Deep sea fishing in Maine
A cold water groundfish coast with a short season, spring into fall, fished out of the southern harbors around Portland and Ogunquit where Maine's deep sea fleet is based.
Maine is part of our Atlantic Northeast region. Pick a port below to see its full ranking — every boat scored on the same national standard.
Deep sea fishing in Maine is a cold water groundfish story, fished on a short season and from one stretch of coast. The Gulf of Maine ledges sit 15 to 30 miles out, a long steam from the southern harbors of Ogunquit, Kennebunk, and Portland, where nearly every deep sea charter in the state is based. The boats split into two kinds, per person head boats and private charters, and we rank the whole field in one place: deep sea fishing in southern Maine, the port anchored on Portland.
What you catch and when
Maine fishes for groundfish first. Haddock is the keeper that anchors nearly every trip, open most of the year with a 15 fish limit and a 17 inch minimum in 2026, holding on the ledges 15 to 30 miles offshore. Pollock run year round and pull hard, with cusk, hake, and redfish filling the deeper bottom and a short spring Atlantic halibut season for a shot at a big flatfish. Cod share the same ledges but are tightly restricted, open only in short windows at one fish a day, so most are caught and released. The summer brings the offshore headliners: giant bluefin tuna from about late June into the fall, run on dedicated permitted trips, and blue, porbeagle, and mako sharks, mostly hooked and released. Closer to home, striped bass fill an inshore season from May into October, a different fishery the boats work when the offshore weather is down. The fleet runs roughly April or May into October or November, with July through September the calmest stretch. Seasons and limits shift year to year, so confirm the current rules with NOAA Fisheries and Maine DMR before a season specific trip.
Head boat or private charter
The Maine fleet comes in two shapes, and the choice sets the price. The cheapest way out is a walk on seat on a per person head boat out of Ogunquit or Kennebunk, from about $95 for a daily groundfish trip, the move for a first trip or a pair of anglers who would rather buy a seat than a whole boat. The private charters run from Portland and South Portland on Casco Bay, booked by the whole boat for up to 6 anglers, from about $895 for a shorter offshore trip up to roughly $1,400 for a full groundfish day, with the summer tuna and shark trips in the same range, so the cost per head drops as you fill the deck. Bait, tackle, and the fishing license are covered across the fleet, since a licensed charter or head boat carries a vessel license that covers everyone aboard, so you do not buy your own. Both formats are scored boat by boat on our published method, and the ranked southern Maine charters lay out which is which, with verdicts and prices.
Where Maine sits on the coast
Southern Maine is the northern end of the New England deep sea coast we cover, and it shares its groundfish and summer bluefin tuna fishery with Gloucester down the coast in Massachusetts. The deep sea boats stay concentrated on Maine’s southern shore, around Portland, Kennebunk, and Ogunquit, which is why the state’s one port sits where it does rather than spread along the coast, and a trip is worth planning around a calm summer or early fall forecast when the whole fleet is running. For the rest of the northeast, the Atlantic Northeast hub lists every port we rank, from Maine down through the Mid-Atlantic.