February 7, 2005 Ice Fishing Report

Region A- Southwestern Maine

On January 24th an angler was jigging for togue at the "Station" (Sebago Lake) in about 5 feet of water. He hadn't seen a fish all morning, which he considered unusual since the togue fishing had been steady the previous week. He found this sudden change in "luck" disheartening and was thinking about relocating when a large fish darted into view and inhaled his jig. After a brief battle in shallow water, a 36 inch, 13 lb- 4oz northern pike was landed and brought to our office. This is the fourth confirmed pike caught on Sebago. This pike is also the first mature female pike caught and she was full of eggs. Interestingly, a 7 inch cusk was found in its stomach. Northern pike are competitors with salmon and are predators on salmon and smelt. Therefore, we continue to encourage anglers to harvest the illegally stocked northern pike to support ongoing efforts to rebuild Sebago's salmon fishery.

Experienced togue anglers, particularly those willing to jig are reporting good catches of togue on Sebago. Airplane jigs tipped with a piece of cut sucker remains a popular and effective technique.

Cold nights and calm winds have finally provided conditions for the "Big Bay" to set up. The Big bay set ice on the 29th, 4 days later than last year. Carroll Cutting reports that ice racing boats were already out on the bay within a couple days of freezing. Much of the Big Bay supports 6 inches of ice. Ice shacks settlements are popping up on Jordan Bay and the Station, where in places the ice exceeds a foot. Those thinking of driving vehicles should be very cautious as I know of at least one vehicle that has already broken through the ice in Jordan Bay. Many anglers are setting up camp for the upcoming derby (February 26 & 27), hosted by the Windham Rotary. Tom Noonan does a tremendous job organizing this winter festival event, and each year brings bigger prizes and additional activities to this charity fund raising event. Derby information can be obtained by calling 1-888-ICE-FLAG.

Another very popular fishing derby is scheduled for February 20th on Little Ossipee Lake. This well run event also raises money for a number of worthwhile charities and good causes. A number of new fish categories have been established this year to add to the excitement. Tickets are available at Lakeside Market (Waterboro), Saco Bay Tackle, and at the Town boat ramp on the day of the derby from 6 to 9AM. Anglers can obtain additional derby information at www.fetinc.net. 

Until this past spring-like weekend angler use has remained light on many of our well-stocked regional lakes, and there's plenty of good fishing remaining this season. Last Saturday, I checked anglers fishing Tripp Lake (Poland) and saw a number of 2 1/ to 3 1/2 pound brood salmon on the ice, and many anglers commented that day was the first they'd ice fished this season. Some other more successful anglers I recently spoke with have been fishing some of the less well-known brown trout ponds in the Hancock Pond drainage and have consistently landed good numbers of browns up to 25 inches long. We recently reported on some trophy browns caught on Sterns Pond (Sweden), a pond that receives very little pressure. Good catches of browns have also been reported at Canton Lake, another water that has received little use this winter. Lovell Pond (Fryeburg) is another underutilized brown trout fishery. A number of years ago I fished this water and landed four 12 to 14 inch browns. In and of itself this may not be that impressive, but combined with the almost nonstop action provided by perch, pickerel and bass...and no other anglers to be seen, made for an enjoyable day. What a great place to take the kids! Anglers are creatures of habit that tend to fish the same old waters, and often the waters commonly known for "good fishing". Many of the lesser known waters often offer just as good or better fishing, are less congested, and offer more pleasant scenery. I would encourage anglers to browse the 2004 stocking report to explore some of the "less known" waters in the region. Usually by the time you hear about the "good fishing" the best fishing has passed you by.

-Francis Brautigam, Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region B - Central Maine

Someone once said, "Ice Fishing can be reduced to two common denominators: short periods of muscle-straining, sweat-inducing activity that accompanies the auguring of several holes, followed by long periods of inactivity. Beads of sweat generated by the former turn into tiny ice crystals caused by the latter. As time goes by, you stare at holes situated in places that become increasingly obvious as being devoid of fish." Ultimately, the cycle is repeated. This may sum up the results of many angling excursions over the last month. Many, but not all, as some waters in the Belgrade Region provided some hot action for many species.

I have been creel surveying Long Pond of the Belgrade Lakes for several years. Long is a lake that at one time was one of the premier salmon waters in the region and drew anglers from near and far. The illegal introduction of northern pike into the Belgrade Lakes around 1970 and a very recent illegal introduction of landlocked alewives have changed that. The dynamics of the fishery are providing an interesting undertaking in management for professional biologists. After a hiatus of being closed for 25 years, a 3-year experimental season of ice angling was promulgated to evaluate how fishing pressure affected pike numbers. The regulation prohibited the removal of any salmonids or bass, a rule that appeared to be followed quite well. In addition, the pike were trap netted during the spring to evaluate population structure. Anglers removed approximately 500 pike.

2005 started out slow, with poor early ice conditions and then frigidly cold weather preventing many anglers from venturing forth until the last weekend in January. February so far has not shown the large numbers of anglers that were surveyed in 2004. But, some of the anglers fishing Long Pond are rewarded. I have seen two 17-pound pike and several smaller pike, but many anglers are reporting releasing bass. That may indicate that competition for minnows on the hook has been lessened. With the days lengthening and warming, pike will increase their activity as they seek out the shallow areas for spawning. In Maine, pike spawning occurs at some time in late March and early April.

The fall 2004 stocking period by our biologists and hatchery division is providing dividends to the resourceful ice angler. At that time, approximately 100 waters in the region were stocked with legal sized trout for winter fishing. Both fall yearling fish and retired brood fish were stocked in varying numbers. While the fall yearling fish are planted in greater numbers and in a larger number of waters, brood stock of brook, brown, and lake trout were planted in several waters to attract anglers.

For example, fall yearling brook trout were stocked in 72 waters. Brook trout brood fish, each averaging around 3 pounds, were placed in 20. Region wide, this has given ice anglers some good action and has resulted in many reports of successful trips to area waters. Since this region has an abundance of waters that are routinely stocked with longer surviving fall yearling brown trout, many anglers have praised the availability of the more plentiful and easier to catch legal-sized brook trout.

I leave you with this inquiry-" If you are ice fishing in zero-degree weather, and it's supposed to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be?"

-William Woodward, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region C - Downeast

Finally, after nearly two weeks of below-zero weather, most eastern Maine lakes have some safe ice, but caution is still advised. The arrival of several warmer days has unleashed the waiting throngs of winter anglers onto the ice flats to punch holes, bait up with lively shiners or smelts, have a cookout, and chase the red flags with more speed than a bull charging at a matador's red cape.

West Grand Lake opened to fishing this week to some very good action for early anglers. Salmon provided most of the action, but togue, whitefish, and cusk added to the variety of the catch. Conditions featured nearly two feet of ice with a good snow cover. Snowmobiles represent the vehicle of choice under these conditions. No slush is reported at West Grand, although many other eastern Maine lakes have slush pockets.

Togue are biting well at many of our lakes. Give togue fishing a try; you may like the action and the size of your catch. Although often caught on bait and tipups, togue catchability improves if you jig for them. Proven producers are leadfish, Swedish pimples, chartreuse Weeping Willows, and airplane jigs, all commonly tipped with a piece of cut bait. Most anglers prefer fishing from 25'-60' depths. Lakes that are producing good catches of togue this winter are Beech Hill Pond in Otis, Phillips Lake in Dedham, Toddy Pond in Orland, Jordan Pond in Mt. Desert, Tunk Lake in Twp 10 SD, West Grand Lake in Grand Lake Stream and West Musquash Lake in Topsfield.

-Rick Jordan, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region D - Western Mountains

Fishing activity picked up dramatically as temperatures soared to the high 40's - it felt downright tropical following the snappy cold that prevailed during the previous couple of weeks. Gene Arsnault reported about 90 anglers enjoying the warm sunshine at Embden Lake last Saturday. The fishing wasn't particularly fast, but Gene did see several togue and a few salmon and brook trout. Embden Lake anglers are benefiting from a small stocking of large, fall yearling brookies made last November. These fish, which were 12 to 14 inches long when stocked, were intended to provide some immediate fishing opportunities for winter anglers. Expect to see more of this type of stocking when our hatchery improvements are completed and additional fish become available.

On Sunday, several large family groups on Wesserunsett Lake were getting primed for the Super Bowl. With such gorgeous weather and Patriot enthusiasm at a fever pitch, icing a fish was merely a bonus. Pickerel in the 2 to 3 pound range were cooperating for several parties, and white perch up to 1.5 pounds were caught in the deep holes.

Winter use continues to be very low at Hancock Pond and we're not sure why. Recent netting results indicate Hancock has a healthy wild togue population, we continue to stock salmon, and smallmouth bass are large and presently fairly abundant. This might be a good bet for those looking to get away from the crowds.

Several fishing derbies are scheduled for February and early March. The Franklin County Chamber of Commerce will sponsor derbies at Wilson Lake in Wilton on February 20 and at Clearwater Lake in Industry on February 27. The Mexico Lions Club will hold their annual derby at Ellis Pond in Roxbury on February 27, with a rain date of February 27. Also at Ellis Pond, The North Oxford Unit of the American Cancer Society's "Relay for Life" is sponsoring their derby on March 5.

-Dave Boucher, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region E - Moosehead Region

With weather conditions such as they were this past week I had to take a "double-take" at the calendar to make sure that this was the start of February and not the end of March. What a welcome change from the very cold temperatures we endured throughout the past month.

With mother nature providing us with some good weather, two-thirds of the regional staff set out for a couple of waters in the Moosehead Region to try our hand at a bit of fishing. Steve Seeback headed south to Sebec Lake and I packed up and went north to Lobster Lake. Neither of these waters is known for its fast fishing but the potential of catching a very nice fish is always possible. When we got back to the office and swapped fishing stories it seemed that had Steve faired better than I, as he managed to catch a couple of lake trout and I having only a couple of flags and no fish to my credit.

The opening week at Lobster Lake was true to form as fishing seemed to be on the slower side. Anglers going there certainly need first and foremost "patience". There were reports of a few lake trout and some salmon being caught. Anglers that were successful in finding the right spot were also catching a few smelts on small jigs. Remember that Lobster Lake is only open to ice fishing during the month of February and is restricted to 2 lines per person and use or possession of live fish as bait is prohibited. It is open to fishing for cusk at night and 5 lines may be used.

This weekend found the Greenville Fisheries Staff going in several different directions. Friday afternoon Steve Seeback and Albert Hall packed up and headed north to check opening weekend at Allagash Lake. Steve and Albert reported on Sunday afternoon that they had checked several parties on Saturday and that anglers did quite well in their pursuit of brook trout and lake trout.

On Saturday morning Paul Johnson and Steve Sutton traveled west to check Big Wood Pond in Jackman and to assist with the 1st Annual Big Wood Lake Ice Fishing Derby. Paul and Steve said that the derby was well attended as they counted 41 parties with over 160 anglers. They also reported that there were as many people on the lake just enjoying the day and festivities. Fishing was a bit slow on Saturday but Paul and Steve observed splake, salmon, and it seems a few anglers discovered where some of the brood stock lake trout have been holding up as they saw a few of these on the ice as well.

I stayed closer to home and held down the fort so to speak and I worked the south end of Moosehead Lake. It seems that the good fishing we encountered on the lake during the end of January is holding up. It seems that the nice weather has really kept people coming out to fish. I encountered several parties in the Lily Bay Area on Saturday and most all had fish on the ice. Lake trout are the most common species showing up and many tend to be in the 14 to 18 inch slot. We are seeing many that are over 18 inches and Steve Sutton and I encountered three this weekend that were between 4 ½ and 5 ½ pounds. Brook trout are showing up here and there in our travels and the word on the ice this weekend was that two brookies were caught from Moosehead in the 5-pound class.

One word of caution for people venturing out onto Moosehead as well as some of our other lakes and pond in the Moosehead Region, the past week of warm weather has taken opened up a few areas that had buttoned up during the previous stretch of cold weather we had. I encountered two such location Sunday on Moosehead Lake; the south end of Moose Island and Hartford's Point, and between Sand Bar Island and Sand Bar Point. These areas are known to be hazards and have recently received snowmobile traffic over them as they were frozen over however, anyone following a sled track through these areas now could find themselves in trouble.

-Jeff Bagley Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region F, Penobscot Region

The East Grand ice fishing derby held January 29 and 30 continued the trend of great fishing on region F's largest salmon lake. 50 Lake Trout were entered with the top 3 were 34" 14 lbs 12 oz., 30" 11 lbs 15 oz., 30" 11 lbs 12 oz. 109 Salmon were entered, the top 3 being 23.5" 5lbs., from East Grand Lake, 24" 4lbs 12 oz., from Deering Lake, 23.25" 3 lbs 10oz., from Deering Lake. 10 Brook Trout were entered largest being 15 " 1 lb 12 oz.

This past weekend the Pushaw Lake Snowmobile club held its annual fishing derby on Pushaw Lake. Fisheries personnel were there to check the pike that were being entered. 1 Pike was entered in the derby the fish was 21". Previous to this we have received 6 additional reports of pike being caught up to 26 " by anglers this winter. This information leads us to believe that they are successfully reproducing in Pushaw. We are requesting that all pike caught be killed to help slow their expansion in the lake. If you have any information on pike caught or know of the origin of this illegal introduction please call us at 207 732 4131.

February 19 marks the start of the 43rd Annual Schoodic Lake fishing derby. For more information on this event contact Merle Harris at 943 7326. Or check it out on the web at www.prcmaine.org <http://www.prcmaine.org>

This winter we are conducting a census of the anglers on Schoodic. We have observed some nice lake trout this weekend we observed 34 parties. The largest lake trout being 7+ lbs with 5 between 4 and 6 lbs. The smelt anglers are also having great luck. The smelts are showing next to shore all over the lake. Schoodic continues to be great fishing even though it was actually slower this weekend than what we have seen in the past weeks.

Cold stream continues to be producing excitement for the angler. The brook trout catches have declined since the beginning of the season but the lake trout are beginning to replace them. The occasional salmon make it well worth the trip.

Lower Togue continues to see light fishing pressure. Two parties were checked on Sunday and fishing was slow.

If you looking for fast action fishing to keep kids entertained, several families have been having some fun outings on Escutasis Lake in Burlington

Get out and enjoy all the Great Maine Outdoors and all it has to offer.

-Brian Campbell, Fishery Biology Specialist

Region G - Aroostook County

Beautiful weather made for an excellent week to be out fishing, unfortunately in most cases the weather was better than the fishing. Weekend census on Long Lake shoed the fishing to be hit or miss, some catching fish-others just getting a tan. About two dozen salmon checked, three at 3lb 8oz being the largest weighed. We did verify one lucky angler catching a salmon at Long Lake last week weighing in at 10lb 1oz measuring 28 inches. Reports were received of a couple of 4 lb brook trout from Cross Lake and a 4 lb salmon from Square Lake.

With the warm weather, woods roads were breaking up and taking on the character of late March with mud and slop coating vehicle and snowsled trailers. Freezing conditions and a little snow will be welcomed to all traveling the back country to fish. Traveling on the lakes is great though with a light amount of snow, plenty of ice (still be cautious around inlets and outlets) and no slush. Snow is predicted for during the week so depending on amounts received, slush could start being a factor with increasing snow depth this far into the fishing season. <<Long Lake Salmon 27.2 inches-9 lb 2005.jpg>> <<Long Lake Salmon 28 inches-10lbs 1oz.jpg>>

-Dave Basley, Regional Fisheries Biologist

From the Maine Warden Service...The Colonel's Outdoor Tip

Don't forget that with each New Year, you are required to renew your hunting and fishing licenses. Many times, game wardens have checked people who have inadvertently forgotten to purchase a new license.

Getting your new license is easier than ever. Along with the over 1,000 license agents who sell licenses statewide, you can now go online at www.mefishwildlife.com and purchase your license through MOSES, our electronic license agent.

You can now purchase your license 24 hours a day, seven days a week at www.mefishwildlife.com.   Since its launch nearly two years ago, our website has now become our number one seller of licenses.

Don't forget your license when you head out on the ice for the first time this year, and if you don't have time to head out to your town office, purchase your license anytime online at www.mefishwildlife.com

-Colonel Tom Santaguida, Chief of the Maine Warden Service

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