Mark Latti
Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
mark.latti@maine.gov
207-287-6008
pager 818-9617
fax 207-287-6395
284 State Street
41 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
For Immediate Release
March 14, 2006
March 14, 2006 Ice Fishing Report
Region A- Southwestern Maine
Less than 3 weeks officially remain as the 2006 ice fishing season
draws to
a close. In anticipation of an early ice out, many ice shacks were
pulled
off the ice over the weekend. Some anglers commented that the ice had
deteriorated so much in the last week that they were done ice fishing
for
the year. Waters in York County have experienced the greatest loss of
ice,
where there are lots of open water hazards along shorelines, pressure
ridges, where ice shacks had been located, and points, although where
ice is
present, it may be up to a foot thick. Use of vehicles or even ATVs
and
snowmobiles on the ice in York County is not recommended. Waters in
Southern Oxford County are supporting 12 to 18 inches of ice, with
fewer
open water hazards.
Those anglers who ventured out over the spring-like weekend found the
fish
to be biting well on many waters. Brian Lewis reported seeing fish on
most
waters surveyed in York and Oxford Counties. This is usually a great
time
of the year to target large bass as evidenced by a 4 and 5 pound
smallmouth
bass Brian Lewis observed on Norway Lake last Saturday. While overall
angling pressure is dropping, catch rates are holding up, and we still
receive good reports of salmon, brown trout, rainbow trout, and even
brook
trout being taken. In most years, brook trout fishing typically offers
the
bulk of the action for the first month of the season, but not this
year.
We're seeing brook trout still taken in March, particularly for those
that
down size their bait and are willing to jig. Otter Pond #2 (Standish),
Littlefield Pond (Sanford), and Worthley Pond (Poland) are good
prospects
for late season brook trout action.
Overall, low winter use and harvest should provide a windfall to late
season
winter anglers and those awaiting the open water fishing season.
On a final note regarding the preparation of weekly fishing
reports...We
have strived to provide a balance between providing up to date fishing
information for anglers, while not disclosing "secret" fishing
locations or
techniques. It is imperative for the successful management of
fisheries in
the region that we receive information from the public on
water-specific
management and we have tried to be discrete in our use of this
information,
particularly when requested. We hope this balance has been achieved
and
anglers remain comfortable contacting regional biologists to discuss
their
fishing experiences, as well as with their concerns.
-Francis Brautigam, Regional Fisheries Biologist
Region B - Central Maine
This being the last weekly fishing report of the ice fishing season, I
thought a short review of the season would be appropriate. Highlights
of the
season were poor ice conditions coupled with a few bad weekends of
weather
and lots of water. For these reasons, fishing pressure was down
considerably. Data from our surveys indicate angler use down
approximately
40 % from last year, with one lake down as much as 85 %. Another
reason
fishing pressure may be down is catch rates. We have noted in previous
years
that during high water, winter fishing is usually slow, and we
certainly
have had plenty of water this winter. The good news is that catch rates
appear to be picking up for the last weeks of the season, and if ice
conditions hold up, there should be good fishing. The slow winter
fishing is
good news for the spring angler. The low number of fish harvested this
winter will make more fish available this spring. A number of ponds
that
received fall yearling stockings of brook trout (12-14") last fall will
be
good places to start your open water fishing come April 1.
-James Lucas, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist
Region C - Downeast
After last weekend's 50 degree weather and this week's rain, ice
conditions are deteriorating fast, especially on the immediate coastal
waters that had just buttoned up within the last couple of weeks.
Caution
is the word on the larger lakes below Route 9 as the ice turns to mush.
The
warm, wet conditions turn the top of the ice to "corn" ice and the
sun's
penetrating rays warm surface waters and erode ice from underneath.
With
both of these phenomenon's working, it won't be long before ice
conditions
turn treacherous on its way to early ice outs.
Tip of week! Those anglers seeking to catch large smallmouth bass
through
the ice need to know that now is the time. Typically, smallmouths are
dormant in the winter months as they serve out their 190 day starvation
period in the temperate regions of North America. This begins in
October and
ends in May. Within this period of time, smallies move very little and
feed
seldom while living off their fat reserves. However, as spawning time
in
May and June approaches, big gravid (loaded with eggs) females need
nutrients to help with egg development and will start to feed in
February
and March. These pregnant feeding forays usually happen around cover
areas
where food is plentiful such as rock piles, points, saddle areas,
downed
trees and weed beds. Anglers seeking to catch these 3 to 4 ½ pound
fish
should use large bait and fish them in 6 to 15 feet of water with the
bait
set at least 3 feet off the bottom, over the tops of cover. Remember,
fish
can see up better than they can see down, so placing your bait up high
is
your best bet. Here are a few Downeast waters where past winters have
proven successful for the ardent bass angler: Webb Pond - Eastbrook,
Georges Pond - Franklin, Jones Pond - Gouldsboro, Molasses Pond -
Eastbrook,
Alamoosook Lake - Orland, Toddy Pond - Orland, Boyden Lake - Perry and
Round
Lake in Charlotte. Consult your law book on these waters and others,
as
many of these lakes have a 1 fish bag and 18-inch length limit on bass.
Now for a bit of Downeast togue (lake trout) history and science. It
may
interest many of you that most our togue populations in Hancock and
Washington counties are not native to the waters where we now find
them.
For the past ten years, biologists in this region have looked closely
at 8
self-sustaining populations of togue Downeast, to better understand
their
performances in these lakes. To do this, it was best to go back to the
beginning and look at when togue were first introduced. The 8 waters
we
researched that now have moderate to over abundant wild lake trout
populations are: Branch Lake, Toddy Pond, Tunk Lake, West Grand Lake,
Eagle
Lake, Jordan Pond, Beech Hill Pond and Phillips Lake.
Of these waters, Branch Lake was the oldest stocked lake trout water
Downeast, as its one and only stocking occurred in 1899. From this
stocking, as most of you know, derived a thriving togue population that
is
now its principle fishery.
Beech Hill Pond, Toddy Pond, Tunk Lake, Phillips Lake and West Grand
Lake
where all stocked for the first time between 1937 and 1938, and stocked
periodically until 1989. Jordan Pond was first stocked in 1944 and
periodically until 1992. Eagle Lake was first stocked in 1974 and
stocking
ended in 1995. All of the above stockings were ceased after it was
determined that these populations were producing well enough on their
own to
sustain a fishery and keep themselves going. The success of these
self-sustaining populations is largely contributed to the increased
protective general length limit of 18 inches that was established in
the
late 1970's, as well as an increase in catch and release angling.
Both of
these conservation efforts helped protect mature females reach their
spawning shoals and increase reproduction rates.
In looking closely at these established populations, biologists
collected
ear bones (otoliths) from wild togue from the eight waters to learn
more
about their growth rates and longevity. The only way to do this is to
pop
ear bones from sampled fish, look at them under a microscope, examine
the
growth rings and determine their ages. It was interesting to find the
following averages from each of the individual waters:
West Grand Lake - age 4 fish averaged 19. 5 inches, age 6 averaged
20.25
inches, age 8, 20.5 inches, age 10, 21 inches, age 14, 22.5 inches and
age
18 year old fish averaged 23.3 inches. The oldest fish we examined
were age
18.
Branch Lake - age 6 -19.8 inches, age 8 - 20.2 inches, age 10 - 21.2
inches,
and age 11 fish averaged 22.4 inches. The oldest specimen examined was
13
years old and 22.83 inches long.
Beech Hill Pond - age 4 - 17 inches, age 6 - 19 inches, age 7 - 20.2
inches,
age 10 - 23.5 inches. The oldest fish examined was 12 years old and
25.47
inches.
Tunk Lake - age 6 - 14.95 inches, age 7 -15.53 inches, age 11 - 22.22
inches, age 12 - 22.79 inches, age 14 - 22.8 inches, age 16 - 24.58
inches.
The oldest fish sampled at Tunk was 23 years old and measured 35.98
inches
long.
Phillips Lake - age 7 - 16.99 inches, age 8 - 17.32 inches, age 9 -
17.19
inches, age 13 - 21.52 inches. The oldest fish examined was 15 years
old
and measured 20.67 inches.
Toddy Pond - age 4 - 13.82 inches, age 7 -13.39 inches, age 8 - 14.94
inches, age 10 - 15.94 inches, age 11 - 16.18 inches, age 13 - 20.33
inches.
The oldest fish examined was 16 years old and 20.55 inches.
Eagle Lake - age 4 - 11.96 inches, age 11 - 21 inches, age 12 - 22.84
inches, age 14 23.96 inches. The oldest specimen examined was 19 years
old
and measured 25.61 inches.
Jordan Pond - age 4 - 12.73 inches, age 5 - 13.4 inches, age 7 - 16.6
inches, age 8 - 18.19, age 11 - 21.22 inches. The oldest fish
examined was
12 years old and measured 21.65 inches.
I hope you find this information interesting. For a more in-depth
analysis
of these findings I will be publishing a report this summer. If you're
interested in receiving a copy of this report please e-mail your
mailing
address and I will send you one as soon as they come off the presses.
My
e-mail address is gregory.burr@maine.gov
<mailto:gregory.burr@maine.gov>
-Greg Burr, Fisheries Biologist Specialist
Region D - Western Mountains
Last week's fine spring-like weather kept lots of folks interested in
ice
fishing, despite the sloppy conditions. Many lakes had a few inches of
standing water, especially on the windward shores, and getting around
on
snowmobiles continued to present some difficulties due to the lack of
snow.
When these conditions persist, an ATV is often a better choice for
traveling.
The warm March temperatures are pleasant, of course, but in most cases
it
means the best days have passed for salmon, trout, and togue fishing.
Recognizing this, many ice anglers place more emphasis on warmwater
species,
such as white perch, pickerel, and bass. March can provide the best
bass
fishing of the winter, and indeed we've seen some excellent catches
during
the last week or so. Late-season bass are usually some of the largest
fish
seen during the winter. These big bass are often the first to initiate
spawning later in the spring, because they've passed through the tough
Maine
winter with plenty of stored energy. Clearwater Lake and Hancock Pond
are
good bets for big, late-winter smallmouths.
Overall, the 2006 ice fishing season has been rather hum-drum. Poor
ice,
weird weather, and the generally slow fishing make me look forward to
ice-out, and baseball season.
-Dave Boucher, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist
Region E - Moosehead Region
In our travels this weekend, the Moosehead fisheries staff surprisingly
were
faced with some tough traveling on Moosehead and Sebec Lakes. With the
lack
of snow on the lakes, the warm temperatures created lots of standing
water.
By mid afternoon, most of the ice was covered with an inch of water and
many
pockets of 6 to 12 inches of water were also encountered. Whether
folks
were on snowmobiles or ATV's it seemed that no one was able to keep
dry.
Oddly enough, a good set of rain gear was definitely the garment of
choice
this beautiful, sunny weekend.
People venturing onto lakes and ponds which have water on them should
be
cautious around pressure ridges and even in areas of earlier ice
fishing
activity. We observed the water draining through cracks around these
ridges
and old fishing holes. Water draining through these openings had
eroded the
ice and opened them up considerably. One fishing hole I observed was
acting
like a sink drain and had opened up approximately 2 feet across.
We did encountered several parties fishing in the Rockwood and
Greenville
areas. I also noted that several of the parties contained our next
generation of anglers. Many of these parties had brought the
youngsters
along to take advantage of the warm March weather. Unfortunately, the
fish
did not seem to cooperate, as very few fish were observed on the ice.
However, the youngsters I spoke with were having a good time just the
same.
One little guy mentioned that the hot dogs were good and the snow was
sticky!
Moosehead Lake gave up a very nice lake trout this past week. Neal
Molaghan
of Rockwood caught the 15-½ pound, 37-½ inch lake trout. The word from
Sebec Lake this past week was that fish were coming slow but the salmon
and
lake trout that were caught were in exceptionally good condition. Lake
trout in the 5 to 7 pound class were checked on the ice and a couple
nice
salmon in the 3-pound range.
Mid to late March is a time when anglers who have ice shacks on a body
of
water should start thinking about pulling them off or at least getting
them
closer to an access point so they aren't faced with venturing out onto
bad
ice. This was evident this past weekend as many shacks showed up at
various
landings around Moosehead. Anglers that haven't been to their ice
shack
for a while may want to do so to ensure that it remains high and dry.
Warmer temperatures have a tendency to cause blocking materials
supporting
ice shacks to settle into the ice and slush. And as anyone that has
found a
shack in this condition can attest it's not a fun task in getting it
out.
As a quick reminder to anglers removing shacks from Maine waters, here
are a
couple of the laws pertaining to ice shacks on Maine waters:
* Any ice fishing shack left for more than 15 days on property
not owned by the person owning the shack, without permission of the
landowner, is considered abandoned and may be removed or destroyed by
the
landowner. The landowner may recover any costs incurred for removal or
destruction of the shack through civil action.
* All ice fishing shacks, while on the ice of any inland
waters, must be labeled on the outside in 2-inch letters with the name
and
address of the owner. Ice fishing shacks must be removed from the ice
of
inland waters within 3 days after those waters close to ice fishing.
(This
also applies on border waters with New Hampshire).
For example: Sebec Lake closes this Wednesday, March 15th. Ice shacks
must be removed from the ice by March 18th and removed from the access
point
by March 30th.
It was reported this past weekend that one of our radio tagged lake
trout
from Moosehead Lake was caught. The lake trout was caught and released
in
the Rockwood Area. There is no way to tell which of the 26 lake trout
it
was as the tags are located inside the fish with no exterior
distinguishing
marks other than the visible antenna running along its stomach. This
lake
trout is the second fish to be caught of the 30 fish we collected and
tagged
this past fall. We would like to thank the angler that caught and
released
this fish and would also encourage other anglers if they should
encounter
one of our tagged fish on the end of their line to release it as well.
Attached is a photo of Neal Molaghan with a 15 1/2 pound Moosehead Lake
lake
trout.
-Jeff Bagley, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist
Region F, Penobscot Region
Fishing success has remained quite spotty across the region with very
good
fishing in some places and very slow in fishing in others. Recent
reports
indicate that fishing has been slow in East Grand and Deering Lake in
the
eastern part of the region, but it has been better in the waters in
upper
Hancock County.
Cold Stream in Enfield has produced some good lake trout fishing and
the
liberal regulations have allowed anglers to keep more fish. This winter
some
very nice salmon in the 5-pound class have been taken as well. There
has
been some excellent fishing on the kids only ponds, Pickerel Pond near
Old
Town, Jerry Pond in Millinocket and Little Round Pond in Lincoln.
Reports
from Seboeis Lake have been good. Anglers are reporting nice catches of
salmon, splake and white perch. South Branch Lake is producing lots of
nice
white perch. Upper Jo Mary anglers are catching 16" salmon and 10"
brook
trout. If there are any pickerel anglers reading this, Passamagamet
Lake in
T1R9 is producing some four plus ponders.
As spring approaches, the Cobb Fish Hatchery crew under the direction
of
fish culture supervisor Henry Hartley will begin working on their
spring
stocking schedule. This spring, the guys here at the hatchery are
scheduled
to stock 10,400 landlocked salmon, 23,000 splake, 12,500 lake trout,
and
68,000 brook trout. The total number of fish being reared at fish
hatchery
is 125,500. Cobb Hatchery has 3 new faces; John Wilmot, Assistant Fish
Culturist and Fish Culturist A.J. Ludden and Trapper Lemay are
responsible
for producing some of the best fish in the State.
The warm temperatures of the past week and the 1/2 " of rain is rapidly
deteriorating ice conditions. Use extreme caution when venturing onto
any
lake to ice fish. The increasing warm temperatures and the movement of
smelts into their spawning areas should turn the tables on the doldrums
and
the cold temperatures of winter, reviving the interest of both angler
and
game fish.
-Brian Campbell, Fisheries Biologist Specialist
Region G - Aroostook County
Warm weather conditions made for sloppy travel this weekend, but this
did
not deter anglers heading to the Musquacook Lake area to fish.
Nineteen
anglers were checked on Clear Lake Saturday, the most activity I have
seen
in the previous weekends that I had been checking the lake. All
anglers
were targeting lake whitefish with jig sticks in hand (one angler was
using
two jig sticks at the same time!). Several whitefish, trout and togue
were
caught while the bite was on in the morning, but come afternoon, the
only
action was grabbing a tan from the warm sunshine. A number of anglers
were
also checked on 2nd Musquacook with several togue and trout laid out on
the
ice. Road conditions for travel are equally as sloppy as the travel on
the
ice as the roads were breaking up under the bright skies. Anglers
traveling
to the back country lakes to fish should be prepared for rough travel
until
a cold spell arrives but it is normal in mid to late March to have the
sun
by mid-day melt the ice in the roads as bare gravel is exposed to
absorb the
heat. I would emphasize bringing suitable tarps or covers to protect
gear
when enroute in vehicles or sleds. Sunscreen and sunglasses are
equally
nice to have this time of year.
This past weekend was the last one to fish Long, Cross, Square and
Eagle
lakes in the Fish River Chain as these lakes close to fishing on March
15.
Ice conditions at present are excellent for removing shacks from these
lakes. This winter will be remembered for the world record salmon
caught on
a tip-up at Long Lake. Will this record stand for 15 years as was the
case
with the former record? Only time will tell but it will make for a
shorter
summer in anticipation of ice fishing season 2007!
In closing, I would like to offer my congratulations and thanks for a
job
well done to Ron Brokaw, the soon to be retired Regional Fishery
Biologist
from Region C in Jonesboro, our Downeast region. I have enjoyed
working
with Ron these past 27 years and in all cases, whether or not you
agreed
with his management proposals, you can be assured that his first and
foremost concern was the fishery resource. His quick wit and laughter
has
been especially appreciated at meetings in which topics are often beat
to
death like a dead beaver. His two drawbacks: that of being a Mets fan
in
Red Sox Nation and a University of New Hampshire graduate in Black Bear
Country! Best Wishes in your retirement Ron and thanks for the
memories.
Go Sox!
-Dave Basley, Regional Fisheries Biologist
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