I found myself in Maine for a wedding in August, which seems to be when everyone else finds himself in Maine, as it was quite crowded. However, there is good reason for this: Maine is beautiful and, during its month-long summer (August), it is warm. I chose George Harris (https://superfly-charters.com) for stripers on light tackle. We left Bath at 4:30 a.m., which, following the previous night’s bachelor party, was definitely not the high point of my trip.
Navigating the convergence of the Kennebec River and the Atlantic Ocean was an adventure in itself, with the falling tide crashing violently against the ocean waves, all while next to numerous rocky islands. It was not exactly Odysseus sailing through Scylla and Charybdis, but it was definitely unexpected, especially when half-asleep before 5 a.m. George calmly steered us through the chaos while water surged over the bow and I second-guessed my decision to fish the morning after a bachelor party. After that bit of excitement, we were in open water, jigging for pollock and Atlantic mackerel. I always enjoy this type of light tackle jigging. Once we caught enough bait, we set our sights on stripers. I caught two beautiful stripers in a row, one 35 inches and the other 34 inches, on very light tackle, which made for two great fights in quick succession. The bite was very slow outside of that and I did not catch any other stripers, but two good ones of that size made for a great trip. I also saw a whale surfacing near the boat as we headed to the fishing grounds, which was a fun bonus.
