Complements of The Kittery Trading Post

Activity for the 2nd week of February, 2001

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February 12th, 2001

            Gale force winds and near zero temperatures kept the majority of fishermen off the ice last weekend, while earlier in the week a thaw, rain and the northeaster made for tricky conditions on the ice. But during the thaw there were some good reports of both fresh and saltwater action.

            Sharon James, at James Eddy Smelt Camp Rentals in Dresden, (207-737-2596) saw a big slowdown this week in saltwater smelt success there. "There seemed to be plenty of smelt seen but few caught, especially on Sunday when catches averaged about 30 fish per camp. Earlier in the week the fishing had really picked up, with catches of over 200 fish per camp being the average," Sharon noted.

            "We're looking for some really good fishing this week as conditions improve. We've found that the outgoing tide in the evening seems to produce well, and we'll be having that combination most of the week. Towards week's end, the fish may shift over to the incoming tides as they get later in the day," she said.

            Craig Bergeron, at Saco Bay Tackle echoed Sharon's report, adding that some of the other smelt rental areas in the Bowdoinham area had experienced some very good fishing earlier in the week and he looks for a good week coming for most Mid-Coast smelting areas. Craig also reported that some nice hauls of surf or hen clams were made right after the recent northeaster storm along many of the local beaches.

            "It was pretty wild here on the Greenland end of Great Bay," reports Jim MacKenzie, at Suds-n-Soda Sports in Greenland, NH. "There were at least twenty shanties in the cove on the north side of the bay that got either busted up or sank as the wind broke up the ice and the ice then crushed the shanties like they were match sticks. It was strange, as on the south side of our bay, the ice held and there's still a lot of shanties there and earlier in the week the fishermen were still picking up some nice catches."

            Mac reported that a Great Bay Smelt Fishing Legend, Wynn Hoyt of Portsmouth, had lost his battle for life last night in a Portland Hospital. A week ago, while fishing on Great Bay, Wynn had asked a passing snowmobiler for a ride to shore as he was experiencing a sudden, crushing headache. In a short couple of days, while hospitalized, our friend slipped into a coma and last night he passed into the happy fishing ground. Winnie, as his many friends know him by, had spent a good part of seven decades out on the ice at "the Bay." He will be sorely missed.

            Dave O'Hearn, of Exeter, continued to have worthwhile fishing in the upper reaches of the Squamscot River. He took 40 fish while his friend Joe Daly had 75. Dave likes the top of the tide and evenings best.

            George Taylor, at Taylor's Trading Post in Madbury, NH saw things go from bad to worse on the smelting grounds that he serves, the Great Bay tributaries. "Early in the week it was the deep snow, then it turned to slush that made travel close to impossible, and then the big winds and cold kept the people home. But in spite of that, the ice did hold up in the rivers and we're looking for some of the best fishing of the year, yet to come. These rivers seem to peak late in the season. There has already been some of the best fishing in years on the Squamscot, Lamprey and Oyster Rivers. So don't be fooled by the amount of open water on the bay itself. The river fishing should hold up and even improve for another several weeks," Taylor ended.

            Shanties, especially the portable ones, were the talk of lots of our reporters today, as several people, often new owners of these very popular fishing rigs, found out that wind and portable shanties don't mix well. Dave Ganter, at the Kittery Trading Post's fishing department, said that there are certain precautions that should be taken when setting up a portable, and that even with the best methods, you must use discretion in high winds.

            "Even on a calm day, wind gusts can send a shanty sailing on the ice and the worst thing that can happen is if it runs into another shanty that is occupied. There have been some pretty tragic injuries caused by this. A lot of the portables come with anchoring rigs. A strong gust can pull those anchor screws or pegs out of the ice. Personally, I suggest that along with them, you anchor your shanty the proven, old-fashioned way. There are two ways of doing this. If you are fishing inside the shanty, you can push an anchor stick into your holes on both sides of the shanty, wedge it under the ice and secure your shanty with a length of sturdy rope or wire tied from the anchor stick to the floor of the shanty. The other method is to cut holes through the ice on at least two sides of the shanty or even at all four corners. Tie a strong length of rope or heavy wire to an anchor stick and force it down the hole and wedge it under the ice. Then secure the other end of the rope or wire to the shanty. Never try to move an erected portable shanty across the ice on a windy day. That is a recipe for disaster," Dave warned. "Always take it down and don't put it back up until you have it anchored."

            Maine's big Sebago Lake and surrounding area was the hot spot for sweetwater ice fishermen this last week. "Anyone who has even the most basic knowledge of fishing for togue (lake trout) shouldn't have any trouble catching at least a few fish, and limits are really an everyday thing here when weather conditions are good," reports Carroll Cutting, at Jordan's Store in East Sebago.

            "Most of our fishermen fish with jigs and cut or whole shiner bait. The best jigs so far have been bucktails, with the Stinger Jig in one and two ounces being very popular. Swedish Pimples, Leadfish, and Airplane Jigs also produce good catches. Water depths don't seem to make a lot of difference. The best fishermen won't fish much more than a few minutes in one location unless they find fish. They may only move fifty or a hundred feet away, cut a new hole and try again. When they do find a concentration, limit catches in an hour or so are often produced. You've got to keep moving," he instructed.

            Cutting also reported that pickerel fishing in local ponds was still very good, but one pond that had been a perennial favorite for brown trout, nearby Hancock Pond, had been very slow.

            Just north of Sebago on Long Lake, Dave Garcia noted a big slowdown of the amount of fishing pressure last week, but said that Long Lake continued to produce some action on landlocks in the 14 to 18 inch range and continues to be a favorite for the white perch fishermen.

            "The cusk fishing has really started to pick up on Sebago," Dave noted. "The Camel's Pasture is the legendary cusk place on the lake, but there are cusk in a lot of other areas. Night fishing is the best time for cusk, but when the fish are really hitting, you can also make a nice catch during the daytime. The feed mostly on crawfish, but cut bait is the choice for most fishermen," he said.

            Regional Fisheries Biologist John Boland reported that many of Sebago Lake's togue fishermen had migrated to the Big Bay, with another huge fish of 18 pounds being reported caught there last week.

            "Kezar Lake was also great for togue," he notes. "Some of the fish we've checked there were over eight pounds. One group of fishermen there last week landed 25 fish--most in the 16 to 20 inch range. Crystal Lake and the Range Ponds slowed down last week, but some pretty good brown trout were still being caught. A six and three quarter pound northern pike took the top Phippsburg Derby prize. The weather was rough but there were a lot of kids fishing, in spite of it. The big pike was taken from Winnegance Lake by one of the youngsters.

            Boland is happy about the coming Windham Rotary Ice Fishing Derby to be held on Sebago Lake on February 24th and 25th. "Besides an effort to lower our population of lake trout to a point where the smelt population will sustain itself, we look forward to a ton of information gathered from fish taken during the derby. Our team of biologists will be out on the ice checking the fish caught and we should be able to put together a pretty good picture of what the lake trout population looks like and use this information to formulate management plans for the future," he said.

            Entrees are available by visiting local bait shops around the lake or by calling 1-866-375-FISH. Prizes include a chance to win a 2001 Chevy Extended Cab Pickup Truck from Sebago Lake Chevrolet and several thousand dollars in cash.

            In the Moosehead Lake Region, Dan Legere at the Maine Guide Fly Shop in Greenville reports that weekend conditions were just about unbearable there, but said that previous snow levels had settled and that the slush had frozen, making lake travel a lot easier. He'd been without power for 24 hours and was using a back-up 12-volt electrical system to keep his bait tanks going!

            "Although we have a salmon opening here on Moosehead the 15th, I really hate to recommend salmon fishing here. There is an 18-inch size limit. You'd probably have to catch and release many undersized salmon to get to a keeper. And there's no way that some of the fish released are not going to be injured. It just doesn't make much sense, especially in view of the great landlocked salmon fishing available at Chesuncook Lake, a short drive from here. At Chesuncook, there is a two fish limit and it's not unusual to be able to catch a couple dozen fish a day. Catching a four-pound or larger salmon isn't out of the question. Another great place, if you're interested in a trophy, is Lobster Lake. This lake has special regulations and fishing is often very slow-- but what fish. Ten pound togue and six pound salmon are not uncommon," he ended.

            In the local coastal area, one of the best ponds for steady bass, pickerel and panfish action is Shaker Pond in Alfred, according to Craig Bergeron. "It's hard to get all your tip-ups set because of the non-stop action," he laughed. "There's some very good crappie as well as the other panfish. One of the hottest baits at Shaker has been the Gypsy Jig by Northland. Best colors are the glow or orange, red and pink combinations. The one sixteenth and one thirty second ounce sizes are best," he added.

            From the entire length of the state, New Hampshire's ice fishermen suffered from howling winds and cold temperatures, with most of them sticking to the firesides. At Pittsburg, Shirley Remick at TR's Bait reported that the Third Connecticut Lake had been good for rainbow trout and that the "First Lake" had been producing a few lakers in the mid twenty inch range.

            Shirley also wanted to update the information on the coming Second Annual Pete Master's Fishing Derby to be held on Lake Francis on February 24th and 25th. "The Derby Headquarters will be right at the lakeside this year. Our shop will continue to provide registrations and bait, but the weigh-ins and prize awards will be held there at the headquarters. The fishing derby will be restricted to Lake Francis, and cusk, pickerel, brook, brown and rainbow trout will all be eligible for prizes--no salmon as our law restricts them from being taken through the ice."

            George Malloy, at River's Edge General Store in Berlin, reported fishing pressure was non-existent in his area because of the weather, and said that quite few fishing shacks had been damaged by the storm. But he listed his suggestions for the rest of the ice-fishing season as follows: For pickerel Pontook Reservoir in Dummer was his choice. For northern pike, he likes Berlin's Jericho Pond, especially late in the season. Big Diamond Pone in Dixville is the place to be for brook, rainbow and brown trout. And if it's lake trout action and you're not after a trophy, he suggests South Pond in Stark, where there's small lakers just fighting to take your bait. Lake Umbagog in Errol was his choice for late season bass action.

            New Hampshire's big lake region saw almost no activity for the week, with too much snow, then slush, and the windstorm just about making it a complete wash out. Reports today indicate the slush has mostly frozen and travel conditions have greatly improved. Our reporters all said that they were looking forward to some of the best fishing of the year to come.

            "We weighed in one monster rainbow trout last week, our largest of the year. The big 'bow weighed 5 pounds, 3 ounces and was only 20 inches long. Its 14-inch girth explained the weight. The fish was full of smelt, and in fact was caught by a fellow that was fishing for smelt, on a small Swedish Pimple," reports Pete Santini at Fishing FINatics in Everett, Massachusetts.

            "It would be my guess that the fish took a smelt that had been hooked on the lure. That Waldon Pond in Concord, where the fish was caught, is one of the only ponds around with a population of smelt, so each year we see some big trout come from there, as well as some great smallmouth bass. The largest bass this week we'd heard of also came from Waldon, a four and a half pounder. Wright's Pond in Medford and Hood's Pond in Topsfield continued to produce good bass and pickerel fishing."

            Pete said that during the warm spell last week, quite a few open water fishermen were plying their trade off the bridges and piers in the Boston Harbor area, and that codfish in the six pound range were hitting pretty well on cut herring and clams. Best spots were the Castle Island Pier and the causeway at the JFK Library.

Past Fishing Reports 2001

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