Posts Tagged ‘Moosehead Region Fishing Report’
Posted on Thursday, January 24th, 2008 by Maine Sportsman
The unseasonable weather the Moosehead Lake Region received this past week kept many anglers at bay last weekend. The warm weather and rain reduced the snow pack significantly and had many anglers questioning the ice conditions on local lakes and ponds. Ice depths, however, held their own during the warm spell. We still are seeing good ice depths of 14-16 inches on many of the smaller ponds and the shallow areas of Moosehead Lake. We still urge anglers to use caution since ice condition can change daily. Individuals should also avoid traveling over the deep basins on Moosehead Lake, since many of these areas of the lake have just recently frozen over. The 5-6 inches of snow ice we had last weekend soaked up most of last week’s rain and snow melt, and little if no slush was encountered in our travels this past weekend.
In our travels on Moosehead Lake and Lower Wilson Pond this past weekend we saw very little fishing pressure. The few fish we saw where predominately lake trout and a couple of nice brook trout where observed from Lower Wilson and Prong Pond. The majority of lake trout on Moosehead Lake and Lower Wilson Pond are 14–17 inches. We are encouraging angler to harvest these14– to 17-inch lake trout in hopes to reduce the abundant number of individuals in this size range on both of these bodies of water. By reducing the number of smaller lake trout we will increase the health of the lake trout populations in both of these bodies of water.
Last week we received a few phone calls in regards to access to some of the local ponds in the Moosehead Lake Region. The ponds in question were Mountain View (Fitzgerald Pond) Pond and Prong Pond. Local anglers have been plowing the access at Mountain View Pond for the past few winters. I stopped at the pond this past weekend on my way back from checking anglers in Rockwood and found that someone has once again plowed the access road to within a short distance from the boat launch. Prong Pond can be accessed from the Lily Bay Road in Beaver Cove. The access road to the boat launch is not plowed, but last week people where driving down to the boat launch. As the winter progresses and we receive more snow the access may become a little more difficult and anglers are going to have to access the pond by snow sled or a short walk down the access road.
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Tags: Moosehead Region Fishing Report • Categories: General
Posted on Friday, January 18th, 2008 by Maine Sportsman
There are no current fishing reports for this area.
Tags: Moosehead Region Fishing Report • Categories: General
Posted on Thursday, September 20th, 2007 by Maine Sportsman
Fall fishing is well underway and we have had good reports from most of our major river fisheries in the region. We were able to crack the gate at First Roach a few more inches last Friday, which means the flow has increased from around 160 to 240 cfs. That should translate into some excellent trout and salmon fishing for the next two weeks. The weather forecast is perfect for the rest of the week, so get out and enjoy the best time of the year to fish.
This will be the last weekly fishing report until sometime in December. We have had a great fishing year in the Moosehead Lake Region. The winter got off to a slow start with the poor ice conditions but the fishing was very good for the remainder of the season. We checked some very handsome fish on Chamberlain Lake. We spent quite a bit of time on our brook trout telemetry study on the Chamberlain system last winter and this spring. The Natural Resource Education Center in Greenville will be sponsoring a presentation in Greenville and possibly the Bangor area this winter to discuss the results. The Greenville meeting will be the evening of Dec 7th.
There were numerous reports of big brookies from Moosehead Lake this summer. The salmon fishing was also pretty good by most accounts. The river fisheries, in particular the East Outlet, were very good this summer according to anglers. Lake trout still appear to be abundant but we should thin them down in the near future with the new regulations starting in January. The hatches on the trout ponds were a little sporadic. We did hear the hex hatch was slow to get started, probably from the cool spring, but it did extend late into the summer on some ponds. You shoulda’ been there! September can be hit or miss with trout ponds. There are good midge hatches this time of year and streamers can be effective at catching pre-spawn trout some days, but other days the fish seem to be sulking and can’t be coaxed to the rod. October can offer some great pond fishing as hatchery trout and salmon become aggressive and take streamers and lures quite well. Many of our best hatchery waters are open during the extended season, but few anglers take advantage of the extra month. I suspect most have put away the rod and picked up the shotgun.
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Tags: Moosehead Region Fishing Report • Categories: General
Posted on Wednesday, September 12th, 2007 by Maine Sportsman
The East Outlet is a perhaps one of the most popular river fisheries in the State. The river averages about 200 feet across and is nearly 3 miles long as it drops 75 feet from the dam on Moosehead Lake to the “Last Drop” on Indian Pond. The habitat is primarily rocky/boulder riffle with many pools and pockets. It is ideal salmon and trout water. There is, however, a shortage of salmonid spawning habitat in the river. Surveys indicate that less than 0.5% of the total area in the river contains gravel that would be suitable for successful spawning.
The East Outlet dam; which is owned and operated by Kennebec Water Power (KWP), was relicensed in the 1990′s. Paul Johnson, the Regional Fisheries Biologist, led the negotiations for the IF&W. The resulting new license had many benefits for the fish and the fishermen, including higher minimum flows. Paul also identified 2 areas in the river that could be modified to increase the amount of spawning and fry habitat in the river. KWP was very supportive of the proposed project and funded the work. A channel about 25 feet wide and 250 feet long was created just below the Beach Pool. This channel alone effectively doubled the amount of spawning habitat in the river. Another channel averaging nearly 30 feet by 520 feet was also improved. This area provides great fry and some spawning habitat. The project was completed just one year after the license became final.
We have been back to these sections since the work was finished and have observed many salmon using the spawning areas and we have also electrofished young salmon utilizing the improved nursery habitat.
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Tags: Moosehead Region Fishing Report • Categories: General
Posted on Thursday, September 6th, 2007 by Maine Sportsman
The fall fishing season is upon us. This is the time of year when anglers can experience some of the best fishing of the year. As water temperatures cool and the days get shorter, trout and salmon will begin to ascend the rivers and streams of the region in their pre-spawning ritual. Many of the best river fisheries are in fact highly managed or manipulated to improve the fishing. Mother Nature does not always provide adequate rain this time of year to make river and stream fishing productive. Just look at some of the small streams in your neighborhood this week and you’ll understand that fishing would be tough on most rivers if there were no additional flow from storage or hydroelectric dams. Many of the dams in this region have water management plans as part of their licensing requirements. We also have very good working relationships with companies like Florida Power and Light Energy, Kennebec Water Power, Brookfield Power, and Ridgewood Renewable Power. These companies work hard to assist us in managing the resource for the anglers of Maine.
In the Moosehead Lake Region, there are several big rivers that we manage for fall fishing flows. The dam at First Roach Pond controls the flow into the Roach River. The dam is owned and operated by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. The crew here in Greenville is responsible for the day-to-day operation. Our water management plan includes filling the pond to 7.5 feet in early spring. We then try to maintain a full pond elevation throughout the summer while providing optimum flows in the river for the young wild salmon and trout that call the river home. We begin the fall release around Labor Day. This generally increases the flow from around 80 cfs to 150-250 cfs. The fall release is adjusted each year depending on available water. In years when there is ample water, we try to increase the flow early in September then give another “bump” in late September. We typically see an increase in fish movement with each increase in flow. This maximizes fishing opportunity. In years when water is low, we start the fall release just after Labor Day at a rate that will ensure there is adequate water for the month of September. This year we have about 1 foot less of storage in First Roach Pond due to low rainfall. Therefore, anglers can expect to see about 180 cfs on September 4th. We will plan to maintain that flow unless we get additional rain.
The East Outlet, Moose River, and the West Branch of the Penobscot are also managed to maximize fishing opportunities in the fall. Water is in shorter supply at Seboomook Lake just like First Roach Pond. While we like flows in the Foxhole to be around 900 –1000 cfs, we will see flows around 800 cfs to start September. We consider 500 cfs as the minimum for boat traffic on this section, so 800 cfs is still a good flow for boating and fishing, but let’s hope for a little more rain this month. Anglers can expect an increase from 1200 cfs to 2000 cfs at the East Outlet on September 4th. This is an ideal flow for drift boats on this awesome section of river. The fishing has been superb on the East Outlet this summer and we expect it to continue this fall. The flow at the Brassua Dam station will increase from around 500 cfs to a range of 800-1200 cfs in September.
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Tags: Moosehead Region Fishing Report • Categories: General
