We are in the midst of what many refer to as the summer doldrums, but not everyone is letting that keep them off the water. Many anglers and guides are reporting good fishing, but many are telling us that they are changing things up and doing a lot of experimenting to remain successful. With many new anglers purchasing fishing gear and fishing licenses, we decided to offer some instructional opportunities with professional fishing guide Tim Moore. He will be giving four two-hour sessions (Aug. 8, 2-3 & 3-4pm, and Aug. 15, 2-3 & 3-4pm.) Tim will help new anglers learn the basics of their equipment and get them started learning how to cast. Bring your gear and have fun. It’s an excellent way to learn the mechanics of your equipment and help set you up for success on your first fishing adventure! Space is limited, so please reserve your time slot ASAP!

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MAINE

Greg Cutting at Jordan’s Store in Sebago reported a quiet week, likely due to the heat. “Either the fish aren’t biting, or the fishermen are just getting tight-lipped. I did hear of some guys finding smelt in shallower areas, which is typical for this time of year,” he said. Greg says he had a report of anglers catching fish off of Nassan’s Beach inside of 120-feet of water and that the fish they cleaned had small smelt inside of them. He said that the Camel’s Pasture is another area that usually holds a lot of smelt this time of year.

Dave Garcia at Naples Bait and Tackle in Naples says that he hears early mornings are decent on Sebago using sewn-on shiners and a sinking fly line with a 40-foot leader, but when he says early, he means being there in the dark. “Don’t be afraid to tie on small shiners, because they work,” he says. For warm water fish, Dave says most of them are in deeper water, but you can never go wrong with a worm and a bobber for white perch.

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NEW HAMPSHIRE

Full-time New Hampshire fishing guide Tim from Tim Moore Outdoors tells us that the trolling on Lake Winnipesaukee for salmon and rainbow trout was spotty early last week, but he has been varying a few things and finding better success. “There are so many factors that determine fish feeding activity that it can be a daunting task figuring out the magic combination. What works this week may not work as well next week depending on temperature, weather, the moon, and even boat traffic,” he said. Tim recommends varying color and size of the lures you are trolling, and experimenting with different trolling speeds. He reported that the vertical jig bite for lake trout started great in July, but weird weather patterns seem to have slowed things down a bit. He says it may have more to do with bait movements than anything, but he expects things to pick up throughout August as they normally do. Tim says there are still plenty of stripers around, but warm water temps are making things tricky. He says in the Piscataqua River, playing the tides is important this time of year to find the cooler water.

Tom Caron at Tall Timber Lodge on Back Lake in Pittsburg furnished the following report on his website: “Great River Hydro has some work to do, replacing boards on the upper most level of the dam next week, so First Lake needed to be dropped in height in order to accomplish this.”

“Complicating things further is the fact that we are in the midst of your typical warm, humid and rainy weather pattern, common in late July. Everything will be sunny out, and suddenly a thunderstorm rolls through our area, dumping an inch or more in a short time.”

“While the flow as of this moment might be 550 CFS, it is anticipated that the flow will have to go much higher in order to accomplish the drop to get the work done next week. Once the work starts, the flow rate will largely be determined by weather and inflow to First Lake. It should become fishable again to some degree next week.”

“For as dry as late May and June were, July has been a wet month for us and the water table seems to have normalized again in the north country. We also anticipate a raise to 500 – 600 CFS below Murphy next week, which could actually help the fishing down there. It has been tough for some, but certainly not impossible – just wade carefully if you’re going to go.”

“Downstream, the drift boat trips have been doing well when the weather allows. Once again, the threat of thunderstorms is never a good thing, especially if you’re in a boat, miles from your takeout. Heavy storms can also muddy up the river mighty fast, and sometimes it takes a day or more to see clearing and dropping water. Still, it sounds as though the top water action has been good when the conditions are favorable.”

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MASSACHUSETTS

Martha at Surfland Bait and Tackle on Plum Island told us that the stripers are getting very fussy. “The boat guys are now complaining that they’re not catching the bass like they did last week,” she said. She says most anglers catching are reporting that the stripers are full of pogies. She did say there are a few anglers doing fantastic, so it depends on who you talk to. Martha says the night bite with live eels (which they have plenty of) or eel-looking lures is still strong right now. She wanted to let everyone know that parking lots six and seven are now open and that you can get your walk-on night fishing pass now. She also wanted to clarify that the City of Newburyport shut its parking lot down to non-residents on the weekends, but not the rest of the island.

Because of inherent time restrictions of gathering fresh, up-to-date information, editing & producing this report in a timely manner, occasional errors or marginal information may slip by us. We try our hardest to provide accurate information. We urge readers to use this report as a tool to increase their fishing pleasure and not to rely on as their sole resource. First or second hand information is offered by fishing guides, commercial fishing charters or party boats, bait & tackle dealers, well-known successful anglers and state & federal fisheries and natural resources enforcement officials. We also welcome and use reports forwarded to us by fishermen that use this report. – Kittery Trading Post Fishing Report Editor.

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