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Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Capt. Joel Koch
June 9, 2002
Portsmouth - Saltwater Fishing Report
Large Stripers move in
Schoolies busting baits on the surface
June 4th and 5th
The Striper fishing has been excellent on the rivers of NH and the larger Stripers continue to move in. On the Piscataqua River, Little Bay and Great Bay, many stripers over 28” were caught chunking and most others caught were near that size. This is unusual for this time of year as usually it is the middle to end of June before keeper size stripers begin to appear in any numbers. Of course this was an unusual spring and winter with temperatures way above normal. Currently water temps in the river are between 55 –59 degrees, which is warm for this time of year.
When using bait, use circle hooks, they really do help with catch and release. Most fish will be hooked in the mouth as long as you attempt to hook the fish as soon as he takes the bait, not waiting until it is swallowed. If the hook does get into the gut cut it off as close to the hook as possible; eventually it will rust or fall out. Every trip I catch fish that have hooks in them from other fishermen, most will continue to eat and live.
Surface activity was constant on Wed. June 5th east of Goat Island. The sky was overcast and the fish stayed on the surface busting baits throughout most of the day. These fish were schoolie size but provided great excitement for the few anglers who fish midweek. Over the last few years I have not seen a lot of surface activity on the Piscataqua River so I was real excited to see them busting baits throughout the day.
This brought back memories of 4 or 5 years ago when it was common to see fish working the surface in the river.
When working a school on the surface it is important not to motor through the school. Try to determine the path of the fish, (if they are moving) the current and the wind. Then slowly position the boat on the outside of the school so that you will move through the school silently. I am always amazed at fishermen who motor through a school of fish, and then wonder where they went only to motor through them again as they pop up a short distance away.
If you don’t fly fish but want to take advantage of this surface activity try using smaller marabou or feather jigs. These work great in the ¼ or 3/8 oz size on light spin tackle in the 4-8lb test range. I prefer using white or green colors. When the fish are busting the surface the larger portion of the school is actually below and the weighted jig will get down deeper than most flies and produce a good number of fish. Also, for many who cannot cast a fly a great distance, this gives them the opportunity to get to the school and catch fish.
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