March 28, 2005 Open Water Preview Fishing Report

Region A- Southwestern Maine

Streams and rivers will offer some of the earliest fishing opportunities, but residual snow pack and anticipated high spring flows will challenge the ardent stream angler. These same conditions are expected to cause some delays in spring stocking, although planned stockings are scheduled to begin on April 5th. Cumberland, Androscoggin and York Counties are the focus of early regional stockings, with streams and small ponds first to be stocked. Staff at Dry Mills Hatchery, New Gloucester Hatchery, and Casco Hatchery will be assisted by volunteers from various fish and game clubs in York County. Stocking will move northward in keeping with the normal progression of ice melt and the thawing of our waterways. Anglers should check out the Department's web site (www.mefishwildlife.com) for last year's stocking report, which may vary some from year to year, but will provide a good indication of where and when the fish are stocked.

A number of flowing waters in southern Maine are stocked in the fall with larger fall yearling trout and offer a good opportunity in the spring to catch larger hold-over brook & brown trout. These waters include, the Salmon Falls River below South Berwick Dam (browns), Mousam River below Route 1 in Kennebunk (browns), Ogunquit River below Route 1 (browns), Saco River below Skelton Dam in Dayton (browns+brook), Saco River - Bonney Eagle Bypass (browns), Saco River, below Hiram Dam (browns), and Pleasant River - special management section in Windham.

In addition, a number of lake inlet streams also can provide some great early season fishing for larger fish stocked in lakes, including Panther Run off Mill Street in Raymond (salmon), Sebago Locks in Casco (salmon), and Pump box Brook below Route 11 in Shapleigh (browns & brook trout).

Some of the largest spring-caught trout are taken below dams at lake outlets. Trout commonly drop out of lakes and may be taken during early spring at the base of outlet dams.

Initially, lake fishing opportunities will be available mostly to shore fishermen, who target the melting edge water around the lake or at lake inlets and outlets. Popular and productive lake-side fisheries exist on Auburn Lake (salmon, togue, brook trout), at the Route 302 causeway between Long Lake and Bay of Naples in Naples (browns, salmon), the "heath" at the southern end of Thompson Lake in Poland (salmon), the mouth the Songo River in Casco where a small boat can be floated in Sebago Lake (salmon & togue), the confluence of Sebago Lake and the Muddy River off Route 114 in Naples (salmon), and the trestle bridge located in Standish, where the Sticky River flows into Sebago Lake.

While fishing Sebago and its tributaries anglers are again reminded to kill and keep any northern pike that are caught and report your catch to a fisheries biologist at the Gray Regional headquarters (657-2345). Northern Pike are very active and spawn during ice out, frequently traveling into inlets in search of spawning habitat.

At the time of this writing, the ice on most area ponds will provide fishing until the end of the March and it would appear ice-out this year will not come early. The good news is that light winter fishing pressure and slower reported fishing will likely favor the open water fishing.

Once you can float a boat, my picks for landlocked salmon and brook trout are as follows. For trophy salmon (5 lbs and up) check out Auburn L (Auburn), Trickey Pond (Naples), South Pond (Greenwood), and Bryant P (Bryant Pond). Quality fishing for slightly smaller salmon may be found at Moose P (Bridgton), Thompson L (Otisfield), Crescent L (Raymond), Panther Pond (Raymond), Presumpscot River (Route 35 bypass), Pleasant P (Casco), and yes even Sebago, which should produce some salmon up to 5 pounds.

Several waters were well stocked last fall with breeder salmon and browns, and should offer some good spring fishing. These waters include Mousam Lake (Shapleigh), Little Ossipee Lake (Waterboro), and Norway Lake (Norway). Brook trout enthusiasts should consider our reclaimed ponds including, Overset P (Greenwood), Broken Bridge P (Albany), Crocker P (Albany), and Mosquito P (Albany), which are stocked annually. Additional stocked ponds that provide fisheries for larger brook trout include Adams P (Bridgton), Keys P (Sweden), and Little Concord P (Woodstock). Spicer P (Newfield) and Cold Water P (Kennebunk) have consistently provided good fishing for smaller, wild brook trout. Although, the dam at Cold Water Pond (Kennebunk) breached a couple years ago and the "flowage" is much reduced in size, but still offers some good fishing.

Two new "Kids Only" waters were established in the region. One is located off the River Road in Brunswick at Coffin Pond (behind the swimming pond). The other is located of the enterprise (access road to F.R. Carroll facility) in Limerick.

The Department has partnered with the Sportsmen's Alliance of Maine on their proposed Classic Salmon Initiative. Under this initiative the Department was requested to develop trophy salmon fisheries around the state. Biologists from Region A and SAM's John Hunt have organized a public informational meeting on April 20th at the Naples Town Office, at 7:30 PM to present proposed trophy management changes on two regional waters (Kezar Lake & Crystal Lake - Harrison). Interested anglers are requested to attend the meeting and voice their thoughts regarding the proposed management.

-Francis Brautigam, Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region B - Central Maine

Open water fishing is almost upon us!

On Friday, April 1, anglers will find varying degrees of open water in the Region. Conditions are going to be strongly dependant on the upcoming weather. If we continue with the recent trend of dry, mild days and cold nights, anglers will find at least partially open waters on most of the lakes and ponds in the southern part of the area. Unless the temperatures rise into the 50's, still waters in the northern part of the region may not have open water areas.

Following that same weather trend, brooks and streams will be full to the banks, but probably not flooding for the most part. In my recent travels, I've seen many running waters that are ice free and flowing. That observation holds true over most of the region, although some of the more shaded, low gradient streams might still have significant ice cover, especially shore-side.

If, on the other hand, we get a sudden warming, heavy rain event, or a combination of the two, we might see a lot more open water on our lakes and ponds. Much of that will be runoff from any precipitation, but it will speed the melting of ice cover. Moving waters will end up running high, with some potentially flooding. These will be a tough bet to access, let alone fish. Be sure to put safety first when around rivers, streams and brooks in flood stage. If you find your preferred water flooding, try fishing still water that day. There are many angling opportunities in the region, so that when a stream or river is not a safe, chances are that a lake or pond is relatively close by.

As April progresses, the Department's stocking trucks begin to deliver fish to area waters. Warming days and winds will stir up our waters, angling activity, and hopefully success, will improve dramatically. In the mid coastal region, the Department will stock over 63,000 brook trout, 54,000 brown trout, 600 togue, 4,700 landlocked salmon, and 7,300 splake in 97 waters this spring. We'll also stock 2,000 rainbow trout in the Kennebec River as part of a project to evaluate future potentials for the species as a sport fishery in Maine. The size and condition of these stocked spring yearling fish is excellent.

So, get out there opening day. I can't think of a better way of spending a spring day than being out on the water. At its worst, it is better by far than any day working. At best, your angling luck can be in top form. But, even if the angling is slow, at the very least, you'll get that casting arm in shape for what's to come.

Finally, I'd like to bring your attention to an opportunity of note for teens from the ages of 14 to 17. Each year, the Maine Chapters of Trout Unlimited, host the Maine TU Trout Camp at the Evergreen Campground in Solon. The camp runs from June 26 to July 1 and offers an unmatched chance to learn the art and science of fly fishing from some of Maine's best anglers and instructors. The camp covers a lot of ground, and does it all in surroundings set in the middle of prime fly fishing waters. It includes sessions on stream ecology and conservation in addition to fly tying and casting, reading water, fishing etiquette and safety. And, everything is put into practical use in on-water sessions on the beautiful and productive Kennebec River. If you, or someone you know is interested, go to: www.troutcamp.tumaine.org <http://www.troutcamp.tumaine.org> or call Greg Ponte at 207-724-2861. You'll need to hurry if you're interested, the deadline for applications is April 1!

-Robert Van-Riper, Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region C - Downeast

Downeast lakes and ponds will still be ice-covered on Opening Day, leaving brooks and streams as the only option for early season anglers. I got in my final ice fishing trip of the year on Saturday to Gardner Lake, managing to catch one legal and one short salmon in 1/2 a day. Ice thickness ranged from 16-20 inches, suggesting that ice outs will be a little later than normal this year.

Anglers interested in brook trout should give Echo Lake a try after ice-out. The trout fishing there this winter was the best in many years featuring good numbers of nicely shaped 14-16 inchers, along with at least two 18- 18 1/2 inch beauties. The fishery is produced by a mix of two and three year old stocked wild-strain brook trout along with a solid contribution of wild fish. More than a few of these handsome fish were released as some Echo Lake anglers practice mostly catch and release. The fishery is produced by a mix of two and three year old stocked wild-strain brook trout along with a solid contribution of wild fish. Salmon fishing was also above average, and trollers can look forward to decent action for 17-19 inch fish, along with some 3-4 pounders.

Other brook trout waters expected to produce well this spring include Simmons Pond in Hancock, Bubble Pond in Bar Harbor, Lily Pond in Deer Isle, Billings Pond in Blue Hill, West Pike Brook Pond on the barrens, Monroe Lake in T43MD, Shattuck Lake in Calais, and West Monroe Pond in T43MD. Simmons, West Pike Brook, and Shattuck are artificial lures only...worms can be used at the others. Billings (all wild trout) and Shattuck have 12-inch minimum legal length limts. Lily Pond also has brown trout, a few of which reach weights of 2 1/2-4 pounds. A good way to try to fool a brown trout is to fish a nightcrawler on bottom during the last hour before dark.

As always, the single best chance to catch a fish on opening day will be at Grand Lake Stream. On the better years, salmon hit streamers with a vengeance, and the opening day catch can hit 40-60, or more. In other years, perhaps just a dozen or two are netted. While it's difficult to predict how many fish you'll catch, I can guarantee one thing: a thermos of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate will hit the spot in your warm car as you try to thaw frozen legs, feet, and hands. Sometimes, early season anglers land a togue or two in the Dam Pool.

I expect good ice-out salmon fishing at Green Lake in Ellsworth, Alligator Lake in T34MD, Mopang Lake in T29MD, Donnell Pond in Franklin, Cathance Lake in Cooper, Big Lake in Princeton, and, of course, West Grand Lake. You should find most Green Lake salmon to be in better shape, and may catch a 4-5 pound togue while trolling for salmon. Most Mopang salmon are just 15-16 inches, but the splake are bigger and fatter...we know of some 4-5 pounders caught in recent years. Winter anglers at Cathance were repeatedly frustrated by virtually no action. The very good season I expected failed to materialize. Although I have no explanation, I believe the salmon are there, and am cautiously optimistic that with the extremely low winter harvest, late April-early May anglers may reap the benefits. We caught a number of 3-4 pound salmon in our trap nets last October. Ice-out anglers at West Grand should enjoy a productive season for nicely shaped 17-19 inch fish, along with steady numbers of wild, 21-23 inch togue.

The following lakes continue to be plagued by an over-abundance of wild togue: Phillips, Tunk, Beech Hill, Toddy, and Jordan. All have special 14-inch minimum length limits and liberalized bag limits to encourage increased angler harvest. Please help these lakes return to better health sooner rather than later by keeping your limit on most days. Although catch and release is generally a good thing on most salmonid lakes, on these waters, it is not.

WEAR your life vest when out in a boat. The ice-cold April water can be lethal should you capsize...don't take a chance with your life.

-Ron Brokaw, Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region D - Western Mountains

When we sampled Rangeley Lake last fall, we caught some of the biggest salmon we've ever trapnetted. Because the lake is closed to ice fishing, these fish should be available and hungry at ice-out. Of course that won't occur until around the end of the first week of May. Still worth mentioning, though, for planning purposes. Productive fishing sites for April 1 are few and far between in western Maine, but there are some notable exceptions, most of which are at dam tailraces. Rainbow and brown trout fishing downstream of Wyman Dam is a time-honored opening day tradition, and there's an excellent chance of catching a nice fish. Similar opportunities occur upstream (below Flagstaff Dam on the Dead River) and downstream (below the dams at Madison). There are always a few hardy souls who snowsled into the Rapid River for opening day fishing, and the Androscoggin itself presents some opportunities downstream of the New Hampshire line. These sites involve a bit of scouting, however, to find open water sites.

We've had good luck stocking spring yearling brook trout in some of our bigger lakes. Although this year's "crop" won't be stocked until May, there are sure to be some larger holdovers from last year's stockings at such waters as Spring Lake, Chain of Ponds, Rangeley Lake, Embden Lake, Wilson Lake, Porter Lake, Austin Pond, Norcross Pond, and Clearwater Lake. Again, these waters won't be ice-free on April 1, but should provide some good fishing a little later in the season.

-Forrest Bonney, Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region E - Moosehead Region

As we head into the last week of the ice fishing season it sounds as though it could be a soggy one. With one to two inches of rain forecasted for the next couple of days along with the warm temperatures we experienced this past week it is unlikely that conditions will be conducive for venturing out onto our lakes and ponds. In looking back on the 2005 ice fishing season, it was one of very cold temperatures early on making plenty of ice on our lakes and ponds early but the lack of snow made traveling a bit dry when it came to venturing out onto the ice to conduct our winter creel census. However, that all changed by the time March 1st rolled around when we had more snow than we knew what to do with. But through all this we were able to find plenty of hearty souls trying their hand at fishing in the Moosehead Region.

With the end of ice fishing season coming to a close many anglers are already starting to dig out and dust off the rods and reels in anticipation of open water. To most anglers April 1st signifies the opening day of open water season however when looking at the reality of it here in the Moosehead Region we normally don't expect much open water until the early part of May. However, a few of the traditional standbys that will be fishable come the first of April include the West Branch of the Penobscot River downstream from Ripogenus Dam, Moosehead Lake's West Outlet and East Outlet, the Moose River in Rockwood, the Roach River, and the Piscataquis River in the southern part of our Region. Anglers should consult the law book to familiarize themselves with the regulations for each of theses waters. It should be noted that the 2005 Open Water Fishing Regulations has an error in the Special Regulations Section. The S-8 code should read " Daily bag limit on trout: 1 fish". We have tried to resolve the situation by placing a sticker with the correct code in place of this error.

We expect the hatchery trucks to start making their rounds to the traditional stocking locations in late April and early May once the ice clears from lakes and ponds and water temperatures start to warm up a bit. On a stocking and access note for the Piscataquis River in the Guilford and Dover-Foxcroft areas: Due to the construction of the new Sangerville Bridge and the road construction work taking place on Route 15 near Salmon Stream, we will not be stocking brook trout or placing our volunteer survey boxes in these areas. We feel that with construction work going on in these areas this spring and summer, it would be best to steer folks clear of these locations based on safety considerations for the public.

The Moosehead Lake Region fisheries staff is responsible for the management of 592 Great Ponds (greater than 10 acres) and 686 ponds less than 10 acres, along with 4,125 miles of stream habitat located in Piscataquis and Somerset Counties. Each fishing season biologists interview anglers to obtain information on fishing success and to examine fish caught by anglers. The number of waters biologists are able to sample in a season is very low when you begin to consider the number of waters managed by the Moosehead fisheries staff.

Providing voluntary catch information is the most important contribution you can make to the Moosehead Lake Region. Information on where and when you fish, along with number and sizes of fish you catch provides information that will help evaluate the status of those fisheries. Since the bottom line for any fishery is how well it provides to the rood and reel, decisions on stocking and regulations often depend on information provided by voluntary record keepers.

Moosehead Region anglers interested in making a contribution to the assessment of the Moosehead Region's fisheries should contact the Greenville IF&W office by phone (695-3756) or by e-mail (jeff.bagley@maine.gov or stephen.seeback@maine.gov <mailto:stephen.seeback@maine.gov>). Stephen will send a book to you in time for ice out fishing.

In closing the Moosehead Regional fishery staff would like to congratulate Paul Johnson on his retirement. Paul will be certainly missed but definitely not forgotten.

-- Moosehead Regional Fisheries Staff Jeff Bagley and Stephen Seeback

Region F, Penobscot Region

As Spring approaches anglers start to put away the pack basket and ice traps and begin to look over old reels and paw through over stuffed tackle boxes. With the ice conditions presently on the lakes however, it may be awhile before we're out trolling a sewn smelt by a productive inlet. Not only is the ice extra thick and solid for this time of year, but there is no end to winter in sight. Productive prospects this Spring after the ice does go out would have to be East Grand Lake, Millinocket Lake, Pleasant Lake, Sysladobsis Lake, and Lower JoMary for landlocked salmon. At East Grand the smelts seem to have rebounded and have resulted in excellent growth of salmon this past fall and winter. Pleasant Lake anglers have iced a number of large (5 pound +) salmon this winter, and prospects seem good that more than a few quality salmon will be boated this May. Anglers perusing lake trout this spring and summer should not be disappointed with the trolling opportunities at East Grand Lake. Large lakers have been numerous at the border water the last few years, and this spring I would expect to hear about a few fish or two over 20 pounds. Other good prospects would have to be Schoodic Lake and Cold Stream Pond. Brook trout anglers have literally hundreds of small ponds that should start heating up in May and June. Region F encompasses all of Baxter State Park, some of the best brook trout fishing opportunities in the State of Maine. Come June the bass will be biting in the Penobscot River, South Branch Lake, Baskahegan Lake, Pushaw Lake, and many other too numerous to mention. Prospects appear excellent for trophy smallmouth fishing this year throughout the region. Hatchery personnel from Cobb Fish Hatchery in Enfield will start any day now with the annual task of stocking hundreds of waters throughout Northern Maine. Landlocked salmon, brook trout, lake trout and splake will be stocked at various lakes, ponds, streams and rivers during April, May and June. Spring stocking plans for Region F include about 25,000 brook trout, 30,000 salmon, 7000 splake, 5000 lake trout and 3000 brown trout.

-Nels Kramer, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region G - Aroostook County

A thick sheet of ice remains on the lakes in northern Maine to greet anglers for the start of the open water fishing season. In spite of this, there remains the possibility to make a cast in several of the region's larger rivers and brooks for those who feel the need to do so. Open water in pools below dams are always a good bet but if the dam is fitted with a fishway be sure to follow the regulations restricting angling near a fishway. Waters in the region that routinely offer a chance to fish April 1 include: the Meduxnekeag River in the greater Houlton area, the Prestile Stream, the Aroostook and Fish Rivers, and the Allagash River in the back country.

Several new regulations will be in effect for the 2005 Open Water season and, as usual, it is always a good idea to take the time to review the new law book for new regulations. The Fish River from downstream of the lower Fish River Falls to the confluence with the St. John River will now be general law fishing i.e. the use of bait is allowed with a daily bag limit on brook trout: 5 fish; minimum length limit on brook trout: 6 inches. The Little Madawaska River from the bridge on the Grimes Road upstream to the former Loring Air Force Base Dam will now be artificial lures only from June 15 - September 30. Madawaska Lake will now have a daily limit on brook trout: 2 fish; minimum length limit on brook trout: 6 inches. The tributaries to Spaulding Lake in Oakfield will be open to the dipping of smelts until midnight and then closed until noon each day. A number of waters will be closed to the taking of whitefish and several others will have a 16 inch minimum length limit on whitefish, please check the lawbook for the specific lakes involved. Finally, additional lakes have been added to the extended October fishing requiring the use of artificial lures only with all fish caught to be released alive immediately. These waters fall under the S-23 special regulation.

-Dave Basley, Regional Fisheries Biologist

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