Maine Coast fishing report for the week of September 10, 2026. I have fished the Maine coast from Kittery up through midcoast for most of my life, and this is the week the stripers start to feed like they know the season is ending. The bait is thick, the mackerel are everywhere, and the bass are on them from the mouth of the Piscataqua up to the Kennebec. The water is starting to cool and the fishing has been the best of the summer.
What’s Hitting
What’s hitting this week is striped bass on the last push. Fish from schoolies to the 30-pound class are feeding on the mackerel and the peanut bunker along the beaches, at the river mouths, and in the rocks from York to Popham, with the best action at dawn and dusk. Mackerel are thick along the whole coast and easy to catch from any pier or jetty. Bluefish have shown up in some of the southern beaches. Groundfish — haddock, cod, and pollock — are on the inshore ledges and within reach of the small boats on the calm days. Stripers in the Kennebec and the Saco are feeding on the alewives and the bunker.
Offshore, the bluefin tuna have been on the bait in the Gulf of Maine, and the charter boats out of Kennebunkport and Boothbay have had steady action.
Where to Find Them
For stripers, the mouth of the Piscataqua and the York River at dawn, the beaches at Ogunquit and Wells, the rocks at Cape Elizabeth and Two Lights, the mouth of the Kennebec at Popham, and the Scarborough Marsh on the moving tide. Mackerel are around every pier and jetty from Kittery to Boothbay Harbor. Groundfish are on the ledges in 100 to 200 feet outside the harbors. Tuna are on the bait in the Gulf of Maine wherever the whales and the birds are.
Tides & Conditions
The new moon this weekend brings big tides, and the strong current at the river mouths and the rocks has been good for the bass. Winds have been southwest at 10 to 15 with some northeast days, and the water is in the low 60s and dropping. Fog has been an issue on the calm mornings. Seas have been 2 to 4 feet outside.
Tackle & Tactics
For stripers, live mackerel on a circle hook drifted through the rips and the river mouths, or a big soft plastic or a pencil popper cast to the rocks at first light. Fly anglers want a 9-weight with a sinking line and big flatwing patterns. For mackerel, a sabiki rig from any pier. Groundfish want a jig or a two-hook rig with clam on the ledges. For tuna, live mackerel on a heavy outfit or a spreader bar trolled through the bait.
Local Intel This Week
Public ramps: the Kittery town ramp on the Piscataqua, the Wells Harbor ramp, the Portland public ramp at East End Beach, and the Boothbay Harbor town ramp serve the coast from south to north. The Popham Beach State Park area has good shore access to the Kennebec mouth. Shore anglers have been catching stripers and mackerel from the Ogunquit and Wells beaches and the rocks at Two Lights. Fish are concentrating at the river mouths and the rocky points on the moving tide. Check current Maine DMR regulations before keeping fish — striped bass have a slot limit and circle hooks are required with bait, and the groundfish seasons and limits in the Gulf of Maine change frequently.
This Week’s Tip
The stripers on the Maine rocks are feeding on the mackerel and they want a big bait. Skip the small plugs this week and throw the biggest soft plastic or the largest pencil popper you have, worked slowly along the edge of the rocks on the moving tide. The fish are keyed on the size of the mackerel, and a small lure gets ignored.
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