24 August 2025
Anglers' Almanac: Maine's Coastal Bounty Awaits on August 24th
Atlantic Ocean, Maine Fishing Report - Daily
About
Atlantic Ocean Maine anglers, this is Artificial Lure with your Sunday fishing report for August 24, 2025. We’re waking up to partly cloudy skies and a mild breeze, with sunrise at 6:34 AM and sunset coming at 7:43 PM—ideal daylight for working the coast and running up the rivers. Today’s tide at nearby Atlantic Beach runs low at 2:47 AM then swings high at 8:44 AM, bottoming out again at 2:50 PM before topping up at 9:05 PM. That gives us some prime moving water, especially mid-morning and right after dinner—times worth chasing striped bass, mackerel, and blues according to local chatter and recent catch logs from dockside conversations.
Wave action offshore sits at about 4 feet, winds holding steady from the south at 10–20 knots, with swells lingering thanks to remnants of Hurricane Erin far offshore. Inner bays and harbors are looking friendlier, though. If you’re planning to run out to deeper water, keep an ear to the Coast Guard and mind those gusts, but inshore spots like Kennebec River mouth and Portland’s Eastern Prom should be fishable and productive.
This past week saw strong lobster bustles—harvests are still up from last year, with more gear improvements and good catch rates reported by the DMR and local fleets. Lobster, as always, remains king along the rocks and ledges. Scallop boats are gearing up for the fall openings and local draggers say conditions are shaping up with healthy beds in Zones 1 and 2 along Tenants Harbor and Milbridge. Word is striped bass numbers are decent; plenty of slot fish and even several larger keepers have come up on live eels and chunk mackerel. Tuna sightings—especially school bluefin—have been spottier, but the boat folks running out of Saco and Boothbay are still picking up a few on trolled squid and chum lines.
Schoolie stripers have shown a preference for soft plastics rigged weedless, like plastic worms which remain the most reliable lure for shallow water action near inlets and docks. Color choice? Motor oil, pearl, or bone white depending on the clarity—according to Professional B Group’s rundown, plastic worms are the staple for our coast’s summer bite. For bigger bass and blues, turn to poppers at first light, and paddletail shads or bucktail jigs at slack tides. Flounder are still coming up in muddy-bottomed coves on squid strips and bloodworms—great for the kids.
Mackerel have been thick in the harbors late afternoon and dusk, schools pushing bait tight to the docks—small silver spoons or Sabiki rigs work best. Bluefish are hitting hard lures near deeper channel rips; the trick is fast retrieve, and don’t fret if you lose a rig—blues will bite anything that flashes. Down east, reports from Brad Burns Fishing say cooler water is moving in, around 68°F, helping bring salmon and grilse back to river mouths, especially after a sluggish early August. American eels on the move have been spotted up Megunticook River—always a sign the food chain is healthy for fall transition.
Today’s hotspots: Port Clyde’s working waterfront is producing, with outgoing tide dragging bait over the rocks—set up for stripers and flounder. Scarborough Marsh, meanwhile, has been yielding morning schoolies and midsize bluefish. If you’re up for some adventure, make your way to the Saco River entrance just after high tide for mixed bag action.
Live eels and sandworms are gold for bait right now, especially if you’re targeting stripers or waiting out bottom fish. Frozen mackerel and cut squid always attract a crowd under the piers. If you want to try artificials, top picks are bone-colored plastic worms, bucktails, and the classic silver Kastmaster.
That’s the scoop for your Atlantic Maine coast on August 24. Thanks for tuning in—be sure to subscribe so you never miss the next tide. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
Wave action offshore sits at about 4 feet, winds holding steady from the south at 10–20 knots, with swells lingering thanks to remnants of Hurricane Erin far offshore. Inner bays and harbors are looking friendlier, though. If you’re planning to run out to deeper water, keep an ear to the Coast Guard and mind those gusts, but inshore spots like Kennebec River mouth and Portland’s Eastern Prom should be fishable and productive.
This past week saw strong lobster bustles—harvests are still up from last year, with more gear improvements and good catch rates reported by the DMR and local fleets. Lobster, as always, remains king along the rocks and ledges. Scallop boats are gearing up for the fall openings and local draggers say conditions are shaping up with healthy beds in Zones 1 and 2 along Tenants Harbor and Milbridge. Word is striped bass numbers are decent; plenty of slot fish and even several larger keepers have come up on live eels and chunk mackerel. Tuna sightings—especially school bluefin—have been spottier, but the boat folks running out of Saco and Boothbay are still picking up a few on trolled squid and chum lines.
Schoolie stripers have shown a preference for soft plastics rigged weedless, like plastic worms which remain the most reliable lure for shallow water action near inlets and docks. Color choice? Motor oil, pearl, or bone white depending on the clarity—according to Professional B Group’s rundown, plastic worms are the staple for our coast’s summer bite. For bigger bass and blues, turn to poppers at first light, and paddletail shads or bucktail jigs at slack tides. Flounder are still coming up in muddy-bottomed coves on squid strips and bloodworms—great for the kids.
Mackerel have been thick in the harbors late afternoon and dusk, schools pushing bait tight to the docks—small silver spoons or Sabiki rigs work best. Bluefish are hitting hard lures near deeper channel rips; the trick is fast retrieve, and don’t fret if you lose a rig—blues will bite anything that flashes. Down east, reports from Brad Burns Fishing say cooler water is moving in, around 68°F, helping bring salmon and grilse back to river mouths, especially after a sluggish early August. American eels on the move have been spotted up Megunticook River—always a sign the food chain is healthy for fall transition.
Today’s hotspots: Port Clyde’s working waterfront is producing, with outgoing tide dragging bait over the rocks—set up for stripers and flounder. Scarborough Marsh, meanwhile, has been yielding morning schoolies and midsize bluefish. If you’re up for some adventure, make your way to the Saco River entrance just after high tide for mixed bag action.
Live eels and sandworms are gold for bait right now, especially if you’re targeting stripers or waiting out bottom fish. Frozen mackerel and cut squid always attract a crowd under the piers. If you want to try artificials, top picks are bone-colored plastic worms, bucktails, and the classic silver Kastmaster.
That’s the scoop for your Atlantic Maine coast on August 24. Thanks for tuning in—be sure to subscribe so you never miss the next tide. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn