NEW HAMPSHIRE & MAINE FISHING MAP
Fishing Hot Spots
From Hampton Harbor and the Isles of Shoals up the Maine coast past Nubble Light, Saco Bay, Portland and Casco Bay, the Kennebec, Monhegan and Penobscot Bay, to Mount Desert, Schoodic and West Quoddy Head on the Canadian border, with Jeffreys Ledge and the Gulf of Maine banks offshore. Tap any star or dot to see what it is and what to fish there.
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Parks & rules
Safety: these are planning references. Use current official charts, weather and marine alerts and proper safety equipment before heading out.
Lake guides for this map
Month-by-month patterns, fish, ramps and rules for each water:
Fishing Hot Spots by area
River mouths, rocky points, ledges, islands and offshore banks. Tap one to fly to it on the map.
Striped bass in the river mouths, pollock on the ledges and giant bluefin offshore
New Hampshire and Maine have a short, cold-water season, but it is a great one. Striped bass arrive in late May and stay into October, and the best fishing is in the river mouths and rocky points: the Piscataqua at Portsmouth, Hampton Harbor, the Saco, the Scarborough River, Casco Bay and especially the Kennebec. Mackerel are everywhere in summer, and pollock, cod and cunner live on the ledges and around the islands.
Offshore, Jeffreys Ledge, Platts Bank and the other Gulf of Maine banks hold haddock, pollock and cod, and are famous for giant bluefin tuna and whales in the summer and fall. Cashes Ledge is a protected groundfish closure area. Way Downeast at Lubec and Eastport, the Bay of Fundy tides are some of the biggest in the world.
New Hampshire needs a recreational saltwater license and Maine a free saltwater registry. Striped bass have a slot limit, and Gulf of Maine cod and haddock rules are strict and change often; bluefin tuna need a federal HMS permit. Check NH Fish & Game, Maine DMR and NOAA Fisheries before you go.
BigJoe’s gear for New Hampshire & Maine
What BigJoe would bring to fish these waters.
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