Western Mountains Fishing Report: January 30, 2007

Ice conditions in western Maine improved dramatically with last week’s subzero temperatures. We measured up to a foot of good ice on several lakes and there were few problems with slush. Winter anglers are therefore finally getting in the groove and it looked liked opening day on some waters. Porter Lake and Wilson Pond were both very busy, and even some of the larger, deeper lakes that froze very late finally saw some activity. Embden Pond and Wyman Lake, for instance, now have enough ice to allow folks to venture out a bit further, and those enjoying last weekend’s gorgeous weather realized it was worth the wait. Several togue in the 3 to 4 range were iced at Embden, and Wyman gave up several nice splake, as well as a few brookies and salmon. Ethan Tracy, our creel survey clerk, also checked several togue from Hancock Pond, one tipping the scales at just over 4 pounds.

February is usually a great month for togue fishing, and we’ve got several great spots to try your luck. Togue lakes in western Maine open to ice fishing include Porter Lake in New Vineyard, Clearwater Pond in Industry, Wilson Pond in Wilton, Embden and Hancock Ponds in Embden, Spring Lake in T3 R4, and Spencer Lake in Hobbstown.

While the ice is in far better shape than just a couple of weeks ago, caution and common sense are still needed, especially on the larger lakes.