February 1, 2006 Ice Fishing Report

Region A- Southwestern Maine

Ice conditions have not changed much on small to medium sized ponds in Cumberland and Oxford counties. However, the ice in York County is highly variable and on some waters like Little Ossipee, conditions have deteriorated. Areas of open water and thin ice offer highly variable conditions on the larger, deeper lakes in the Region. Still, there is no significant ice anywhere on Sebago Lake.

Angler activity increased last week, particularly over the balmy weekend. In addition to the unseasonably nice weather the fish were also biting well. Jim Pellerin observed a good mix of fish being caught on Kennebunk Pond (Lyman), including a 5 pound largemouth, as well as rainbows, browns, and brook trout in the 12 to 17 inch size range. Jim had also heard reports of larger rainbows being caught.

I recently spoke with an experienced York County angler who has been very successful catching rainbows during the winter months, and for the most part he doesn't use tip-ups; using a jig rod he fishes small jigs in shallow water (< 10 feet). This method has produced consistent action for rainbows during late winter. During our rainbow study we have observed much lower winter catch rates on rainbows than during the open water fishing season. We believe this difference is a strong reflection of angling technique and a strong tradition of fishing with tip-ups, and the notion that larger bait produces larger fish, a combination that doesn't necessarily favor angling success when targeting rainbow trout. Based on our study results to date, rainbows have a strong preference for insects over fish, so think small when fishing for rainbows.

Deer Pond in Hollis was also producing well over the weekend, with one angler group landing 6 legal size brook trout in one hour. This water is stocked with brook trout and some browns, and offers good fishing throughout the winter.

Variable ice conditions has not discouraged fishing on Little Ossipee Lake, where we continue to get positive reports from salmon anglers. We also received our first report of a 6-pound brown trout being caught. This fish is likely one of 50 hatchery brood that were "retired" to Little Ossipee Lake.

Sunday I fished Tacoma Lakes (Litchfield) for black crappie and experienced consistent action for the better part of 3 hours. However, my trip would not have been nearly as productive if I had not been jigging with small (1/2 - 2 inch) jigs. There were times when the tip-ups worked well, but when flags weren't going up, you could still maintain good catch rates by working a jig. Sometimes the crappie would hit high in the water column, other times they wanted to pick it off the bottom. subtle jigging motions were more productive than aggressive jigging ( and this is usually the case). Usually, early morning and late afternoon are the best times to target crappies. Crappies are excellent eating (in fact I'm having some for lunch) and occur in many area waters, including most of the ponds in the Newfield area, Mousam Lake (Acton), Little Ossipee Lake (Waterboro), Lake Arrowhead (Waterboro), Sebago Lake, and Virginia Lake (Stoneham) to name a few.

-Francis Brautigam, Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region B - Central Maine

As has been the situation for most of this winter, ice conditions around the region remain variable. Caution is still the byword. On some of the waters I've been on, there has been as much as a foot of difference in ice thickness in different parts of a lake. We've had reports of several close calls recently, and one of an angler going through the ice at Three Mile Pond. Be extra careful about inlet and outlet areas, narrows, weed beds, rocky areas and structures like bridges. All have the potential to have reduced ice depths or deformed ice.

Despite what might be called varying success, anglers in Region B haven't 'thrown in the towel'. It appears that most are willing to spend whatever time is necessary to catch that lunker, or even one or two small ones. Most of the lakes and ponds in the area seem to have at least one angler trying his or her luck. The weather forecasters are calling for 'reasonable' winter conditions for the rest of the week with continued snow flurries. Some have predicted another bout of rain for the weekend, but we all know how changeable Maine weather is.

Lately, I've seen some nice brookies and splake from Minnehonk Lake. I will admit that I haven't seen as many as I would have liked, but the fish were all in really good condition. The same goes for the salmon and brook trout at Parker Pond. The regulations on Parker have returned to a January only, 2-trap season, so by the time you read this, the season there will be history, but this information bodes well for the spring.

One young angler started his season off in a way he'll remember for the rest of his life. Seven year-old Gerald Winslow was fishing with his mom, dad, brother and other family members out on Maranacook Lake on opening day. To everyone's delight, he hooked a big one. With some assistance from the adults, he iced a 38-inch, 17-pound togue! Great work Gerald! I can only imagine how happy is about that. Must have taken a few days before he lost his grin over it.

Now, I know of certain other anglers who have fished Maranacook hard for a long time in search of just a fish like Gerald caught. They will, no doubt, continue that search with renewed vigor. In the past there were some decent togue taken from the lake. No doubt there are more where Gerald's fish came from.

I have worked with two school groups over the past month. I spoke to the Mt. Vernon 2nd grade class in early January as part of their 'Fishing for water quality' project. On the 12th, kids, teachers and parents met for a morning on the ice at Flying Pond. While ice conditions were less than stellar, with about an inch of slushy and water over the hard stuff. We managed to ice several yellow perch and two pickerel in the span of a little over two hours. Even though the fishing was a tad slow, it was a beautiful morning and all had a good time, with quite a bit of hot chocolate and muffins being consumed.

I also spoke to the Whitefield 4th graders about fish and other topics concerning the aquatic world. They have a terrific project going on where they have hatched out brook trout eggs and are rearing sac fry to fingerlings. They are going to analyze the water quality and conditions in a local brook. By doing this, they'll know when the fish can be stocked there. I promised to go with them when the big day arrives.

-Robert Van-Riper, Fisheries Biologist Specialist

Region C - Downeast

2006 will long be remembered as the year the January thaw lasted almost the whole month of January! Even the old-timers remark that they have never seen a year with so many days of above-freezing temperatures and as many rainy spells that have taken a toll on lake and pond ice, creating numerous areas of open water and treacherous ice conditions. As we approach February, anglers must use extreme caution if they travel and fish on the ice.

West Grand Lake opens to fishing this week on February 1. Warden Brad Richard of Princeton reports that high flow discharges at the dam have created enough current that there is open water far above the dam with no ice along the shores. Normally, anglers have traveled up the lake along the icy shores above the dam, but alternative areas to access will be required this winter. Pressure ridges have formed, representing another danger area. Based on our sampling last fall, the outlook for salmon is good, with fish in some of the best condition observed in the past 30 years.

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, although togue are sometimes caught in just a few feet of water. Lakes that are producing good catches of togue this winter are Beech Hill Pond in Otis, Phillips Lake in Dedham, Green Lake in Dedham, and look for West Grand's togue to provide lots of action for fish from 18-23".

Judging by angler reports and by our fall trapnetting, the smelt egg transfers carried out by our staff have quickly improved smelt populations in lakes like Beech Hill Pond, Phillips Lake, Tunk Lake, and Alligator Lake. When we determine that a lake's smelt population has seriously decreased, as happens naturally from time to time, we respond by moving millions of smelt eggs into that lake for 1-2 years. The results are normally very positive in drastically improving numbers of smelt, and within 1-2 years anglers and biologists note improved growth of salmon and/or togue. Smelt transfers have been one of our most important and effective fisheries management tools.

-Rick Jordan, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region D - Western Mountains

The sterling weather seemed to nudge lots of folks out of the house and onto the ice last weekend. Business was brisk on all four waters we surveyed, and our "drive-by" observations showed the same on many smaller ponds in southern Franklin County. Unfortunately, fishing success wasn't as good as the weather. Action was generally slow during both days, but a few anglers scored at Webb Lake (brown trout), Porter Lake and Clearwater Lake (togue and brookies), and Wilson Lake (brookies, salmon and white perch). At Wilson Lake, Ashley Miller of Wilton iced a great brook trout measuring 18 inches, while the rest her family contributed a few pickerel to the chowder pot.

Last week Casey Jackson from the University of Maine provided us with an excellent summary of her recent work on the Rapid River. At our request, Casey radio-tagged about 75 young brook trout, landlocked salmon, and smallmouth bass, then tracked these fish throughout the summer and early fall. This project was designed to complement similar work completed by FPL Energy biologists for adult fish of the same species. Both studies were part of a long-term commitment to better understand how and where these fish interact with each other. We hope to use this information to protect the Rapid's wild brookies, which are threatened by the recent colonization of bass from downstream Umbagog Lake. Casey's work will likely be published in the scientific literature, and we'll make sure the results are available for anglers as well. Stay tuned.

-Dave Boucher, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region E - Moosehead Region

This week I'm able to bring you some first hand fishing information from a few of the lakes in the Moosehead Region. Cooler temperatures last week and a bit of snow on the ice surface allowed us to safely travel around the lakes without risk of burning up the sliders on our snowmobiles. Unlike the last couple of weekends when traveling conditions were questionable, this weekend we were able to check large portions of Moosehead Lake, Chesuncook Lake, and Sebec Lake.

On Saturday and Sunday our staff encountered many parties fishing on Moosehead Lake. Although many anglers had fished earlier in January, we encountered several that were just putting out ice shacks or fishing for the first time due to the uncertainty of the ice conditions. We found anglers successful in catching lake trout in the 14 -18 inch range and we collected lengths, weights, and stomachs from many of these fish. Steve Seeback and Albert Hall traveled to Chesuncook on Sunday. They reported that use at Chesuncook was very low as they only encountered seven parties on the lower part of the lake. The word from Sebec is that there were many anglers out and they were catching some nice lake trout and a few salmon are showing up as well.

A few notable fish were observed on the ice this past weekend. While checking Chesuncook Lake, the guys measured a large lake trout weighing 12 ½ lbs. This fish was a "leftover" from a stocking in the early 90's. On Sunday we observed several nice brook trout on Moosehead Lake. One of the trout was a 5 ½ lbs. brook trout that we collected and radio tagged last fall. The trout was caught by Ken Snowden of Greenville, Maine. We were fortunate enough to get the radio tag back and the trout is headed to the taxidermist.

There are two waters in the Moosehead Region that open this week. Lobster Lake and Allagash Lake are open for the month of February. If the fishing at Lobster holds true to form anglers can expect slow fishing but stand a chance of catching a nice salmon or lake trout. Allagash Lake can produce some good fishing for brook trout and lake trout for anglers heading into the Allagash Waterway.

-Jeff Bagley, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region F, Penobscot Region

Ice fishing activity in the region is still significantly restricted by poor ice conditions. There have been several reports of open water on area lakes normally frozen solid during this time of year. The average temperature in the Bangor area has been 8° above normal for the month of January. Rainfall has been 1 1/2" above normal for the month and snowfall has been about 10" below normal since December 1, 2005.

Pleasant Pond in Island Falls has had decent ice conditions and has supported a good, consistent fishery for nice salmon and brook trout for most of the season. Ice conditions on East Grand Lake have been marginal during the first part of the month but the lake was in good shape for snowmobile travel during the annual ice fishing derby held in that area this past weekend. Several area lakes are included in the derby and some of the winning fish were taken from those lakes. The largest salmon, 23" 4lb. 5oz., and 20" 2 lb. 14 oz., were caught in Deering Lake and the third place salmon, a 20" fish, was taken from nearby Brackett Lake. Brackett also produced the two largest brook trout, 2 lb. 7 oz. and 2 lb. 4 oz. East grand was close behind with 2 pound brookies. East Grand also produced the largest lake trout and cusk entered in the derby. The largest lake trout were 32" 10 lb. 3 oz. and 29" 9 lb. 3 oz. fish and the cusk were 10 lb. and 9 lb. 12 oz. fish.

Schoodic Lake is mostly unsafe for travel on the ice but in areas where anglers are able to fish, they have reported good catches of lake trout and brook trout. The large basin of Cold Stream Pond still has some open water and angling activity is mostly restricted to the upper basin and close to shore elsewhere. Angler success has been highly variable with some reporting good catches and others reporting very slow fishing. As it has been all season, anglers must use extreme caution when venturing out onto the ice.

-Mike Smith, Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region G - Aroostook County

Fishing pressure on back country lakes remains slow through this past weekend. This may be the result of high gas prices, concern on travel conditions both on the ice and woods roads, and perhaps fear of thin ice. The lakes we have checked this winter i.e. Clear and the Musquacooks, Long Lake in the Fish River Chain and lakes in the Houlton area have safe ice conditions. Naturally, anglers should give wide berth to inlets and the outlet where thin ice may be an issue because of high flows in streams. The main bodies of the lakes where we have checked, however, are in good shape for fishing.

Road crews for the land management companies have done an admirable job rehabilitating the roads to move wood products. Water holes have been drained, and although rough in places, the travel is fairly good. Travelers should drive prudently on these back country roads looking out for rough spots and remembering that trucks moving wood products have the right of way. The weekends that I have traveled to back country destinations, I have been concerned on the number of beer cans that seem to be littering the roadway. Drinking and driving on these icy snow covered roads is an accident waiting to happen. It is a privilege to be able to use these roads, please refrain from this abuse, it may save your life.

A few 3 lb. togue were checked on the Musquacook Lakes this weekend. Staff is busy filling out three One That Didn't Get Away Club cards this Monday morning. One of the lucky anglers may have landed a new world ice fishing record landing a 30 inch landlocked on Long Lake that tipped the scales at one local market at 12lb 14oz. It will be necessary for the angler to submit the proper information to the National Fishing Hall of Fame for their verification but pending no irregularities, this salmon will dethrone the present world ice fishing record of 12 lbs. for a landlocked salmon caught on a tip-up. That world record salmon, by the way, was also taken at Long Lake in 1990.

To grow to such prodigous proportion, these salmon require a healthy population of smelts for forage. Just last week the legislative Fish and Wildlife Committee entertained a bill to allow the dipping of smelts from tributaries to Long Lake located in T17R3 WELS. These tributaries support some of the most prolific runs of smelt to drive the forage base at Long Lake. We would encourage anglers to contact members of the Fish and Wildlife Committee to make their feelings known on this bill. Being only 6000 acres and to provide a fishery with salmon of this maginitude during the ice and open water seasons is truly amazing. <<Long Lake 2006 8lb 12oz .jpg>> <<Long Lake 2006.jpg>> -David Basley, Regional Fisheries Biologist

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

For those of you new to ice fishing - ever wonder how to set your ice fishing traps with the correct amount of line? Once you measure out how deep you want to set your bait, attach an old plastic button to the line by sliding the line through the button holes before you tie on your hook. Then after you catch a fish or rebait you simply reset your line to where the button is. The button slides easily should you want to adjust bait depth.

-Colonel Tom Santaguida, Maine Warden Service

###

For More Information, Please Contact:
Mark Latti  -  mark.latti@maine.gov 
Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
284 State Street
41 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333

phone 207-287-6008
pager 818-9617
fax 207-287-6395

Click Here To Return To The Previous Page