Coastal NH and Maine: pollock on Jeffreys, stripers in the rivers

New Hampshire’s saltwater week is pollock first, then bass in the river. Capt. Andy of Adventure and Catch Charters told On The Water’s Ron Powers (Sept. 10) he has been into big pollock on Jeffreys Ledge high spots, fish under bait a few feet off the bottom. Cod are in about 205 feet with some haddock and cusk mixed in; Pigeon Hill and the Curl got the shout-out for the full gadoid mix. Mackerel have been easy from Rye through Wells. Slot-size-and-up stripers are sniffing squid and herring fry around Piscataqua marinas, and beach trollers are dragging macks at Salisbury, Wallis Sands, and Rye. Inland, Winnipesaukee lake trout are on nearshore smelt — one cited fish went 15 pounds.

Southern Maine, per Capt. Lou of Diamond Pass Outfitters, is a weather call. When seas settle, beach stripers show from Fortune’s Rocks to Scarborough Marsh; the fish are nomadic, so the anglers covering water catch more. Rivers are bait-filled for a sustained fall run. Night eels in the estuaries are the more consistent play for bigger bass. Inshore ledge is giving up keeper cod (23-inch minimum) without much fuss, and the farther run from Tantas to Platts is adding haddock and pollock to the cooler.

This is a coastal report, not a regulation change. Confirm New Hampshire and Maine marine size and bag tables — especially the 23-inch Maine cod minimum — before you keep a fish.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: On The Water — Coastal New Hampshire and Maine Coast Fishing Report, September 10, 2026 (Ron Powers, Sept. 10, 2026).