Complements of The Kittery Trading Post

Activity for the 4th week of September, 2001

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September 25, 2001

This being our last fishing report of the 2001 season, we'll be concentrating on fishing opportunities for the remainder of the open-water fall fishing. We'll be back for both open water and ice fishing opportunities the first Monday of January 2002.

Maine's fall freshwater fishing regulations continue to be liberalized to provide extended fishing opportunities. In these areas, it is very important to check the regulations booklet, as the regulations are all specific to each body of water.

Francis Brautigam, Asst. Regional Fisheries Biologist in the Sebago Lake area reports: "There is still time for anglers to take advantage of some good brown trout fishing in the region. The trick to catching browns in the late season is to fish the thermocline, the area of the water column where the water changes from warm to cold. In most lakes, this is in the 20-25 foot range. Single hooked streamers (gray or black ghost patterns are a good choice) or small Rapalas are popular. Brown trout will be found in the shallower water near the shoreline as water temperatures cool in October. The best times to fish for brown trout are early in the morning and late afternoon. Cloudy days fish well all day long."

Senior Fisheries Biologist John Boland, from the same region, reports that although the salmon are not the huge ones of years past, there's plenty of action going on right now at Sebago Lake on fish in the 15-18 inch class. "Best fishing is in the early morning--the salmon are right on top. There are a lot of togue (lake trout) also being caught. Our annual fall run of salmon into the rivers could very well start now, with this rain adding a little impetus to their spawning urges. The Crooked River is the main spawning river for Sebago Lake and is open to fishing until October 15th," Boland reports.

John also wanted us to mention his sea-run brown trout fall stocking, which will be underway mid-October. "We'll be stocking fish in the Ogunquit, Mousam and Salmon Falls Rivers. The Salmon Falls is a new stocking site for sea-runs--we'll be watching it closely to see how they do there and what kind of a fishery the trout will provide. The river's estuary seems to be ideal for the creation of a great fishery, but time will tell," he ended.

Another Sebago Region expert, Dave Garcia at Naples Bait on Long Lake, says the fishing is hot in that area. "We fished the Androscoggin River in the Turner Bridge area and had some great smallmouth action. We also fished a day on our home waters--Long Lake and Brandy Pond. We got a bunch of nice smallmouths. They're starting to move out into deeper water. We also had some wonderful pickerel fishing. Big fish along the weed edges were smashing our White Fluke jerk baits as they settled into the weeds. The white perch have schooled up, and we're seeing some nice catches of fish that will go better than a pound. At Sebago, the togue have moved into shallow water--as little as 25 feet near drop-offs," Dave said. He also urges anglers to check the regulations first!

"The smelt are starting to school up and it's looking like their populations may be better than earlier estimated," reports Carroll Cutting at Jordan's Store in East Sebago. "Last week, one of our regulars saw schools of smelt so thick that his depth finder was reading them as if the smelt were a bottom sounding. We've also had catches of ten salmon in one morning--fat fish to about 18 inches. The lake seems to be holding its own," Carroll enthused.

In the Rangeley area, Ken Lemke at River's Edge Sports in Oquossoc reported that the rivers were low, but it was raining when we spoke, and he was hoping that enough rain would come to raise the water levels in the Kennebago River and other important late season fisheries. "The lakes have continued to produce some great salmon--especially Rangeley Lake. Our guide, Ray Soriano, had a party that took two trophy salmon in one day. He caught them on sewed-on bait fished behind downriggers. There are a few fish moving into the rivers, but we still need a lot more water," he warned.

Paul Johnson, Regional Fisheries Biologist in the Moosehead Lake Region, reports that water discharges from the dams in his area are providing plenty of opportunities for trout and salmon action. "At Moosehead's East Outlet, due to the annual drawdown of the lake, a high flow of 2,900 cfs should move fish around a bit. Small salmon are being reported there. We expect the flow in the East Outlet will decease as the month progresses and the lake's water levels approach the fall objective. At the Roach River, flows remain at 160 cfs with some success on both trout and salmon there. At Brassua Dam, flows were increased to 800 cfs but little was reported for success from our survey boxes, which is a disappointment to us. These surveys make a huge contribution to our efforts to maintain and improve fishing," he noted. (For river flows in the Kennebec River drainage, call 1-800-577-3569. For the West Branch Penobscot, call 207-723-2328.)

"Fall cold-water fishing is well underway in the Penobscot Region," reports Mike Smith, Regional Fisheries Biologist there. "We've had reports of many good catches of salmon and lake trout and some good brook trout fishing in the ponds in the Baxter Park area. Water flows on the West Branch of the Penobscot have dropped to 800 cfs for the first time in many years, although the main stream of the Penobscot is running 3,000 cfs. Our annual rainfall is over 11 inches below normal," he lamented.

"Knowledgeable lake and pond anglers will be fishing near the tributaries and outlets and near shorelines," suggests Rick Jordan, Biologist in the Downeast Area. "Grand Lake Stream, West Grand Lake, Cathance Lake and Long Lake (Mt. Desert Island) are good chances for fall salmon fishing. White perch fishing will be best at Grand Falls Flowage, Big Lake, Pocomoonshine Lake, Third Machias Lake, Chain Lakes, George's Pond, Abrams Pond, Lower Patten Pond and Green Lake."
Granite State freshwater anglers are best to concentrate on waters from the mid-state lakes region to the far north, according to our reports.
Dave Ganter at the Kittery Trading Post's Fishing Department, said that co-worker Chad Woodward's dad had brought in a landlocked salmon just caught from Lake Winnipesaukee that was over six pounds! "The huge salmon could just barely fit in the cooler, in fact, they had it bent in two to fit. Chad and his dad have been doing very well at Winni all season long. Hammered Sutton Spoons fished behind downriggers have been their best method," Ganter revealed.

"Winni area anglers also get a special treat each fall, as a spawning run of salmon enter the Merrymeeting River in the Alton area. It's catch and release, fly-only regulations, but it's not unusual for as many as a dozen hook-ups a day. The best fly patterns vary, but weighted and bead-head nymphs play a major roll. It's possible to sight fish to these salmon if the water is clear. That's such a special challenge that brings rewards of memories to last the winter," Dave said.

Rick Lavoie at Tink Nelson's Nute's Trading Post in Wakefield, reports that in his area, bass and rainbow trout hold the attention of most of the late season anglers, along with some brook trout diehards who fish the small local trout ponds. "We've got several lakes in the area that support some great fall rainbow trout fishing along with good bass fishing. Ossipee Lake, Wentworth Lake, Great East Lake and indeed, Lake Winnipesaukee. Ossipee Lake provides an opportunity to fish over a fall run of rainbows that gather in the mouth of the Bearcamp River. The fish first appear around what we call the Bearcamp Bar and then move into the river itself. On the other lakes, most of the 'bows are taken by surface trolling with small streamers. You'll find the bass from the shoreline out to about 15 feet. Best bass fishing in the fall usually requires live minnows and shiners," Rick suggested. Brook trout ponds suggested by Rick include White's Pond, Conner Pond and Big Dan Hole Pond, all in Ossipee.

"Our major rivers are, for the most part, open most of the year," reports George Malloy at River's Edge General Store in Berlin. "The Androscoggin and the Connecticut can provide some spectacular fall fishing. The deep slower stretches can be fished by trolling, but most of the river fishing is from the bank, canoe or drift boat. Brook, brown and rainbow trout are all available, along with an occasional surprise from a landlocked salmon. We've got some smallmouth fishing in the Berlin stretch of the Androscoggin River," he added.

Cindy Caron at Tall Timber Lodges on Back Lake in Pittsburg, said that both the river and lake fishing had really come on strong lately. "The Trophy and No-Kill stretches of the Connecticut have been great. San Juan worm flies have surprised many of us with their ability to fool these northern fish. Other patterns doing well are nymphs, from the huge weighted stoneflies to the micro mayflies. We've even had some big evening caddis hatches where elk hair caddis dry fly patterns were working well. And as usual in this late season, the soft hackle streamers are very effective. Here on Back Lake, as the water temperatures have dropped, the fishing has improved. We've got evening casting flies to rising fish and daytime trolling with wet flies and streamers. The golden demon remains the most dependable fly here, day in and day out," she revealed.

Craig Bergeron at Captain Cal Robinson's Saco Bay Tackle, reports that the stripers are still in his area--big time! "We've got a ton of fish here, both along the shoreline and in the river and bays. There's lots of fat, slot-limit-size fish along with some of the big ones. Bluefish are still mixed in with the bass, and the mackerel have returned in force. Out on the offshore ledges, both cod and huge pollock continue to hit well. Shark fishing actually hit its peak last week, with most boats accounting for a dozen or more blue sharks, there were quite a few big makos hooked, and one big thresher shark was landed. The giant bluefin tuna have also stated to hit a bit better, with one boat taking two fish in three days. Don't quit now!" Craig urged salty anglers.

Dave Ganter at Kittery Trading Post, echoed Bergeron's exuberance. "Our Curt Mitchell has been really whacking those big stripers. On his latest trip he took eight fish from 30-41 inches! Curt was really chasing bluefish off the local beaches, tossing surface popper plugs, but was rewarded with some of his best striper fishing of the season instead. We've also had plenty of reports of great groundfishing and plenty of people through here that have had action both on their own boats and on local party boats," Dave reports.

"Our fishing here has really picked up in the last few days," noted Jim MacKenzie at Suds-n-Soda in Greenland, NH. "We've got both stripers and a few bluefish in Little Bay, the Piscataqua River and along the beaches and rocky shorelines. We saw a couple of beauties come in to be weighed last week, a 42 inch striper that weighed 22 pounds and another that was 44 inches long and weighed 28 pounds. Live eels are working well, along with chunk and live mackerel and pollock. The mackerel have moved back in. They are either huge, over two pounds or the little spike or tinker size. Don't be afraid to try one of the big ones for live bait. Big bait--big fish, I always say," he laughed.

At Surfland Bait and Tackle on Plum Island, Mass., Kay Moulton was not quite as enthusiastic, as she has seen a bit of a slowdown. "We do have plenty of fish here, but a lot of the fishermen just haven't found them in their old places. The mouth of the river (Merrimack) has been slow. That's where the action usually is found. The fish that are being caught are up into the river and out along the shoreline. Parking lots 3 and 6 on the refuge have been very productive for surf fishing. The boat guys fishing a bit offshore are catching all the bluefish that they want," she ended.

"Boston Harbor is ideal for late season action," noted Pete Santini at Fishing FINatics in Everett. "Because we are quite a bit south and our water temperatures tend to stay warmer for longer into the season, we see some of our best action well into October, and some years, into November. Bluefish will be the first to leave, but the stripers stay all year long. Our flounder fishing is gangbusters until well into next month, and cod will move right back into the shallows. Our freshwater season that stays open all year long provides better fishing than what a lot of people realize, as a major stocking of trout ponds is done in the fall to provide for good ice fishing. We've got it all," he brags. (And this writer finds that statement hard to argue with, having sampled much of this area's fishing opportunities)

We'll be back with reports come January. In the meantime get out there and enjoy fall's many pleasures.

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