Peak Fall Fishing Off Coastal Maine: Menhaden, Stripers, and Offshore Groundfish Abundance

Atlantic Ocean fishing off coastal Maine gave us a real treat this morning. Sunrise was a sharp 6:08am, painting glassy waters in peach and gold, and anglers saw ideal early fall conditions—a few high clouds, zero humidity, and temps mostly floating in the 70s. There was hardly a breath of wind till late morning, when a gentle south breeze picked up and cooled things off, keeping seas calm all day, according to reports coming in from the Gulf of Maine.

We are in the heart of tidal transition this week, and today’s high tides around Maine’s open coast were arriving just before and after first light, with low tide approaching mid-morning. These are classic conditions for inshore action, with moving water sparking up the bite. With the full moon just past, tidal flows have been strong, making for aggressive feeds at the peak.

This week saw a solid run of menhaden, with the Maine DMR reporting over 800,000 pounds landed just yesterday under the Episodic Event Set Aside fishery. That high bait density spells good predation: big blues, stripers, and smaller schoolies have been shadowing these schools up and down the midcoast, especially from Portland to Boothbay.

Groundfish action offshore has been nearly excellent, according to Bunny Clark Deep Sea Fishing. Drifting yielded a heap of pollock—the bulk of the legal catch. There was also a solid showing of haddock, with a dozen keepers in a day, two dozen cusk, a few whiting, and mackerel still mixing in. Cod season opens tomorrow, but a number of sublegal cod were caught and released, including multiple over six pounds today. Blue sharks popped in but remained only a brief nuisance.

High hook today? Matt Luce and Andrew Gaudio were neck and neck, each boating quality pollock in the 12–15 pound range and an 11.25-pound cod, with Andrew landing a 13.5-pound pollock right off the bat. Drifting over deep structure continues to be best for mix-sized pollock and cusk.

Best lures right now offshore are classic Norwegian-style jigs for groundfish, dressed with a red or orange cod fly for extra flash. If targeting pollock or haddock, a simple diamond jig or bucktail—but in this water today, the cod flies drew a ton of strikes. For school stripers and blues inshore, toss metal spoons in the morning light, or swim a soft-plastic paddle tail along edges of bait.

You can’t go wrong with natural bait, and with menhaden so dense, using cut chunks of fresh pogie or mackerel on a circle hook will get the attention of bigger fish. Anglers working sandworm or clam baits for bottom feeders along the flats have picked up the occasional flounder and whiting near drop-offs, especially at Merrymeeting Bay and the mouth of the Kennebec.

If you’re chasing numbers and want inshore diversity, hit the mouth of the Saco River at daybreak—stripers and blues herding bait can be seen on the surface, especially through late-flood and start of ebb. Offshore, Jeffrey’s Ledge west edge or Old Orchard’s deep humps produced solid pollock and haddock bites all week—though keep an eye out for bigger sharks looking for an easy meal near the chum lines.

Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure's Maine fishing report. Stay sharp out there, respect your limits, and whether wading at dawn or riding the big water, keep those lines tight. Don’t forget to subscribe and never miss a tide cycle! This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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