Maine has benefitted from a slightly increased menhaden (known locally as pogies) quota, but even if fishermen catch every bit of quota available to them, menhaden will barely make up the massive gap in bait supply. Good quality affordable lobster bait is an important component of profitability. Right now, all along Maine's rocky coast (especially in the midcoast), menhaden (better known as pogies) are swimming in schools close to shore. Jennie Bichrest, manager of Purse Line Bait in Sebasco Estates, says her customers actually prefer pogies. Plus, you can sell a fish tote here and there and pay for the net/fuel/time. Owner and operator of two Atlantic herring vessels, the F/V Sunlight and F/V Starlight, OâHara Lobster Bait can bring you a high-quality fresh or salted herring ⦠We only see pogies in the Gulf of Maine when the stocks are protected to allow fish to live up to six years (old for a menhaden.) Reactions: leaky. Earlier this week, we were greeted by news that menhaden stocks were rebounded, yet despite their ⦠While many anglers score well by fishing eels in deep water (30â plus) on heavy 3-way ⦠There are big bass with the pogies, the stickler being finding the right school-in-a-school which has the predators. As of 2016, they started coming back. âYes itâs amazing to have the pogies come in locally to get into the bait market, but itâs tiny,â McCarron said. The Maine Marine Patrol, which has been compiling ⦠We saw menhaden this year because catch limits were imposed in 2012 to protect the fish. Donât let them catch all the young fish down south! If the proof is in the pictures than Captain Jon Tregea of Sea Run Charters is really dialed in to his home waters of the Piscataqua ⦠For a fresh perspective, check out Winnipesaukee where a host of salmonoids are stacked up with the bait. When stripers are keyed in on pogies youâll need a long fly with a big profile. BRUNSWICK, Maine â Over the last several days, thousands of dead bait fish have washed up on the shores of Middle and Maquoit bays in Brunswick. Always Open. âThatâs how I started,â she said. Restaurant. Indeed, the majority of state and IGFA record fish have been taken on eels fished at night. The pogy principle still applies: find the schools of pogies and youâll find the big bass! âI sell more pogies than herring.â Last year, Bichrest built a new 50 × 100 foot freezer to hold more hard bait. Staff photo by Brianna Soukup. Cloutier said he believes the cause of the dead fish was fishing-related. Pogies are the most popular lobster bait after herring. Public input requested on Draft Amendment 3 to ⦠This oily filter-feeder swims in schools so large that they block the sun from penetrating the waterâs surface as it regulates ocean health. Yesterday 1 Seine boat in POrtland Harbor loaded 9 Tractor Trailer Loads of Pogies, over 350,000 lbs Even if Maine were fully transitioned to Episodic Events quota then the rules are not being followed. In 1850, a more commercial use was discovered, when a fishermanâs wife in Blue Hill, Maine, discovered how to extract oil from menhaden. Landings have grown rapidly over the last 30 years as well as the demand for bait. The company also carries frozen and fresh pogies, though Anderson doesnât think he will see fresh pogies until June with the cold spring thus far. Bath Brunswick Bath photographer captures drone video of seals feasting on pogies off Small Point . According to Maine Marine Patrol Maj. Rene Cloutier, a Marine Patrol pilot in a seaplane spotted the pogies during a routine patrol around 2-3 p.m., Wednesday, July 4, and the agency dispatched officers to look into the matter. On cooler, foggier days, they are more difficult to spot but can be hovering just below the surface. Larry is a patient teacher and knowledgable guide who will work hard to put you on fish ⦠A mass of dead pogies has washed up on the shore of Greenland Cove in Bremen. Menhaden, or pogies, are being off-loaded at the Jodrey State Fish Pier again. Atlantic herring is available and itâs the bait of choice. They school, and will migrate between reefs. The fish spawn in inshore waters and live in rocky areas and reefs of up to 200 m deep. Saltwater Recreational Fishing Registry info ; If you need help deciding which license you need, contact your Marine Patrol Office or (207) 624-6550. Public hearings on Menhaden (pogie) management . Rushed pogies are obvious, less noticeable are tightly balled bait which belie the presence ⦠The fish is found on all coasts of New Zealand, especially in the north. Author: Beth Brogan (NEWS CENTER ⦠Matt Hanna, who lives in Small Point near the Atlantic Ocean spot, knows the area well and frequently watches the menhaden - also known as 'pogies' - jumping up in the waters. On sunny warm days, pogies will come to the surface and you can often see them flipping about in the water. So called alternative baits - cow hide, ⦠When pogies are around, he rigs a purse seine and goes pogy fishing. Deciding to get closer look at what was going on, he sent up his drone over the ocean, and recorded the mesmerizing ⦠Omega Protein harvests pogies on an enormous scale and uses them for fish meal, cosmetics and other products. Matthew Hanna said he saw fish swimming in the ocean from his Phippsburg cottage, but would never have imagined the video he'd capture. She called the extract âfish waterâ and sent a sample to a merchant in Boston. Menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus, is, without a doubt, the single most important fish in the western Atlantic. New Hampshire Fishing Report . Fishermen in Maine are on course for the best catch of menhaden in decades, the baitfish commonly known as pogies. When found the schools stretch for miles! I work in the commercial fishing industry along commercial street. The footage was recorded off the coast of the Phippsburg peninsula in Maine, a renowned spot for seals to congregate. Fresh Lobster Bait. The pictured beast fleye above is roughly 12â long with a 4â profile. Starved of oxygen, the pogies will die, resulting in large fish kills along the Maine shore. The three seals were caught on drone footage diving into the school of menhaden fish off the coast of Small Point, Maine, attempting to feast on the prey. But the fish disappeared from his area many years ago. The last time there were this many pogies was 40 years ago. Pogies are plentiful all the way at least as far north as Cape Neddick according to Brandy from Webhannet Bait and Tackle. In other words, recreational fishermen love to look around at a lobstermen using a small gill net or seine and say "see they're catching all the pogies and the stripers and tuna aren't going to have anythinng left to eat!" It is also found on the coast of Tasmania but in lesser numbers. Dunk them ⦠âIâve ⦠Heâs a US Coast Guard 100-Ton Master licensed captain and registered Maine guide with a profound appreciation for aquatic wildlife. What i do with Macks and Pogies is clip the tail. Nov 8, 2020 #13 B. bluefin650 Commander. OâHara Lobster Bait has been supplying coast of Maine lobstermen and women for over 65 years. Several lobstermen have added Seines, a friend of mine landed 35,000 lbs in a 45 ft ⦠In Australia it is found along the south coast and as far north as Coral Bay in the west, and Cape Manifold in Queensland in the east. The lobster stock in the Gulf of Maine appears to be in good shape. Pogies are oily fish that can weigh up to two pounds and are used for lobster bait, fertilizer and cat food. Twenty years later, the sale of menhaden oil exceeded that of whale, cod, and seal oil combined. Pogies are drawing some bigger bass inside the harbor, but most of the striper action is coming from schoolie-sized fish feeding on smaller bait. Joined Sep 5, 2011 Posts 343 Likes 70 Location Southern Maine. You may have seen the boats at work near shore this summer â two or three trawlers moving in a slow circle, as the crew places an open net in the water, then gathers it together, now filled with thousands of jumping pogies. Pogies are thick Downeast, especially in Machias Bay with schools creating "funny water" . Hours . Capt. And some of those fish are 50â behemoths! Southern Maine Fishng Report. This cyclical uptick in local population is something fishery managers call an episodic event. Larger fish ⦠I was told by a Maine DMR Rep that you couldn't have a gill net on ⦠Maine's Leading Local News: Weather, Traffic, Sports and more | Maine | NewsCenterMaine.com. Pogies, also known as menhaden, suffocate from lack of oxygen, sometimes when huge schools of the fish swim into shallow coves to escape pursuit by marauding bluefish, marine biologists say. Theyâre readily available; they take fish in the surf, rips and rocks from Maine to North Carolina; and they are simple to store and keep alive. Yesterday, a clamdigger told me he heard a big "woosh" and saw fish splashing on the surface as big as a football field. The past few seasons pogies have lined the coast of Maine and with these dense schools of protein come whales, bluefin tuna, and mature striped bass. of cold storage, we work to always keep you supplied with bait. Older fish are bigger and migrate farther. Image from Maine Department of Marine Resources. But Alan Houston, marine resources warden for the town of Brunswick, said there was no evidence that bluefish were a factor in the latest kill. Macks and Pogies. I believe they may not want to waste a lot of energy on a single fish. I think unless a Tuna is real hungry he may well pass on a Lively bait that can scoot away fast. But this time, these oily, schooling, largely littoral small pelagics will end up in the stomachs of Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. I had posted that earlier about the pogies. Best of all, stripers canât seem to resist them, and nothing works better at night. mid coast Maine First Name Don Boat Make Ho Made Yeah there good. âA certain ⦠A Guide to Lobstering in Maine, pdf file, 1 MB; For municipal shellfish licenses, please visit or call your local town office. Will if there is a school and they have a better chance. Facebook is showing information to ⦠A 100 ft gill net can fit in a fish tote and will wrap up a school of pogies and be plugged in 5 minutes once you get the hang of it. Operating a full indoor processing facility and over 3.5 million lbs. Page Transparency See More. Some fishermen prefer pogies, redfish and alewives, but these are not as dependable. The beast fleye is an innovative Bob Popovicsâ pattern; itâs essentially a supersized version of his hollow ⦠It's good you can see your bait. Captain Lawrence Robillard began his professional fishing career as a commercial fisherman in New England and has over 3 decades of experience under his belt. Begin is familiar with the fishâs cycle in the Gulf of Maine: They tend to come around for years at a time, then disappear for years at a time.