February 6, 2006 Ice Fishing Report

Region A- Southwestern Maine

Angler activity on lakes and ponds in southern Maine has remained relatively low for most of the season due to the unusual weather patterns and poor ice conditions. This week and weekend, anglers were hit with yet another winter thaw and two heavy rain events. Travel conditions on the ice were very difficult over the weekend, particularly for those on foot. The solid ice had 1-2 inches of water on top of it followed by a skim coat of ice that would break with each step. On a more positive note, we did not lose too much base ice, and the loss of snow cover followed by the prediction of a cold week should firm things up. Hopefully, we'll even gain some ice in the upcoming weeks!

Better ice conditions would certainly be welcome news for many of southern Maine's ice fishing derbies. Two of the largest down this way, are the Little Ossipee Lake Derby (2/19) and the Sebago Lake Rotary Derby Fest (2/24-2/26). The Sebago Derby is scheduled to go statewide if Sebago does not have sufficient ice, see their website www.icefishingderby.com for more details. Speaking of derbies, Greg Massey of Poland took first place at the ice fishing derby at the Range Ponds in Poland with a 9 pound lake trout, while another angler took second with a seven pounder. Other than these lake trout, there were few reports of browns and rainbows being landed during the derby.

Although ice conditions haven't been the greatest down this way, the lighter use and lower catches should equate to better fishing later in the season than anglers would normally expect. In the last two weeks, we have noticed a substantial improvement in the fishing and we have recently seen and heard of some decent fish. On Thursday and Saturday, I saw two anglers that had each managed to land a beautiful rainbow trout on Kennebunk Pond in Lyman. These fish were each 20 inches long and weighed 2 3/4 to 3 pounds. I'll say it again, if you want to catch a rainbow, I would highly recommend the use of worms and/or salmon eggs over live bait, and jigging can be deadly. One of these same anglers had also lost a big trout a few days earlier that he has affectionately named "Walter." He claims that particular fish will keep him coming back despite the slower days here and there! This big fish was probably a large brown trout. Although fishing for them can be very slow, large browns are not uncommon in southern Maine ponds. Region A Staff sampled a half dozen or so brown trout waters this past summer and every pond yielded some quality size browns in the 3 to 6 pound class! In fact, Linden Rogers of Baldwin recently landed an 8.6 pound brown at an undisclosed pond in Oxford County. If you put your time in, there is a good chance you could land one of these wall hangers, too. Good luck and stay safe.

-Jim Pellerin, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region B - Central Maine

In the course of my career as a fishery biologist, observations are made that make one realize that sometimes very little has changed. Often that makes you pause, and you think that a new observation is unique. This year's weather pattern that is giving us poor and questionable ice conditions really is not so much different from other years.

We commonly keep reliable scientific records on weather conditions in the various lake files we have at all the regional fisheries offices. Nowadays, many of these records are being coded for computer files, but the hard copy records are there for anyone who wants to see what was observed by investigators in the "old days". And some of those old days go back to the 1930's. Once in a while, these old files are reviewed by regional staff or others seeking information. Here's an example.

Twenty-five years ago, we received from the local warden a report of a fish kill on Dresden Bog on February 28, 1981. You're asking what does that have to do with the weather? And what does a 1981 fish kill do to explain some of the weather observations we are seeing this winter? That winter was very mild, and conditions allowed me to take a canoe and paddle into Dresden Bog in late February 1981 to have a look at the fish that had succumbed from lack of oxygen in the water. That year, records showed, had warm conditions in January and February, with little ice thickness on area waters. So, ice out on Dresden Bog was early that year, although there was an early ice-in the previous fall in November of 1980.

Back in1980, the winter previous to the story above, my brothers came up from Connecticut to visit. We, along with our sons, took off for Moosehead Lake for a fishing trip during February school vacation. That winter was so different from the one that followed. We drove a two-wheel drive station wagon over the Lazy Tom to Spencer Pond Road, then right onto Cowan Cove. We caught many salmon and trout.

So, every winter is different, depending on weather patterns. I am not saying the rest of this winter season will not turn around and give us some cold weather. Like many of my fellow scientists, I will try to collect data and maintain records that will allow those that come after me to see what happened on specific waters during a given year. Those efforts allow us to tell whether a phenomena being observed is unique or not.

On hearing that anglers have been scarce on many waters, a bait dealer lamented this: "When someone hears that the Kennebec River ice is out that means all area waters are out"!

I have been checking Long Pond in the Belgrades all winter, and the last weekend in January there were the most anglers observed since the beginning of the season. No big catches have been recorded but those fishing have hooked some big fish, and landed a few.

My perpetual calendar has this ditty by Norman Jeffries:

"I don't want to ketch no tarpon that weighs half a ton. And feeding clams to sheepshead isn't just what I call fun. Of salmon when it's boiled or baked I'll say that I am fond----- But when I'm after sport I fish for pik'rel in a pond.

-Bill Woodward, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region C - Downeast

News flash!!! Blaze orange fish causes stir in small town!

An unlikely colored fish trapped in a tiny local pond by an area bait dealer made many people stop to ponder about the wonders of nature after seeing this unique specimen. Little Beatle Bait owner Kevin Pinkham reported the fish to regional biologists after having noticed it in one of his traps in Lily Pond in East Machias.

The fish was identified by biologists as a young golden shiner, and it almost glowed in amongst other minnows it was so bright. Golden shiners are normally brown to gold in color but as in any fish or mammal population, color abnormalities do occur. Normally, a fish of this color and size would not survive in the wild long because its color makes it easy to spot for predators. Biologists believe that the variation in color was caused by a recessive gene that came to the surface after its two parents, both carrying the gene, spawned, resulting in a small percentage of their progeny hatching with the blaze orange color. This rare find has some town's people offering to buy the tiny fish to put on display in their fish tanks. As for Mr. Pinkham's plans for the fish, he jokes about making millions from the breeding rights but admits he will probably just pamper the fish in his children's fish tank. But what a bait it would make if he only had more of them to sell. For a glimpse of this rare shiner, please open the attached JPG file. <<gold shiner.jpg>>

On a more somber note, this past Friday's and Sunday's 45 degree days with torrential down-pours may have sealed the fates of lakes and ponds in Downeast's immediate coastal areas - there may not be any safe ice to come. As it stands now, there are no lakes and ponds on Mount Desert Island with safe ice. The story is the same for many coastal community lakes and ponds from Surry to Calais. Even the larger interior lakes and ponds are treacherous. Wardens tell us that lakes such as West Grand, Mopang, Cathance, Beech Hill, Spring River and Alligator all have dangerously thin ice locations as well as open water. With colder nights forecasted for later in the week, this will help some small coastal ponds to possibly have safe ice by the weekend, but caution is still the word for the rest of the winter.

An angler's best bets are interior small ponds that are less than 200 acres. Still, even on these ponds, fishermen should be mindful of dangerous conditions around inlets, outlet and points. Biologists were out over the weekend surveying angler success rates on many of these smaller waters and found 6 to 9 inches of ice.

Here are some of the best bet smaller waters to try: Jellison Hill Pond - Amherst, Rainbow Pond - T 10 SD, Tilden Pond - T 10 SD, Hancock Pond - Bucksport, Fitts Pond - Clifton, Lower Springy Pond - Otis, Jacob-Buck Pond - Bucksport, Fields Pond - Orrington, Giles Pond - Aurora, Georges Pond - Franklin, Second & Third Old Stream Lakes - T 37 MD, Hosea Pug Lake - T 26 MD, Seavey Lake - Wesley, James Pond - Charlotte, and Goulding Lake - Robbinston.

Congratulations to angler Bill Strout who a week and a half ago found safe ice conditions at Beech Hill Pond and caught a beautiful 17-inch brook trout. This winter, anglers are reporting nice catches of togue and salmon at this 1,200 water located in Otis, with most fish full of smelts. This shows the success that biologists can have with stocking smelt eggs to boast forage populations.

Be well and be safe, and enjoy the gift of the outdoors!

-Greg Burr, Fisheries Biologist Specialist

Region D - Western Mountains

The weather went crazy again last weekend. I'm beginning to wonder if a real Maine winter is going to happen this year. The weather on Saturday was nice and traveling conditions on the ice were good, but a steady rain on Sunday has made condition better for ice-skating than ice fishing. A few people were out fishing and at least one person had tremendous success. Frank Braley of Anson reports seeing a 37-inch, 19-pound lake trout taken from Spring Lake in T3 R4 BKP WKR (Somerset County). That is a nice fish by any standard. The lucky unidentified angler should remember that fish for a long time.

The deeper waters in southern Franklin County have remained slow with lake trout up to 22 inches and salmon averaging around 16 inches in length. The occasional brook trout is also taken with a wide length range between 6 and 18 inches. Anglers fishing Webb Lake in Weld continue to catch a few brown trout ranging from 12 to 19 inches. Some large pickerel, over 20 inches, are also being caught there as well.

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 cusks after the sun has set.

-Dave Howat, Fisheries Biologist Specialist

Region E - Moosehead Region

Moosehead Lake Region anglers were plagued by another weekend of rainy weather. What little snow was covering lakes and ponds soaked up Friday's downpours like a sponge and made for slushy ice conditions. On Saturday, the 2 - 3 inches of slush on Chesuncook and Moosehead Lakes made for slow traveling for regional staff and anglers alike. Super Bowl Sunday's rain left Albert Hall and Eric Rudolph conducting creel censuses from their truck. They visited access sites in Lily Bay and Rockwood on Moosehead Lake and no anglers were observed fishing. One party was seen fishing in Greenville Junction. Tim Obrey reports that Sebec Lake was a washout this past weekend. The bathtub ring of water around the shoreline of Sebec Lake has deterred anglers from venturing onto the lake.

A year ago, Chesuncook and Lobster Lakes where designated as "Classic Landlocked Salmon Waters" due to a statewide program kick-started by SAM FIC (Sportsman's Alliance of Maine Fishing Initiative Committee). This initiative is an attempt to create a handful of fisheries statewide that would be managed exclusively for trophy landlocked salmon. The objective of the program is to give anglers the opportunity to catch larger than average landlocked salmon, in the 3-5 pound class. Currently, regulations on Chesuncook Lake include a daily bag limit of 3 landlocked salmon with a minimum length limit of 14 inches and only one may be larger than 18 inches. This liberal regulation is designed to encourage anglers to harvest 14- 17 inches salmon to reduce the number of smaller individuals from the population, which are very abundant. By reducing the numbers of smaller salmon, we should see the smelt population increase and hopefully increase the size of the salmon.

In my travels to Chesuncook Lake this winter, I have seen only a handful of anglers fishing each weekend. Only a few of these anglers were aware that this program was initiated by SAM FIC. With the lakes and ponds in the southern part of the state experiencing some dicey ice condition this winter, I would encourage anglers to visit the Moosehead Lake Region and fish Chesuncook Lake and take your limit of 14- 17 inch salmon home. Due to the lack of fishing pressure on Chesuncook Lake, it may be a long time before we are able to reach our objectives of larger, more robust landlocked salmon. Also, anglers that fish the river above and below Chesuncook Lake during the open water season will benefit from the removal of these smaller salmon.

This week, Jeff Bagley and I conducted our first analysis this winter of stomachs taken from angler-harvested lake trout, landlocked salmon, and brook trout. Lake trout stomachs from Moosehead Lake were showing good numbers of smelts lake-wide. As you would assume the stomachs collected from landlocked salmon from Chesuncook Lake showed very few smelts.

-Stephen Seeback, Fisheries Biologist Specialist

Region F, Penobscot Region

This past weekend, it seemed that most of the conversation on the ice with anglers was about the ice conditions. On Pushaw this past Sunday, I would say the conditions were highly variable. Some anglers were reporting 14" and another had found only 3". Open water could be seen around the inlets and the outlet as well as around some of the points. The heavy rains caused the ice fishing holes to melt out from 6" holes on Saturday to 10" ones buy the end of the day on Sunday.

I would consider the conditions in the southern part of our region as very dangerous. It is apparent that if the weather continues as it has, conditions will continue to get worse. The further north you get in our region the better the ice conditions get, but regardless, please use extreme caution.

The Pushaw fishing derby was a great success. Large numbers of anglers were out on Saturday to enjoy the 40 degree temperatures. Derby participants caught 5 pike, with the largest weighing over 7 lbs. On Sunday, the rains kept many anglers home.

Our creel surveys found very few anglers on the lakes last weekend. Between the weather and ice conditions, many anglers are staying home. A few nice salmon were observed on Pleasant Lake in Island Falls and some nice brook trout were observed on Upper Jo Mary. We have had very good fishing reports from an angler on Dolby stating that the white perch are biting. The angler said that fishing pressure has been very low this winter. Upper Sysladobsis in Lakeville has been producing some nice fat 16" salmon. We are getting some great reports from our Kids Only ice fishing ponds in Lincoln at Little Round Pond and in Millinocket at Jerry Pond. Again, if you are venturing out onto the ice, be careful! At this rate, the only thing that will prevent record early ice outs is some record cold weather, and I'm not too sure if that's a good thing.

-Brian Campbell, Fisheries Biologist Specialist

Region G - Aroostook County

Good news from St. Froid Lake. Recent reports are that the fishery at St. Froid Lake is showing signs of improvement. Local angler opinion has changed in favor of salmon management after many years of lake trout management and less than average salmon growth. Lake trout stocking was terminated in 2000. In addition the lake trout length limit was changed to a 14 inch minimum and five fish bag limit. Anglers report that the mostly wild salmon population is more robust than they have seen in years. The hook and line smelt fishery has also improved over the past few years, another sign that smelt abundance has improved.

After being absent from St. Froid Lake for decades, lake whitefish have recently been stocked as part of newly established whitefish hatchery program. Lake whitefish eggs taken from the wild have been hatched at the Cobb Hatchery in Enfield and stocked as 4 to 6 inch fish in the fall of the year. A 16 inch minimum length limit and 3 fish bag limit applies to whitefish at St. Froid. Anglers at St. Froid are reporting catches of the oldest age class of whitefish in the 12 to 14 inch range. In the not to distant future whitefish will once again be part of the fish harvest at St. Froid Lake.

My creel survey efforts this past weekend were on Clear and the Musquacook Lakes. Angler effort continues to be extremely light on these remote waters. The 3 anglers that made the three hour trip from Eagle Lake were rewarded with a couple of beautiful brook trout, one 17 inches the other 19.

-Derrick Cote, Fisheries Biologist Specialist

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

Wardens encounter anglers who sometimes catch fish that are undersized and kept because they thought the fish would die due to hook being swallowed, and the angler didn't want to "waste" the fish by throwing it back after injuring it by removing the hook. All you need to do in this situation is take a small pair of snippers and cut the line as close to the hook as possible, leaving the hook in the fish. Research has determined that this hook deteriorates very quickly and the fish usually survives to be caught another day. A small pair of finger nail clippers works very well. Don't forget extra hooks though!

-Colonel Tom Santaguida, Maine Warden Service

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