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Casco Bay Fishing Report

Updated Mon, Nov 9, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Casco Bay: Maine's island-filled bay between Cape Elizabeth and Phippsburg, with Portland piers and ramps and a 28-31-inch striped bass slot.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Next tide
Low 5:06 PM
Air / High
40 / 55 F
Wind
WSW 6 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8418150, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Monday
9
November 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Casco Bay is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. Today brings clear skies, wind WSW around 6 mph, rising pressure near 1002 hPa and a high of 55. Tides: high 10:42 AM and 11:19 PM, low 4:31 AM and 5:06 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:05 PM-1:05 AM and 10:41 AM-12:41 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassGood

Spring and fall are the shoreline seasons: ODWC points to windblown points, riprap and dams during the May shad spawn and the pre-winter feed.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 50 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Tue, Nov 10, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Maine requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $30.00 for residents. What a Maine licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing striped bass here? Check the size and bag limits with MDIFW before you keep anything. The season dates for Maine, read off the agency, are on the Maine seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 8418150 (Portland, ME). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Mon
LOW4:31 AM0.7 ft
HIGH10:42 AM10.2 ft
LOW5:06 PM-0.3 ft
HIGH11:19 PM9.1 ft
Tue
LOW5:09 AM1.0 ft
HIGH11:20 AM10.0 ft
LOW5:45 PM-0.1 ft

Portland tide chart: the week and the month β†’

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp40 F
High / Low55 / 40 F
WindWSW 6-15 mph
Pressure1002.4 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain8% cloud, 26%
Sunrise / Sunset06:27 / 16:21
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~55 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Casco Bay this week

The best day on Casco Bay this week looks like Saturday Nov 14, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Nov 14 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Nov 9 β€” Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
11:05 PM-1:05 AM and 10:41 AM-12:41 PM
Minor period
6:40 AM-7:40 AM
Sun
06:27 to 16:21
Moon
New Moon, 0% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 7 mph
Rain chance
26%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Casco Bay: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall inland; on the coast, during the seasonal migrations

The largest of the temperate basses, a sea-run fish of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that now also lives in reservoirs across much of the country after hatchery stocking. Inland, it follows schools of shad and herring through open water. Spring and fall are the shoreline seasons: ODWC points to windblown points, riprap and dams during the May shad spawn and the pre-winter feed.

When to come: the Casco Bay calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Striped bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovNov, ~55 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Casco Bay today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Sun, Nov 8

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 51 F, wind to 11 mph.

Sat, Nov 7

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 58 F, wind to 15 mph.

Fri, Nov 6

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 64 F, wind to 10 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

Before you go

License

Maine requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Maine Saltwater Recreational Fishing Registry. Striped bass (DMR rules current as of March 25, 2026): 1 a day, 28-31 inches inclusive; non-offset circle hooks with bait; no gaffing; no striped bass fishing in federal waters. Groundfish: see DMR's 2026 groundfish rules (posted July 14, 2026).

Access

South Portland municipal ramp (Bug Light); Portland's Eastern Promenade launch and Public Pier; Falmouth and Yarmouth town landings; Winslow Park, South Freeport; Mere Point launch, Brunswick.

About this water

A bay of islands and ledges on the southern Maine coast between Cape Elizabeth and Phippsburg, with Portland on its shore; tides on this page are from NOAA's Portland station.

Fishing Casco Bay: the full guide

Calendar Islands and ledges

The Casco Bay Estuary Partnership counts an estimated 785 islands, islets and exposed ledges in the bay, which contains the Calendar Islands. Its watershed covers 985 square miles, from the mountains near Bethel to the coastal waters of Phippsburg and Cape Elizabeth, and includes Portland.

Shore fishing in Portland and South Portland

DMR's angler guide calls the area around Bug Light, beside South Portland's municipal ramp, a favorite shore-fishing site, and says Spring Point Ledge Light's jetty into the Portland Harbor channel offers plenty of shore access but limited parking. Portland's Public Pier on the historic waterfront is popular with shore anglers when mackerel are in.

Launch ramps around the bay

DMR lists the South Portland ramp (two ramps, fee), Portland's Eastern Promenade launch on Cutter Street (two ramps, attendant, fee), Falmouth Town Landing (unusable at low tide), Yarmouth Town Landing on the Royal River and Winslow Park in South Freeport (also unusable at low tide). For all-tide access to northern Casco Bay, DMR quotes Brunswick's Mere Point launch.

Striped bass rules for 2026

In Maine coastal waters one striped bass a day may be kept, between 28 and 31 inches total length, and the season is open all year outside the Kennebec watershed. Bait must be fished on non-offset circle hooks, gaffing is banned, and striped bass may not be fished for in federal waters more than 3 miles from shore.

Common questions

What size striped bass can I keep in Casco Bay?

One a day between 28 and 31 inches total length, under DMR's 2026 rules.

Where can I fish from shore in Portland?

DMR points to Portland's Public Pier, the Bug Light area in South Portland and the Spring Point Ledge Light jetty.

Do I need a license?

Maine law may require you to register with the Saltwater Recreational Fishing Registry; DMR explains who must register.

Is fishing good at Casco Bay right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Sebago Lake21 miOssipee Lake45 miMerrymeeting Lake47 miDamariscotta Lake49 miSaco River50 miGreat Bay51 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 8418150 β€” Portland, ME
Harmonic predictions, datum MLLW, local time. 11 high and low events returned for today and the next two days. A prediction, not a measured water level: wind and surge move the real thing.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 43.6580, -70.2440 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 7, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 7, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.