By Tim Moore
August was a tough month for most anglers on the striper front. Wildly fluctuating water temperatures all but shut the fishing down. The big fish seemed to vanish unless you could be mobile and fish ledges, cuts, and drops where the bigger fish were laying. It closely resembled early spring time fishing. However, a recent surge in activity seems to have revitalized the striper bite, giving many anglers hope for some sort of fall run.
As we progress through the month of September, anglers should focus their attention to the immediate coast.There has been some good activity in Maine and those fish will be swimming south very soon as the stripers make their southerly migration. Most of those fish will bypass rivers like the Piscataqua, which forms a portion of the border between Maine and New Hampshire, and will stay out along the coast in the rocks.
Vertical jigging isn’t a widely used technique along the New Hampshire coast, but it should be. We recently discovered a deadly new combination that was intended for black sea bass, but wound up providing more stripers.I added my signature series Whisperer lure from Daddy Mac Lures to a Daddy Mac diamond jig and dropped it to the bottom near structure in heavy current. To my surprise the stripers were quicker to eat it than the black sea bass. I always have Whisperers with me when I go fishing, but now I carry diamond jigs with me, too.
One thing we are really excited about is the fall northern pike bite. We will be offering northern pike kayak fishing trips, and after our success with the pike this spring, we have been booking trips like crazy. We know some key areas that hold big fish and found that the Whisperer lure was irresistible to pike. Almost any setback on the Connecticut River south of Littleton will hold pike. As the water cools, these toothy critters will move back into shallow water and feed aggressively. Tie on a Whisperer lure rigged weightless on a 3/0 offset Texposer hook and the pike will crush it. We suggest pearl color on bright days and the new midnight color during low light conditions. Don’t forget your steel or heavy fluorocarbon leaders. We can also suggest trying Tyger Leader; a stainless steel leader that allows you to select any length and use almost any knot.
Remember that the federal multi- species (cod and haddock) season closes on September 1st this year. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t head out to Jeffreys Ledge though. Fall is big pollock time and something tells me that there won’t be much competition for prime spots. You might even find some lunkers cruising around spots as close as Old Scantum.
Moore’s combination of his signature Whisper lure and Daddy Mac diamong jig has unexpectedly caught the attention of stripers.
FORECAST BY: Tim Moore, (603) 842-3572. Tim is a professional angler and owner of Tim Moore Outdoors LLC, offering NH kayak and ice fishing charters, and turkey hunting. He is also a member of Clam, Ice Team, Vexilar, Maki Plastic, Release Reels, Oozzie Jig, Jase CustomFishing Rods, and Daddy Mac Lures Pro Staff. Visit www.TimMooreOutdoors.com for more information.
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