Maine offshore fishing report by Teazer Charters

Inshore Fishing Report
June 20, 2024
Jonah Paris

We ventured offshore on Wednesday (6/19) during the heatwave and were rewarded with a quality trip. We landed plenty of keeper haddock, with most between 18 and 21 in., and some real beauties pushing 24 in. Haddock must be a minimum of 17 in. for private recreational boats, and 18 in. for charter boats. Bag limits are also different. Review the regulations and measure closely; we released many shorts between 16 and 18 in.

Start your drift shallow. The majority of haddock were stacked up on the high ground in 200-225 ft., with larger fish caught towards the end of the drift in 230-240 ft. Any deeper than 245 ft. yielded dogfish and cod. We caught a few pollock in 220 ft. as well. There is a lot of water out there - don't be afraid to drift away from the fleet and explore. Fish can't read the charts. Many times, we have stumbled into crazy groundfishing far from any traditional "numbers."

Cut clams were the bait of choice. The stomachs of the fish, both haddock and pollock, were loaded with shrimp. If you choose to jig, be sure to fish a pink, orange, or other “shrimpy” colored teaser fly or soft plastic above your jig. 

I spotted some cute 40 in. football tuna boiling on bait near West Cod Ledge earlier this month. We always keep a heavy spinning outfit rigged with a RonZ or oversized popper at the ready, just in case. Expect the tuna bite to fire up in the coming weeks as bluefin continue to filter into our waters and settle into their summer feeding patterns.

Don’t miss the bite! Get out there and fish!

Jonah Paris
First Mate
TEAZER Charters
South Portland, ME