Maine's Early Summer Fishing: Stripers, Haddock, and More on the Atlantic Coast

Good morning folks, Artificial Lure here with your June 11th fishing report for Maine’s Atlantic coast. We’re waking up today to classic early summer conditions—cool mornings, calm seas, and the smell of opportunity on the salt air.

High tide rolled in at Bar Harbor at 5:22 AM, cresting just over ten feet, with a low expected around 11:45 AM. Tonight, sunset hits at 8:20 PM, giving us a long evening push for that golden-hour bite. Sunrise was at 4:51 AM, so those who were up early likely found action before the breeze picked up. According to the crew at Spreaker, another push of high water arrives mid-afternoon, around 4:05 PM, which means your outgoing and incoming windows are both primed for topwater action.

Weather is cooperating nicely—expect cool to mild temps, partly cloudy skies, and a light onshore breeze. No big storms in the forecast, just the typical June pattern that keeps fish active and bug hatches thick.

Striper action is hot along the midcoast! Reports from On The Water indicate big bass chasing mackerel and bunker, particularly around the mouths of the Kennebec and near the rocky shoreline off Portland. Bluefish are also making runs, smashing metals in the rips and blitzing on surface schools of mackerel. Some stripers are coming in north of 40 inches, and even the typical slot fish are plentiful. Live eels, soft plastics like Slug-Gos, and diamond jigs have all been putting fish in the boat, while the classic chunked mackerel on a circle hook remains a can’t-miss for the bigger girls.

For bottom enthusiasts, the haddock bite offshore has been excellent, with some true slabs caught on the reefs. There’s also a run of sea bass and scup heating up on the deeper structure, and fluke are getting active in sandy bays, especially on the incoming. The reports from On The Water show that jigs tipped with Gulp! or squid strips are out-fishing traditional baits for these flatties.

If you’re after something on the lighter side, white perch and panfish in the tidal rivers, like the Presumpscot and the Saco, are absolutely on fire this month. Maine IFW recommends nightcrawlers under a float or a chunk of worm on a jig—these are dynamite, especially as the sun settles and the bugs start to swarm.

Hot spots? You can’t go wrong with the ledges off Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth or drifting in the Kennebec River just south of Bath for a mixed-bag morning. For shore anglers, the jetties at Pine Point in Scarborough are a perennial favorite, especially now with stripers and blues on the move.

That’s the scoop for today—tight lines to everyone heading out after work, and don’t forget to check your tides before launching. Thanks for tuning in to your Maine coastal fishing report—this is Artificial Lure reminding you to subscribe for the latest bite updates.

This has been a Quiet Please production. For more, check out quietplease.ai.