Atlantic Maine Fishing Report: Stripers, Blues, and Haddock Heating Up the Coast

Good morning, anglers, it’s Artificial Lure here with your Maine coast Atlantic fishing report for Friday, August 15th, 2025. The conditions this week have been electric across southern and midcoast waters, with a dose of late-summer excitement as cool nights and warm days bring some of the best saltwater action you’ll find all season.

First up, let’s talk weather: Early fog is burning off most mornings, giving way to partly cloudy skies and highs in the upper 70s. Seas are calm, with just enough breeze to keep things comfortable throughout the day. Tides today, according to NOAA, are running out in the morning with a low just past 9:15 AM and flooding back until a 3:30 PM high—classic timing for a productive incoming search near river mouths and rocky points.

Sunrise was at 5:43 AM, plenty of light already streaming over the water by first cast, and sunset will drop out at 7:46 PM. If you’re hunting the early bite or planning a dusk mission, those transition periods are prime for surface action.

Let’s run down the hot fishery news. According to On The Water, the striped bass bite remains strong up and down the coast, with plenty of 24- to 32-inch fish blitzing on sand eels and peanut bunker. Salisbury Beach just over the border has been excellent for trolling plugs. In Maine proper, rocky outcrops fished with white paddletails or bucktail jigs have been pulling good stripers, especially early and late. A few lucky anglers have even connected with bigger keeper-size bass around dusk this week.

Bluefish made a rowdy showing recently, working bait pods hard—plenty of sharp-toothed action for those tossing metals or topwater poppers. Bonito are mixing in with schoolie bass from Kittery to Portland—epoxy jigs and small spoons mimic the silversides and peanut bunker they're blitzing on.

Groundfishing offshore is steady, too. Instagram reports and local charters confirm haddock are holding in that 220–240-foot range, especially off Jeffreys and down east. Thumbnails of fresh clam or strips of squid are the ticket for haddock, and plenty of shorts are in the mix so measure carefully.

A word of caution: USA News Today reports that a 10–12-foot great white shark has been seen several times this week near Richmond Island, Scarborough Beach, and Pine Point. If you’re fishing the surf or working near the mouth of the Saco, keep an eye out, stay aware, and admire these apex predators from a respectful distance.

Lure and bait advice for today: Striped bass are hitting best on white soft plastics, paddle tails, and swimming plugs like SP Minnows and classic pencil poppers. Metals and epoxy jigs are go-tos if you run into bluefish or bonito blitzes. For bottom dwellers like haddock, thumbnail pieces of clam or fresh squid are working well. Surfcasters should try chunked mackerel or sandworms around dusk.

Hot spots this week include the walls, jetties, and surf along Pine Point Beach and the rocky ledges at Biddeford Pool. For boat anglers, the rips off Richmond Island and Cape Elizabeth continue to give up quality stripers and blues on topwater first light. Offshore, try the deeper humps off Jeffreys Ledge for haddock action.

As always, if you’re targeting tuna, be aware the bluefin recreational season is closed as of August 12th, per NOAA—so it’s all burn-and-release for now. Yellowfin and mahi are still out there for those making the longer run.

That wraps it up for your Atlantic Maine fishing update. Thanks for tuning in—make sure to subscribe for the latest local reports, tips, and hot baits. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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