Complements of The Kittery Trading Post

Activity for the 1st week of February, 2001

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February 5, 2001

            The New Hampshire Meredith Rotary Annual Fishing Derby dominated the ice fishing in much of our reporting area this last weekend, as a reported 8,000 anglers scattered out among several dozen Granite State waters that are managed for rainbow trout. They were looking for that elusive grand prize fish, the largest of the several tagged rainbow trout that were planted before the derby and in the last few years. This year's winning fish, a huge 'bow just under five pounds, was taken from Ossipee Lake in the Town of Ossipee. In the last three years, this lake has produced two first place and one second place winners, so fishing pressure was noticeably heavier--and for a good reason.

            This writer's son had a live rainbow trout of four pounds swimming in a holding pool he'd chopped in the ice (legal in New Hampshire). When a friend went to admire the fish, it was gone! The trout had found the hole that allows water to flow in from beneath the ice and had swum away! The hole had been cut the previous day and had enlarged enough to allow the fish to escape. That's a lesson that my son will not soon forget!

            Bill Martel's shop in Laconia on Lake Winnisquam caters to a lot of the derby fishermen. Bill reported that some big lakers had come out of his lake but not many rainbow trout. One party had lake trout of 8, 9 and 12 pounds!

            "The back side of Paugus Bay on Lake Winnipesaukee was really good for yellow perch. Several that weighed over a pound were caught there during the derby," he said. (The derby also features serious prizes for the largest perch and other panfish)

            At Nute's Trading Post in Wakefield, which is pretty well centered around some of the state's best rainbow trout action, Tink Nelson said the interest and angling pressure was remarkable.

            "Nearby Lake Wentworth had a crowd, and the action on Friday was spectacular, with flags flying everywhere. Most of the fun came from perch, both white and yellow, but an occasional excited yell would announce that someone had iced one of the lake's rainbow trout. The smallmouth were also hitting well on Friday. A lot of them were picking off live shiners fished just under the ice, a rarity for smallies," Tink reported.

            "Not all the ice anglers were out for the derby. We've got a huge crappie following here, and these folks had a great weekend and had also iced some nice bass and white perch. Belleau Lake (Wakefield) and Balch Pond (Wakefield, NH/Acton, ME) were producing the best, with some nice bass and pickerel coming along with the crappie from Balch. Balch also has some great white perch fishing if you find the spot. The perch aren't suspended like the crappie are. If you can find some muddy bottom in about 30 feet of water, try using a small jig tipped with either a worm, grub or cut shiner. We are again seeing a lot of lake trout coming from Great East Lake in Sanbornville. The trout are not too big, but the action is good. Milton Three Ponds are probably the best-kept secret around here. There's great bass, pickerel, perch and now crappie, and it's not unusual for a nice brown trout to be taken there," Tink ended.

            Even as far north as Pittsburg, derby entrants were out trying for the big money fish. "Because Lake Francis has the longest history of good rainbow trout fishing here, that's where most of the fishing pressure was centered," said Tom Remick at TR's Bait there. "But the best trophy we'd heard of this weekend wasn't a rainbow, but a three and a half pound brook trout caught by a little girl! We tried to get the information on her but so far haven't been able to. Most of the fish at Lake Francis were caught on live smelt. Along with the brook trout, there were quite a few lakers in the four to five pound range, some browns in the two to four pound range and rainbows were averaging a pound and a half," he said.

            Tom added that slushy conditions were very bad on some of the lakes so people should be very careful about snowmobiling and vehicle travel. George Malloy at River's Edge General Store in Berlin, reported the slush  was so bad on Umbagog Lake in Errol that a big construction bucket loader had to rescue several vehicles stranded and stuck in the slush. Malloy and Remick's advice--"Keep those vehicles off!"

            George noted that his ice fishing business had suffered because many of his regulars had headed out to other parts of the state to compete in the derby. "There were some small lake trout hitting pretty well over at South Pond in Stark and Greenough Pond in Wentworth Location was giving up a few decent brook trout. The news from Lake Memphramagog in Vermont was that the smelt fishing still hasn't materialized," he ended.

            "We had lots of panfish action again on the Bellamy Reservoir here," enthused George Taylor at Taylor's Trading Post in Madbury. "Pickerel, nice largemouths and crappie continue to please most of the fishermen that are out on the ice here. It's a great resource. Swain's Pond in Barrington also has really been perking this year for bass, pickerel and perch. Wheelwright Pond in Lee has an access problem, but if you can get on the ice, the crappie have been great, and there's also some nice bass. Pawtuckaway Lake in the Nottingham, Raymond area is probably the very best bass and crappie lake we've got. There's largemouth, smallmouth and enough crappie to keep you interested. The crappie are in 30 feet of water, while most of the bass are right in against the shoreline. Be ready for a huge pickerel there as well," he warned.                                                          Jim MacKenzie at Suds-n-Soda echoed Taylor's praise about Pawtuckaway Lake, adding that the majority of his freshwater anglers head for that lake, and the bass they bring back are impressive.

            Maine's freshwater action was also exciting. Dave Ganter at the Kittery Trading Post's Fishing Department, said that one party returning from Moosehead Lake had caught two huge brook trout in the 17-inch range and had a togue (lake trout) that was over 20 inches. They took all three fish in very shallow water using tip-ups and small shiners. Dave reports that ice depths there are in the one to two foot range, really not a lot of ice for that northern lake.

            Kittery Trading Post President Gary Adams fishes from his camp there on Moosehead. He was surprised when fishing for brookies along the shoreline when a togue of over 20 inches had grabbed one of his baits. His party had also taken a trophy brookie of over 16 inches from that same hole.                                                                                   Dan Legere at the Maine Guide Fly Shop in Greenville, says that on Moosehead, if you are serious about your brook trout fishing, spend some time and find some rocky shoreline that shows no evidence of prior ice fishing. Set your traps in very shallow water, as little as one foot. And, he likes the old favorite worm or nightcrawler for bait.

            For Maine's northern pike, there's no doubt that the Belgrade Lakes area has the lock on this exciting addition to the state's fisheries. As the season lengthens, the pike will start to move into the bays and more shallow areas. Huge minnows fished on very stout gear with wire leaders are the choice of the most successful pike anglers.

            John Boland, senior fisheries biologist in the Sebago Region, reports that although most of the big lake has now frozen, ice conditions vary considerably. "The thickness varies from a skim coat to a little more than six inches. Conditions on the lower bay are much better, with up to 14 inches of ice in some spots. Togue fishing has been excellent with most fish in the 17-22 inch range. A ten pounder was the largest reported to us this week," he said.

            "When the ice finally did get safe out here, the fishermen swarmed," laughed Carroll Cutting at Jordan's Store in East Sebago. "We've witnesses some great catches. My son Greg and two friends took 15 togue in three hours of fishing on Wednesday. Guide Chris Burnell caught 14 togue himself, fishing near Greg, releasing all but his five fish limit. Most of the togue were spitting out smelt, so this confirms the fisheries people's belief that the togue are adversely impacting the smelt population," Carroll advised.

            "Best bets for lures have been jigs, with the glow-colored Stinger in one and two ounce sizes being one of the best producers. You want to tip the Stinger with a piece of cut bait. This lure isn't just for togue, either. Our neighbor Jeff Crabtree caught nine cusk in an hour one evening this week on a Stinger and cut bait," Cutting added.

            He also reported that some brookies in the 15-inch range were being caught at Adams Pond in South Bridgeton.

            Boland's report on other waters in the Sebago Region stated that Kezar Lake in Lovell had been excellent, with togue averaging 18-22 inches, with some to five pounds and one to eight pounds. Smallish landlocked salmon, 14-16 inches, were also hitting there.

            Retired brown trout brood stock were placed in several of the regions waters last fall. One brown trout over 14 pounds was caught at Square Pond in Acton recently, but this fish may not have been one of these, as this pond has a history of being the best in the state for trophy browns, including the state's record.

            "Families looking for fast action should consider some of the warm water fisheries located throughout southern Maine. Shaker Pond in Alfred, Lake Arrowhead in Limerick, North Shapleigh Pond in Shapleigh, Thomas Pond in Casco, Lovewell Pond in Fryeburg, Bonny Eagle Pond in Standish and Kezar Pond in Sweden provide wonderful opportunities for perch, bass and pickerel. One angler landed a 5.25 pound pickerel this week in Thomas Pond," John reports.

            "We're still having some fast action for salmon and white perch on Long Lake," noted Dave Garcia at Naples Bait on Long Lake. Some of the best pickerel fishing we've heard about this year has been at Lower Bay on Kezar Lake in Lovell. One party fishing there last week caught 29 pickerel!  The crappie are starting to hit pretty well on some of the backwaters and bays on Sebago Lake. The most consistent fishing has probably been on Turtle Cove. We're anticipating a big turnout for the coming derby here on Sebago Lake so I've been busy stockpiling live bait. I've been out there catching shiners every day. We'll have plenty. And we've got a new jig that we think will be the ticket for those winning derby togue," he laughed.

            From Massachusetts's freshwater-central, Pete Santini's Fishing FINatics in Everett, continues to provide extensive coverage. "Spy Pond in Arlington was hot for perch, bass and small tiger muskies. And for some big pike, try Fairhaven Bay on the Sudbury River in Concord. A 16-pound monster was caught there this week! White's and Waldon Pond in Concord continued to produce steady fishing. White's is best for salmon and brown trout. Small minnows work best there. Waldon Pond is one of our few smelt waters. The biggest fish caught there came from live smelt jigged for bait--mostly brown trout. No power augers are allowed on Waldon Pond. Wright's Pond in Medford has some of the best bass fishing in our area," he said.

            Saltwater fishing, both open water and on the ice, varied from great to poor! The bright spots were for the brave souls venturing out on the ocean. Santini reports that his friend Lou Abate caught cod to 18 pounds on a recent trip to the "Dumping Grounds" off Boston Harbor.

            Cal Robinson at Saco Bay Tackle in Saco, Maine reported that pollock in the five to ten pound range were being taken off the "900" line that extends from just off the Isles of Shoals to off Portland. "The pollack are hitting jigs and there's plenty of them, it seems."

            But the saltwater smelt fishing seemed to be in a lull. At James Eddy's Smelt Camp Rentals at Dresden, ME Sharon James said that last week catches dropped from 300 fish per shanty to sometimes less than 50. "It seems we have a ten day period each year that it happens. And looking at our last year's calendar, this year's slowdown is coinciding with last year's dates."

            She did say that it seems that it isn't a lack of smelt, as plenty of fish are being observed, but that they are not interested in feeding.

            New Hampshire's smelt grounds on Great Bay saw spotty action, according to Jim MacKenzie at Suds-n-Soda. "We are seeing a few limit catches, but it's mostly a dozen to two dozen fish being reported. And the ice is becoming an issue, as open water is coming closer to the fishing grounds," he said.

            Dave O'Hearn of Exeter fishes the Squamscot River below town. He reports catches of 25 to 60 fish on a half tide and noted that a few fishermen staying for a whole tide have taken limits. "I went last night and picked up 43. It was good fishing even when the tide turned," Dave ended.

Past Fishing Reports 2001

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