Updated: Thursday, September 17, 2026 · Next update: Thursday, September 24, 2026
This Maine Coast fishing report covers mid-September, when the fall push is on. Cold nights move bait out of the rivers, and striped bass feed along the beaches and river mouths harder than at any point since June. Stripers are the lead target, with the outgoing tide at the river mouths as the main condition to plan around. Mackerel are thinning out, groundfish sit close to shore, and these stripers are on their way south, so take every good morning you can get.
What’s Hitting
Schoolies and keeper-size stripers work the beaches and river mouths from Kittery and York through Ogunquit, Wells and the Saco River to Casco Bay, feeding on silversides and juvenile herring pushed out by the cold nights. Expect fish on top at first light and again at dusk, with the best action on the outgoing at the river mouths.
Mackerel are thinning along the coast but still hang around the harbors and ledges in Casco Bay. Bluefish make a showing along the southern beaches. Haddock and pollock sit on the ledges in 100 to 150 feet off Kennebunkport and Cape Elizabeth, and the first coldwater cod move onto the deeper humps.
Where to Find Them
Target stripers at the York, Ogunquit, Mousam, Kennebunk, Saco and Scarborough river mouths on the outgoing tide, and along the beaches at Ogunquit, Wells, Old Orchard and Higgins at first light. In Casco Bay, work around the islands and the Presumpscot and Royal river mouths. Mackerel stay around the harbors and ledges of Casco Bay. For groundfish, run to the ledges in 100 to 150 feet off Kennebunkport, Cape Elizabeth and the outer Casco Bay islands.
Tides & Conditions
Moderate tides between the moons soften the current at the river mouths and stretch the fishable window on the outgoing. Beach water sits in the upper 50s to low 60s and is dropping, which is what keeps the bait and the fish moving. Expect cold, calm mornings with light northwest winds and a flat ocean on most days, good conditions for the groundfish run.
Tackle & Tactics
- Stripers: a soft-plastic jerkbait or paddle tail on a light jig head, a small swimming plug, or a topwater at first light, on a 7 to 9-foot medium spinning rod with 20 to 30-pound braid.
- Fly: a 9-weight with a silverside or sand eel pattern.
- Big fish after dark: live mackerel or eels at the river mouths.
- Mackerel: a Sabiki rig or a small jig.
- Groundfish: clam or a jig on a two-hook bottom rig and a heavy conventional outfit.
Local Intel This Week
The Kittery town ramp, the Wells Harbor ramp, the Kennebunkport town ramp, the Camp Ellis ramp on the Saco, and the East End and Falmouth Town Landing ramps in Casco Bay are the main public launches. Launch at Camp Ellis to fish the Saco mouth on the outgoing, or at Kennebunkport for the ledges. Shore anglers work the Ogunquit and Wells beaches, the Kennebunk River jetties, the Saco River breakwaters and Scarborough Marsh for stripers. Striped bass carry a slot in Maine. Check current state and federal regulations and seasons before keeping fish.
This Week’s Tip
On the fall push, stripers move with the bait, and the bait moves on the tide. Fish the river mouth on the last two hours of the outgoing, then follow the current line out along the beach as the tide finishes. The fish follow the same path, and an angler who moves with them out-fishes one who stays put.
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