Maine's Saltwater Slam: Stripers, Haddock, and Mackerel Action Heats Up the Atlantic Coast

Artificial Lure here, reporting for June 13th from the rocky shores and salty bays of Maine’s Atlantic coast.

Sunrise came early at 4:47 AM and there's plenty of daylight to fish until sunset at 8:18 PM. High tide rolled through Bar Harbor around 1:08 AM with another at 1:47 PM, and lows in between at 7:38 AM and 7:43 PM, so plan your outings around those moving waters — stripers especially love the outgoing tide. We’re firmly into the classic Maine June pattern: cool, dry mornings warming to breezy afternoons, keeping fish active and bug hatches thick. No big storms in the forecast, just prime conditions for a full day on the water.

Striper action is downright hot. Fish in the 40-inch range have pushed into Maine waters, with schoolie and slot-size bass blitzing herring and mackerel from the Saco River up through Casco Bay. Early morning and late evening are producing strong bites. Mackerel are thick around Saco Bay’s islands at first light — best results coming on size 10-12 Sabiki rigs with gold flash or UV hues. Along sandy beaches and marsh mouths, bone-colored SP Minnows, white soft plastic stickbaits, and DB Smelts in silver/blue are top producers. Fly anglers should throw the red/grey Ghost streamer for consistent action.

For bait, you can’t beat live or chunk mackerel right now. Tube-and-worm rigs are also working well, especially around outgoing tides near river mouths like the Kennebunk and Saco. If you’re after bottom dwellers, the offshore groundfishing scene is shining this season. Legal haddock are dominating catches with fish topping 5 pounds, and some double-digit slabs early in the week. Bunny Clark Deep Sea Fishing reported steady picking with a stellar finish on their last stop — haddock, cusk, a halibut, redfish, and some chunky pollock all made an appearance. Clams and paddletails are bringing in results inshore, especially for white perch and stripers prowling the edges of grass banks and sod marshes.

Looking for hot spots? Saco Bay’s inshore islands and the mouth of the Saco River are hard to beat at sunrise for both stripers and mackerel. Casco Bay’s marshes and river mouths are also lighting up as the tide pushes in, with herring runs keeping bass interested. Offshore, any of the deeper humps east of Monhegan are holding haddock and cusk.

Quick tip: if you’re not getting hits, move until you find bait or marks — the fish are on the move daily with shifting tides and bait schools.

That’s your Maine Atlantic fishing report for today. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe for tomorrow’s update. This has been a Quiet Please production. For more, check out quietplease.ai.