Jim W

I am new to this forum, I live in Ft.Lauderdale, Fl. and do a lot of inshore shallow water fishing. Snook, redfish, tarpon are very popular. I will be in the Bar Harbor Maine area next week and would love to catch a striper but I'm a little confused. I understand that Bar Harbor may be to far north. Can anyone please let me know where I can possibly get a nice striper? It would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

jrchop Loc: Comanche Oklahoma

I've never fished in Florida but in Eastern Oklahoma and I found where there is running water (such as a Flood control dam or a swift river, and used Shad fish or small Trout you could catch serious strippers. The biggest one I caught weighed 23# and I usually caught 8# to 15# fish. Lots of people I fished around used spinners and such but I am a live bait person. (I seem to do better myself using live bait). Lures and such are not my cup of tea because I never could never catch anything on them. That is all the advice I have and I hope it does you something in Florida because I have only visited there once and took an 8 hour fishing tour for red fish. That was a blast but could not afford to do it again. I hope you catch some big ones and good luck on your fishing adventures.

Andy J

You can catch one fairly easily if you have some fishing experience. I’m from mass but it’s all the same. If you fishing from shore , live bait is best as always. I like to use eels if you can find a shop that sells them. Watch some YouTube vids on them. They are tough to manage but work very well. You’d be surprised how shallow they hunt in the evening and in the dark. Early morning is also good. I like 20 lb test with a 2 or 3 ft leader of 40ish lb test. I like to lob them out and retrieve real slow. You can’t let them get to the bottom and they tend to really wrap around your line. That wld be my first advice. You can also use a cut up mackerel and not have the hassles of the eel but your chances will decrease. Put at least a third of the fish on the hook at least. I’ll even use a while one if it’s fairly small. They also seem to like surface plugs the best. I like a fast retrieval and really make some noise with it. If you want to even try for a small one with light line, go light tackle with a small surface plug. I like those because you see the fish hit it. I don’t like treble hooks but that works. I do that early spring. I could go on all night. It’s all I do all summer with my whole family. I’m just seeing when you posted this. Sorry if I’m to late.

JimCT Loc: Connecticut

Bar harbor is a bit far north for striper. In good years you might find some up the Penobscot River. Prime striper fishing in Maine is south of Portland, in the Kennebunk area. Stripper fishing has been spotty this year in New England. Some areas have been producing well. Other not so much. A lot of schoolies in Connecticut. Maine has a 1 fish creel limit on striper with a 28 inch minimum. There are also hook regulations depending on your bait or lure.

Tman Loc: Winston-Salem, NC

I believe JimCT knows what he is talking about.

Jim W

Thank you very much for the information, disappointing but good to know.

JimRed Loc: Coastal New Jersey, Belmar area

Best bait around here for serious strippers is a pocketful of twenties and fifties!😝

JeffT

I have fished for stripers a couple times on the MA / NH Border, the mouth of the Merrimack river. Mackerel for bait. Bar Harbor water may be cold for striper fishing. Good for sightseeing....

FixorFish Loc: SW Oregon

Wow, JimRed, you must have deep pockets, I generally stick to ones and fives ! Don't wanna spoil 'em too much !

Mike Tangney

I used to fish, and catch stripers in the Cape Cod Canal, in mid July till mid Aug.
This info is from @22 yrs ago before I moved to Seattle. I hope you find so.e good fishing, alsothere used to be a slot limit in salt water. A friend of mine used to catch schoolkids in the Merrimac river too

Mike Tangney

If anyone knows where I can catch big mouth bass in Wa. Please let me know

Big A Loc: Mesa, Arizona

Although Bar Harbor is somewhat north (3 hrs.) of their supposed range, some are caught in that area, but are fewer and far between; mackerel and bluefish are the more common sport fish in that area ! If you have deep pockets, there's also the possibility of taking out a charter boat for tuna ! Best of luck, and have a nice vacation !