June 1
Weather fronts, rain and wind had a lot to do with fishing success this week all around the region. In fact, this morning as we were making our contacts, a couple of our reporters said they had either seen or had reports of snow in their northern regions yesterday or last night!
The weather has had a very negative impact on the access to the otherwise great groundfishing of late with high seas, rain and fog but the more inshore spots were in reach of some of the boats and the bigger boats did well when they were able to get offshore, especially in the Stellwagon Banks area and at Jeffrey’s Ledge.
Striper fishermen were not so impacted with the weather and reports of very good early-season fishing for them was universal and mackerel had returned this spring in good numbers to much of the area.
Saltwater action picked up a notch this last week, with some unusual catches and the return of some of the larger stripers. Joe Hutter at Kittery Trading Post’s Fishing Department reported that he’s hearing some very mixed news on local stripers. “Some of the fishermen that are fishing the Piscataqua River and Great and Little Bays are disappointed in the few larger stripers that they are getting, but the schoolie fishermen are happy, with catches of a dozen fish a day not unusual. The hot spots for both keeper sized fish and some schoolies are in the rivers that feed Great and Little Bay and the Piscataqua River – especially close to the head-of-tide dams.”
“The larger stripers will soon be returning in force to some of the offshore areas, in depths as deep as 140-feet of water. It seems that wherever you find mackerel, you’re going to find those big stripers.”
“Chumming is very important. When you chum the mackerel in, it won’t be long before you’ll have some striper action. Of course, live mackerel fished under these conditions is the only way to go. Most of the fishermen use balloons for bobbers and fishing from 10- to 25-feet deep with their live mackerel on lines with no bobber.”
“Each spring we get an early run of big bluefish that only lasts a few days, as these big choppers head north. So don’t be surprised if you get a hit and the line comes back cut off. If that happens, it’s wise to switch to a short wire leader. Black color is favored by most fishermen as other bluefish are apt to try to bite-off a shiny leader when a fish is hooked.”
Joe warns that when fishing the deep ocean water, you should be well aware of the EEC boundaries. Beyond the inside boundary, fishing for striped bass is not allowed.
Some refer to this as the three-mile limit, as the EEC boundary is established three miles offshore of the nearest land. As is the case with our Isles of Shoals, the boundary skirts these islands by three miles in a semi-circle as noted on all up-to-date marine charts of the area.
Joe also warns that people fishing the Isles of Shoals area should be aware of the Maine/New Hampshire state boundary, which runs through the Isles of Shoals. Maine and New Hampshire regulations pertaining to both size and bag limits of striped bass vary. Maine’s length and bag limit allows one fish to be possessed that is either from 20 to 26 inches or 40 inches or over. New Hampshire’s length and bag limit allows two fish of 28 inches or over.
MAINE:
Chad Woodward, also at Kittery Trading Post’s Fishing Department, said that he and a couple of his fishing buddies have been doing well on the schoolie stripers fishing off the rocks and even within a stone’s throw from KTP’s store.
“Yup, we have been having some great action, even over at Spruce Creek off shore. The water is pretty murky from all the rain and run-off so we’ve been using bright colored Sluggo lures – the seven and a half-inch size. Because of the water color being so dark, the best color has been the green back, chartreuse colored Sluggos.”
“Out on the ocean front, we started with fishing the baits fast and close to the surface with good action but when that slowed a bit when a cold front came in, we let the Sluggo sink down and used a slow and twitching retrieve that worked well.”
“These were not big fish but on light gear it was a blast. Most of the stripers were in the mid-twenty inch range and fat and sassy!”
Stu Bristol, Master Maine Guide said that with all the rain and cold water, it still may be a while before the stretch of the freshwater Saco River he likes to guide and teach on will be in peak shape. “The water temperatures are still a little high and the river is also running a bit high. It is okay for some trout fishing and the smallmouths are starting to bed but conditions need to improve a bit.”
“The striper and shad action at the head-of-tide dam on the Saco has been fairly active and stripers have moved into Saco Bay and along the shoreline. From the beach or shoreline, bait of choice should be clams with cut herring or mackerel being a second choice. Outside or from the jetty, if you have access to live mackerel they will work on stripers big enough to eat them. Also, tube-and-worm trolling in the Saco River is a favorite. My personal preference is the Santini Tube-n-Worm rig in red or honey mustard colors. Other local preferences seem to be the bubble gum color and often black.”
“Party boats going out of here are having some exceptional luck on haddock with quite a few nice codfish in the mix. Jeffrey’s ledge has been one of the best haddock spots.”
At Naples Bait on Long Lake in the Sebago Lake Region, Dave Garcia who fishes bass tourney’s with his son Tyson as a partner reports that the smallmouth bass fishing has been spectacular but that no tourneys are allowed during the spawning season and won’t be scheduled until Father’s Day June 21 (which coincidently is the official first day of summer).
“Catch and release fishermen are having a great time with the smallmouths but as we’ve warned before, please use barbless hooks or pinch your barbs down. Also, don’t target the same fish time after time.”
“Much of the best fishing news is still coming from Sebago Lake. The salmon and togue (lake trout) fishing there has been very, very good. The surface temperatures have been cool for this time of year, running in the mid-fifties. Both salmon and togue are still hitting near the shore in shallow water and there are also togue out in deeper water so you have your choice.”
“Northern pike in the Belgrade Region should be at its peak as the fish are in the shallows spawning right now. The surprise lake there is Sabbattus. This lake was noted for a lot of pike but not as many big ones as other lakes in this region, but things are changing with the results of the winter ice fishing tourney when most of the big fish that took prizes came from Sabbattus. Some anglers use large live or sewed-on baits, others do well with big sized swimming plugs or large sized spinner baits. The key is to find where they are and that is most often right now in the shallow, weedy coves or back bays.”
“Many of our smaller brooks that hold native brook trout don’t even have a real name but those that love those walk-in brookie streams have been having good luck as the water levels and temperatures are still ideal but the black flies also like it so be prepared.”
“And we’ve heard from friends that have been fishing Aziscohos Lake in the Rangeley area that the brook trout and salmon fishing has been great there. In fact, we hope we can get away for a day or two and go join them there this week.”
Both Carroll and Greg Cutting at Jordan’s Store in East Sebago are also very pleased with the fishing success on the big lake. “The salmon fishing has been pretty steady but the lake trout fishing has been world class,” Carroll said. “We don’t get many complaints about that.”
Greg noted that even the most “rookie” anglers are catching lakers. “We loaned out a couple of rods and basic fishing gear to some people that had never fished lake trout before and they caught a mess of them. And these fish are fat and healthy, despite their large population.”
Carroll noted that there was quite a variation in the size of the salmon but a very good sign was the large amount of native salmon being caught. “All the stocked salmon are fin clipped and easy to identify. But it seems that the catch is now being made up of more native fish than the stocked salmon. That means that the Crooked River salmon spawning grounds is really producing lots of quality fish. Landlocked salmon are native to very few places in the United States!”
Barry Gibson of SALTWATER SPORTSMEN MAGAZINE fame, our Boothbay Harbor saltwater reporter, and friend Steve Rubicam of East Boothbay spent this past Thursday through Saturday at Bosebuck Mountain Camps (www.bosebuck.com) on Aziscohos Lake. Barry reported that neither he nor Steve had ever visited BMC, and that they were extremely impressed with the hospitality and the fishing. “The food was phenomenal, the accommodations great, and owners Mike and Wendy really made us feel at home the minute we arrived,” Barry reported.
“Mike gave us lots of solid info, and we waded both the Megalloway and Parmachene Rivers. The Megalloway was hot while we were there, and Steve and I tallied about 30 brook trout. Steve caught the biggest, about 12 inches and we caught and released seven salmon to 17 inches – that one was the biggest freshwater fish I've ever caught on fly.”
“The hot rig was a Woods Special with an 18” trailer with a Picket Pin tied to the end.” The duo also trolled up a small salmon on the lake after dinner on Friday, yet others at the camp trolled up keeper-size salmon as well as nice brookies. “I would recommend Bosebuck to anyone, freshwater fly-fishing novice like me, to expert,” Barry ended.
In the Rangeley Lakes Region, Ken at River’s Edge Sports on Rangeley Lake said that the cold water has slowed the fishing down on some days. “When the sun comes out for any length of time things seem to pick up and hatches will start. Last week we had a couple of days when there were mayfly hatches at both Quimby Pond and the Dodge Ponds. Even here on Rangeley Lake we’ve seen some strange, early-season fishing. Most of the salmon we’ve caught have been in the 40 to 45 foot depths and that is very unusual for this time of year. We have had one fisherman that is a real early bird that has done pretty well. He’s on the water well before sunrise and has caught brook trout and salmon up to the five pound range.”
“The rivers here, especially the Rangeley River, have quite a few fish and some good fishing. There’s still a sucker run there that is attracting the trout and salmon that feed on their eggs. Mooselookmeguntic Lake has continued to provide good fishing and Rangeley Lake has slowly improved. The last time that Jerry and I fished it we had quite a bit of luck using the small-sized Rapalas (size f-5). It’s probably mostly about the weather conditions. We had snow on our mountains last night and at my home it was 31 degrees.”
Penny Legere at the Maine Guide Fly Shop in Greenville in the Moosehead Lake Region said that the East Outlet (of the Kennebec River – runs out of Moosehead Lake) has been hot! “Danny has been guiding there a lot. Nice hatches of Hendricksons and red quills coming off (types of mayflies). The flow has been cut to 2,400 cfs so that helps. Over at the Moose River at Rockwood the smelt run has produced some great fly fishing. The hot fly is the floating smelt fly that Danny created. This fly mimics a dead smelt that died during the spawn.”
“He’s also been over at the West Branch of the Penobscot but that is running a bit high and right now he’s had to cancel a camping-out trip at Indian Pond because of the wind so he’s taking his group on a river drift trip instead.”
“Some of our other guides have been fly fishing the hatches at some of the smaller ponds. Secret Pond and Mountain Pond would be two good choices.”
NEW HAMPSHIRE:
This email just in from New Hampshire Fish and Game: GROUNDFISHING BONANZA By Robert Eckert, Biological Aide, Region 3/Durham. “With spring fishing season well underway here on New Hampshire's coast, many offshore anglers are filling their coolers with haddock and Atlantic cod. The daily fishing trips for groundfish on one of New Hampshire's many charter/head boats started off great a few weeks ago, and have not slowed down. During our head boat monitoring trips for the Marine Recreational Fishing Statistical Survey (MRFSS), we have observed daily haddock catches of 10 or more fish per person and some anglers returning with 30!”
“Currently, trips out to Jeffreys Ledge have produced some giant codfish. Closer to shore, some of these lunker cod are gathering on muddy bottoms near shore (less than 10 miles, as opposed to 30!) – like the "Mud Hole," which is due south of the Isles of Shoals. The result: Groundfish anglers over Memorial Day weekend returning with Atlantic cod up to 40 pounds. To target these giant cod, seasoned anglers prefer drifting and jigging a standard jig with a soft plastic teaser above. Lately, I've seen blue and purple working very well. For targeting haddock, a two-hook bottom rig with a piece of clam, not too big, will work the best – but make sure to use enough weight to stay on the bottom, so no lighter than 16 ounces.”
“Current limits for Atlantic cod are ten fish per person with a minimum length of 24". For haddock, there is no bag limit, but a minimum size of 19" is required. For those anglers looking to save money and not venture 10-30 miles out into the open ocean, there is good news: striped bass fishing has begun! Although the season is starting off slow, it will heat up soon – we've had near-record numbers of river herring being recorded at some Fish and Game-operated fish ladders. We have spoken with anglers that have seen the alewives jumping and the ‘schoolie’ striped bass in frenzy below the dams in Newmarket and at Henry Law Park in Dover. The optimal time for fishing these areas is at the peak of high tide, when the herring are really stacking up.”
“The best method for landing the ‘schoolies’ and giant ‘cow’ stripers is to use live bait. Most anglers are using small spoons, sabiki rigs or ‘flutter hooks’ for catching alewives. If the herring are not biting, try throwing out top-water poppers or chunk bait to catch a hard-fighting ‘line-sider.’ Anglers are limited to two striped bass per day, with a minimum length of 28", but only one of the two fish can be greater than 40".”
The NH Fish and Game Department's Marine Fisheries Division is always looking for volunteers to participate in our Striped Bass Volunteer Angler Survey. Participants are provided with logbooks to fill out information about each striper fishing trip they take and record length measurements of all the striped bass they catch. Information collected from the survey is used in the annual coast-wide stock assessment for striped bass that is used for management. In addition, each participant's name is entered into a year-end raffle for a framed limited edition striped bass print donated to the Department by Coastal Conservation Association of New Hampshire. If you would like to participate, please contact Kevin Sullivan at (603) 868-1095 or Kevin.sullivan@wildlife.nh.gov.
Weather fronts, rain and wind had a lot to do with fishing success this week all around the region. In fact, this morning as we were making our contacts, a couple of our reporters said they had either seen or had reports of snow in their northern regions yesterday or last night!
The weather has had a very negative impact on the access to the otherwise great groundfishing of late with high seas, rain and fog but the more inshore spots were in reach of some of the boats and the bigger boats did well when they were able to get offshore, especially in the Stellwagon Banks area and at Jeffrey’s Ledge.
Striper fishermen were not so impacted with the weather and reports of very good early-season fishing for them was universal and mackerel had returned this spring in good numbers to much of the area.
Saltwater action picked up a notch this last week, with some unusual catches and the return of some of the larger stripers. Joe Hutter at Kittery Trading Post’s Fishing Department reported that he’s hearing some very mixed news on local stripers. “Some of the fishermen that are fishing the Piscataqua River and Great and Little Bays are disappointed in the few larger stripers that they are getting, but the schoolie fishermen are happy, with catches of a dozen fish a day not unusual. The hot spots for both keeper sized fish and some schoolies are in the rivers that feed Great and Little Bay and the Piscataqua River – especially close to the head-of-tide dams.”
“The larger stripers will soon be returning in force to some of the offshore areas, in depths as deep as 140-feet of water. It seems that wherever you find mackerel, you’re going to find those big stripers.”
“Chumming is very important. When you chum the mackerel in, it won’t be long before you’ll have some striper action. Of course, live mackerel fished under these conditions is the only way to go. Most of the fishermen use balloons for bobbers and fishing from 10- to 25-feet deep with their live mackerel on lines with no bobber.”
“Each spring we get an early run of big bluefish that only lasts a few days, as these big choppers head north. So don’t be surprised if you get a hit and the line comes back cut off. If that happens, it’s wise to switch to a short wire leader. Black color is favored by most fishermen as other bluefish are apt to try to bite-off a shiny leader when a fish is hooked.”
Joe warns that when fishing the deep ocean water, you should be well aware of the EEC boundaries. Beyond the inside boundary, fishing for striped bass is not allowed.
Some refer to this as the three-mile limit, as the EEC boundary is established three miles offshore of the nearest land. As is the case with our Isles of Shoals, the boundary skirts these islands by three miles in a semi-circle as noted on all up-to-date marine charts of the area.
Joe also warns that people fishing the Isles of Shoals area should be aware of the Maine/New Hampshire state boundary, which runs through the Isles of Shoals. Maine and New Hampshire regulations pertaining to both size and bag limits of striped bass vary. Maine’s length and bag limit allows one fish to be possessed that is either from 20 to 26 inches or 40 inches or over. New Hampshire’s length and bag limit allows two fish of 28 inches or over.
MAINE:
Chad Woodward, also at Kittery Trading Post’s Fishing Department, said that he and a couple of his fishing buddies have been doing well on the schoolie stripers fishing off the rocks and even within a stone’s throw from KTP’s store.
“Yup, we have been having some great action, even over at Spruce Creek off shore. The water is pretty murky from all the rain and run-off so we’ve been using bright colored Sluggo lures – the seven and a half-inch size. Because of the water color being so dark, the best color has been the green back, chartreuse colored Sluggos.”
“Out on the ocean front, we started with fishing the baits fast and close to the surface with good action but when that slowed a bit when a cold front came in, we let the Sluggo sink down and used a slow and twitching retrieve that worked well.”
“These were not big fish but on light gear it was a blast. Most of the stripers were in the mid-twenty inch range and fat and sassy!”
Stu Bristol, Master Maine Guide said that with all the rain and cold water, it still may be a while before the stretch of the freshwater Saco River he likes to guide and teach on will be in peak shape. “The water temperatures are still a little high and the river is also running a bit high. It is okay for some trout fishing and the smallmouths are starting to bed but conditions need to improve a bit.”
“The striper and shad action at the head-of-tide dam on the Saco has been fairly active and stripers have moved into Saco Bay and along the shoreline. From the beach or shoreline, bait of choice should be clams with cut herring or mackerel being a second choice. Outside or from the jetty, if you have access to live mackerel they will work on stripers big enough to eat them. Also, tube-and-worm trolling in the Saco River is a favorite. My personal preference is the Santini Tube-n-Worm rig in red or honey mustard colors. Other local preferences seem to be the bubble gum color and often black.”
“Party boats going out of here are having some exceptional luck on haddock with quite a few nice codfish in the mix. Jeffrey’s ledge has been one of the best haddock spots.”
At Naples Bait on Long Lake in the Sebago Lake Region, Dave Garcia who fishes bass tourney’s with his son Tyson as a partner reports that the smallmouth bass fishing has been spectacular but that no tourneys are allowed during the spawning season and won’t be scheduled until Father’s Day June 21 (which coincidently is the official first day of summer).
“Catch and release fishermen are having a great time with the smallmouths but as we’ve warned before, please use barbless hooks or pinch your barbs down. Also, don’t target the same fish time after time.”
“Much of the best fishing news is still coming from Sebago Lake. The salmon and togue (lake trout) fishing there has been very, very good. The surface temperatures have been cool for this time of year, running in the mid-fifties. Both salmon and togue are still hitting near the shore in shallow water and there are also togue out in deeper water so you have your choice.”
“Northern pike in the Belgrade Region should be at its peak as the fish are in the shallows spawning right now. The surprise lake there is Sabbattus. This lake was noted for a lot of pike but not as many big ones as other lakes in this region, but things are changing with the results of the winter ice fishing tourney when most of the big fish that took prizes came from Sabbattus. Some anglers use large live or sewed-on baits, others do well with big sized swimming plugs or large sized spinner baits. The key is to find where they are and that is most often right now in the shallow, weedy coves or back bays.”
“Many of our smaller brooks that hold native brook trout don’t even have a real name but those that love those walk-in brookie streams have been having good luck as the water levels and temperatures are still ideal but the black flies also like it so be prepared.”
“And we’ve heard from friends that have been fishing Aziscohos Lake in the Rangeley area that the brook trout and salmon fishing has been great there. In fact, we hope we can get away for a day or two and go join them there this week.”
Both Carroll and Greg Cutting at Jordan’s Store in East Sebago are also very pleased with the fishing success on the big lake. “The salmon fishing has been pretty steady but the lake trout fishing has been world class,” Carroll said. “We don’t get many complaints about that.”
Greg noted that even the most “rookie” anglers are catching lakers. “We loaned out a couple of rods and basic fishing gear to some people that had never fished lake trout before and they caught a mess of them. And these fish are fat and healthy, despite their large population.”
Carroll noted that there was quite a variation in the size of the salmon but a very good sign was the large amount of native salmon being caught. “All the stocked salmon are fin clipped and easy to identify. But it seems that the catch is now being made up of more native fish than the stocked salmon. That means that the Crooked River salmon spawning grounds is really producing lots of quality fish. Landlocked salmon are native to very few places in the United States!”
Barry Gibson of SALTWATER SPORTSMEN MAGAZINE fame, our Boothbay Harbor saltwater reporter, and friend Steve Rubicam of East Boothbay spent this past Thursday through Saturday at Bosebuck Mountain Camps (www.bosebuck.com) on Aziscohos Lake. Barry reported that neither he nor Steve had ever visited BMC, and that they were extremely impressed with the hospitality and the fishing. “The food was phenomenal, the accommodations great, and owners Mike and Wendy really made us feel at home the minute we arrived,” Barry reported.
“Mike gave us lots of solid info, and we waded both the Megalloway and Parmachene Rivers. The Megalloway was hot while we were there, and Steve and I tallied about 30 brook trout. Steve caught the biggest, about 12 inches and we caught and released seven salmon to 17 inches – that one was the biggest freshwater fish I've ever caught on fly.”
“The hot rig was a Woods Special with an 18” trailer with a Picket Pin tied to the end.” The duo also trolled up a small salmon on the lake after dinner on Friday, yet others at the camp trolled up keeper-size salmon as well as nice brookies. “I would recommend Bosebuck to anyone, freshwater fly-fishing novice like me, to expert,” Barry ended.
In the Rangeley Lakes Region, Ken at River’s Edge Sports on Rangeley Lake said that the cold water has slowed the fishing down on some days. “When the sun comes out for any length of time things seem to pick up and hatches will start. Last week we had a couple of days when there were mayfly hatches at both Quimby Pond and the Dodge Ponds. Even here on Rangeley Lake we’ve seen some strange, early-season fishing. Most of the salmon we’ve caught have been in the 40 to 45 foot depths and that is very unusual for this time of year. We have had one fisherman that is a real early bird that has done pretty well. He’s on the water well before sunrise and has caught brook trout and salmon up to the five pound range.”
“The rivers here, especially the Rangeley River, have quite a few fish and some good fishing. There’s still a sucker run there that is attracting the trout and salmon that feed on their eggs. Mooselookmeguntic Lake has continued to provide good fishing and Rangeley Lake has slowly improved. The last time that Jerry and I fished it we had quite a bit of luck using the small-sized Rapalas (size f-5). It’s probably mostly about the weather conditions. We had snow on our mountains last night and at my home it was 31 degrees.”
Penny Legere at the Maine Guide Fly Shop in Greenville in the Moosehead Lake Region said that the East Outlet (of the Kennebec River – runs out of Moosehead Lake) has been hot! “Danny has been guiding there a lot. Nice hatches of Hendricksons and red quills coming off (types of mayflies). The flow has been cut to 2,400 cfs so that helps. Over at the Moose River at Rockwood the smelt run has produced some great fly fishing. The hot fly is the floating smelt fly that Danny created. This fly mimics a dead smelt that died during the spawn.”
“He’s also been over at the West Branch of the Penobscot but that is running a bit high and right now he’s had to cancel a camping-out trip at Indian Pond because of the wind so he’s taking his group on a river drift trip instead.”
“Some of our other guides have been fly fishing the hatches at some of the smaller ponds. Secret Pond and Mountain Pond would be two good choices.”
NEW HAMPSHIRE:
This email just in from New Hampshire Fish and Game: GROUNDFISHING BONANZA By Robert Eckert, Biological Aide, Region 3/Durham. “With spring fishing season well underway here on New Hampshire's coast, many offshore anglers are filling their coolers with haddock and Atlantic cod. The daily fishing trips for groundfish on one of New Hampshire's many charter/head boats started off great a few weeks ago, and have not slowed down. During our head boat monitoring trips for the Marine Recreational Fishing Statistical Survey (MRFSS), we have observed daily haddock catches of 10 or more fish per person and some anglers returning with 30!”
“Currently, trips out to Jeffreys Ledge have produced some giant codfish. Closer to shore, some of these lunker cod are gathering on muddy bottoms near shore (less than 10 miles, as opposed to 30!) – like the "Mud Hole," which is due south of the Isles of Shoals. The result: Groundfish anglers over Memorial Day weekend returning with Atlantic cod up to 40 pounds. To target these giant cod, seasoned anglers prefer drifting and jigging a standard jig with a soft plastic teaser above. Lately, I've seen blue and purple working very well. For targeting haddock, a two-hook bottom rig with a piece of clam, not too big, will work the best – but make sure to use enough weight to stay on the bottom, so no lighter than 16 ounces.”
“Current limits for Atlantic cod are ten fish per person with a minimum length of 24". For haddock, there is no bag limit, but a minimum size of 19" is required. For those anglers looking to save money and not venture 10-30 miles out into the open ocean, there is good news: striped bass fishing has begun! Although the season is starting off slow, it will heat up soon – we've had near-record numbers of river herring being recorded at some Fish and Game-operated fish ladders. We have spoken with anglers that have seen the alewives jumping and the ‘schoolie’ striped bass in frenzy below the dams in Newmarket and at Henry Law Park in Dover. The optimal time for fishing these areas is at the peak of high tide, when the herring are really stacking up.”
“The best method for landing the ‘schoolies’ and giant ‘cow’ stripers is to use live bait. Most anglers are using small spoons, sabiki rigs or ‘flutter hooks’ for catching alewives. If the herring are not biting, try throwing out top-water poppers or chunk bait to catch a hard-fighting ‘line-sider.’ Anglers are limited to two striped bass per day, with a minimum length of 28", but only one of the two fish can be greater than 40".”
The NH Fish and Game Department's Marine Fisheries Division is always looking for volunteers to participate in our Striped Bass Volunteer Angler Survey. Participants are provided with logbooks to fill out information about each striper fishing trip they take and record length measurements of all the striped bass they catch. Information collected from the survey is used in the annual coast-wide stock assessment for striped bass that is used for management. In addition, each participant's name is entered into a year-end raffle for a framed limited edition striped bass print donated to the Department by Coastal Conservation Association of New Hampshire. If you would like to participate, please contact Kevin Sullivan at (603) 868-1095 or Kevin.sullivan@wildlife.nh.gov.