Late Summer Stripers and Tuna Shifts Along the Maine Coast

Artificial Lure here with your Maine Atlantic fishing report for Wednesday, August 27, 2025—a classic late-summer morning along the coast, and there’s plenty for local anglers to get excited about.

Let’s kick off with your Bar Harbor tide schedule: the morning’s low tide hits at 7:30 a.m. with a super shallow 0.33 ft, swinging to high at 1:37 p.m. reaching nearly 11 ft. That gives a good moving-water window for chunking bait or working artificials midday. Sunrise was at 5:48 a.m., with a sunset tonight at 7:19 p.m., giving you a long stretch to wet a line according to Tide-Forecast.com.

Weatherwise from the Ocean Prediction Center, we’re seeing west winds at 10 to 15 knots this morning, shifting southwest and building this afternoon in the 10–20 knot range. Seas are running 4 to 6 feet—manageable for the inshore crews and manageable if you pick your spots right.

Now, fish activity: Locals out of Casco Bay and Frenchman Bay are reporting blitzing schools of mackerel and the start of the late-season striper push—small pods of bait, mainly peanut bunker, are holding near current rips, especially around rocky points and tidal estuaries. The past week saw lots of schoolie stripers with the occasional slot fish—mainly caught at dawn and dusk on topwaters and soft plastics. Find the birds and you’ll find the bass.

Out deeper, there’s still good activity for haddock and pollock on the ledges, but word from the grounds is that bigger cod are hit or miss. Fluke (summer flounder) are showing, but keepers are hard to come by; if you want a try, use bucktail jigs tipped with squid or Gulp baits—a tip straight from The Fisherman’s recent New England reports.

Bluefin tuna chasers south of Mount Desert are noticing a shift in tuna diet away from herring, which have hit historic lows, and onto menhaden—this means if you’re live-baiting or chunking, menhaden is your best bet. University of Maine research confirms these shifts, so have bunker on hand if you’re targeting tuna this week.

For the inshore crowd, especially surfcasters and small-boat anglers, the hot lures are epoxy jigs, metals, and soft plastics in olive or bunker patterns. Night anglers are having success with black or dark-colored darters and swimmers. Chunk bait like fresh mackerel or menhaden is drawing stripers after dark. Old standbys like sea worms and clams are steady for those targeting groundfish and the odd tog near rocky structure.

There have been a couple of great white shark sightings off Bailey Island, per Harpswell Marine Resources, so stay sharp, especially if you’re in a yak or wading out for that big striped bass. It’s a reminder that Maine waters are wild—keep an eye on those bait balls and try not to follow any big seals too closely!

Hot spots right now?
- The ledges off Portland Head remain productive for bottom species.
- The mouths of the Kennebec and Damariscotta rivers are holding bait and producing stripers.
- Thorn Head and the inlets near Bar Harbor are seeing strong early-morning surface feeds.
- If you’re up for a road trip, the drop-offs near Saco Bay and Bailey Island are producing, especially on an outgoing tide.

The season’s winding down, but the fish haven’t gotten the memo—yet. Bring a variety of lures, get out around tide changes, and keep those baits fresh and moving.

Thanks for tuning in to your Maine Atlantic fishing report. Don’t forget to subscribe for more local angling news and tips.

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