Maine's Surf and Boat Stripers Thrive in Cooling Temps

This is Artificial Lure with your June 14, 2025, Atlantic Ocean Maine fishing report.

Maine’s coastal waters are waking up strong this June, despite some lingering cool offshore temps that have kept things fresh and lively. The morning started cool but is turning into a perfect day for both surf and boat anglers, with clear skies and a steady southwest breeze building in. Sunrise this morning was at 4:58am and sunset’s at 8:24pm, giving you a big window to get lines in the water. Tides out of Portland show a high at 1:27am with another at 2:12pm, and lows hitting at 7:56am and 7:57pm—so plan to work those shifting currents, especially around the early morning or late afternoon low tides, which have been especially productive for stripers and bait activity according to the Portland Maine tide chart.

The striper bite has been the main event all week. Saco Bay Tackle Company said the oceanfront is producing better now that the herring runs are slowing up. Pine Point and the Camp Ellis jetties are hot spots, with sandworms the top bait choice, and Whip-it-Eels taking the cake for artificial lures. Webhannet Bait and Tackle reports a solid push of 24”-30” stripers at Parsons Beach and Drakes Island, especially around the salt pond, with chunked mackerel leading to catches in the low 30-inch range. As sundown approaches, the Mousam River’s upstream sections are seeing a hot topwater bite and big fish also falling for paddletails.

If you’re heading out with artificial lures, Captain Lou Tirado of Diamond Pass Outfitters swears by the Albie Snax XL this week, though topwater plugs, glide baits, and jointed swimmers are also putting fish in the boat. The bass are still keyed on herring, but mackerel are showing up in Saco, Casco Bay, and the islands, ushering in a new wave of activity along the beaches and sand flats. Those mackerel drifts through the Piscataqua River are getting smashed by hungry stripers. Early risers have a shot at mackerel around the Saco Bay islands, but they’re patchy—try a sabiki rig and keep moving if you don’t find a school right away.

Offshore, haddock fishing remains strong atop the ledges thanks to those cooler-than-normal water temps, with pollock numbers also picking up this week. Bunny Clark Deep Sea Fishing has seen some of the season’s largest pollock just pop up, so if bottom fishing is your game, things are heating up.

A couple of must-visit spots for the weekend:
- The Camp Ellis jetties for stripers with sandworms or mackerel chunks.
- Parsons Beach at dusk for a topwater striper blitz—cast right into the salt pond mouth.

Remember, halibut season is now closed as of today, so make sure you’re up to speed on current regs and focus on stripers, haddock, or those inshore smallmouth and panfish if you want a change of pace.

Thanks for tuning in to the latest from the Maine coast—make sure to subscribe for daily updates and don’t miss a tide. This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.