Storm-pushed Maine stripers could jumpstart NH's fall run

What's biting

What's next

This week's storm is the kind of disruption captains further north were hoping for. Beauport Fishing Adventures on Cape Ann told The Fisherman the nor'easter should push groundfish off the outer banks into the western Gulf of Maine, with action expected to improve on the Cape Ann area grounds once things settle. Belsan's added that the same storm surge should help usher stripers still holding in Maine south along the coast, which puts NH's harbors and river mouths in a reasonable position to load up as seas calm over the next few days.

The window right after the front clears is worth building a trip around, that's typically when a fresh bait push meets migrating fish and turns into real activity. The waning gibbous moon is also building toward more tidal push heading into early October, giving an extra reason to target the days immediately following the storm rather than fishing through it.

Context

A stalled late-September fall run is a notable departure from the typical Gulf of Maine calendar, where a storm at this point in the season usually accelerates the striper push south rather than coinciding with a lull. Warm, stable weather holding water temperatures up has kept fish farther north than usual for late September. A shakeup like this week's nor'easter is generally the kind of event that gets a delayed migration back on its normal schedule for the region.