Maine Coast Stripers, Haddock Offshore - June 18 Fishing Report

Atlantic anglers, Artificial Lure here with your Wednesday, June 18th, 2025 fishing report for the Atlantic Ocean waters in and around Maine.

Sunrise hit at 4:59 this morning and we’ll have daylight until 8:25 tonight, so there’s plenty of time to get your lines wet. Tides peaked at a nice 9.6 feet at 4:36am, bottoming out at just 0.2 feet mid-morning around 10:56am, and swinging back up to another solid 9.5 feet by 5:16pm. Evening fishermen can expect another low just before midnight, so the bite should fire up on those tide changes according to Portland’s tide chart for today.

Weather-wise, it’s another typical coastal Maine day: cool in the morning, warming up with a sea breeze by noon. Pack some rain gear just in case, as a patchy fog bank could roll in off the water by dusk. Water temps are still running cool offshore—barely into the low 50s—but inshore spots have warmed enough for some good action.

Striped bass fishing is red-hot right now. Surfland Bait and Tackle and Saco Bay Tackle Company both say the oceanfront bite is outpacing river action now that most of the herring have cleared out. The Camp Ellis and Pine Point jetties are lighting up with stripers, especially at first and last light. Anglers are pulling in hefty 24- to 30-inch fish around Parsons Beach and Drakes Island. Chunking fresh mackerel has been the best trick for the bigger bass, while sandworms and Whip-it-Eels are the top choices for numbers. If you like tossing lures, soft plastics like the Albie Snax XL, glide baits, and jointed swimmers are all putting fish on deck, and don’t sleep on topwater plugs near dusk for some explosive strikes.

Offshore, those cold water temps are keeping haddock stacked on the ledges. The Bunny Clark out of Ogunquit has had excellent results drifting and anchoring, with most legal landings made up of haddock, plus good cusk numbers, some pollock around five pounds, and scattered redfish. Cod are showing in small numbers but must be released. Remember, halibut is now closed until next year for recreational anglers, as per Maine’s regulations.

As far as bait goes, you can’t go wrong with chunk mackerel, sandworms, or even a soft plastic rigged on a jighead for stripers. Offshore, clams and squid strips are the usual producers for haddock and cusk.

For hot spots, check out the Camp Ellis Jetty, especially on the outgoing tide, and Parsons Beach for prime surf casting. Offshore, Saco Bay and the ledges south of Portland are producing steady groundfish action.

That's your June 18th Maine coast fishing update from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in—don’t forget to subscribe for your daily fix of local angling news. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease dot ai.