Fishing Report week ending July 5,2003 Striped Bass fishing was great this week on the Piscataqua River in NH. Many local anglers stayed off the water as they feared the crowd of boats on July 4th weekend. The Hot Weather and plenty of boats didn’t deter the fish though. We averaged 5 keepers on each trip with many shorter fish mixed in to keep the action lively. Using chunk bait and light tackle we had a blast. The highlight of the week was a trip with Judy, Harry and Ken. They had done a lot of casting for stripers from Hilton Park in Dover and were very frustrated with the results. Judy gave me a call and we discussed catching stripers not just losing lures and hooks. Judy and her husband Harry are avid fisherpeople and decided to bring along their grown son Ken when they heard the fishing has been good. We got a bunch of nice fish and the last fish of the trip was a fat 38” Striper caught by Ken and released to fight another day. After all the fishing from shore they had done with little success, they were just amazed at how well we did. Catching live bait still seems to be a problem for most anglers although for those who are willing to take the trip there are plenty of small Pollock at the Isle of Shoals. Good Fishing Capt. Joel.