3/5/2007

DEPARTMENT OF INLAND FISHERIES & WILDLIFE

Division of Public Information and Education

207-287-8000

284 State Street, State House Station #41, Augusta, ME 04333

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For Immediate Release                                                   March 5, 2007

March 5, 2007 Ice Fishing Report

Region A- Southwestern Maine

Finally Sebago's largest basin (the "Big Bay") iced over early last week just in time for spring thaw.  I haven't spoken to anyone yet that has ventured out on what is expected to be very thin ice covering the Big Bay.  Warming temperatures last week limited additional ice formation and the heavy wet snow on Friday has not improved the ice conditions.  However, the unusually cold temperature forecast for this week may firm up the ice and slush to allow some fishing on what many consider to be the best area of the lake for catching large togue.

Last week I fished Jordan Bay with Greg Cutting and his friend Mike.  I must admit that Greg had the lure and the technique that allowed him to land 7 togue before I caught my first one.  All the togue were fat and healthy and the largest was maybe 5 pounds.  The togue appeared to be very spotty, and not biting very aggressively that day.  Very subtle "bouncing" of the jig on the bottom was required to initiate a strike and the jig color of the day was white.  Greg had a handheld depth finder with a fish detecting beeper that would sound when a fish swam beneath his hole.  At times the beeper was sounding steadily, suggesting a togue would swim by the jig numerous times before taking a "bite".  We spoke with another group of jig fishermen who were fishing nearby and they also indicated very spotty fishing for togue in association with schools of smelt.  When you find the schools of smelt the togue are not far behind.

We did hear about a 15 - 20 pound togue that was apparently caught and released on Sebago within the last couple weeks.

Many anglers on Sebago have commented that the winter togue fishing is slower than a few years ago.  Dramatic increases in smelt abundance has likely concentrated the togue more, which means anglers need to be more mobile in their fishing habits to find them.  We also remain hopeful that the togue population has declined in recent years under the more liberalized harvest regulations (6 togue daily bag, 14 inch minimum; only 1 over 23) established to reduce the population.

The addition of heavy snow last Friday made for some slushy conditions on area lakes and despite the nice weekend weather angler use was light on waters surveyed.  Littlefield Pond (Sanford) and Keoka Lake (Waterford) continue to produce brook trout for those anglers who target them. Keoka Lake (Waterford) and Wilson Lake (Acton) also offered some good action for white perch up to 11 inches long.

Although use on Round Pond (Lyman) has been light, this youth-only fishing pond offers some great action for brook trout and parents are encouraged to bring their kids to this unique fishery, but remember only kids under age 16 may fish on Round Pond in the winter, and a two line, two trout limit is in effect.

-Francis Brautigam, Regional Fisheries Biologist Specialist

Region B - Central Maine
       
Heavy snow loads on the Region’s lakes and ponds have created slushy conditions in many locations.  I’ve had of a number of reports that snow machines and ATVs are getting bogged down, especially in the northern part of the region where snow depths are approaching 3 feet.  Be prepared out there.

Another topic of incoming reports is that of an increasing number of anglers catching northern pike.  Some of the reports involve catching some pretty large fish.  Others are not quite as positive.  Like hearing about another new body of water where a pike, or several of them have been caught.  It seems like every year, we hear of another new lake or pond that has had pike introduced.

One of the most written about topics in outdoor\sports articles over the past few years has been the introduction of invasive species.  In the case of fishing and the aquatic environment, we’ve been hearing a lot about invasive plants such as Eurasian milfoil.  Really, no matter what the species is, or where it is moved to, it will have some sort of effect on native species.

Pike, are ambush predators that can grow to a very large size.   So, not only will they eat pretty much anything that moves, but they can chow on even the largest of them!  Simple math tells us that if there are enough big predators that can eat just about everything else, in a short time there won’t be anything else left.

A complicating factor concerning pike is that in addition to being an ecological issue, they have also become a social issue too.  Many derbies lately have given the grand prize for the largest fish to pike.  Since pike can take in fairly large prey, bait dealers have a market for those big minnows and shiners.  What we have are two developing schools of thought on the fish.  One school feels that they are a problem since they can decimate an existing fishery.  The other feels that they are a trophy fish.  Both sides call their local fishery biologist and let them know how they feel about the pike.

Pike are non-native invasive fish, pure and simple.  They have proven that they can negatively alter traditional salmonid-based sport fisheries time and time again after an initial introduction.  They also have the ability to move into other new waters if there are natural connections between those waters.  And, the number of waters where they are being introduced is increasing rapidly – at an alarming rate here in Region B.

 
In response to the growing number of pike waters, the Department has developed a ‘Rapid Response Protocol’.  Regional staff is required to confirm all reports of an introduction and to follow up with an evaluation to try to determine the extent of the introduction.  Also, staff is directed to control or eradicate the introduction if possible.  “If possible” is the key phrase here.  Once pike (or any other invasive really) are planted in a water, there are limited options for their eradication or control.  The only effective control is to try to capture and remove all the fish.  But, it really depends on how quickly we get a report after an introduction.  Another ‘but’ is that the fish may have been introduced months or even years before the first one is caught!

One control that suits both schools of thought is to allow anglers no size or bag limit restrictions.  By allowing unrestricted harvest, we have observed that the average overall size of the fish get smaller.  That at least allows the bigger prey to escape.  The jury is still out on whether overall number of fish is decreasing.  Pike also eat their own, so removing the big ones may allow the little ones access to more prey with less competition.

As in many situations regarding fisheries, the human component weighs equally with the biological side of an issue.   In the case of invasive species, it is against the law to transport any fish anywhere without a permit from the Department. It is also illegal to dump baitfish in any waterway. There is a $10,000 fine for a conviction of illegal stocking. The future of our fisheries is at stake here the issue is that pressing.  While I idealistically hope to never hear of another introduction, please let us know if you ever hear of anything suspicious or catch a non-native species, let us know by calling 1-800-253-7887 (1-800-ALERT-US).

-Robert Van-Riper, Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region C – Downeast

As we begin the downhill side of the ice fishing season and interest begins to wane, let’s diverge from the usual where to go and what to fish for column and take a look at the Downeast region’s lake trout populations.

Probably many area anglers do not know that most all of the region’s lake trout populations are not native to many of their favorite lakes.  That’s right, initial stockings that occurred between the late 1800’s and the 1960’s started almost all of the local populations.  Lake trout in waters such as Tunk Lake, Branch Lake, Eagle Lake, Jordan Pond, Toddy Pond, Beech Hill Pond, Hopkins Pond, Green Lake and West Grand Lake, were all started by state stocking programs.

Since their introductions they have gone through somewhat similar transformations and as we look back it is easy to understand why.

When these various waters were first stocked, initially these parent fish found themselves in the midst high amounts of forage.  These lake trout were stocked small and their initial mortality was probably high.  But the ones that survived grew relatively fast on the abundant food and survived well through very low fishing pressure and harvest.  Consequently, they lived to get old and big.  As these lake trout began to spawn their young found similar circumstances with high levels of food and low angler use and harvest.  As numbers of naturally produced individuals increased, with the potential for greater longevity, along with abundant natural forage, initially, larger individuals were caught within the first 40 to 50 years after the introduction.  These larger fish were produced in the misted of low to modest wild population numbers, intermitted stocking and lite fishing pressure.  With all of these working together predator and prey numbers were in balance.  The presence of these larger fish attracted higher use both in the winter and open water seasons.  This increased use occurred in the 1970’s and continued into the 1980’s.  This increase was coincidental to technical advances in ice fishing equipment and the one month extension to the winter fishing season.  This increase in use harvested out many of these larger/older individuals as well as smaller immature fish that were between 16 to 20 inches.  This harvest of smaller individuals helped keep predators numbers down and the predator/prey numbers in balance.  The only problem was that this increase in harvest also kept lake trout from reaching the older ages and larger sizes.  In an effort to more adequately protect first time spawners an increase in the general law length limit from 16 to 18 inches was put in the place in 1979.  This protection allowed for increased natural reproduction and as a result between the late 1980’s to the present, wild population numbers have gone from low/moderate to abundant/over abundant.  As a result the forage populations have decreased, slowing the growth of this long-lived species.  Exacerbating the situation in many waters are the anglers wishes to catch and harvest large fish and release legal small to medium fish that need to thinned out in order to keep the population in balance with its available forage.  Another caveat in the management of lake trout is the angler’s desire to have another predator managed for in the same water to increase species diversity.  This further represses the forage base and lake trout from reaching their growth and condition potentials.

-Greg Burr, Regional Fishery Biologist Specialist

Region D - Western Mountains

Last week's presentation of Commissioner's Prints to the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce, Sun Valley Sports, and Sunday River highlights the comeback of the river in terms of its water quality and fishery.  A look at the DeLorme Atlas shows a good number of public access points along the river, many of which weren't there two decades ago.  Much of the upper river is well suited for kayaks and canoes, and there are boat launch sites at several of the deep water areas.  For those who enjoy wetting a line, we'll be stocking 1,000 brook trout, 13,000 brown trout, and 3,300 rainbow trout from Bethel to to Rumford this coming spring.  Below Rumford there's a nice fishery for brown trout and smallmouth bass.  Those who haven't been on the upper Andy might be surprised at the isolation and beauty of this once-polluted river.

The other big river success story, of course, is the Kennebec, which is also a popular destination for anglers, canoeists, and kayakers.  We manage the middle section - from the Kennebec Gorge to Skowhegan - from our office in Strong.  Water quality, temperature and fish species change dramatically from the Gorge to Skowhegan; one look at the fishing lawbook entry for the Kennebec will tell you that.  The upper section provides a coldwater fishery for native brook trout and wild landlocked salmon and brown trout.  The middle section has a coldwater fishery primarily for stocked fish, and the lower section has fisheies for stocked brown trout and bass.  Accordingly, we'll be stocking 2,000 brook trout from Solon to Madison this spring, along with 8,000 brown trout in the same reach.  The aforementioned regulations, which vary from reach to reach, were designed to impose relatively restrictive regulations on the tailwater sections inhabited by coldwater fish.  The quiet water sections behind dams retain more liberal regulations, intended to permit the harvest of the warmwater fish that inhabit these areas.

There are a number of guiding services providing float trips on both rivers; contact the local chamber of commerce for details.

-Forrest Bonney, Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region E - Moosehead Region

Despite the State’s recent snow storm and high winds late last week, the regional fisheries staff surprisingly found traveling on Moosehead Lake to be fairly good this past weekend.  However, anglers and snowmobilers alike should pay close attention when traveling along the immediate shoreline.  The longer days and warmer temperatures have started to produce some very soggy areas.   Our staff encountered a few areas of slush while conducting creel census work this past weekend.  Traveling on the south end of Moosehead Lake, I identified a few areas that have started to get very soft.  Some of the red flag areas are in Deep Cove on the west side of the lake and Doughnut and Galusha Coves in the Lily Bay area.  Also, areas immediately around ice shacks contained some slush.  This likely from water coming up through fishing holes as a result of the added weight by this most recent snowstorm.

In my travels this weekend I also noted many ice shacks on Moosehead are now surrounded by a couple feet of drifted snow with water and slush near or already onto the runners of some of the shacks.  Anglers who have an ice shack on a body of water and haven’t been to it for a while, may want to do so to make sure it is high and dry, reducing the possibility of it flooding and freezing in.

Fishing on the big lake is still producing some fast action for many anglers.  Most of the fish being caught consist of smaller togue in the 14 to 18 inch category.   Our Unity College help have been reporting some decent salmon on the ice in the Rockwood area.  I also encountered several parties on the lake this weekend that were targeting cusk.  Although a bit odd looking these fish are very tasty.  Most folks I talked to were hoping to get enough to have an annual fish fry or a big cusk chowder.  

-Jeff Bagley, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region F, Penobscot Region

Fishing pressure was way down this weekend across the region.  The snow storm on Friday seemed to keep people home digging out from under the 8 to 14 inches that fell over the region.  This weekend we did creel surveys on East Grand Lake and Cold Stream Ponds. Saturday only 21 parties observed totaling 52 anglers.  On Sunday only 16 parties totaling 34 anglers were checked on East Grand lake.  These numbers are very low compared to what we would normally see.  Only 4 lake trout, 1 salmon and 1 brook trout were observed on Cold Stream. Creel checks Sunday turned up only 7 salmon on East Grand Lake.

Anglers reports last week showed success remained quite spotty across the region with very good fishing reported from Schoodic, East Musquash, Lower Sysladobsis and Pemadumcook.  Schoodic is producing 3 to 6 lb. lake trout, great smelt fishing and for the lucky angler salmon in the 3 to 6 lb.  East Musquash has been producing some 2 to 4 lb. lake trout salmon up to 3 lbs.  Lower Sysladobsis is producing some nice catches of 2 to 3 lb. salmon.  Pemadumcook anglers have been having doing well angling for lake trout, salmon, brook trout and white fish.   

The snow fall on Friday also has produced wide spread slush conditions on lakes across the region. Make sure to use caution when traveling on the snow covered ice.

As the days get longer, the temperatures start to climb and the snow begins to melt.  Hopefully more anglers will get out and the fish will start biting.  Some of our warm water lakes such as Pushaw, Mattanawcook, Molunkus, Saponac and Dolby flowage should be producing some nice catches of white perch.

Remember to use extreme caution when venturing onto any lake to ice fish and although the fish maybe slow to bite on some days there are many good fish there and good opportunity to catch them.  Make sure to get out and enjoy what is left of winter mud season is approaching fast.

-Brian Campbell, Regional Fisheries Biology Specialist

Region G – Aroostook County

Biologists spent the weekend checking anglers on Big Eagle, Churchill, Spider, Big Pleasant, Clear and Ross Lakes.   Ice thickness on these Region G waters has gone from only 3 inches to 6 inches early in the season to 20 inches to 24 inches as of this past weekend.  Add to the ice thickness at least 12 inches of snow and slush and auger extensions are becoming a necessity.  Five of the parties of fishermen that I checked over the weekend had had at least one of their group mired in slush. Due to the large snow storm on Friday slush has developed in many places on all lakes.  This storm has improved snowmobile trails between the lakes which had been a bit rough due to the early winter lack of snow.  Although some lakes were lightly fished as was expected due to the long predicted storm, those fishing were successful in catching fish.  With warmer weather and longer days ahead we should see an increase in the number of anglers making the journey to these western Region G waters.

Ice thickness on lakes in the Fish River Chain is about 24 inch thick.  Reports of slush are as widespread in the northern part of the region as they are in the above mention waters.  Caution should be used when traveling on these waters.  Although Long Lake anglers are reporting slower fishing, which is expected, Square Lake anglers continue to report superb fishing.

-Derrick Cote, Fisheries Biology Specialist