Posts Tagged ‘Southwestern Maine Fishing Report’
Posted on Monday, July 27th, 2009 by Maine Sportsman
By now much of the angling public is well aware that the MDIFW is working on a brand new consolidated fishing law book that will include both open water and ice fishing regulations in the same book. This initiative was undertaken as a cost saving task and should be be printed for use in the spring of 2010. In addition to consolidation efforts, there will also be a number of water-specific management regulation changes proposed in southern Maine, as well as other management regions. Many of the water specific regulation changes proposed in are relatively minor and are “house keeping” in nature, while others are more substantive. Below I have summarized many of the additional regulation changes proposed for Region A.
•Eliminating existing special regulations (noted in “( )”), where they no longer support stocking and management goals: Mine P, Porter (2 trap limit) / Lone P, Waterboro (ALO, closed to ice fishing) / Ingalls P, Bridgton (no taking smelts) / Stanley P, Porter (no taking smelts) / Little Clemmons P (no taking smelts).
•Removing “closed to fishing” from a number of private ponds (mostly private): Pipedream P (Cornish) / Legion P (Kittery) / Big Rock P (Waterboro) / Sunken P (Sanford) / Sand P (Limington).
•Standardize and apply restrictions on Region A wild brook trout ponds like, closed to taking bait, close to all fishing from Oct 1 – Mar 31, no ice fishing, closed to taking bait….. In addition adopt the following regulations (noted in “( )”): Cold Water P, Kennebunk (ALO, must release trout < 6" and greater than 12"), Kennebunk Plains P / Kennebunk (ALO, C&R), Spicer P, Newfield (open April 1).
•Establish 12 PM smelt dipping closure consistent with NH on NH-ME border waters: Kimball P, Fryeburg
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Tags: Southwestern Maine Fishing Report • Categories: Fishing Reports
Posted on Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 by Maine Sportsman
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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Tags: Southwestern Maine Fishing Report • Categories: Fishing Reports
Posted on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 by Maine Sportsman
Ice conditions in southern Maine have continued to improve since Jan. 1st. Some of the smaller to medium sized ponds are covered in a blanket of ice 8 or more inches thick. Cold temperatures have thickened the ice on lakes that “buttoned up” early, but persistent winds have delayed ice formation on the region’s largest lakes, including Sebago.
Cold weather and windy conditions appears to account for the overall lighter than anticipated early season angler turn out observed and reported on many area lakes and ponds. Although, that said, some bait retailers have reported brisk bait sales.
I recently spoke with one angler who fished for bass with his son opening weekend. The wind was so strong that one of his ice fishing traps was propelled at such a high speed it traveled clear to the other side of the lake and could not be recovered.
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Tags: Southwestern Maine Fishing Report • Categories: Fishing Reports
Posted on Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 by Maine Sportsman
Ice conditions in southern Maine have continued to improve since Jan. 1st. Some of the smaller to medium sized ponds are covered in a blanket of ice 8 or more inches thick. Cold temperatures have thickened the ice on lakes that “buttoned up” early, but persistent winds have delayed ice formation on the region’s largest lakes, including Sebago.
Cold weather and windy conditions appears to account for the overall lighter than anticipated early season angler turn out observed and reported on many area lakes and ponds. Although, that said, some bait retailers have reported brisk bait sales.
I recently spoke with one angler who fished for bass with his son opening weekend. The wind was so strong that one of his ice fishing traps was propelled at such a high speed it traveled clear to the other side of the lake and could not be recovered.
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Tags: Southwestern Maine Fishing Report • Categories: Fishing Reports
Posted on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008 by Maine Sportsman
Fall fishing season is here, and it is certainly one of my favorite times of the year to get out there and wet a line. There’s nothing like fishing for landlocked salmon and brookies on a cool, crisp fall morning, while enjoying the striking reds, oranges, and yellows of the surrounding foliage.
Many anglers think the Department’s annual stocking season is over by late spring and for the most part they are correct. However, southern Maine also has a relatively large fall stocking program where many of our rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds are stocked with larger sized trout and salmon. The following rivers have good fall stocking programs and extended fall fishing seasons that make them a popular choice among local anglers: the Presumpscot River (Rte. 35 area in Windham), the Saco River (below Skelton and Bar Mills Dams), and the Royal River (below Elm St. in Yarmouth). In addition, don’t forget to give the sea-run brown trout rivers (Ogunquit, Mousam, and Salmon Falls) in York County a try. The Crooked River is a good bet for quality landlocked salmon in a riverine setting, but be prepared to have some fishless days. The Crooked is over 60 miles long and the salmon can quickly disperse in this large river system, which can make for some spotty fishing. On the other hand, you’ll have an opportunity to catch some decent 3- to 5-pound salmon!
Many of our lakes and ponds also receive fall stockings and most are open until the end of October or even as late as the end of November. Check out last year’s stocking report on our website (www.maine.gov/ifw) to get an idea where we typically plant fall stocked fish. Fall anglers have the first crack at these fall stocked beauties, which typically run in the 12- to 15-inch range for fall yearlings and up to several pounds for the brood fish. Although few anglers take advantage of the extended seasons, those hard core anglers that do have reported some great days of fishing.
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Tags: Southwestern Maine Fishing Report • Categories: Fishing Reports
