Southwestern Maine Fishing Report: April 28, 2009
Sebago Lake boat access hours
The Department of Conservation recently has established new boat access provisions to accommodate early season salmon and togue anglers. The park gate now is open at 4 a.m. each day until May 22. After May 22, the gate will open at 9 a.m. for the remainder of the season.
- Francis Brautigam, Regional Fisheries Biologist, Gray
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Open Water Fishing Preview
It has been another long winter, and I am sure many of our fellow anglers have been anxiously waiting for another open water season. It is yet another chance to get outdoors and maybe to catch that elusive lunker you’ve been after for years, but more importantly it is an opportunity for many other things.
It’s an opportunity to create a wealth of fond memories that will last a lifetime; an opportunity to spend some quality time with your dad, your kids, or a dear friend; or perhaps it’s simply a time to strike out alone to clear your head and get some perspective. Whatever the opportunities are for you personally, and no matter what you actually end up catching for fish, it is likely to keep you yearning for the next open season when winter comes around again. So, do yourself a favor…get out there, wet a line, and enjoy your time on the waters of Maine!
As many of you may recall, late snow melt and heavy rains led to delayed stream stockings last season, and the high water conditions made early season fishing difficult. In addition, most lakes and ponds were locked up tight on April 1 resulting in few early season fishing opportunities.
Some good early season spots that are typically quite popular include the shorelines of Auburn Lake in Auburn, the Songo Locks in Naples, Jordan River (also known as Panther Run) in Raymond, Long Lake causeway in Naples, Thompson Lake causeway at the heath, and just about anywhere else you can find some fishable water.
Our hatchery staff has been right out straight and the trucks are rolling almost nonstop. This spring southern Maine hatcheries will be stocking Region A waters with approximately 53,000 brookies, 33,400 browns, 9,800 salmon, 7,700 bows, 2,300 lake trout, and 1,500 splake. That’s a lot of fish to distribute over a large area in what typically amounts to about a six-week period.
Generally, stocking programs are very similar from year to year, although some new stockings planned this year include the stocking of rainbows at Little Ossipee Lake in Waterboro (Spring), Stanley Pond in Hiram (Spring), and Little Sebago Lake (Fall).
IF&W’s website (www.mefishwildlife.com) has a listing of last year’s stocking. Last year we launched a current, continually updated stocking list for waters stocked under put-and-take programs. “Real time” stocking information will continue to be provided this year and is the best source of up to date stocking information.
Lastly, you can’t have an open water fishing report in Maine without touching upon Spring salmon fishing. We expect salmon catches to remain good at the Big Three (Sebago, Thompson and Auburn), but IF&W data from last fall suggest anglers may notice some decrease in size quality, especially at Thompson and Auburn. We still expect Sebago to yield some lunker salmon and togue this season. Some other smaller and less popular Region A salmon waters worth trying out this year include: Moose Pond in Bridgton, Kezar Lake in Lovell, Colcord Pond in Porter, and South Pond in Greenwood.
- James Pellerin, IF&W Assistant Regional Fishery Biologist, Gray