Ice conditions have deteriorated in the "heat" of last week, but overall conditions still remain good on moderate to small sized lakes and ponds. Ice conditions are much better in Cumberland and Oxford counties than in York County. For the most part there is 6 to 10 inches of ice on many area ponds. Most of the safety problems encountered on these modest sized waters are associated with south facing (northern) shorelines, rocky points, and inlets, where heavy runoff has caused some thinning and areas of open water along the immediate shoreline. Ice shacks have also "melted down" through the ice on several ponds in York County, including Little Ossipee Lake and Kennebunk ponds. Colder weather forecast this week should button up these weak areas and reduce the incidence of "melt downs". Many of the larger lakes like Thompson, Kezar, and Great East Lake are still not entirely iced over yet and the middle sections of these lakes should be avoided. There were even a few areas of open water observed in the middle of Little Ossipee Lake. There's no sign of Sebago setting up any time soon.

Ice conditions are certainly limiting winter lake trout fishing opportunities in southern Maine, where most of the action takes place on larger lakes. There are smaller regional ponds that also offer lake trout fishing, where ice conditions are less tentative, including: Bear Pond (Waterford), Colcord Pond (Porter), Middle Range Pond (Poland), and Crystal Lake (Harrison). Some of these smaller waters periodically produce some very large lake trout. Great East Lake and Thompson Lake are great prospects if you can find some good ice.

Anglers I have spoken with are catching fish this winter, but many have not experienced the typically fast action observed early in the ice fishing season. Furthermore, the unusual and volatile weather seems to have dramatically reduced winter use. Most of our stocked ponds were stocked at similar or higher levels than past years, and use is down, so the waters have certainly not been fished out yet. Interestingly, I spoke with an angler that went through 5 dozen shiners fishing for brook trout in Trafton Pond (Hiram) and caught a "pile" of 8 to 10 inches trout, but seemed disappointed that he couldn't catch any larger trout. Many of these winter brook trout fisheries are stocked in the fall with a few larger brook trout, but the dominant fish stocked are in that 8 - 11 inch class. As Jim reported last week, these waters do not provide suitable summer conditions to allow these trout to grow to larger size and on these waters we would encourage those who enjoy a good trout feed to take some home....... as these fish will not grow to larger size.

Little Ossipee Lake anglers are catching some salmon and brook trout, with faster fishing being reported just before legal quitting time. One group last week caught 4 salmon between 18 and 20 inches long right at dusk.

A Mousam Lake angler reportedly located a large school of back crappies suspended off a bar and using a small rubber jig hooked 50 "fillet sized" crappies.

It is common practice in southern Maine for anglers to discard unwanted fish on the ice. The practice is particularly common on trout and salmon waters where anglers toss out yellow perch, chain pickerel, white perch, and even bass in an effort to reduce competition with cold water fisheries. Some also place fish on the ice for area wildlife to feed on use, including bald eagles, crows, sea gulls, fox, and coyotes. While these may be well intended gestures, they can make for bad public relations. Anglers share their frozen waters with other user groups (cross country skiers, snowmobilers, walkers, shorefront residents) who do not recognize or necessarily support these motives and view these acts as wanton and disrespectful. These actions, and the resulting public perceptions, do not reflect well on anglers and serve to alienate sportsmen and women from other interest groups who also enjoy our public waters. Almost every year I receive calls from the angling and nonangling public on this issue...just remember, these people vote and may have influence on activities that you enjoy so be considerate and always be respectful.

-Francis Brautigam, Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region B - Central Maine

Do you like having those so-called “bragging rights” for that biggest fish that was caught at a fishing derby? Or that big old buck that you bagged last hunting season that every one else was after? Maybe you just enjoy talking about some of the bigger deer or fish that you have caught or bagged yourself over the years. Regardless of whether you are an outdoor enthusiast or not, we all brag. This trait of bragging is much more important to some than it is others. We have clubs that encourage us to enter our larger trophies like “The One That Didn’t Get Away Club” for those fish species that are large enough to qualify. The nationally known “Boone And Crockett” is another club that recognizes huge racks and skulls. In Maine, we have the “Skull And Antler Club” for trophy whitetails and moose. All of these clubs have guidelines for entry, and they should.

The fishing stories we often hear are in the same vein. We hear about it, sometimes over and over again, but very seldom do you actually get to see the pictures as proof. I am probably just as guilty as the next to some extent. In our profession as biologists, we live this. Some of the stories that we hear would simply make you scratch your hair even if you have nothing but head to scratch.

A few weeks back I had an angler tell me that he had caught a huge black crappie that had to be 3 feet long, judging from the way he held his hands out in front of himself, he then told me it was 23 inches long and was about 16 inches deep. I thought to myself, “Well, judging from the distance from one hand to the other he was about 13 inches off”. Now I pondered for few seconds and said “16 inches, that’s a big crappie.” He replied, “It sure was!”

The point that I‘m working toward here is the fact that it does not take a monster fish or deer to make a memorable trip. Most of us know this, and we hunt and fish to just get out and enjoy what Maine has to offer. Who knows, maybe some day you will catch that monster fish or bag that huge buck. Even though it may not be ‘the day’ isn’t chasing the ‘big one’ one of the best excuses to just get out there?

Reports from the field, indicate the fishing pressure seems to be very light. The exception would be Wassookeag Lake in the town of Dexter. Anglers are reporting catches of some nice salmon and togue. Ice conditions on Wassookeag are generally good and anglers are being rewarded with some fall yearling stocked brook trout. Long Pond (Belgrade) anglers are few and far between, but there have been reports of some small pike being caught and some good size white perch. As for the Hartland area, Great Moose Pond in Hartland is seeing very little use and Morrill Pond anglers are catching a few brown trout and bass along with an occasional brook trout.

-Scott Davis, Fisheries Biologist Specialist

Region C – Downeast

Most of our medium-large lakes can not be safely fished due to the lingering spell of unseasonably mild weather. Waters located close to the coast are either wide-open or nearly so while most smaller ponds located in interior areas are fishable. Biologist Greg Burr reports from 5-8 inches of good ice on Fitts Pond, Jacob Buck Pond, and Second Lake Old Stream. Other waters which likely offer the chance to set some tip-ups include Hancock Pond, Parks Pond, Silver Lake, and Georges Pond. Use extreme caution when venturing out until such time as ol' Man Winter finally arrives in earnest.

A huge brown trout measuring 28 inches and weighing 10 lb., 4 oz. was landed several weeks ago at Walker Pond. Congratulations to Aaron Lyman of Sedgewick who is going to have his trophy mounted. Although I didn't speak with Aaron, I had a good conversation with his Dad, Mark, who used to keep a fishing logbook for us in the late 1980's. Mark indicated that he enjoyed good brown trout fishing at Walker during last year's open water season. Aaron's "fish of a lifetime"( although he's only 28) is especially notable in that it is the largest stocked brown trout..that we can confirm... caught Downeast in the past 35 years. Both Al Crowley of Dedham and Curt Overby of Holden have caught larger browns, but their fish were wild. Walker is stocked with 11-13 inch fall yealing browns annually, and produces one of the best fisheries in eastern Maine for 3-4 pounders.

Speaking of 3-4 pound brown trout, the following waters, in addition to Walker, produce some fish of this size: Fox Pond, King Pond, Upper Lead Mountain Pond, Molasses Pond, Long Pond in T10SD, Spring River Lake, Round Pond in Charlotte, and Pennamaquan Lake. However, if you would like a chance (albeit a slim one)to catch a 5-10 pounder, only King, Long, Spring River, Walker, and Pennamaquan fill the bill. I've been kidding my colleague in southern Maine, Regional Biologist Francis Brautigam, that his region's perennial stranglehold on the title of biggest brown trout caught in the state is in jeopardy this year, thanks to young Mr. Lyman. The main reason explaining Region A's well deserved reputation as "Home of Lunker Browns" is the sheer number of waters which grow some big fish. Whereas our region has only half a dozen, Francis confirms that 15-20 of his waters have this potential. While the catch of a 6-10 pounder in a Downeast lake is BIG NEWS, in southern Maine, such fish are by no means uncommon. In general, the brown trout waters of southern Maine are much more productive than Downeast waters. This important trait is key in determining maximum sizes attained by stocked fish.

A similar scenario plays out on our salmon waters. One of the notable attributes of our region is the number and variety of waters which produce salmon fisheries. Anglers catch typical small-medium size (15-18 inches) salmon at most locales. Alligator Lake, Echo Lake, Jordan Pond, Long Pond, Tunk Lake, Cathance Lake, Nash Lake, and West Grand Lake produce some 3-4 pound landlockeds in most years. However, fish weighing 5 lbs or more are exceedingly rare. Unfortunately, the odds of catching such a beauty are very slim...here are the numbers from four of these waters with extensive fall trapnet data collected over many years:

At Alligator, only 4 of 438 fish were 5-pounders

At Long, none of 298 fish were 5-pounders

At Cathance, none of 380 fish were 5-pounders

At Tunk, only 2 of 307 fish were 5-pounders

Bottom line: you can continue to look forward to periods of good fishing for 3-4 lb salmon on various Downeast waters, but if you want to possibly hook up with a 5-7 pounder, head to Long Lake up north or Rangeley Lake to the westward!

-Ron Brokaw, Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region D - Western Mountains

Winter weather continues to be highly variable with frequent rainstorms making the ice unsafe on many of our lakes. With lake levels rising and lowering after storms, ice breaks up and refreezes in many areas resulting in layers of ice, water, and more ice. Bottom line; use extreme caution.

Fisheries Research Biologist Merry Gallagher and I travelled to West Virginia the week of January 9 to attend a meeting of the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture, a partnership between state and federal agencies, conservation organizations, scientific societies, and other groups, such as Trout Unlimited, that are interested in this species. The Venture was formed to enhance brook trout habitat through a collaborative, non-regulatory framework.

Brook trout populations are in trouble in many of the 17 states – ranging from Maine to North Carolina and Tennessee - covered by the Venture. These problems inculde development, competition from exotic species, and water quality degradation, to name only a few. Maine has the lion’s share of remaining brook trout populations, but our wild brook trout will undoubtedly face the same threates in the future.

The Joint Venture partners are working to assess the current status of brook trout populations, identify threats, share information, monitor restoration efforts, and develop additional funding sources. A Conservation Strategy to deal with these threats and to outline potential corrective measures was completed in December 2005. This document calls for the development of range-wide and regional strategies that focus on public education, increased assessment of brook trout population status and threats, formation of partnerships to effectively address habitat threats, re-evaluation of hatchery practices, and the identification of restoration opportunites.

High on Maine’s list is a concerted effort to complete stream monitoring, for many of our estimated 22,000 miles of brook trout streams have never been sampled. We are optimistic that this Venture will provide us the much-needed funding to complete this first step toward protecting our brook trout resource.

-Forrest Bonney, Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region E - Moosehead Region

Ice conditions continue to dominate the news for the 2006 ice-fishing season. This weekend the troops were out checking anglers on Chesuncook, Moosehead, and Sebec Lakes. Very few fishermen braved the conditions to test the (semi) frozen waters. The recent rains have created havoc with the ice. It was difficult to access the lakes in many locations as the ice has pulled away from the shore with the rising lake levels. Brooks and streams have eroded ice where they dumped into the lakes. There is no snow on the lake surface making travel difficult with a snowmobile. Ice creepers are a necessity. The few reports we have from anglers on Moosehead Lake have been good. We’ve heard of several large trout and some good catches of togue. The fishing at Sebec Lake was typical. A few parties reported catching many togue while others had no luck at all.

Although fishing has yet to get into full swing, the Fisheries Staff in Greenville have been very busy. On Monday, Fly Fishing in Maine (http://www.flyfishinginMaine.com/) announced the grant application submitted by this office for a wild trout study on Chamberlain Lake had been accepted. The grant for $2,355 will be used to buy radio tags. We also plan to use this grant as leverage for a larger grant application this winter from the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund. We want to thank all those at FFIM.

This week we met with members of the Center Pond (Sangerville) campowners association to discuss management plans for the pond. Plans are already underway to supplement the annual brown trout stocking with fall yearling (12-14 in) brook trout. We will also stock retired brood stock in the future when they are available. It was a very productive meeting and we value their input and knowledge. We also met with representatives of Brascan Power, Florida Power and Light Energy, and Kennebec Water Power to discuss several cooperative projects. These studies are designed to understand and improve several fisheries in the Moosehead Lake Region over the next several years. On Friday, we met with the Moosehead Lake Focus Group. We discussed the very positive trends that are developing with the Moosehead Lake salmon fishery. Representatives from the Moosehead Lake Fisheries Coalition reported finding some marked smelts near the brook where they were stocked last spring in Lily Bay. Our staff will assist the Coalition by collecting smelts from around the lake to determine their range. We appreciate when groups and individuals take the time to discuss issues with us in a positive manner. The mutual relationships that develop will only help us reach the common goals of protecting and enhancing the fisheries in the region.

We did get a chuckle from an editorial in the January Maine Sportsman that criticized the Department’s stocking program. The writer bemoans that we should be stocking fewer fish, not more. He also states that Maine’s stocking program is more like Massachusetts and we should be more like Montana. Yet, just last week George Smith of SAM called for a more aggressive stocking program in Maine, similar to Colorado (Bangor Daily News 1/20/06). Folks in Maine may remember that not too long ago an independent study of Maine’s hatchery system was conducted and it was recommended that the IF&W make upgrades to the system and increase the number of fish stocked, particularly in the put and take program. Maine voters passed a bond that provided the funds for many enhancements and expansion. The new hatchery improvements will allow us to stock more fish in waters that will never support wild fisheries due to limited coldwater habitat (like Center Pond, mentioned earlier). Many of these waters would only offer perch and bass fishing without our stocking program. The result will be expanded fishing opportunities for locals as well as anglers from “away”. Stocking these waters will also help to reduce fishing pressure on some of the delicate wild fisheries in the region.

-Tim Obrey, Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region F, Penobscot Region

Once again ice conditions are a topic of conversation across the region. Cold Stream Pond in Enfield and Lincoln has a number of questionable areas as of today (Monday the 23rd). As seen from the air, there are areas in the thoroughfare and the South Basin that should be avoided. West Lake in T3ND had 4 or 5 patches of open water on Sunday, the 22nd. Extreme caution should be exercised at all times on any lakes in the region. We have ice problems as far north in the region as Pleasant Pond in Island Falls. Our Seasonal Assistant Jeremiah Wood found a spot on Pleasant where there was standing water from all of the recent rain, with a thin skin of ice as camouflage. When Jeremiah came through on Saturday, he and his sled broke through the ice and became stuck in this pool of water that was up to 24" deep. Quick reaction by Jeremiah and a helpful hand by a "good Samaritan" avoided a disaster. Although only wet to his knees, the outcome could have been much worse.

Because of safety concerns, fishing pressure this past weekend was light on most lakes in the southern part of the region. Anglers fishing the Upper Basin of Cold Stream are still catching some excellent brook trout, but fishing has slowed since the start of the season. Many of our lakes in Hancock County were pretty much deserted this past weekend, including West Lake, Spring Lake, Duck Lake and Nicatous Lake. Schoodic Lake still does not have reliable ice on the main body of the lake, although anglers are fishing the northern part with caution. We have received no reports of any landlocked salmon caught at Schoodic, but lake trout and smelt are being taken with some regularity.

As evidenced from the January 19th edition of the Lincoln News, Little Round Pond in Lincoln has been putting smiles on the faces of local kids recently. We had 250 large brook trout stocked at Little Round last fall for the "kids only" ice fishing season. There was a fishing event at the Maine Youth Fish and Game Association on January 7th that drew hundreds of kids to Pickerel Pond in T32 MD for a day of fun in the outdoors. Large brook trout were also the target at Pickerel Pond, as several huge fish were caught. You can learn more about the club at: http://www.maineyouthfishandgame.org/

At Pleasant Pond in Island Falls, anglers are having some pretty good fishing this winter. Some very fat brook trout from 14 to 18 inches have been iced, and salmon average 18 to 22 inches, with numerous salmon in the 5 pound category. Most everyone that was checked by clerks this past Saturday had caught salmon, most of those being released in the hopes of getting a really good fish. Smelts at Pleasant are not very numerous this year, but those that are caught are in very good condition. Smelts to 10" are seen regularly.

Reports from East Grand Lake have been encouraging, with salmon up to 20 inches being taken. We have also had more reports of large cusk being iced around this large border water.

I am upset to report that another northern pike has been caught at Pushaw Lake. This past Sunday, our census clerk Kevin Gallant checked an angler that had caught and killed a 23 inch / 3 pound pike. Evidence is mounting that pike are reproducing and are firmly established in the Greater Pushaw Watershed, including Mud Pond and possibly Little Pushaw Lake. It appears likely we will be confirming the presence of pike in the Lower Penobscot. Where next?

I am asking that anyone with any information as to the origin of the pike in Pushaw Lake to please contact us as soon as possible. Although it's too late to completely rectify the situation at Pushaw Lake, we need to know who committed this act of vandalism. There is a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. This has to stop soon or Maine will not have any significant coldwater fisheries left for the future generations of Maine anglers. Please call 732-4131 or 941-4449 with any information.

The East Grand Snowmobile Club is sponsoring their 8 th Annual Ice Fishing Derby this weekend, the 28th and 29th of January. Eligible waters include East Grand Lake, Deering Lake Brackett Lake and North Lake. Anglers looking for more information can contact Buck Plummer at 207-448-7018, or go to: http://www.chiplakenews.org/EGSChome.htm

-Nels Kramer, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region G – Aroostook County

Rain continued to plague Aroostook County this past week. Saturday was a day of mostly rain with brief periods of snow on both ends. The schedule created before the season had me working the Musquacook and Clear Lakes area. Over the course of Friday, Saturday and Sunday I traveled over 100 snowsled miles and checked not a single angler on the four lakes checked each day. Access to the area via the Realty Road is hampered by numerous water holes. If all road conditions west of Ashland are similiar to those I encountered on the Realty Road, caution should be used accessing the North Maine Woods waters.

Other than Long Lake of the Fish River Chain, which had an ice fishing derby, angler activity was light across the region. Biologists working on Long Lake Saturday and checked over 100 parties of fishermen. A biologist checking Houlton area lakes found travel difficult by snowsled with little snow cover on trails and glare ice on the lakes.

-Derrick Cote, Fisheries Biologist Specialist

From the Maine Warden Service…The Colonel’s Tip

Ice fishermen - Don't forget that when you are done fishing for the day, please don't release your baitfish into the lake or pond you are fishing. Not only is it illegal and could result in hefty fines but more importantly, it could permantly damage the waters by introducing an unwanted species. My suggestion is to give the left over bait to someone who is going ice fishing in the near future, or freeze he bait at home and use for cut bait on your next fishing trip.

-Colonel Tom Santaguida, Maine Warden Service