September on the Maine coast is the fall run in its early stages, and the first week has delivered. Striped bass are feeding hard on the ledges and in the river mouths as the water starts to cool, the bluefish are on the beaches from Ogunquit to Popham, and the bluefin have pushed in close enough for the small boats. I fished this coast every fall from Kittery up through midcoast, and this is the week the bass start to feed like they mean it.
What’s Hitting
What’s hitting this week: striped bass on the ledges and the rocky points from Kittery to Boothbay, and in the river mouths — the Piscataqua, the Saco, the Kennebec, and the Sheepscot — on the moving tides. There are quality fish among the schoolies, and the mackerel and the peanut bunker are the reason. Bluefish are on the beaches and in the river mouths from Wells and Ogunquit up to Popham, blitzing bait in the mornings. Bluefin tuna are on the inshore grounds off Kennebunkport, Portland, and Boothbay, with fish from 50 to 300-plus pounds. Mackerel are thick on every pier and ledge, and the groundfish party boats are on haddock and pollock.
Where to Find Them
Stripers on the ledges off Kittery Point and Cape Neddick, in the Saco River mouth at Camp Ellis, in the Kennebec at Popham and up through Bath, and on the Boothbay ledges. Bluefish at Ogunquit Beach, Wells Beach, Old Orchard, and Popham. Bluefin on the inshore lumps off Kennebunkport and the Portland area in 100 to 200 feet. Mackerel at the Kittery, Portland, and Boothbay piers.
Tides & Conditions
Water temps are in the low to mid-60s and cooling, which has the bass feeding aggressively. The moving tides in the river mouths are the striper tides, and the last of the outgoing is best in the Kennebec. Calm mornings let the small-boat fleet reach the tuna. Watch the offshore forecast — the fall storms are starting to appear.
Tackle & Tactics
Stripers take a live mackerel drifted on the ledges, a bucktail or a soft plastic in the river mouths, and a topwater at dawn when the bass are on the surface. Bluefish want a popper, a metal, or a chunk of mackerel on a wire leader. Bluefin take a live mackerel on the kite or the balloon, or a trolled spreader bar; the jig-and-pop crowd is finding fish on the surface some mornings. Mackerel take a sabiki rig from the pier.
Local Intel This Week
Public ramps: the Kittery town ramp on the Piscataqua, the Camp Ellis ramp at the Saco River mouth, the East End ramp in Portland, and the Popham Beach State Park area launch at the Kennebec mouth. Fish are concentrating on the ledges and in the river mouths for bass and on the beaches for bluefish. Maine striped bass rules include a slot and circle-hook rules for bait, and bluefin require a federal HMS permit — check current Maine DMR regulations before keeping fish.
This Week’s Tip
On the Maine ledges, the stripers hold on the down-current side of the rocks where the current eddies. Drift a live mackerel through the eddy on a light line, or cast a bucktail up-current and swing it through — the take usually comes right as the bait enters the slack water.
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