Posts Tagged ‘Western Mountains Fishing Report’
Posted on Monday, July 27th, 2009 by Maine Sportsman
Providing public access to Maine’s lakes and ponds is one of the Department’s highest priorities. Securing access is a difficult and time consuming task, however, so when we succeed it’s always worth mentioning.
Here in western Maine, we’ve just completed the development of one site and have several others in various stages of development. A new carry-on launch was recently opened on Middle Sandy River Pond in Sandy River Plantation. Middle Sandy River Pond supports an excellent brook trout fishery and connects to Upper and Lower Sandy River Ponds, which also provide trout fishing. So in essence, boat access is guaranteed for three trout ponds for the price of one! This hand-carry launch is located about 8 miles south of Rangeley along Route 4.
Access to the Sandy River also will improve when newly acquired sites in Farmington Falls and New Sharon are developed. This 5.5-mile section will be an outstanding paddle through some fabulous farm country with good fisheries for smallmouth bass and brown trout. The upper site will be located just east of the village of Farmington Falls and extend downstream to New Sharon in the vicinity of Muddy Brook.
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Tags: Western Mountains Fishing Report • Categories: Fishing Reports
Posted on Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 by Maine Sportsman
Clearwater Lake open to dipnet smelting
Note that Clearwater Lake in Industry, Franklin County, is open to dipnet smelting this spring. This regulation change applies to the lake only, not the tributaries, and results from action taken by the Advisory Council in response to a citizen petition. For that reason, the change is not listed in this year’s fishing lawbook.
The lake was closed to smelting effective 1996 because of littering and vandalism, including rutting up private roads, so smelters will have to be on their good behavior to assure that it isn’t closed again. We suggest that smelters access the smelting sites, off the mouths of brooks, by boat if possible.
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Tags: Western Mountains Fishing Report • Categories: Fishing Reports
Posted on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 by Maine Sportsman
The ice fishing season at Spring Lake, where we stocked 500 large fall-yearling brook trout and 100 salmon this past fall, is off to a slow start. So far, the cold and windy conditions have kept anglers away, but the hardy few that have fished the lake have had good fishing for brook trout and lake trout. Most of the togue, however, are running thin and fifty percent of the total catch is below the 14-inch minimum length limit. Anglers fishing Clearwater Pond and Porter Lake report catches of brook trout, salmon, and togue. Crowell and Norcross Ponds and Webb Lake continue to reward anglers with excellent action and 12 to 15 inch brook trout.
Tags: Western Mountains Fishing Report • Categories: Fishing Reports
Posted on Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 by Maine Sportsman
The ice fishing season at Spring Lake, where we stocked 500 large fall-yearling brook trout and 100 salmon this past fall, is off to a slow start. So far, the cold and windy conditions have kept anglers away, but the hardy few that have fished the lake have had good fishing for brook trout and lake trout. Most of the togue, however, are running thin and fifty percent of the total catch is below the 14-inch minimum length limit. Anglers fishing Clearwater Pond and Porter Lake report catches of brook trout, salmon, and togue. Crowell and Norcross Ponds and Webb Lake continue to reward anglers with excellent action and 12 to 15 inch brook trout.
Tags: Western Mountains Fishing Report • Categories: Fishing Reports
Posted on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008 by Maine Sportsman
The last two weeks of September provide some of the best fishing of the year. Temperatures are cool, there are few biting bugs to contend with, and the scenery is increasingly spectacular. But, best of all, salmon and trout respond to the cooler temperatures with increased activity in preparation for their spawning runs. They frequently congregate at the mouths of streams, waiting for a flush of water to induce them to move upstream. It’s not the time of year to harvest many of these fish, as their true value is in reproduction. That fact is reflected in regulations which limit the number kept or restrict fishing to catch and release only. Nonetheless, anglers have a great time catching and releasing these fish, which tend to be highly colored and full of fight.
And so the season changes for us also. During the summer months much of our sampling is done by gillnet; more recently we have been electrofishing streams to make annual comparisons of population abundance. Not surprisingly, with several good water years behind us, fish populations in streams are thriving. Soon we’ll be turning our efforts to fall trapnetting, wherein we’re able to sample large numbers of trout and salmon, collect our information, and release them unharmed. This fall we plan to work on Rangeley Lake, the Richardson Lakes, Varnum Pond in Temple, and Little Jim Pond in Jim Pond Township. We’ll let you know how we do.
Tags: Western Mountains Fishing Report • Categories: Fishing Reports
