Complements of The Kittery Trading Post

Activity for the 1st week of June, 2001

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June 4, 2001

            Blustery winds and plenty of rain discouraged both inland and coastal fishermen in much of our reporting area, with the northernmost lakes and streams being the worst affected. It was bad enough that Tom Remick, who guides in New Hampshire's Connecticut Lakes Region, canceled a whole week's guiding schedule. "It's rained and blown every day since last Friday," he lamented!

            But it wasn't so bad that all the fishermen stayed home. Dave Ganter at the Kittery Trading Post's Fishing Department remarked, "There can't be many fish left after this weekend," commenting on the number of striper and mackerel fishermen that had been through his department. "There's a ton of mackerel that small baitfish have attracted inshore and into the rivermouths. And stripers are working both the mackerel and the baitfish, which have been identified as silverside minnows. I fished the Biddeford Pool area last week, and we caught mackerel until we were tired. And most of the striper fishermen are happy--although there hasn't been many really big fish yet. Add to this, the best cod and haddock fishing offshore we've heard of in several years, and we've got some remarkable fishing going for us in our area," Dave ended.

            KTP's Fishing Department Buyer, Chris Henson, said that what was pleasing the schoolie striper fishermen, including himself, was the increase in the average size of the schoolies being taken this year. "In a lot of the little local schoolie spots, we were happy with the 18-20 inch fish. This year, we're dealing with a lot of stripers in the 24-30 inch size range. You get one of those 30 inchers on fly gear and you really know you've got a fight on your hands. There's so much bait in the water, it's hard to fool Mother Nature, but if you throw streamers, such as Clousers or deceivers that mimic those silverside minnows, you'd be able to pick away at those schoolies with no problems," he suggested. Henson urges anglers to pinch down their hook barbs when catch-and-release fishing, noting that hooking mortality can amount to more fish taken than what are actually taken home to be eaten. (Recent studies indicate an average of 8% mortality on hooked and released stripers.)

            Captain Cal Robinson, at Saco Bay Tackle, said the river was full of stripers and mackerel, and some Atlantic shad were still holding in the area just below the dam in town. "There's herring to eight inches mixed in with the mackerel in the river and out at the mouth. The biggest striper we've seen was in the 36-inch range. Cod and haddock fishing remains wonderful--they're moving in a bit closer. Tanner's Ledge has been good early in the morning, while Jeffrey's Ledge has been great all day long. The giant bluefin tuna season for harpoon fishing started, and we've heard of one fish taken by Matt Forbes out of Ogunquit. The tuna was taken out in the deeper water off Jeffrey's Ledge, where several other tuna had been sighted," Robinson reported.

            New Hampshire's Great and Little Bay areas were doing well on stripers measured by the pound, according to Jim MacKenzie at Suds-n-Soda in Greenland. "Fred Ludington, last year's striper derby winner, is leading our derby with a 21 pounder that was 38 inches long. We have another fish entered currently in second place that was also 21 pounds, but an inch smaller. Most of these fish are being caught on live alewives in the Little Bay area.  Offshore striper fishing, especially off Rye, was also pretty hot, but the weather made it tough. We're hearing of a few flounders coming from Little Harbor and Pepperell Cove, but there aren't many flounder fishermen. Everyone seems to be chasing stripers or mackerel. Best steady fishing for mackerel has been at the #2KR Buoy area, but there have also been a lot of macs up into the river. There's also quite a few harbor pollock in the Piscataqua now, but if you plan on using them for bait, be aware that the Maine Coastal Patrol will be enforcing a six fish limit on bait-sized pollock for recreational fishing only," he advised.

            "Striper fishermen were shoulder-to-shoulder below the Salmon Falls River Dam (Dover, NH/South Berwick, ME) this weekend at times and were hauling out a lot of fish up to the mid-30 inch size," reported George Taylor at Taylor's Trading Post in Madbury, NH.  "Alewife are still running there, so that's probably what is the best bait," he noted.

            Kay Moulton, at Surfland Bait and Tackle on Plum Island, Massachusetts was happy. "We've really got a lot of fish here. The shore and bay fishermen are using clams and worms and are having a ball on fish up to 20 pounds. At night, the live eel fishermen are catching quite a few nice stripers on Joppa Flats. Outside, boat fishermen are getting the larger stripers, fish over 20 pounds on live mackerel. Off the jetties, some are using chunk mackerel and some of the most productive fishermen have been giving the chunkers lessons using two-ounce Flathead bucktail jigs and bunker spoons. Mackerel are everywhere at times, the black backed flounder have started in really well off the jetties, and we're just all having a great time," she laughed.

            "Last night I sat and watched fishermen below the Amelia Earhart Dam in Somerville catching stripers up to 38 inches on topwater plugs," Pete Santini at Fishing FINatics in Everett said. "The stripers had the herring balled up against the dam, and fishermen were getting hits on almost every cast. The stripers have gone way up into the Charles River, so they're being caught almost as much in the fresh as in the saltwater. The bait fishermen have caught on about using the herring rigs (Sabiki) to get their live bait, and it's paying big dividends for them. The herring runs are still going strong."

            "Striper trollers using the Santini Tube-n-Worm combo or umbrella rigs are doing well in Boston Harbor. Lower Middle, Boston Light and Nixes Mate were all hot last week. Flounder fishermen found fish at Long Island, North and South Channel, Deer Island, Green Island and George's Island. Although flounders can be caught on clams, sea worms remain the best bait," Pete reported.

            In Pittsburg, NH, Tom Remick at TR's Bait reported that even with the rainy weather and strong winds, over 60 anglers took part in last weekend's Lake Francis Derby, with brown trout in the two pound class the predominant prize winners. "We did see a brookie over two pounds and a few lakers coming out of the Connecticut Lakes. We're just hoping the rain will stop soon," he ended.

            George Foster forwarded more news from the Pittsburg area, originating from Tim and Lisa at Lobstick Lodge: "The fishing has been outstanding--some of the best we've seen in years. Due to the good flows from Second Lake, the salmon run has continued with some fish being caught on dry flies. Jim Welsh hooked three big salmon yesterday," they reported.

            George Malloy at River's Edge General Store in Berlin, said that the rivers and brooks were high in his region, but some great brook trout fishing had been going on. "Young Sean Lacasse from Berlin brought in two beauties to be weighed. Both were just under two pounds. Little Cleo spoons in the 1/8 ounce size, brass and fluorescent orange were hot, as was the Panther Martin spinner, the 1/4 ounce size in flame orange. We also saw a two and a half-pound native brookie that had been caught at Big Greenough Pond. Our hatches on the Androscoggin River have been really slow in developing. The famous alder fly hatch is due to start next week, but we wouldn't be surprised if it was delayed by the weather," George warned.

            "Looking out from our dock here you can see big schools of white perch--the river's just full of 'em," laughed Bill Martel at Martel's Bait in Laconia. "We've had some very good perch fishing and some steady bass fishing for about three weeks. The trout and salmon continue to hit here on Winnisquam Lake. The more skilled trollers are catching a mixed bag of rainbow and lake trout and some of the best looking landlocked salmon we've seen in years," Bill observed.

            In the Alton Bay area of Lake Winnipesaukee, Paul Garland at Hot Spots Outfitters in New Durham was enthusiastic about the good smallmouth fishing. "There's still bass on the beds on Winnipesaukee and also on Merrymeeting Lake, and the action is fast and furious on some days. White perch to three pounds were being caught in Alton Bay last week, with several fishermen targeting the schools of big perch, and there's still plenty of trout and salmon action going on all over the lake," he said.

            Tink Nelson at Nute's Trading Post in Wakefield, reported that bass were very spotty; in some lakes, they hadn't started to bed yet, and in others they seem to be done. "You've just got to give it a try. We've seen some great bass fishing some days followed by slow fishing. Some of the border lakes have been good--Balch Pond, Great East Lake, Horn Pond (which also had been great for brook and rainbow trout), Province Lake and the Milton Three Ponds. Crappie have moved off their inshore spawning grounds but can still be found along the drop-offs and weed lines. Trout fishing at White's Pond (fly-only) has been incredible. Lots of rising fish and some nice-sized rainbows and brookies. Best fishing has been early in the morning and late in the afternoon," Tink said.

            George Taylor at Taylor's Trading Post, reported that fishermen coming back from nearby Barbados Pond and Stonehouse Pond (fly-only) in Barrington had experienced some great fishing, mostly rainbows at Barbados and strictly brookies at Stonehouse.

            Maine's inland fishing was holding its own, despite the weather. Fisheries Biologist Francis Brautigam reports the Sebago Lake togue (lake trout) fishing is providing steady deep-water action, while salmon are being caught on streamer flies on the surface. He notes that stream fishing has been good and that most have been stocked.

            Dave Garcia at Naples Bait on Long Lake, reports he's seeing some very good brook trout fishing, with the Crooked River being the best. "The fish are running up to 16 inches, and quite a few landlocked salmon are also hitting in the river. We fished a small local brook and came back with a nice five-fish limit of brookies, all in the ten-inch range. Some of the best fun we've had so far this year came from a pickerel fishing trip to the lower Songo River. We just had a ball with pickerel to 20 inches, mostly caught on jerk baits. Here on Long Lake, the smallmouths have been so mixed up. Some are post- spawn, some are spawning and some are pre-spawn. It's the weather," he figured.

            Greg Cutting at Jordan's Store in East Sebago, said Sebago Lake isn't the only game in town. "We're seeing some very nice brown trout coming from Hancock Pond in Sebago. Yesterday, we weighed in one brownie that was just under five pounds and only 23 inches long. Streamer flies are accounting for a lot of the browns, and some anglers have been having luck on live bait. Out on Sebago, we had one party of four anglers catch-and-release 17 landlocks in one day, but only one of them made the 20-inch mark. This group fishes mostly with streamer flies, but occasionally will use bait," he noted.

            Big brook trout remain the "talk of the town" in the Rangeley area. Fisheries Biologist Dave Howatt checked anglers at Haines Landing on Mooselookmeguntic Lake and reported that "big brookies were coming in like perch, with four pounders being common. These fish are all wild. Anyone who doubts their numbers or sizes is invited to view snapshots at the store or sport shop in Oquossoc," he said. He also noted that salmon fishing on Mooselookmeguntic hadn't reached full stride yet.

            Rusty Harvey at River's Edge Sports Shop in Oquossoc, noted that since the Memorial Day weekend blitz of big brookies, they've had rough weather, slowing the action down, but did say the big brookies continue to hit but had gone a bit deeper. He weighed a 13-pound togue that was caught on a Sutton Spoon from Richardson Lake and had also seen a 5 pound, 9 ounce salmon caught from Rangeley Lake. "Top Gun, Chev Chase and the DB Smelt continue to be the hot lures. River fishing has picked up, with the Kennebago producing some nice fish. The lower Magalloway also was good, with salmon to 22 inches. We had one fisherman here on Rangeley this morning fish from six to eight a.m. He caught five salmon up to four pounds. Best fishing on top is early in the morning and late in the afternoon," he suggested.

            "The hatches are on," reports Dan Legere at the Maine Guide Fly Shop in Greenville, in the Moosehead Lake Region. "It's prime time in the North Country. Red quills, blue wing olives and Hendricksons are keeping banker's hours. You can set your watch by the hatches--around 11 a.m. starting time and lasting until 4 p.m. I was on the biggest and longest red quill hatch I'd ever seen on the West Branch. Fish were everywhere. Water flows were increased on both the East Outlet and the Roach River this week. East Outlet has already livened up--blue winged olives mostly. The fish are throughout the river, and the flows are running 1,000 c.f.s.--perfect wading conditions. The Roach has been a bit slower to produce best action, but could improve for the better soon. Pick a pond, any pond, and you'll find feeding trout sipping on mid-day hatches of blue duns and red quills. It's a magical time of the year!" Danny ended.  

                    Past Fishing Reports 2001

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