Volunteer Angler Logbook Program

The Volunteer Angler Logbook (VAL) program collects length, catch & effort data from saltwater anglers to inform the management of Maine’s fish populations. It is primarily geared toward striped bass anglers, but it is open to anglers who fish for any saltwater species. Our field staff has limited opportunities to measure striped bass due to size and bag limits and anglers opting for catch and release, so the striped bass data (from both released and harvested fish) coming in from volunteer anglers gives us valuable insights into that fishery in Maine. 

This length, catch & effort data is used to assess the striped bass population by both Maine managers and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the multi-state assessment & management group overseeing Atlantic coast striped bass populations. This is an angler, science, and management partnership to be proud of.

The VAL program is quite simple. An angler records information about fish harvested or released during each trip for themselves and any fishing companions. Additional information about each trip is also recorded, including time spent fishing, area fished, number of anglers, and target species.

To sign up for the Volunteer Angler Logbook program, please contact Chris Uraneck at chris.b.uraneck@maine.gov.

Preliminary Summary of the 2025 data:

The Volunteer Angler Logbook program had 109 participants in 2025. 89 participants were sent paper logbooks, while 18 people opted for electronic data submission. 39 people recorded their fishing trips either on paper or electronically (36% of participants). 59 people (54% of participants) responded in some manner, some noting no fishing for the season or losing their logbooks.

The following types of fish were reported as being caught: striped bass, Atlantic mackerel, pollock, Atlantic cod, herring, cunner, shad, squid, sturgeon, bluefish, hake, dogfish, sculpin, eel, and wrasse.

Effort data

• The 39 logbook keepers reported 603 fishing trips which, when multiplied by the number of logbook keepers and their fishing companions, resulted in 897 individual angler-trips.
• The 39 logbook keepers reported that they and their fishing companions fished over 2,700 angler-hours over the course of the season.
• Of the 897 individual angler-trips, 89% (797) targeted striped bass as the primary or secondary target species.
• 59 fishing trips reported using a tube rig set up, 48 of which caught striped bass (81%).

Catch data - striped bass

• The catch rate for striped bass was about 0.16 sb/angler-hour on all trips with complete catch information (number of anglers and hours fishing) targeting striped bass as the primary or secondary target (797 angler-trips). 
• A total of 526 striped bass were caught on 248 trips. The highest total was in 2005 when 28,476 striped bass were caught on 2,203 trips.
• Of the 526 striped bass caught in 2025, 3.4% (18) were kept and 85.2% (448) were released. 11.4% (60 striped bass) were unspecified whether they were kept or released.

Length data - striped bass

• All 526 striped bass had their length either estimated or measured.
• 40.3% (212) of the stripers (using both estimated and measured lengths) were between 28” and 31” (legal retention size). Of these, 9% (18) were kept, 63% (134) were released and 28% (60) were unspecified whether kept or released.
• The average size for measured striped bass was 29.5”.  The largest fish was 48” and the smallest was 14”.
• 59.7% (314) of the striped bass with estimated or measured lengths were not of legal retention size.

*Some anglers did not indicate whether lengths were measured or estimated, leading to the slight discrepancy between these totals and the sum of the Estimated and Measured columns