Old Orchard Beach Tide Chart

Old Orchard is Maine’s classic boardwalk beach, and its pier is one of the few places in the state where a visiting angler can be over fishable water in five minutes from the sand.

What runs when

• Striped bass: July and August are peak — schoolies in the surf at dawn, better fish where the Saco River drains just north.
• Atlantic mackerel: June runs from the pier when they school inshore; a string of sabikis fills a bucket fast.
• Bluefish: late summer, hit-and-run in the wash.

Where to cast

The pier (small fee, all the tackle rental you need) at the tide change; the surf south of the pier at first light; the Saco mouth on a strong outgoing for bigger bass.

Tide timing here

With Maine’s big range, low tide turns the beach into a football field and the pier becomes the only deep option — the rising tide is the surf window, the high tide change is the pier window. Both are readable off today’s chips on this page.

Rules to know

Maine requires no license for its municipal pier, but the surf needs one. Striped bass is slot-only with circle hooks on bait. Current rules: Maine DMR.