out our website when you get a chance, we have updated our online store and will have a full line of products in a couple more weeks.We will also update our fishing&hunting report every few weeks to keep you updated on local sporting activity.
Check out our website when you get a chance, we have updated our online store and will have a full line of products in a couple more weeks.We will also update our fishing&hunting report every few weeks to keep you updated on local sporting activity.
James Eddy Smelt Camp
Dresden Mills
207-737-2596
Cork Cove Camps
Dresden
207-737-8856.
Little Fish
Bowdoinham
207-666-5945
Riverbend
Bowdoinham
207-666-5945
Leighton
Bowdoinham
207-666-5551
Smith's
Richmond
207-737-4739
Sonny's
Richmond
207-737-8115
Hyde
Brunswick
(no number available)
Jim Worthing Smelt Camps
Rt. 9 Randolph
207-582-3199
Bark
Patten
207-582-4257
Jim'sQuality Bait
207-725-4090
There were a total of 8 blue sharks, and one mako shark weighed in this year at the Downeast Maine Shark Tournament.
First place was team "Reel Deep", and the captain of the team is Phil Breton, from Wells. They weighed in a 291 lb blue shark on the first day (fork length 8' 8.5") and a 359 lb blue shark on the second day (fork length 9'4"), resulting in a total of 650 points (blue sharks count 1 point per lb), making them the winner of this years Downeast Maine Shark Tournament.
Second place was Jean Baulu's team (Prime 8) with a 268 lb mako shark, fork length 7'8", worth 402 total points (non blue sharks were worth 1.5 pts per lb).
Third place was Brad McDonald, with a 397 lb blue shark (thus, 397 points total). However, the big news of course is that Brad's shark is a potential new Maine state rod and reel record for blue shark (previous record was 391 lbs).
Fourth place was Team Isurus weighing in a 383 lb blue shark (fork length 9', 1.5") on day 1 for 383 points.
Fifth place was Team Bonnie Lynne, weighing in a 346 lb blue shark (fork length 9', 3") on day 1, worth 346 points.
Sixth place was Team Seagar, weighing in a 342 lb blue shark (fork length 8', 11") on day 2, worth 342 points.
Seventh place was Team K+C, weighing in a 336 lb blue shark (fork length 9', 0") on day 1, worth 336 points.
Eighth place was Team St. Patrick, weighing in a 332 lb blue shark (fork length 9', 3") on day 1, worth 332 points.
In the youth division, Scott Peacock from Team Ruth-Less won the catch and release division, landing and releasing 3 blue sharks unassisted.