Fishing in Scarborough, Maine: Pine Point Charters and Surf Access

Pine Point Harbor: Scarborough's Working Fishing Hub

Pine Point, at Scarborough's southern end, is a real working waterfront, not a marketing label. It has its own town dock at Pine Point Harbor and a commercial fishing pier that was rebuilt in 2011 specifically to support the local fishing fleet, per Portland Press Herald's coverage of the project at the time. The pier and dock are what make Pine Point Scarborough's genuine fishing anchor, distinct from the boardwalk-and-arcade character of Old Orchard Beach just down the same stretch of sand.

The building at 96 King Street long known as the Pine Point Fisherman's Co-Op has a more complicated recent history worth knowing before you plan around it. Portland Press Herald and Mainebiz both reported that the co-op and its attached restaurant, then called Rising Tide, were sold in 2019 by Gary Johnson and Tim Staples to Susan Bayley Clough and Vincent Clough, who renamed the restaurant Stern Seafood and said at the time they intended to keep the fish-buying station running largely as it was. That said, a Yelp business listing for the Pine Point Fisherman's Co-Op itself was showing as closed, in an update dated June 2025, when checked fresh for this page.

As of this session, a fresh search could not confirm the retail co-op's current day-to-day status beyond that 2019 sale-and-rename story and the Yelp listing's closed flag; call ahead or check current listings for 96 King Street directly before assuming it operates today the way it did in 2019. The pier and town dock themselves, as public harbor infrastructure, are a separate matter from the retail business and remain the working core of Pine Point.

Reel Salty Charters: A Real Boat Out of Pine Point

Reel Salty Charters is captained by Ed Bayley, who holds a 100-Ton Master U.S. Coast Guard license and is a registered Maine Guide with more than 35 years of local fishing experience, per the operator's own site, reelsaltypinepoint.com, fetched fresh for this page. The boat is the Elaine Marie, a 28-foot Grady-White, departing from 96 King Street in Pine Point, Scarborough, Maine 04074 — phone (207) 355-6041, email ed@reelsaltypinepoint.com.

Current pricing, per the operator's own site: a 2-hour Reel Family Time trip (sightseeing and light fishing, up to 5 people) runs $295; a 4-hour inshore trip for striped bass, mackerel, and bluefish runs $495 for up to 4 anglers, with room for additional passengers at $100 each subject to the captain's approval. Offshore trips for haddock, pollock, and cod run $675 for 5 hours or $1,000 for 8 hours (the 8-hour trip also lists whiting among the catch); an 8-hour offshore shark charter targeting mako, blue, and porbeagle sharks runs $1,150, with that fishery generally opening in season from roughly mid-to-late July onward. The site's own 2026 season note read simply that the season is underway and the fish are moving — call or check the site directly to confirm same-week availability before booking.

Maine Coast Guide Service: A Second Confirmed Pine Point Operator

This is a genuine update on the standing research for this market, which had flagged Maine Coast Guide Service as appearing in general search results without a confirmed Scarborough base. A fresh check this session of the operator's own site, fishmcgs.com, along with its Alignable business listing, confirms Captain Keith Hall runs the operation out of the Pine Point Co-op building at 96 King Street in Scarborough — the same address as Reel Salty Charters — targeting striped bass and bluefish on light tackle, with mackerel trips and lobster-pulling demonstrations aimed at kids and families also offered.

Pricing is quoted per boat (up to 4 guests, weight limits apply), per the operator's own rates page: $500 for 4 hours, $600 for 5 hours, $700 for 6 hours, and $900 for 8 hours, with a $100 deposit to reserve. Gear is provided, and departure times are flexible and coordinated around tides rather than fixed. Contact the operator directly at 207-632-1061 or captainkeith@fishmcgs.com to confirm current-week availability.

A Third Lead: Fly Fish Maine Fishes Pine Point Waters, But Isn't Based There

Fly Fish Maine turns up in general searches for Scarborough-area fishing guides, and a fresh check of its own site confirms why: its guide writes that he fishes the waters of Saco Bay from Pine Point in Scarborough. But the business's own listed home address is 505 Hodsdon Rd in Pownal, Maine, well inland and north of Scarborough — so this is a real option for guided fly fishing in Pine Point's waters, not a Scarborough-headquartered outfit the way Reel Salty Charters and Maine Coast Guide Service are. Treat it as a worthwhile call rather than a confirmed local business.

Surf Fishing at Higgins Beach, Pine Point Beach, and Scarborough Beach State Park

Shore fishing is a real, town-acknowledged option in Scarborough. The Town of Scarborough's own beaches page lists surf casting as a permitted activity at both Higgins Beach and Pine Point Beach. Scarborough Beach State Park, at 418 Black Point Rd, is a separate public beach best known as a surfing spot, and while a fresh check of the park's own rules page did not turn up fishing-specific language, its general public-beach access makes it worth a call to the park directly if shore fishing there is the plan.

Unlike some neighboring beach towns, this session's research did not find a Scarborough ordinance that sets specific fishing hours or a formal permission process the way, for example, Old Orchard Beach's town council adopted for its own beach in 2021. Higgins Beach does have its own unrelated, surfing-specific restriction (no surfing 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., June 15 through September 15, per the Higgins Beach Association's own site) worth knowing simply because it affects how crowded the water is at midday in season. Species-specific size and bag limits for striped bass, mackerel, or anything else caught from Scarborough's sand were not confirmed this session — check those directly at maine.gov/dmr, and check with the town or the Higgins Beach Association for any current beach-access rule, before you fish.

Maine's License Rule: A $1 Registry, Not a Traditional License

Maine does not sell a traditional paid saltwater fishing license the way many states do. Per the Maine Department of Marine Resources' own site, re-verified fresh for this page, anyone fishing recreational saltwater in Maine — including from a Scarborough beach or aboard a Pine Point charter — must register annually through the state's Saltwater Recreational Fishing Registry: $1 online through the DMR's LEEDS system, or $2 in person through a Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife license agent. Confirmed exemptions include anglers under 16, holders of a current Maine freshwater fishing license, holders of a valid commercial fishing license, Maine residents fishing only on Memorial Day, July 4th, or Labor Day weekend, members of specified Maine tribal nations, and — notably for charter customers — passengers aboard a vessel captained by someone holding a valid For-Hire Charter Boat Operator's License, since the boat's own license covers paying passengers. Anglers already registered in another state or with the National Saltwater Angler Registry are also exempt.

As with any state fishing rule, species-by-species keeper sizes, bag limits, and open seasons change year to year and are set by Maine DMR, not by this page, so check maine.gov/dmr directly for the current season before you fish.