Archive for February, 2007
Posted on Tuesday, February 13th, 2007 by Maine Sportsman
Cold, cold, and more cold, that’s what the conditions on the lakes and ponds in western Maine are like for anyone who hasn’t stepped out the door within the last week. Ice thickness is becoming safe in most areas with well over a foot of good clear, blue ice. Caution should still be observed around inlets and outlets as slush and thinner ice are possible. On many waters, the wind has blown the snow into hard packed drifts ranging from six to twenty inches in height, so ice travel is slow and bumpy.
Despite the cold, windy weather anglers are getting out. Wyman Lake in Bingham has been good fishing lately with anglers regularly catching brook trout, salmon, and splake. One brook trout caught was 18 inches long. Last Saturday fishing conditions were poor at Chain of Ponds in northern Franklin County, with a cold wind blowing enough snow to at times to create “white-outs”. Fishing was slow there over last weekend with only a few brook trout being caught. Embden Pond in Embden is known for it’s slow fishing, and that held true last Sunday, when creel clerk Ethan Tracy check a dozen fishing parties and saw only three brook trout, three togue, and a cusk.
Anglers might try fishing late in the afternoon for some action. With the days getting longer there is more opportunity to fish in the afternoon and angler 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.
Tags: Western Mountains Fishing Report • Categories: Fishing Reports
Posted on Tuesday, February 13th, 2007 by Maine Sportsman
Old man winter has dug in his heels and with only extended cold temperatures in sight, area lakes and ponds are making ice constantly. Biologists report ice thicknesses from all over the region range from 12 to 17 inches. With the continued safe ice conditions, over weekend biologists reported seeing many anglers out and about with their families having a great time. Parents were introducing their children to many wonderful Maine winter traditions such as snowmobiling, sliding, skiing, fishing and cooking favorite foods over a lakeside campfire. These wholesome families activities will be passed down from generation to generation and help make our society the best it can be.
Region wide, Downeast anglers report enjoying the new and increased stocking schemes for brook trout, splake and salmon. Waters such as Indian Lake in Whiting, Keenes Lake in Calais, Keely Lake in Marshfield, Lower Hadlock Pond in Northeast Harbor, Jacob-Buck Pond in Bucksport and Craig Pond in Orland are still attracting increased numbers of fishermen from the large stockings of brook trout. Other popular and successful waters for landlocked salmon have been Long Pond in Mount Desert, Green Lake in Ellsworth, Big Lake in T 27 ED, Gardner Lake in East Machias and West Grand Lake in Grand Lake Stream. Those looking for good splake fishing should be tolled in by good reports from Fitts Pond in Clifton, Hearts Pond in Orland, Second Old Stream Lake in T 37 MD, Lower Springy Pond in Otis, Jacob-Buck Pond in Bucksport and Keely Lake in Marshfield.
Anglers looking for good action for lake trout should look no further than Beech Hill Pond in Otis, West Grand Lake in Grand Lake Stream, West Musquash Lake in Talmadge, and Tunk Lake in T 10 SD. If you’re looking for big lakers in the region than we suggest Green Lake in Ellsworth, West Musquash in Talmadge and West Grand Lake in Grand Lake Stream. A special note of caution if you’re planning on traveling on West Grand Lake, the combination of fast ice making conditions and large water withdrawals; lowering lake levels, are producing many large ice ridges that are snow covered and are sometimes hard to see, especially at night and very bright light conditions. These ridges because they are snow covered blend in with the surrounding snow-scape that takes away their three dimensional look, making them almost invisible to unsuspecting travelers that are fighting the glare of the bright sun off the snow. If you are unfamiliar with these ridges, please travel slow and stop frequently to identify the terrain ahead.
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Tags: Downeast Fishing Report • Categories: Fishing Reports
Posted on Tuesday, February 13th, 2007 by Maine Sportsman
Due in part to a reduction in landlocked salmon stocking in Swan Lake over the past two years, salmon growth seems to have dramatically improved since the fall of 2005.
This improved salmon growth may also be attributed in part to the smelt population growth. The smelts appear to be rebounding from egg transfers planted in the spring of 2004 and 2005. Spring smelt runs had been very discouraging in the early part of the decade, with very few smelts or eggs observed in any of the tributaries. A portion of the success in recent smelt recruitment could well be attributed to efforts by the Department to augment the number of eggs by introducing them from another water that produces high numbers of smelt. The procedure for placing smelt eggs entails placing one foot squares of burlap material into the producing water. Once the eggs are deposited on the cloth, the burlaps are treated to prevent disease transfer, and then placed in coolers and transported to the receiving water. The usual placement procedure is to place the egg-laden burlaps in a suitable inlet tributary where they can hatch and disperse naturally. In Swan Lake we have tried a different approach. The burlaps with eggs are suspended in the lake near the mouths of the tributaries. This method is utilized instead of the normal procedure since it has the benefits of reducing predation on larval smelt and that it removes the chance of the eggs being left high and dry by receding water in the tributary.
The local rumor mill being what it is, there was talk that the Department was taking smelt out of the lake when in truth the reverse was true. Acting upon that rumor, some enterprising but misguided individual made the unilateral decision to remove the egg-filled burlaps on his or her own, thus depriving the lake of a valuable added resource. To avoid any future confusion (and rumors for that matter!), if anyone sees or hears something that just doesn’t sound right, call us and we’ll be happy to tell you what we’re up to.
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Tags: Central Maine Fishing Report • Categories: Fishing Reports
Posted on Tuesday, February 13th, 2007 by Maine Sportsman
Although the season got off to a late start, most waters now have enough ice on them to get out there and do a little fishing. Regional fisheries staff visited over 15 waters over the weekend, but few anglers were observed. Where did all the anglers go? Some may blame the loss of the first few weeks; the cold, windy weekend weather; or even super bowl festivities. Whatever the reason, the fact that angler use has been so light means there are still some great fishing opportunities out there for those willing to work the ice. Last fall 353 brood brook trout (2-4 pounds), 410 brood landlocked salmon (2-4 pounds), and 460 brood brown trout (2-4 pounds) were stocked in Region A alone. In addition, approximately 9,000 12 to 14-inch brookies were stocked, which marks a significant expansion in this stocking program (up from just 2,000 fish in 2001). Based on our observations, most of these fall stocked fish are still swimming around out there…so check out our stocking report at www.mefishwildlife.com and then get out and enjoy a little winter fishing.
Even though use has been relatively low, we continue to see and hear of some good catches or some decent fish being caught. Last weekend, I observed a party of three or four guys on Rock Haven Pond in York County that were having some fun with bass and perch. By the time I checked them (before noon), they had already iced about three dozen fish and were actually having a hard time keeping all there traps set up. Wilson Lake in Acton has been a little on the slower side, but it has been yielding some decent fish including a few 16-18 inch brown trout, as well as a couple of 17-19″ rainbows. In addition, a few anglers have managed to pick up some brood and larger sized fall yearling brookies on Wilson.
Don’ t forget to check over the stocking report for new waters being stocked and/or additions to traditional stocking programs. On some of our waters were we haven’t traditionally stocked with brook trout, but are now doing so I have noticed many anglers aren’t really targeting the brookies. Your best bet for the brookies is to fish shallower water (0-10) and those really close to shore sets in 1-2 feet can be very effective. The brook trout also seem to favor sandy/gravelly substrates, as well as currents created from inlets, outlets, and thoroughfares. Oh yeah, and don’t forget to downsize your bait, particularly on waters were we also stock advanced fingerling brook trout in the 8-12 inch range.
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Tags: Southwestern Maine Fishing Report • Categories: Fishing Reports
Posted on Thursday, February 1st, 2007 by Maine Sportsman
This Month: Cheer up! The Days are Getting Longer
February begins like more of January, but astute observers notice the longer days and slightly warming temperatures.
In fact, Feb. 1 has an incredible 58 more minutes of daylight than New Year’s Day did! The spring equinox comes fast in this part of the Northern Hemisphere.
In Portland, the average February high has risen two full degrees Fahrenheit from January and is now 33.1 degrees. January ranks as the only month all year in Portland that has a below freezing average high.
In February, Portland’s average low has gone up one full degree to 12.9.
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Tags: February 2007 Issue • Categories: Almanac
