Southern Maine Fishing, Deep Sea Fishing in Maine (York County)

What's more relaxing - or exciting - than a Maine fishing trip while you're on vacation, on your honeymoon, or for a "guys' day out" that you'll talk about for years?

And while it's fantastic to go out on a deep sea fishing charter in Maine with the guys, a family vacation can also be a great time to introduce your kids to the thrills of Maine fishing!

Fortunately, Southern Maine offers you a wide variety of fishing experiences while you're here: you can fish from a kayak, from shore, the bridges, the river, freshwater, inshore, deep sea - or all of them!

Me? I've done none of them, so many, many thanks to Captain Greg Brown of GCove Charters in York for sitting down with me and sharing his knowledge of our local waters...

Southern Maine fishing (saltwater) generally occurs between late April and late November. Shad are usually the first to arrive sometime during the first two weeks of May. Striped bass can be here as early as the first of April, but they usually start to show up around the second week of May.

Inshore, primetime for striped bass is from June through September. Bluefish are not quite as dependable as the stripers but usually show up in July and will continue to bite through early October.

Deep sea Maine fishing is generally for cod, haddock, pollock, wolf fish, halibut and cusk. Summer not only brings the blues, but farther out at sea bluefin tuna and some excellent shark fishing can be had.

Click here for information on resident and non-resident Maine fishing licenses

Click here for a map of fishing spots listed on this page

"Maine is renowned for its landlocked salmon and brook trout fishing. Locally, our trout waters are mostly small streams with little brookies in them or small ponds that have brook and rainbow trout in them. These places fish well in the spring and fall. If you are willing to drive an hour or so north of our shop you can find bigger waters that hold larger trout and landlocked salmon, and some of those waters fish well year round. In the fall, local trout fishing will start to pick up again.

During the dog days of summer when our local streams and ponds are low with warmer water, we like to leave trout alone and instead hit some of the of the area’s largemouth bass ponds which can very productive.

Starting in October, we concentrate on coastal streams to target sea run brown and brook trout. The state of Maine has been putting a lot of effort into creating a sea run brown trout fishery for winter time fun by doing fall stockings of 14” and up brown trout. A true sea run trout is a fish of a thousand casts but if you are fortunate enough to hook one, it will be an experience that you will not soon forget."

Rent a rod and reel over at Eldredge Bros. Fly Shop on Route 1 and head for Sewalls Bridge for a couple hours! You can even pick up a couple of lobsters fresh off the boat right at the end of the bridge...

No luck on the bridges? You might want to try fishing the river over at the Town Docks, too. Just head for the beginning of Harris Island Road, near the York Harbor Marina.

Surfcasting in York? Try your luck for blues and stripers on the rocky southern end of Long Sands beach, or among the boulders along the Cliff Path adjacent to Harbor Beach!

Return from Maine Fishing to Inside York Maine Vacations Home Page

Like Inside York Maine Vacations on Facebook - News, Tips & More!