| Fishing Guide / Author |
Fishing Reports for Local Area - Location |
    
Reel Ecstasy (Capt_joel)
New member
Username: Capt_joel
Post Number: 14
Registered: 5-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 03, 2007 - 10:53 am: | |
Week Ending 6/3/07
The Striped Bass fishing in NH has begun. Over the last two weeks I was prefishing getting ready to begin charters and checking to see which spots were holding fish. With the first Charter on Wed. 5/30/07 the mission became catching fish and that we did. We caught 60 fish on the 30th, most were smaller fish. We did have one nice fish around 30" up to the boat but as soon as I got the net in the water he gave a last effort and was gone. Friday and Saturday yielded about 40 fish per day, with a keeper a little under 30" caught both days. There are definately some bigger fish around but certainly the rule right now are 20-26 inch size fish. The smaller fish are a lot of fun on light tackle, and using circle hooks they go back in the water unharmed to grow up.
This season like the last 10 or 12 is very predictable with good numbers of stripers making their way to NH on Memorial Day. Striper fishing will remain consistent right through Sept. 30 when just as quick as they come they will leave to head to warmer waters.
Tight Lines, Capt. Joel www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com |
Reel Ecstasy (Capt_joel)
New member
Username: Capt_joel
Post Number: 13
Registered: 5-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, August 15, 2006 - 5:32 pm: | |
August fishing Report. Fishing remains excellent with many 6 hour trips yielding 70 or more fish. Most of these fish are under 28inches but every so often a big one comes over the side. We are now running into blues consistently in the river. On most trips we hook onto 5 or 6 but as we are not using wire leader often we only get one or two into the boat. This year as an added surprise we have caught a few sea bass. We are not targeting them and just catch them while we are fishing for Stripers. Over the last five years I have only caught one before, and this year we have caught at least a dozen with one last week weighing about 4 lbs. This has certainly been the best year for consistent Striper action. The fishing should remain fast and furious till the end of Sept. when the Stripers migrate south for the winter. I still have a number of opening in Sept. so it is not too late to get in on this incredible fishing action..
Tight lines, Capt. Joel
www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com |
Reel Ecstasy (Capt_joel)
New member
Username: Capt_joel
Post Number: 12
Registered: 5-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 5:30 pm: | |
June 22 Fishing Report. The last few trips have yielded plenty of fish but not to many NH keepers. Today changed all that. I was fishing with one client, Todd from northern Vt. and we caught many fish but also managed to land 4 keepers over 30" with the biggest just a little shy of 40". We took a ride to the mouth of the piscataqua took pictures of the light houses, shipyard and many of the other sites along the river and just had a grand old time. Well worth the drive from Vt, Todd said at the end. Hopefully the weather will finally stabilize some and the bigger fish will move back into the river in force. Tight lines. Capt.Joel www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com |
Reel Ecstasy (Capt_joel)
New member
Username: Capt_joel
Post Number: 11
Registered: 5-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 31, 2005 - 4:39 am: | |
May, 28 2005
Well finally got a break in the weather and some sun instead of rain.
Headed out with Eric his buddy Peter and their sons. The water was brown and loaded with debris from days of hard rains. Water temp. had dropped about 4 degrees from the previous week.
The fishing however was great. Started hitting fish immediately at our first spot, and continued to hit fish throughout the rest of the trip. Caught two keepers, and two more that probably could have been stretched to make the cut, (but we don’t play that game). In total caught about 30 Stripers.
Peter’s son Maxim had the biggest, a nice 30-inch fish that went home for dinner. The fishing will only be getting better and with the prediction of a change of weather pattern we should be into some great fishing with nice weather.
Regards, Capt Joel
www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com |
Reel Ecstasy (Capt_joel)
New member
Username: Capt_joel
Post Number: 10
Registered: 5-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 22, 2005 - 8:00 am: | |
Fishing Report May, 19 2005
The Stripers have made it to NH. Took out the new boat and
decided to give fishing a serious try. Caught a number of fish up to 26” in about 2 hours on cut bait and circle hooks. All the fish were healthy and fought hard.
Alewives are in the rivers as well so you can be sure the bigger fish are around. Didn’t see any surface activity but with the wind blowing that would not be unusual.
With any luck the weather will get nicer soon and many more fishing
trips will occur.
The new Reel Ecstasy is a great fishing boat and with the addition of gull wings I was able to go out when the weather was less than ideal.
Still adding rod holders and other finishing touches to make her a real fishing machine.
Regards, Capt. Joel
www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com |
Reel Ecstasy (Capt_joel)
New member
Username: Capt_joel
Post Number: 9
Registered: 5-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, September 18, 2004 - 7:39 am: | |
Fishing Report Week Ending 9/17/04
Fishing continues to be great in the River. We caught at least 50 fish each day and one day we boated over a hundred fish. Most days NH size keepers were caught (over 28inches). The most keepers caught for the week came on Saturday, Sept. 11 where we boated over 10 keepers. The big fish of the week was caught by Fred on Friday the 17th, a real fat 35+ inch striper. We also caught about a dozen blues that day. Most days the blues showed up mixed in with the stripers. The 3-5lb blues that are abundant in the river now are great eating for those who like the stronger taste of Bluefish.
I have a number of openings the last week of Sept. The fishing will still be good and the weather is cooler and pleasant. Don't miss out, book a trip before the fish migrate south for the winter.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Joel
www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com
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Reel Ecstasy (Capt_joel)
New member
Username: Capt_joel
Post Number: 8
Registered: 5-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 05, 2004 - 7:42 am: | |
Fishing Report Week Ending 9/04/04
Dog Days of Summer, Not for us this week. Absolutely great fishing had by all.
Best day of the week was Wednesday where Dave, by himself, caught over 50 fish. Dave was hot and his two buddies didn't count how many they caught, but we had at least 90 fish at the boat on this trip. Dave has been out with me a number of times before, as recently as last Saturday, but this day was different, he came with a few buddies and not members of his family. That meant he could fish and not worry about showing the others up.. It took his buddies a while to get with the program but once they did they were catching fish like crazy too.. Big fish of the week was also caught on this trip, not by Dave but by his buddy Bob, a beautiful 35 incher.
Other trips this week were also great with many fish caught on each trip. Morning or afternoon didn't matter, we were into fish.
There are many more days of great Striped Bass fishing left for the season, Sept. 30 is when they usually migrate out of the area but up until then catches of 30-50 fish are not uncommon, and if you are lucky and the conditions are right, you just might catch 50 by yourself, like Dave.
Tight Lines
Capt. Joel
www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com
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Reel Ecstasy (Capt_joel)
New member
Username: Capt_joel
Post Number: 7
Registered: 5-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 22, 2004 - 6:33 am: | |
Fishing Report Week Ending 8/21/04
This was the week for the largest number of Stripers caught per trip. On most days we caught upwards of 40 Stripers per trip with a few Bluefish mixed in. Most of the fish were in the 23-27 inch range,but, except for one trip we caught keeper size fish (over 28") on each outing. This week we also started to see Seals basking in the sun on the rocks around Little Bay. On Wednesdays afternoon trip, with Dwayne and Will (an actor from California) we caught 6 keepers with Dwayne's 36 incher coming over the side for the largest fish of the week. The morning trip with Jeff his 12 year old son Ian and 12 year old friend Ethan was also a great trip where we caught a few keepers as well as Ethans 31" Bluefish. Jeff and Ian did a Redfish trip down south earlier in the year and could not believe that we caught more fish in the first 15 minutes than they did in 6hours fishing for Reds. The Striper fishery in NH is really world class and the number of fish caught on each trip amazes even the most experienced anglers. On the light tackle we use, all of the fish put up a great fight and are a lot of fun to catch, but when we hook a big one it is a real blast.
Striper fishing will remain good in NH right through Sept. 30th. If you have not gone out yet, what are you waiting for?
Tight Lines, Capt. Joel
www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com |
Reel Ecstasy (Capt_joel)
New member
Username: Capt_joel
Post Number: 6
Registered: 5-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 25, 2004 - 6:50 am: | |
Fishing Report week ending 7/24/04
Striper activity continues to be great with catches each day between 20-40 fish. Blues have moved into the river as well and each day we hook up on a few in the 3-8lb range. Blues are great fighters on light tackle and will hit like a freight train and jump clear out of the water on light tackle. In order to bring them to the boat wire leader is necessary as these toothy critters will bite through mono line. Most days have produced keeper stripers in the 28-32 inch range, with a number of fish just under the NH legal limit caught each day.
Rain or Sun, incoming or outgoing tides doesn't matter, the fish are here. Best catch of the week 14 year old Courtney's sunglasses. She leaned over and off they went, quick action on my part and I snagged them with my rod as they were descending to the bottom. Now that is some great fishing..
Tight lines. Capt. Joel.
www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com
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Reel Ecstasy (Capt_joel)
New member
Username: Capt_joel
Post Number: 5
Registered: 5-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 5:20 pm: | |
Fishing Report Week Ending 6/27/2004
Once again we had a fantastic week striper fishing aboard the Reel Ecstasy. Some days the fishing was so hot we stayed in one spot the whole day and continued to catch fish. Each trip this week yielded at least 1 keeper and on a few trips we caught as many as 6 keepers with many, many smaller fish caught as well. On most days this week we caught upwards of 30 fish. My favorite day this week was with David and his 11 year old daughter Emily. We started off catching some smaller fish which Emily was at first having trouble with, but as our 6 hour trip progressed we found ourselves into a bunch of larger fish. David had a blast with a few 33 inch fish and we were all real pleased when Emily hooked up with a 30" incher and fought it to the boat like a real pro. What a day we had, the weather was rainy and we must have raised and lowered the Bimini top a dozen times but we all stayed dry and had a great time. Big fish honors this week go to Cora, who came with her Dad Kevin. They had been doing an annual trip the last few years, catching mackerel but after Cora, (and almost everyone else on the boat) got seasick last year they decided to try an inshore trip with me aboard Reel Ecstasy. Well Cora that 39" you caught was certainly no mackerel.. The weather was not the best this week with some rain and some wind but with the bimini top and a lot of inshore spots we were all able to stay dry, comfortable and catch plenty of fish.. Tight Lines Capt. Joel..
www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com
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Reel Ecstasy (Capt_joel)
New member
Username: Capt_joel
Post Number: 4
Registered: 5-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 20, 2004 - 6:09 am: | |
Fishing Report 6/19/2004
Great Fishing continues to be the norm for Reel Ecstasy patrons. Last week we had a number of big fish being caught including a 40 inch fish and BJ's 43 incher caught on 15lb spinning tackle. Most days we caught 15-30 fish although I did have a slow day on Saturday with a real nice couple Ken and Lynn. Only a few fish caught but we had a great time anyway. This week the fishing picked right up again and we had a number 20+ fish days with keepers caught on every trip. The weather people kept predicting rain but luckily they were wrong. Small Stripers have been up on the surface and have provided exciting action for fly fisherman. On a few trips, we started out with flys hooking up on numerous schoolies and then switched over to bait for the bigger fish later in the day. The weather has been good and the fish have certainly moved into NH waters to spend the summer.
Big Cod are being caught off shore, mackerel have been spotty, scattered bluefish are out there as well..
Tight Lines, Capt. Joel
www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com |
Reel Ecstasy (Capt_joel)
New member
Username: Capt_joel
Post Number: 3
Registered: 5-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 6:14 pm: | |
Fishing Report, 6/9/2004
Warm weather has certainly started to heat the fishing up. We have been getting keepers every day now and on Monday got a nice 38inch fish. It was a graduation present trip for Seth, who has been accepted to the college of choice. After a busy exam schedule Dad Steve thought a fishing trip would be a great way to unwind. Great experience with some big fish being caught. Tuesday, Deb and Tim headed out with me and scored on a nice 34" fish along with a few other big boys.. Wed was about the same with Carl and his friends as we finished the day with a pair of 31 inch twins to bring to the Grill. Many other fish were caught on all days and smiles were had by all including the captain. More good fishing to come as the season is just getting started.
Tight lines, Capt. Joel
www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com
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Reel Ecstasy (Capt_joel)
New member
Username: Capt_joel
Post Number: 2
Registered: 5-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 01, 2004 - 6:52 am: | |
37 incher caught despite the bad weather.
Fishing Report; Week Ending 5/30/2004
This week’s story was all about the weather. If it wasn’t raining,
it was windy, really windy. Oh yeah, I think we had one sunny,
nice day thrown in to keep us from going off the deep end.
The Stripers though are in NH, the Piscataqua River and Great Bay
Estuary has all size classes of Stripers now. On the days we did go
out, we caught a dozen or so each day up to around 26inches.
A bigger fish 37+ inches came over the side on Friday. There are
bigger fish in the river, and bays now, it is not all about schoolies
anymore. Alewives are at the dams and at the mouth of the rivers
mackerel are available as well. All the makings of a great Striper
season is here, now we just need the weather to cooperate.
Regards, Capt. Joel
www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com
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Reel Ecstasy (Capt_joel)
New member
Username: Capt_joel
Post Number: 1
Registered: 5-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 18, 2004 - 5:25 am: | |
Fishing Report May 17, 2004
Piscataqua River
Well the Stripers have started to arrive in NH. Like all good snowbirds the Stripers spend their winter in warmer waters and head up to NH to spend the entire summer.
They know where the good life is, and upon arriving at the end of May they stay until the cold water temps invade our coastline.
Went out today and caught over 20 schoolies between 16-20 inches. The fish are currently small but that is right on track for the bigger fish to start arriving within the next week or two. There have been some reports of bigger fish being taken and I saw a number of larger fish follow up the schoolies being brought to the side of the boat.
This time of year it is important to find the warmer water for the largest concentrations of fish. For the schoolie size fish, plastic shad imitators, maribou jigs, and rattle traps proved most successful for me. Fly fisherman also do well this time of year.
It is only a short matter of time before the incredible striper fishing found in NH is back into full swing.
Last year we caught fish on every trip and most trips yielded 15-30 fish. On 95% of our trips we caught keeper size Striped Bass. All reports indicate that this will be another incredible year for Striped Bass fishing in NH.
Tight lines,
Capt. Joel.
www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com
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Capt. Joel Koch (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
Rating: 
Votes: 2 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 11, 2003 - 4:57 pm: | |
Fishing Report 9/11/2003
Been off the water for a week or so due to a blown powerhead on the boat. Finally got to go back out fishing today. Went out with Rob and Chris both local police officers who came right off the night shift to go fishing. We got 22 Stripers and 1 5lb blue fish. Three of the Stripers were between 29 and 30 inches and two just nosed up to the 28” mark.
All fish were caught chunking in the Piscataqua river on an incoming tide.
Passed a few small groups of busting fish near Little Bay. They were small fish and didn’t stay up very long. Also came up on one of the seals as he was cruising along in the river. Always a fun addition to any trip.
The fishing should remain great in the river for another 3 weeks or so before it starts to taper off as the Stripers begin to migrate south for the winter.
Good Fishing,
Capt. Joel
www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com
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Capt. Joel Koch
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 28, 2003 - 10:15 am: | |
Subject: Piscataqua River NH
Fishing report May 27, 2003
Looked like we were finally going to get a break in the weather, on Tuesday so I decided it was time to venture out. I was surprised that there was no surface activity as the sky was overcast when I got out around 10 A.M.
I spent some time casting spoons and light jigs and was rewarded with only 1 small schoolie. I decided to head to the mouth of the Piscataqua River as I had heard reports of Mackeral starting to show their presence. I did not find any fish, but only spent a short time jigging around 2KR as the fog started to roll in and I was really targeting stripers anyway.
Headed back up river, as the tide was starting to turn.
Started chunking herring as soon as the tide started to run out and was almost immediately rewarded with a nice Striper about 26”, In about 3 hours I caught and released 10 fish up to 27” and broke one off on a lobster trap that was even bigger.
Just as the fish started to turn on, the sun came out, a sight that had not been seen for a week or so. Just great, fishing on a sunny day in May. Spring as it was always supposed to be.
It only gets better from here on out.
Good Fishing
Capt. Joel Koch
Reel Ecstasy
www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com
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Capt. Joel Koch
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 16, 2003 - 10:21 am: | |
Subject: Stripers arrive in NH
May 15, 2003
Stripers have moved into the New Hampshire Seacoast and Rivers.
With the cold winter, and not so perfect spring it seems like it has taken forever for the Striped Bass to move up to NH. Well they have finally arrived. Schoolie sized fish are being caught and that means the larger fish are only a week or two away. Casting jigs and spoons we caught a few fish in the typical early season spots. Fish in areas where the water temps are a few degrees warmer than surrounding locations. Using lighter tackle and small lures will add to your success.
It only gets better from here, and we have at least 4 months of great Striper fishing ahead.
Good Fishing,
Capt. Joel Koch
www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com
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Capt Joel Koch
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 28, 2002 - 6:38 pm: | |
Subject: Fishing Piscataqua River
Fishing in the Piscataqua remains great. On four outings this week caught a total of 17 keepers with many smaller fish mixed in. Largest fish of the week was a 34" with a couple of others real close. Used both cut and live bait. Had a hard time catching live bait near shore but went to the Isle of Shoals and loaded up. Saw some party boats blue fishing but did not see any caught.
Capt. Joel on the "Reel Ecstasy"
www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com |
Capt. Joel Koch
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 19, 2002 - 9:49 am: | |
Subject: Piscataqua River NH
Fished on Tuesday with live bait and on Thursday with cut bait. Many fish caught with largest 38inches on cut bait. 6 other keepers caught.
Reel Ecstasy
www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com |
Capt. Joel
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 08, 2002 - 8:08 pm: | |
Subject: Fishing NH
July 8th
The heat of the first week of July made the Striper fishing a little tough for most anglers. Live bait was hard to come by and were scattered due to the heat and very warm surface temperatures. Anglers who keep live bait dockside overnight were alarmed to find the 70degree plus surface temps. had killed off most of their saved baits.
Those who were able to find live bait (Pollock or Mackerel) were rewarded with consistent action throughout the warm spell, as the Striped Bass were still thick in the river despite the warmer temperatures. We had a real fight on our hands on Thursday as a large Bass struck a bait rig as were bringing in some baits. With the light line used on the Sabiki rigs I set the drag real loose and had the fish on for a long time until he broke off as he made a final run near the boat, oh well!
Anglers fishing for mackerel were surprised by the larger fish that had now moved in to the mouth of the river and near shore humps. These larger mackerel put up a good fight on lighter tackle or when caught in numbers on Sabiki rigs.
Cooler temps. made catching live bait easier until Saturday’s winds picked up and made it real difficult to slow drift or anchor and fish outside of the mouth for bait.
On Monday July 8th fishing seemed finally back to normal. Surface schools of feeding Striper were busting baits all morning around Hilton Park and the General Sullivan Bridge. We caught many of these smaller fish on 8lb spinning tackle using white marabou jigs. No other anglers were working these fish and we could have stayed on them all day but instead decided to chunk for larger fish. Within a few hours using cut bait we were able to boat a large number of fish including a real fat 34” bass that weighed close to 20lbs. A great fight on the lighter bait casting tackle we were using.
Good luck and good fishing.
Capt. Joel Koch
Reel Ecstasy Charters
www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com
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Capt. Joel Koch
Unregistered guest
Rating: 
Votes: 2 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, June 25, 2002 - 8:56 pm: | |
Subject: Striper fishing NH
Fishing was great in the Piscataqua river, chunking caught about 40 fish, 5 keepers, but most were good fish in the 25-27 inch range.
The warmer weather seems to make for the best fishing.
Capt. Joel.
www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com |
Capt Joel Koch
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, June 20, 2002 - 8:48 am: | |
Subject: Live bait fishing NH
Reel Ecstasy
www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com
Fishing Report
June 14th
Live baiting for Stripers on the Seacoast of NH.
On Friday June 14, we finally had some really nice weather, with predictions of bad weather ahead. It seems like the fisherman and fish alike agreed that Friday was a good day to go fishing.
The Pollack have moved onto the humps near the mouth of the rivers and near shore areas. Pollack make excellent live bait for stripers and at times are more abundant and easier to catch than mackerel. Using Sabiki rigs and diamond jigs we were quickly able to boat a number of these baits with a few mackerel mixed in. Sabiki rigs in larger hook size with gold hooks seem to work best. Use a little chum to get the potential baits feeding and try different depths to locate the baits. If after a short while you don’t catch any baits move to a new spot nearby.
We drifted the live baits near the mouth of the Piscataqua River with good success, starting real close to shore and drifting out to the channel, catching fish at various depths. Moving up the river near the shipyard, we found that there was a lot of action there with at least a dozen boats drifting and catching fish. The rip in front of the shipyard as well as along side of the icebreaker was producing. Surprisingly amid all the action the stripers were chasing baits on the surface and fly fisherman were into the action as well. The stripers were aggressively chasing the baits we had on and it was quite a thrill to see the baits jump out of the water to avoid being inhaled.
Fishing was great on Friday but the weekend proved to be rainy as predicted.
Yes, circle hooks do work well for live bait fishing. As always it is important when using circle hooks to not set the hook on a fish, slowly real in and just stop the fish. Circle hooks are self-hooking and setting the hook only causes the hook to pull out of the fish’s mouth.
Good Fishing,
Capt. Joel Koch
www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com
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Capt. Joel Koch
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, June 15, 2002 - 11:14 am: | |
Subject: Striped Bass Fishing NH
Reel Ecstasy
www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com
Fishing Report
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.
Good Fishing,
Capt. Joel Koch
www.nhsaltwaterfishing.com
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BILL
Unregistered guest
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 12, 2001 - 9:02 am: | |
Subject: ? WINTER FISHING ?
IS THERE ANY THING TO CATCH ON THE N.H. COAST IN EARLY MARCH? THE WEATHER DOESNT BOTHER ME MUCH, AND IV GOT THE ITCH TO GO!!! |
