February 14, 2005 Ice Fishing Report

Region A- Southwestern Maine

Last week's unseasonably warm weather drastically altered ice conditions on Sebago Lake, and anglers should be extremely cautious. The Maine Warden Service was recently on Sebago Lake with an airboat, and they found highly variable conditions. Not only are conditions variable in different areas of the lake as would be expected, but ice conditions ranged from safe to no ice in the very small areas. The airboat conducted a loop through Jordan Bay, and through the gut between Frye Island and the mainland, and Wardens noted several areas where the boat was busting through the ice, isolated areas of open water, and open pressure ridges. Another angler reported walking out in the morning and finding the ice fine, but found over a foot water over the ice towards the shoreline when he was leaving. The heavy snow may make conditions either worse or better depending on future weather conditions. One of the problems with snow is that it can blanket thin ice and open water areas, which could prove treacherous to the unwary. On the other hand, if the entire snow layer becomes saturated with water and is followed by a cold snap then we may at least get a decent layer of snow ice.

In southern Maine, all of the snow from the big storm sure put a damper on the ice fishing! Conditions were horrendous over the weekend, and most anglers spent the better part of their day just trying to get shacks, snowmobiles, and fourwheelers unburied from the snow and slush. Those that walked faired a little better, but they generally didn't venture too far from shore or access points, because snow depths were up as high as people's knees in some areas.

Regional staff have been censusing up to six different brown trout waters this season and so far the fishing has been relatively slow for the browns, which is not all that unusual for the species. On the other hand, browns often exhibit decent holdover and are typically some of the larger fish observed during the summer and winter seasons. So far this year, we are seeing some larger sized browns in the 3-5 pound class with one report of an eight pounder being caught from Upper Range Pond in Poland. Despite the potential to catch some nice browns on the Ranges, this elusive fish did not place in the top three at the recent derby with over 300 entrants. A five, and six pound lake trout took second and first place, respectively. Lake trout have not been stocked in the Ranges for almost 2 decades, but there is now a small, self-reproducing population. Lakers up to eleven pounds have recently been reported! Third place at the derby was taken by a 4 plus pound largemouth bass, and anglers reported catching a fair number of smallies and largies. Rainbows did not place in the derby, but I observed about a dozen ranging from 1 1/2 to 3 pounds.

-Jim Pellerin, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region B - Central Maine

The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has stocked 57 waters in central Maine with fall yearling brook trout. These stocked brook trout are range in size from 12 to 14 inches and are showing up in all waters were they have been planted. To increase your chances at landing some of these fine trout through the ice, one should spend some time at the following bodies of water and set your traps close to shore in 2 to 8 feet of water.

Water Town # Stocked Water Town # Stocked

Androscoggin County Brettuns Pond Livermore 100 Crystal Pond Turner 80 Long Pond Livermore 100 Pleasant Pond Turner 250 Round Pond Livermore 100 Kennebec County. Branch Pond China 150 China Lake China 750 Cobbossee Lake Winthrop 1000 Cochnewagon Pond Monmouth 150 Echo Lake Fayette 250 Fairbanks Pond Manchester 25 Flying Pond Vienna 200 Marranacook Lake Winthrop 247 McGrath Pond Oakland 119 Messalonskee Lake Belgrade 500 Minnehonk Lake Mt Vernon 100 Lower Narrows Winthrop 117 Upper Narrows Winthrop 117 Parker Pond Fayette 247 Salmon Pond Belgrade 100 Sand Pond Litchfield 100 Savade Pond Windsor 50 Threemile Pond China 300 Togus Pond Augusta 280 Torsey Pond Mt Vernon 100 Wilson Pond Wayne 100 Woodbury Pond Litchfield 100 Knox County Alford Lake Hope 540 Chickawaukie Lake Rockport 200 Crystal Lake Washington 50 Hobbs Pond Hope 100 Hosmer Pond Camden 50 Sennebec Pond Appleton 135 Seventree Pond Union 135 Washington Pond Washington 100 Lincoln County

Biscay Pond Damariscotta 250 Knickerbocker Pond Boothbay 50 Little Medomak Waldoboro 50 Pemaquid Nobleboro 200 Penobscot County Puffers Pond Dexter 801 Wassookeag Lake Dexter 500 Garland Pond Garland 50 Sagadahoc County Center Pond Phippsburg 130 Nequasset Lake Woolwich 237 Silver Lake Phippsburg 80 Somerset County East Pond Smithfield 250 Big Indian Pond St Albans 542 Great Moose Pond Hartland 351 Morrill Pond Hartland 50 Waldo County Dutton Pond Knox 50 Halfmoon Pond Prospect 200 Levenseller Pond Waldo 50 Moody Pond Lincolnville 100 Lake St George Liberty 520 Sandborn Pond Brooks 50 Sheepscot Lake Palermo 500 Swan Lake Swanville 500 Unity Pond Unity 100

-Scott Davis, Fishery Biology Specialist

Region C - Downeast

After recent heavy snow falls last Thursday and Friday, area lakes and ponds are laidened with 10" to 20" of new snow, resulting in 4" to 8" slush pockets, making traveling difficult. Newer snowmobiles with wider ski spreads and tracks, are the best forms of transportation for these conditions. Four wheelers with chains will move along but still have difficulty especially when pulling gear. With cooler temperatures predicted for the end of this week, most slush pockets will freeze, but there will be some areas, especially in northern Hancock and Washington Counties, where deeper snows will insulate wet areas and hide slush from unsuspecting travelers.

The first two weekends of February sported beautiful weather for outdoor enthusiasts. This was perfect timing, as area fishing derbies benefited from a large turnout of participants.

The first was held by the Trenton American Legion Post 207 on February 6th and included all waters open to fishing in Hancock County. Congratulations to these derby winners:

Mike Fennelly bagged 1st price for the largest togue with a 5 lb 14oz, eight-year-old lunker from Green Lake. Rusty Canadage follow-up with a 2nd place 5 lb 6 oz, seven-year-old laker from Green Lake. In the kids division, Jake Fennelly brought home 1st place with a 3 lb 7 oz, seven-year-old togue from Green Lake and Kody Bunker took 2nd honors with 3 lb 4 oz laker from Branch Lake.

In the salmon category, Richard Sanborn took 1st place with his 1 lb 12 oz, 4-year-old beauty from Long Pond. Ian Hodgdon placed second with an almost identical 1 lb 12 oz, 4 year old silverside from Long Pond, but the fish was a ½" shorter than the first place winner's.

The brook trout category saw one prize winner when Tom Ruksznis brought in a fat 14" 2 year old squaretail from Long Pond.

Another Mount Desert Island water swept 1st price for brown trout when Dillon Harper took high honors with his 1 lb 14 ouncer from Seal Cove Pond and Chance Curtis placed 2nd with his 1 lb 2 oz beauty from Molasses Pond.

The bass category saw both largemouth and smallmouth come to the scales and provided some of the day's jaw dropping entries. Ricky Sinclair took first price in the adult division with his huge bucket mouth (largemouth), which was shaped just like a bucket, and weighed 5 lbs 7 oz from Great Pond. Second place went to Gus Young for his tremendous catch of a 4 lb 5 oz smallmouth from Somes' Pond. The kids division saw Duston Young take first, with a 2 lb 11 oz largemouth from Great Pond and Warren Young took 2nd with a 2 lb 10 oz smallmouth from Somes' Pond.

For pickerel in the adult division, Mallory Ward took home 1st place with her 3 lb 1 oz weed shark from Seal Cove Pond and Steve Mosley followed up with his 2nd place 2 lb 14 ouncer from Great Pond. The kids division saw Sharon Leighton take home 1st with her 2 lb 11 oz pickerel and Dillon Harper placing 2nd with his 1 lb 13 oz weed dweller.

On Saturday February 12th, the Emerson Conner's Elementary School's 8th grade class in Bar Harbor held its annual derby with some beauties brought in. Congratulations to these winners:

Adult division: Salmon - Charles Pinkham 1st place with a 2 lb 8oz fish from Echo Lake. Second place - Randy Stanley with a 2 lb 6 oz, 4-year-old salmon from Long Pond. Children's division: Jordan Hodgdon, 1st place with a 2 lb 7 oz salmon from Long Pond and 2nd place went to Ruth Falt with a 1 lb 15 oz salmon, also from Long Pond.

Adult division: Brook Trout - Ken Silverman, 1st place with a 1 lb 11 oz, 2 year old from Round Pond.

Adult division: Togue - Mike Fennelly, 1st place with a 5 lb 4 oz, seven year old from Green Lake and Dick Fennelly took second place with a 4 1b 12 oz, seven year old from Green Lake.

Adult division: Pickerel - Randy Stanley, 1st place with a 1 lb 10 oz chainback from Long Pond. Children's division: Ruth Falt, 1st place with 1 10 oz pickerel, also from Long Pond.

Of special note, Green Lake in Ellsworth has been productive for seven-year-old togue stocked in 1999. These fish have been ranging in size from 3 ½ to 6 ½ pounds and been feeding aggressively. One example of this was reported by angler Chris Kane, who brought in a handsome 4 pound, seven year old, to the Emerson Derby. Of course, catching a fish that is or has been entangled in another angler's line while ice fishing is somewhat common, but Chris's story is a bit different. His laker not only ate his dead bait, tripped his flag and ran off 75 yards of line but also ate another one of his baits, tripped a second of his flags and proceeded to run off line from both traps. When Chris pulled the second of his traps in, he found the fish had both hooks in his mouth. Quite a tale, and one I'd never heard of before.

One other special note, the fishing at West Grand Lake has been excellent for salmon. Most groups fishing this lake have had very good success. One group in particular fished the first 8 days of February and caught 73 salmon. Most of these fish averaged between 17 and 20 inches. Two large togue have been caught West Grand so far, one 10 pounder and one 9 ¾ pounds. The 9 ¾ pounder had a 10 inch salmon in its mouth and 15 salmon in its stomach. West Grand is one the best bets to catch a trophy togue.

Next weekend, February 19th and 20th are free fishing days. This weekend starts the beginning of school vacation week. What a great opportunity to start the week off by taking the family fishing. Enjoy Maine's great outdoors!

--Greg Burr, Fisheries Biologist Specialist

Region D - Western Mountains

Conditions in the outdoors have changed since the last report. Getting to the favorite fishing spot, with over twenty inches of new powder snow, isn't as easy as it was prior to last week's storm. Another issue to be concerned about is slush. With weight of the new snow on the ice, water will soon be seeping through cracks, holes and edges to make a layer of slush below the snow. Anglers with large snowmobiles should be careful not to get stuck in the sloppy stuff. Bringing a pair of snowshoes is a good idea when venturing onto a snow covered lake or pond.

Many anglers who did take the opportunity to fish this past weekend found the fishing a little slow. Yellow perch were providing just enough action to keep it interesting at Wesserunsett Lake in Madison and Chain of Ponds in northern Franklin County. A few pickerel and white perch were taken from Wesserunsett Lake, but trout were hard to come by. Chain of Ponds anglers reported a few brook trout in the six to nine inch range, but fishing for salmon and togue seems to have slowed from earlier in the season.

Anglers might try fishing late in the afternoon for some fast action. With the days getting longer there is more opportunity to fish in the afternoon and reports of fish becoming active just before sunset are common. This seems to be the case with most fish species, but especially true with white perch. This is also an excellent time of year to target cusk after the sun has set.

-Dave Howatt, Fishery Biology Specialist

Region E - Moosehead Region

Comradery and communications are important components in making a successful region. On Saturday night, after a long day of fighting with snowdrifts on Moosehead Lake, wardens and fisheries staff participated in our monthly dinner. This monthly gathering gives wardens and biologists a chance to find out what the other hand is doing. The hungry bunch made short order of the 20 lb turkey with all the fixings and yes libations were enjoyed by those not on duty. For the evening's entertainment, we watched the Director's Cut of Dead River Rough Cut. This profane and hilarious classic is a must see for many outdoors enthusiasts.

Caution should still be exercised while traveling on Moosehead. The 20+ inches of snow the region received before the weekend made for interesting travel on Moosehead. Light snow and strong winds have produced 4-5 foot drifts in many places. There are quite a few pressure ridges and places where the snow has drifted may produce slushy conditions.

This week marks the opening of salmon fishing on Moosehead Lake. Anglers are allowed to keep one salmon over 18 inches. Prior to February 15, all salmon caught had to be released alive without removing the fish from the water. Although, anglers are able to keep salmon we are still emphasizing the importance of good handling practices of salmon falling short of the 18-inch mark. The best way to release these fish without injury and increasing handling stress is to cut the line as close to the eye of the hook as possible.

Looking at the fish data we have collected over the first half of the season will give you an idea of what to expect if you're interested in fishing Moosehead Lake. Slot limit lake trout (14" -18") have been averaging 16" and 1 ½ pounds, we have sampled 111 fish. Forty-one lake trout over 18" have been measured, the largest is 24 inches and weighed 4 ½ pounds. The average lake trout kept over 18" has been 19 ½ inches and weighing in at about 2 ¼ pounds. We have not seen very many brook trout this season, however, an average length of 15 ½" and average weight of 1½ pounds have been recorded on those observed. Lake trout are still the predominant fish in the catch and are providing good action to anglers who target them.

Cusk are readily taken in the winter by fishing at night with either live or dead bait. Although sometimes targeted in the open water season, the cusk fishery is primarily a winter sport. Catch rates increase after mid February, which may coincide with post-spawning feeding activity reported in the literature. Cusk spawn in mid-winter under the ice. It occurs at night in shallow bays, on shoals, and points over sand and gravel. The adults move off the spawning area in the daytime. They are also caught in the daytime by anglers fishing baits on or near the bottom for lake trout. The mild flavored flesh of the cusk can be used in a variety of cooking methods. Anglers who have never experienced fishing for cusk until the wee hours of the morning are missing out. It is not uncommon to catch a dozen or more cusk if you can find a concentration of spawning individuals.

-Stephen Seeback, Fishery Biology Specialist, Moosehead Lake Region

Region F, Penobscot Region

Overall ice fishing pressure has been at moderate to low levels throughout the region. The large snowstorm late last week made traveling difficult and caused a lot of slush to appear on area lakes. The storm dumped 21" of snow in the Bangor area and there are reports of over 3 feet of snow in parts of Baxter State Park. Although there have been some slow times, overall catch rates have been quite good.

Free fishing days are scheduled for "Saturday and Sunday immediately preceding President's Day" which will be on Feb 19 and 20 this year. The annual Schoodic Lake ice fishing derby is also scheduled for this weekend, Feb 19 and 20. The lake trout fishing in Schoodic has been very good with fish from 7 to 9 lb. fairly common and reports of fish up to 16 to 18 lb. Also on Schoodic Lake this year salmon that were stocked last spring are in the fishery and showing some very good growth. The fishing emphasis on Schoodic has been on lake trout but there are also some nice brook trout to be found in the shallower waters of the lake and there has been considerable success in catching smelts by hook and line. The ice fishing derby also includes neighboring Seboeis Lake where some nice salmon and splake have been providing very good fishing action.

Elsewhere the lake trout action, although experiencing some slow days, has been mostly good at Cold Stream Pond, which has also had an improved fishery for salmon and brook trout this year, and East Grand Lake. There have been some good reports on salmon fishing in East Grand Lake, Duck Lake, West Lake, and Pleasant Pond.

Very heavy snow in the northern area of the region slowed but did not stop anglers from venturing onto Scraggly and Matagamon Lakes where they had good fishing for salmon and trout. Action has been good for bass and perch on some of the shallower lakes in the region. There have been reports of good perch fishing on South Branch Pond and both species have been taking bait on the lakes in the Lincoln area.

Because of the heavy snow and resulting slush conditions anglers are encouraged to proceed with caution on regional lakes. Although ice conditions were generally good before the storm they could change rapidly with the addition of the snow load on the ice.

-Mike Smith, Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region G - Aroostook County A large winter storm dumped more than a foot of snow over much of the region late last week. Regional lakes have 8-10 inches of wind-blown snow. Vehicles were still accessing some area lakes over the weekend for ice fishing. Biologists from the Ashland office checked anglers at Long Lake over the weekend. Travelers on the ice should be aware of the many hazards under a new snow. Hardened snow around shacks that have been plowed, ice chunks discarded from smelt holes, or the hardened areas around drilled holes all become hazards after snowy, windy, and drifting conditions. Objects that once could be easily seen are covered up by the new snow. Many lakes also develop pressure ridges; some lakes develop ridges each year in about the same area. Long Lake currently has a large one that is 3-4 feet high at some spots. This ridge runs on a line from the Long Lake Sporting Club north-northeast to the Eastern shore of the lake; it meets the Eastern shore north of Baie Creus but south of Birch Point. At some points along the pressure ridge water could be seen seeping through the top layer of ice on Sunday.

Few anglers braved the high, cold winds over the weekend at Long Lake. Thirteen sport fish were checked by biologists, the largest being a 5.4 pound landlocked salmon. We heard two stories of large salmon that got away: one estimated at about 6 pounds and another one of a truly large salmon possibly over 10 pounds. At least three salmon 9 pounds or larger have been caught at Long this winter. Between 30 and 40 parties were fishing Long at midday on Sunday. Slower days like these afford us the opportunity to spend more time talking to those anglers who invite us into their warm shacks. Usually these shacks are almost completely dark allowing good visibility into the water below where there are usually baited smelt lines and one or more anglers working a jig line for salmon or trout. I saw only yellow perch on Sunday but the anglers who spend hours in their shacks talk of times during the day when large schools of smelt will swim by - some even coming up into the hole. Salmon will also be seen; a lady saw 12 on Saturday in her shack near Pelletier Island; she was lucky enough to entice one to strike her Swedish Pimple jig - a fat 3 pound salmon. Salmon sometimes will be together in small groups, usually smaller fish that are 14 - 20 inches, but then a single large salmon will swim by and leave an impression on the anglers above. Twice this winter, anglers I've interviewed in Van Buren Cove have witnessed these large salmon and even though a couple days have passed they still get excited retelling the story. Typically, the fish cruise by the smelt hole once or twice, unaware of the commotion they are creating in the shack above, and convinced the jigs are not worthy of striking, they simply swim off as quickly as they arrived.

-Frank Frost, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist

From the Maine Warden Service...The Colonel's Outdoor Tip With the recent heavy snowfall, Maine anglers who plan on ice fishing on Sebago Lake and other large bodies of water are asked to use extreme caution.

Game Wardens in the Sebago Lake region have reported very serious thin ice conditions on many parts of Sebago Lake. There are locations on the lake where wardens have observed snowmobiles crossing the ice that if those snowmobiles had stopped, they surely would have broken through.

Heavy snowfalls often create a perception of thick ice but the opposite is often true. When thin ice exists, a heavy snow often acts as an insulator and prevents ice from thickening. This leaves a very dangerous condition of thin ice below the snow cover.

Before traveling on any lake, make SURE you know what the local ice conditions are. Your local game warden or bait and tackle shop are good sources of information on ice conditions.

This word of caution is directed especially at anglers and snowmobilers who plan on visiting Sebago Lake.

Have fun in the Maine outdoors and stay safe!

-Colonel Tom Santaguida, Chief of the Maine Warden Service

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