Maine Ground Fishing: Cod, Haddock, etc.
"The ground fishing in Maine is as good as anywhere on the planet," insists Captain John, and he is the one to know, having fished from Australia to Zimbabwe (he insists that's an exaggeration, although he's fished all over, including places like Indonesia & Bangladesh)
Ground fishing involves dropping a diamond jig, bait, or more recently "butterfly jigs" to the bottom, anywhere from 180 to 300 feet deep. You pump the jig up and down a foot or two to attract the fish. I also recommended doing the same if fishing bait – it seems to work better for me. Obviously there are no fly fishing opportunities here – it's just to deep for anything other than possibly stunt fly fishing. Common catches include cod, haddock, wolffish, hake, cusk, pollack as well as a few other miscellaneous species.
Make no mistake; this is meat fishing, and these fish from the cold waters of Maine taste great. Ground fishing trips are always successful – you always catch fish.
It is possible to ground fish much deeper, although it's an incredible amount of work and not recommended for most. I remember being out with Captain John when we decided to drop a line to the bottom, 550 plus feet, to see if anything was there. We caught fish, silver hake to be precise, but if you've ever tried reeling in 550 feet of line with a heavy jig, especially with a fish attached, you know why it's not recommended. It's just too much work. Your hands cramp up from so much reeling and it takes forever to reel up!
Often it's possible and likely to combine ground fishing with tuna or shark fishing. If you're out there chumming or "chunking," it's usually worthwhile dropping a line to the bottom while waiting (at least if the water's not too deep!).
Ground fishing in Maine is normally from May to November, with July and August prime time. There are probably ground fish available year round, but few would want to go during winter!
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Maine Offshore Fishing Maine Shark
Fishing Maine Bluefin Tuna Fishing