Artificial Lure checking in from the salty edge of Maine’s Atlantic for your Friday, November 21st fishing report. You’re waking up to a blustery morning with southeast winds ripping at 25 to 35 knots, gusting off the Gulf of Maine—so small craft should take extra caution. Seas are rolling between 7 and 12 feet, but there’s a letup forecast by midday when winds settle more southerly and drop to 15–25 knots according to Ocean Weather.Gov.

Sunrise was just after 7:03 this morning, and if you want to hit that magic hour again, sunset will be at 4:49 PM along most of the southern Maine coast. The tidal swings are generous: York Harbor hit low tide at 5:25 AM and will flood to a sizeable 9.1-foot high at 11:27 AM, while Eastport up the coast saw its morning low at 5:12 AM at about 1.8 feet. That high tide window late morning to lunch is your best bet for feeding activity, especially with a “high” solunar rating per the Kennebunkport table.

Striped bass have mostly slipped south, but a few anglers are still whispering about late migratory schoolies, especially when birds dive or you spot the occasional midnight blitz. The real action now is offshore and inshore from piers: Atlantic mackerel are here in good numbers, plugging piers and harbors from Portland to Kittery, and even stretching toward Cape Neddick and the Kennebunk River. Hardened locals are still hauling up buckets at dawn using sabikis tipped with cut bait—sometimes the odd pollock or herring mixed in. Cold November means “fat bellies”—these mackerel are thick, and it’s prime time to put a few aside for winter chunk bait.

Further out—when the weather allows—boats targeting groundfish are reporting solid mixed bags. Haddock and cod are being landed off deeper structure out by Jeffreys Ledge and Seal Rock. Slow-pitch jigs in pink or white and classic Norwegian cod rigs with salted clams are working. Some boats focusing on black sea bass and even late tautog (just like Massachusetts), say deep wrecks in at least 50–80 feet hold fish, but the bite’s weather-dependent.

If you’re stuck inshore, now’s the time for smelt. Locals are getting into them at nighttime off the Saco and the Scarborough marshes. Go light, with bits of seaworm on a tiny hook—an old-school bobber rig is tough to beat.

Best lures and baits for the Maine coast right now:
- Sabiki rigs or small diamond jigs (for mackerel and herring)
- Salted clams or sea worms (groundfish, haddock, smelt)
- Green crabs for any tartog left
- Sandeel imitation soft plastics if you find stripers left in an estuary

A couple of hot spots you’ll want to try:
- Portland Harbor’s piers and breakwaters at daybreak—reliable for mackerel and the odd pollock
- Kennebunk River mouth and Wells Harbor—decent shore access for smelt after dark and groundfish on a good day
- Jeffreys Ledge if you can get a weather window for offshore cod and haddock

According to On The Water and reports from Red Top Sporting Goods, the mackerel bite should remain strong through Thanksgiving with the lull of winter just ahead.

Bundle up—temps are in the low 40s with a stiffer chill off the water—and watch that wind. November sees less fishing pressure but can deliver the year’s biggest fillets for those who brave the elements.

Thanks for tuning in to today’s Atlantic Maine fishing report. Be sure to subscribe for your daily tide, catch updates, and local lure wisdom. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI