Complements of The Kittery Trading Post

Activity for the 4th week of June, 2001

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June 25, 2001

      Fishermen again were plagued with strange weather last week, with some scorching days and on the coast, foggy, hazy days. But the fishing has been holding up well.

      We welcome a newcomer to our Maine saltwater reporters, Captain Sam Cassida,  a Registered Maine Guide who operates Little River Lodge and Outfitters in Belfast (207-38-9711). Sam guides and  fishes both the Penobscot Bay area and the Kennebec River for stripers and mackerel. "Although we've got quite a few stripers and mackerel here on Penobscot Bay right now, the best action is on the Kennebec. There's been some mackerel move into that system, the river is full of herring and that is what most of the stripers have been concentrating on. We've had good luck with big bunker streamer flies, plastic shad jigs and some topwater lures. Until July1st, when the regulations change, you're restricted to just one hook (may be a treble), so most topwater plugs come with more than one hook and have to be modified. Soon, the tube-n-worm fishing will start on Penobscot Bay so we'll have a chance to take our pick. Most of the stripers here are in the 30-inch and under class, but we'll see plenty of larger ones again this season, fish to well over 30 pounds. If you enjoy mackerel action, we've got it here, usually for the entire summer season," Sam reports.

       "We've got a ton of fish here, the stripers are just about everywhere," laughed Craig Bergeron at Saco Bay Tackle. "The Saco River has fish in the slot-limit-size, so people interested in catching a fish to take home to eat shouldn't have any trouble. Outside, along the jetties and out around the islands, there's some larger fish--to the mid-forty inches.  Cod fishing has been excellent at Jeffrey's Ledge, and they've moved in on Tanners Ledge, which makes it nice as you only have to go eight miles to get to the fish. At last some giant bluefin tuna are hitting. The first one was a 450 pounder taken by trolling on the boat, The Sea Rose. There's a lot of bait, mostly herring not that far offshore, and the giant bluefins are being seen by a lot of fishermen pushing the bait around. It looks like a much better start than last year," Craig forecasted.

           Dave Ganter at the Kittery Trading Post's Fishing Department, also had good saltwater news: "We've had some great codfish reports, including catches of the big ones, often referred to as 'whale cod`, out on Scantum Ledge. (This ledge is inshore from Jeffrey's Ledge, between there and the Isles of Shoals). One striper fishermen we talked to had four hours of non-stop action on fish to 30 inches, off Prout's Neck at the Scarborough River. He caught fish on everything he threw at them, including chunk baits and small eels. There's also been quite a bit of action on bluefish off the Saco River. It's hit or miss, but if you’re lucky, when you find them you'll be in for some great action," he reports.

      At Suds-n-Soda in Greenland, NH, Jim MacKenzie said that the "stripers are jumping in the boats, there's so many." And from his reports, it was almost that good. Jim, his wife Gail and brother Howard had a lot of trouble catching bait, as fog kept them off the ocean. They managed to pick up a dozen live pollock near the Newcastle Bridges and soon were into some keeper-sized stripers.

      "We found so many stripers off the Navy Yard we never left there. We were drifting the live pollock in about 50 feet of water. Gail had several big fish on and lost them, but managed to land seven fish, all keepers," he said.

      Plaistow fisherman Bobby Drago and his ten year-old son Randy had some great flounder action on the Piscataqua Rivermouth, catching 19 legal-sized fish (12 inches or better) in an afternoon. "We had to move around a bit, but we were able to pick up a few fish each place we went. We used chum, so that helps. Out in front of the fort at Pepperell Cove was some of the best action. We probably caught just as many undersized flounders that we released. Sea worms are the best baits," Bob said.

      This writer didn't have any problem catching three dozen mackerel baits on a day's fishing during the hot spell, but the brightness of the day had the stripers in the Piscataqua off the feed. The area around the Sara Long Bridge, also known as the "Middle Bridge", usually predictable for steady striper fishing, was like the Dead Sea!

      We also spent a day on the Merrimack River, off Salisbury, Massachusetts. Our goal was to find if the fluke (summer flounder) were in residence yet. They were not, but we had a ball on schoolie stripers that found our Chincoteaugue Rigs and sea worms too much to pass up. We had one pair of 25-inchers on at once, that put up one great battle on the light gear we were using. It was easy to forget the fluke when we were having so much fun on the schoolies!

      "Even though it was a bit slow over the weekend, some fishermen were reporting catching all the stripers they wanted," reported Kay Moulton at Surfland Bait and Tackle on Plum Island. "The boat fishermen on the flats at high tide were getting a lot of fish on Sluggo Baits and Super Spooks. Wading fly fishermen have been having a hard time, for some reason. We've got some mackerel, but they're spooky. The bluefish have them on the run most of the time. Our largest striper of the year so far has been 29 pounds," she said.

      Pete Santini's Fishing FINatics Striper Derby went well this weekend, with 35 boats entered. "Although the shop is in Everett, our derby allowed fishermen to enter their boats to fish all the waters of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The winner, the boat Full House, brought a check for $1,000.00 to Darin Denucci and Tim Smith of Lynn. They caught their fish, a 43.25 incher, off Marblehead. Second place was the Linesider, with a 42.5 inch striper," Pete noted.

      "Stripers, cod, flounder and bluefish continue to hit well in the Boston Harbor area. There's been some mackerel around Green Island, but they're being pushed by the bluefish so you never know where they'll be next. Flounders have been awesome off the North and South Channels. And cod have been so thick around the striper grounds off Faun Bar that one striper fisherman caught 12 cod while trolling my Santini Tube-n-Worm combo. This morning we weighed a huge flounder. It was four pounds, seven ounces. Jason Colly caught the flounder off Toddy Rock in Quincy," Pete said.

      Maine's inland fishing has been steady. The Sebago area continues to be one of the highlights, according to Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist Francis Brautigam. "We've received numerous reports of the excellent brown trout fishing in the region. One angler reportedly caught 30 browns within the last couple of weeks on Little Sebago Lake (Windham), most were 14-18 inches long, but some four pounders were also taken. Another couple of anglers fishing Crystal Lake (Gray) caught two browns--one weighed four pounds, the other weighed approximately ten pounds! The big one was caught on a fly rod, taking almost an hour and a half to land," Francis explained.

      "Sebago anglers continue to experience excellent togue (lake trout) fishing, with some reporting daily catches of 12 or more fish. The salmon fishing has been slow the last couple weeks. Stream fishing conditions are still good and now with the water warming, trout will begin moving to faster flowing water, springs and cooler tributary streams. You'd be well advised to direct some of your effort in these areas," Francis advises.

      "We fished Long Lake yesterday in a small club tourney. Largemouths were everywhere," enthused Dave Garcia of Naples Bait on Long Lake. "We came in third place with a combined catch of over thirteen pounds. The largest caught was five pounds. I fished jerk baits while it was cloudy and switched to jig-n-pig rigs tossed under the docks when the sun came out. Saturday, two fellows came in here that were fishing for brown trout on Long Lake--they had two browns that were six pounds each. It's been excellent for browns on Long lately. And there's been a lot of salmon action here--fish to 22 inches and in good shape. The hot lure on the lake has been the junior-sized Mooselook Wobbler in bright colors."

      "The Crooked River is still producing some fine brook trout and occasional salmon. Gray ghost streamer flies in size 6 to 10 seem to be the best bets. And the smaller brooks are still giving up limit catches of pan-sized native brookies," Dave ended.

      Carroll Cutting at Jordan's Store in East Sebago, reported that he'd been up to his camp on Indian Pond (fed by the East Outlet out of Moosehead Lake). "My 12 year-old grandson Ryan had a blast dry fly fishing in the inlet. Ryan caught a smallmouth bass over 18 inches that gave him quite a tussle. We also caught and released brook trout and landlocks," he said.

      "This morning, Roger Bacon, one of Sebago Lake's regulars, reported he'd caught eight salmon up to 20 inches using wobblers and streamer flies. And guide Chris Burnell had a day last week when they caught a mess of salmon, the largest a 24-incher (that was not really in good shape). They also caught a dozen togue," Carroll reported.

      "The warmer weather has made anglers seeking trout and salmon to use downriggers and leadcore line in lakes where a thermocline has set up," reports Bill Woodward, Asst. Regional Fisheries Biologist in the Central Maine Region.

      "Anglers are boating lake trout, brownies and landlocked salmon. The thermocline is down about 20-25 feet deep. Maranacook Lake, Great Pond, Sheepscot Lake, Damariscotta Lake, St. George Lake, Echo Lake, Swan Lake, Wassookeag Lake and Great Moose Pond all have been reporting good catches. Smaller brook trout ponds are still producing some good catches. Rivers have been consistent in the evenings and early mornings at the usual hotspots on the Nezinscot, Androscoggin, Kennebec, Sheepscot, St. George and Goose Rivers, where hatches have the surface boiling with fish at hatch stage. We're also looking for some steady bass fishing for the rest of the summer," he ended.

       Ron Brokaw, Regional Fisheries Biologist in the Downeast Region, suggests the following waters for togue: Jordan Pond (MDI), Beech Hill Pond (Otis), Tunk Lake (T10SD), Branch Lake (Ellsworth) West Grand Lake (Grand Lake Stream) and West Musquash Lake (Talmadge). "Experiment with different lengths of leadcore line until you get your strikes. Green Lake offers a decent chance at a four to seven pounder--the fattest we see anywhere in our region, but fishing isn't as fast. Salmon fishing has been slow on Grand Lake Stream, but some smallmouths in the two to three pound range were caught. They're holding in the deeper runs with current. When the caddis fly hatch starts, the dry fly fishing for salmon will provide what some enthusiasts call the epitome of the sport. Try a #14 brown caddis," Ron suggested.

      In the Moosehead Lake Region, Scott Roym Asst. Regional Fisheries Biologist, says that warm weather had driven some of the trout and salmon into the deeper water on the big lake. But area trout ponds continued good fishing, with some hatches going on, but he's worried that persistent hot weather may drive water temperatures beyond the point where the trout continue to be active.

      "Action is still quite fast on the bass waters. The larger fish have left their nests, and the catch of smaller bass is increasing. The legal sized brook trout we've stocked this season have provided many hours of successful fishing--some waters will provide fishing for most of the summer. As conditions change, it's important to keep up with the methods needed to produce under the new conditions. If you're not sure of how to fish a particular lake, look into hiring a Registered Guide. Their knowledge of the area, coupled with their experience can be a big benefit to anglers new to the area," Scott suggests.

      "In the far north--Aroostook County, surface temperatures of ponds and smaller lakes have warmed to above 70 degrees, restricting trout surface feeding to early morning and evening insect hatches. Larger lakes continue relatively cool on the surface. Surface lures and bait trolled near the surface can still be productive on the larger lakes of the Fish River Chain. Trout in the larger rivers have moved to springs and cooler brook inlets--fish very early mornings and late evenings," according to Frank Frost, Asst. Regional Fisheries Biologist.

      "Square Lake of the Fish River Chain is one of the lakes where brook trout have responded well to the more restrictive regulations, with numerous reports of brookies in the 16-21 inch size. From 1984-99, trout greater than 18 inches remained very stable there, but suddenly increased 400 % last fall! We hope this is a continuing trend. Anglers here are certainly reaping the benefits of these increases," he ended.

      At Back Lake in Pittsburg, New Hampshire, Tom Caron reported that the long anticipated "hex hatch" had started a couple of nights ago, and the fishing in the late evenings on Back Lake had been great. "The lake has plenty of fish in the two to four pound range. The hex hatch has a way of getting these otherwise timid fish to loose their cool, and several get caught each season. We've already had a brown of over four pounds taken. The hatch should last two weeks. It's strictly late evening fishing. The conditions on the Connecticut River--lower water than ideal, have made fishing difficult, but they're still getting some nice trout," he observed.

      Shirley Remick at TR's Bait in Pittsburg, said that they'd had good reports about the rainbow trout fishing on the Third Connecticut Lake, and added that her son, Guide Tom Remick, had been catching plenty of lake trout on First Lake.

      One of the most famous insect hatches in the east, the alder fly hatch on the Androscoggin River, also started last week, according to George Malloy at River's Edge General Store in Berlin. "Bob Ruel was driving along the river on Main Street early in the morning on the 20th, and the flies were so thick he had to use his windshield wipers," Malloy laughed. "This weekend, we had a lot of fishing pressure all up and down the river. I went out and trolled a quarter mile stretch of the river right in front of the store here and in a couple of hours had caught over 30 fish--browns, rainbows and smallmouth bass. I was using an orange blade, quarter ounce Panther Martin Spinner," he said.

      Several of George's clients fish Maine's Rangeley Lakes often. He noted that last week, they had some great action on Richardson Lake near Middle Dam. The DB Smelt in blue/silver and the Sutton #44 silver flutter spoon were the hot lures.

                    Past Fishing Reports 2001

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