I was purely a freshwater angler until the early 1990s, when I began to hear tales of striped bass…read moreand bluefish being caught in the New England surf. Historically speaking, these fish had been pursued with a fly long before then, but it was around this time that the fly fishing media began to give them their due coverage. I spent one entire winter preparing my mind and my equipment for the upcoming fishing season, and in early June, I packed my truck for a journey to the southern Maine coast. I had a Fisher rod that I purchased from a shop in Florida, and an over-sized Medalist real that was dead before season's end. I had an atlas to guide me, and information gleaned from the sparsity of relevant articles published in Flyfisherman and American Angler. But beyond this, I was a babe in the woods, and not at all prepared for tides, surf, estuaries, bait fish, strong winds, heavily weighted flies, and fish that were almost impossible to stop without a strong drag. I needed advice, and fast. I mapped a course that would take me up US Route 1 to a few prospective places that I had heard or read about. I knew nothing about this area, and as I passed through York, ME, summertime traffic crawled along at a snail's pace. I noticed a sign for a fly shop, so I pulled off the road to take a look. It was Eldredge Bros Fly Shop in Cape Neddick, ME, and the advice they were about to give me propelled my fly fishing into an exciting new chapter. I entered the shop and was greeted by one of the employees. I explained that I was about to wet a line in salt water for the very first time. The gentleman was incredibly supportive, and he set me up with a selection of flies that should have as good a chance as any of catching fish. I told him of my destination and plan, and he provided me with a wealth of information that caused me to rethink my strategy. More confident than ever, I left the shop ready to catch fish. I arrived at the estuary, or at least according to my atlas. I parked my truck, geared up, and began to walk the river bank toward the distant beach front . As I stared at the slowly moving river (it was slack low tide), I realized that I forgot to ask about techniques. Without any additional information at hand, I tied on a white deceiver. I slowly worked my way down river, casting across each pool and mending line as if I were fishing for salmon. My third cast landed me a small 18" schoolie striper, and my fifth cast a 20" fish. By the time I reached the river mouth, I had hooked and landed five striped bass...not bad for a newbie. I returned to the southern Maine coast almost every weekend that year, and in one memorable outing I had two 50 fish tides over the course of a 24 hour period. I mention all this because none of it would have been possible without the advice and assistance of the folks at the Eldredge Bros Fly Shop. Since then, Eldredge Bros has continued to be my most trusted source for information and saltwater fly fishing equipment. Whether you are pursuing fresh or salt water species, they stock everything you'll need to successfully catch fish. The staff is friendly, informative, and possibly some best anglers I've ever met. If you are in the area, stop by, purchase a few flies or tying materials, and chat with the staff. You never know what a conversation might mean for your fishing.

go there. listen to what they say. fish where and what they tell you. Rejoice at the fish! they…read moredon't sell you something you don't need and they know what they are talking about. Scott the owner does a lot to support to the local community, which, lets face it, amazon doesn't.

Bryan is knowledgeable, experienced and showed a lot of patience with this inexperienced fisherman…read more The fish just weren't biting that morning, none of the other charters had much success, either. What matters is that we got an individualized fishing trip - it's called fishing, not catching!

Had a great time! Caught some fish and enjoyed the ride. Just went for a casual outing, not a…read moreserious day of fishing. The 2 hour tour was the perfect length and so enjoyable!

We were excited to go out fishing while up in York. We searched around and found Sea Time and chose…read morethem for our charter. The day before the trip Lawerence/Larry called my wife to change the time of departure to 10:00 am instead of 11:00 am due to the potential for severe weather. So we agreed and were super excited to get out on the water. We arrived at Pepperrell Cove and grabbed some snacks at the Bistro. We messaged Lawerence/Larry that we arrived and asked where to park as there are were only a few spots that were not reserved or restricted. We found the boat and say that Lawerence/Larry was on the boat but a college age kid named Kai was there. He told us that he would be skippering the boat not Lawerence/Larry. This was never communicated to us that Lawerence/Larry wasn't going to actually take us out. This set the stage for a bad day on the boat as Kai was a great guy but there was no bait, and ice or cooler for us to use. The most important aspect was there was no live bait fish for us to use. Kai took us out to Snag Fish for Poggie first. We were able to get some using the 3 pointed hooks without bait by drawing through the school and snagging them. We then switched up to fishing for Mackeral. We were only able to get a few and the 5 foot swells and rain started to take a toll on one of our party. Kai took us into the mouth of Little Harbor to then fish for Strippers. At this point we were almost half way through the trip and just started actually fish for Strippers. Since the tide was still going out we had little success and the poggie were too big for the strippers to take on. We ran out of bait as the few we had were dying off so Kai decided to take us back out into the 5 foot swells to get live bait. As we hit Kittery Point I asked him if we could just use cut bait fish for Strippers. He agreed and then took us up the river to the Naval Yard to fish. The water was much calmer but the wind was pretty steady so we were chased off a couple of times by the Navy's Police boat. So we only really fished for strippers for about 45 minutes in two locations since most of the time was spent navigating to fish for bait fish. We totally felt like Lawerence/Larry passed of this charter to Kai at the last minute hence why there was no live bait or cooler full of ice. We brought this to his attention and he messaged at 5:20 am this morning with the following dismissive message. Turns out that it is illegal to snag fish in Maine. So while Kai was a great kid the owner of the boat is not very good at ensure a great charter since the live bait was provided and we had to get ourselves. UPDATE! To Lawerence the fact that the mackerel we were catching were less than 8 inches in length and were for bait fish for the strippers was no a great charter experience. The fact we wasted over half the actual time of fishing for bait and boating around to 4 different spots was also not an enjoyable experience. The fact that there was no cooler for our snacks and drinks was also not a great experience. The fact you were communicating to my wife the day before and never mentioned you were not going to skipper the boat and we would be skippered by some else was also a little misleading. The fact that there was no bait other than cut bait came across like you handed off the charter at the last minute hence the no live bait. Any other charters I have been on the boat is stocked so the clients can spend more time on the fish rather than getting bait fish.

Caught 11 monster stripers. Most were over 40" and largest was 50"!!!!!…read more Larry has the magic touch. Did a half day inshore charter with a couple friends and Larry's Sea Time charter. In heavy thick fog, somehow Larry found a school of pogies. There were boils of stripers feeding on them, like nothing I have ever seen in my life. 3 times we had 2 fish on the line at the same time. Eventually many other boats showed up at the same spot one they saw what was going on, but Larry was clearly was the leader. So much fun! It was my second charter with Larry. First time my son caught a 46". I actually have my own boat in Kittery but I've done charters with Larry so I can learn how to fish the local waters from him. He's an entertaining guy, with a lot of local knowledge, and is happy to teach if you are interested. I'd highly recommend Larry and SeaTime Charters.

*This review is for Jet Ski rentals*…read more I have been going to Hampton Beach my life. And one hour with Adventure Charters warped my whole vision of what Hampton had to offer. What do I know about jet skis? Pretty much nothing. I have a driver's license but I've never driven anything more exotic than a go-kart or a vespa. So when my boyfriend suggesting renting jet skis during our vacation my immediate reaction was to LEAP at the suggestion and then slowly return to reality. 1. I have no idea how to ride one 2. I may get eaten by sharks (I just watched Shark Week!). So we called up Adventure Charters (the only place in Hampton Beach that rents jet skis). They were super friendly and answered all of my questions thoroughly and pleasantly. Since I don't have a boating license, I'd have to fill out a quick test to give me a 14 day temporary license. Then it's $85/hour per jet ski, no matter how many people on the jet ski. That sounds great. Flash forward to August when we walk past all the deep sea fishing shacks. We were greeted by the friendly and genuinely pleasant people working there who explained the little instruction book and test. Test took maybe 15 minutes and cost $20 to take. But no worries, that fee is applied toward the jet ski fee. Then we paid the $500 deposit on each jet ski and the remaining $65 per jet ski. The place provides life jackets, which you must wear, and wet suits, which are optional. I thought we'd need them since NH is notorious for FREEZING COLD lips turning purple water. But not so. The man who took us to the dock was so nice and put all my fears to rest. He even took our pictures on the jet ski and put them on their facebook wall for us to see later. (we couldn't find a water-proof disposable camera on the way there. boo) ZOMG jet skis are my favorite thing in the world. About halfway through our hour, i stopped the jet ski, turned to my boyfriend and insisted that we buy one (ok maybe two) for ourselves. I felt so safe. It was so easy to handle. And we went speeeeding through the waves. An hour was a perfect amount of time. There's a little clock on the "dashboard" next to the speedometer to keep track of when you need to return. We had plenty of time to test our courage and have fun and get back on time. We then walked, back returned the life jackets, got our things (which they were nice enough to keep behind the counter so they were not destroyed). We started planning next year's trip as we walked out the door. Nothing negative to say about this company!

This place is a hidden gem. Tucked away by the marina. The staff is friendly and very helpful. I…read morerented a jet ski here for an hour. I'm not very familiar navigating the seas of the Hampton Beach area. It was low tide, so they made sure I navigated the waters well before going out. They also told me the best spots to go to. I was cruising and ripping through waves the rest of the time and had a great experience! Will definitely be back.

Amazing personality, experience and fun while fishing with Tidewater. The owner, Bob, is not only…read moregracious and courteous- he knows his fishing! He took us out many times last summer and we cannot wait to go out again for summer 2013. We went out both alone and with a group of our friends for a little day trip. I highly suggest giving it a shot when you are looking for an adventure! Right off Kittery Point- easy to find. They have a facebook page for more info and pictures: www.facebook.com/tidewatercharterservices

My boyfriend and I took a private charter with Captain Carle and it seriously made our trip to the…read morePortland area. Captain Carle is so friendly & knowledgeable. I have never fished (ever!) and felt like I could ask any and all questions without any judgement. He was willing to demonstrate and walk us through every step of the way and multiple times at that. It was clear his goal was to create an enjoyable, memorable experience and he definitely stayed out a little later than planned to make sure we caught a Striper! And we did My boyfriend with some fishing experience and I with none were both so happy we did this. If you add anything to your to-do list while in the area, take a trip with Captain Carle!!!

We had an awesome time - Captain Carle is awesome and knew exactly where to go to find the big…read moreones! Highly recommended!