Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your coastal Maine fishing report.
We’re locked in a true Gulf of Maine winter pattern now. Maine Public, relaying the National Weather Service, is calling for cold temps and a white Christmas feel along the coast, with daytime highs hovering near freezing and a stiff northwest breeze on the open water. That wind is going to make it feel raw in the bays, so layer up, dry gloves, and keep trips shorter and tighter to shore.
According to NOAA Tides & Currents for Portland Harbor, we’ve got a pre‑dawn **high tide around 1:30–1:45 a.m.**, dropping to a **morning low near 7 a.m.**, then a **midday high just before 2 p.m.** These winter solstice‑timing tides mean the best inshore movement is that last hour of the falling water at first light, and the first two hours of the flood late morning. Sunrise is right around **7:10 a.m.**, sunset near **4:05 p.m.**, so your window is tight.
Bite-wise, this is a groundfish and bait‑hunt game. Eastman’s Docks down the coast reports **plenty of mackerel**, slow pollock, and lots of short haddock in the mix, which lines up well with what we’re seeing off southern Maine: pockets of **school‑size pollock**, some legal haddock if you sort, and scattered **redfish** once you push a little deeper. Cod’s still heavily regulated, so plan on releasing those carefully.
Inshore, the livewell is your best friend. Sabiki rigs tipped with a sliver of squid or mackerel skin are pulling **macks and herring** around pier lights and the harbor mouths when the tide starts running. Once you’ve got bait, drop them down on a simple hi‑lo with 4–6 ounces of lead on rock humps and ledges in 80–150 feet. If you’re fishing artificials, think **heavy metal**: 4–8 ounce Norwegian‑style jigs, sand‑eel profile metals, and pink or glow bucktail teasers tipped with a strip of squid or clam.
Best baits right now: **clams, squid strips, and cut mackerel**. Clam for haddock, squid for pollock and redfish, and mackerel if you mark anything bigger tight to bottom. Keep leaders a bit heavier than summer – 40–50 lb fluoro or mono – to deal with the rocks and winter chafe.
Couple of hot spots for you:
- **Richmond Island / Cape Elizabeth humps**: Drift the 120–160 foot contours on that midday flood for mixed haddock and pollock.
- **Off Old Orchard and Biddeford Pool**: Ledges in 90–130 feet have been giving up mackerel on top and the odd pile of pollock below when the tide starts to build.
With the Atlantic herring days‑out rules kicking in for Area 1A today, commercial pressure on inshore bait is light, so if you can find them, they’re often schooled tight. When your sounder lights up mid‑column, don’t be shy about dropping metals through the marks — a lot of the “bait” is keeper pollock this time of year.
It’s winter fishing, so pick your weather window, fish the moving water, and stay flexible. If the offshore swell feels pushy, tuck into the lee of a headland, jig some bait, and scratch out a mixed bag close to home.
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