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 28, 2006
March 28, 2006 Open Water Fishing Preview
Region A- Southwestern Maine
The absence of a snow pack, and with no significant precipitation
forecast
over the next week should maintain the unusually low flows present in
area
streams and rivers for early season anglers. These conditions will
provide
excellent fishing conditions for the start of the open water season.
Streams and rivers usually offer the earliest open water fishing
prospects,
but this year is the exception. Mild winter weather conditions have
created
lots of open water on our most southern lakes and ponds, and at the
time of
this report (3/27) many ponds in York and Cumberland counties are ice
free
(or nearly so). In fact the ice left Kennebunk Pond (Lyman) several
weeks
ago, and Crystal Lake (Gray) lost most of its hard surface over this
past
weekend.
Typically early lake fishing opportunities are limited to shore
fishermen,
who target the melting edge water around lakes or at lake inlets and
outlets. Popular and productive lake-side fisheries exist on Auburn
Lake
(salmon, togue, brook trout), at the Route 302 causeway between Long
Lake
and Bay of Naples in Naples (browns, salmon), the "heath" at the
southern
end of Thompson Lake in Poland (salmon), the mouth the Songo River in
Casco
where a small boat can be floated in Sebago Lake (salmon & togue), the
confluence of Sebago Lake and the Muddy River off Route 114 in Naples
(salmon), and the trestle bridge located in Standish, where the Sticky
River
flows into Sebago Lake. However, this year, boat fishermen should have
no
problem finding waters to fish on April first, including portions of
our
larger lakes like Sebago and Thompson.
Heavy precipitation and high flows have caused delays in stocking the
last
two 2 years, but weather related delays are not anticipated this year,
with
stocking scheduled to begin April 7th. Cumberland, Androscoggin and
York
Counties are the focus of early regional stockings, with streams and
small
ponds first to be stocked. The Presumpscot River (Windham), Pleasant
River
(Windham), Little River (Gorham), Mill Brook (Westbrook), Ogunquit
River
(Wells), Merriland River (Wells), Great Works River (Berwick), and the
Mousam River (Sanford) are some of the first streams stocked. Staff at
Dry
Mills Hatchery, New Gloucester Hatchery, and Casco Hatchery will be
assisted
by volunteers from various fish and game clubs in York County.
Stocking
will move northward in keeping with the normal progression of ice melt
and
the thawing of our waterways. Anglers should check out the
Department's web
site (www.mefishwildlife.com) for last year's stocking report, which
may
vary some from year to year, but will provide a good indication of
where and
when the fish are stocked.
A number of flowing waters in southern Maine are stocked in the fall
with
larger size fall yearling trout and offer a good opportunity in the
spring
to catch larger hold-over brook & brown trout. These waters include,
the
Salmon Falls River below South Berwick Dam (browns), Mousam River below
Route 1 in Kennebunk (browns), Ogunquit River below Route 1 (browns),
Saco
River below Skelton Dam in Dayton (browns+brook), Saco River - Bonney
Eagle
Bypass (browns), Saco River, below Hiram Dam (browns), and Pleasant
River -
special management section in Windham.
A number of lake inlet streams also can provide some great early season
fishing for larger fish stocked in lakes, including Panther Run off
Mill
Street in Raymond (salmon), Sebago Locks in Casco (salmon), and Pump
Box
Brook below Route 11 in Shapleigh (browns & brook trout). Some of the
largest spring-caught trout are taken below dams at lake outlets.
Trout
commonly drop out of lakes and may be taken during early spring at the
base
of outlet dams.
Many regional lakes experienced reduced fishing pressure and harvest
last
winter, which should translate into some better open water angling
opportunities across the region. In fact many of our waters stocked
with
legal-size brook trout last fall experienced good fishing through the
entire
winter fishing season and many of these stocked trout will be available
during the early part of open water fishing season. These types of
waters
are excellent prospects for early spring brook trout action. Otter
Pond #2
(Standish), Worthley Pond (Poland), Littlefield Pond (Sanford), and
Knight's
Pond (S Berwick) are expected to provide some good pond fishing at the
start
of the open water season.
Salmon are the fish of choice for many traditional early spring anglers
and
with an early ice out in progress many salmon waters (or portion
thereof)
will be open to trolling on April 1st and the rest will follow soon
after.
My picks for good salmon action include: Auburn Lake (Auburn), Trickey
Pond
(Naples), South Pond (Greenwood), and Bryant Pond (Bryant Pond), Moose
Pond
(Bridgton), Thompson Lake (Otisfield), Crescent Lake (Raymond), Panther
Pond
(Raymond), and Sebago lake. The salmon fishing on Sebago is not
expected to
be fast, but will offer some quality salmon up to 8 pounds.
While fishing Sebago and its tributaries, anglers are again reminded to
kill
and keep any northern pike that are caught and report your catch to a
fisheries biologist at the Gray Regional headquarters (657-2345).
Northern
Pike are very active and spawn during ice out, frequently traveling
into
inlets in search of spawning habitat.
-Francis Brautigam, Regional Fisheries Biologist
Region B - Central Maine
If the warmer weather conditions continue at their present trend, we
are
going to see many lakes and ponds loose their winter coats just in time
for
the first day of open water fishing season. This Saturday holds a great
promise of having significantly more open water than most seasons past.
For
many anglers, the opening day is a tradition to just get out and wet a
line.
In general, many anglers that do venture out to fish opening day are
very
seldom rewarded with any fish. If you are one of those anglers who
always
thought about wetting a line on opening day, this may be the year to
give it
a try.
With last fall's rains and this year's ice conditions, there will be
many
more fish susceptible to open water anglers. As is usual, last fall the
department stocked fall yearling brook trout for the upcoming ice
fishing
season. The rain that we encountered during the fall could have played
a
major role on harvest and movement of those stocked fish. Some of the
trout
might have been attracted by the high flows and moved into the inlets
or the
outlets of the waters stocked.
The results from our winter creel census work showed low harvest rates
for
these fall yearling fish. This, in return, means more trout for the
open
water anglers. I would suggest that you take a look at the fall
yearling
stocking report at
<http://www.maine.gov/ifw/fishing/fishstockingreports/2005/index.htm>,
to
see the whole list of stocked waters. Then try some of the outlets of
the
various waters that were stocked last fall with fall yearling brook
trout. A
few that come to mind would be Lake St. George (Liberty), Wassookeag
Lake
(Dexter), Long Pond (Belgrade) and Great Moose Pond (Hartland).
-Scott Davis, Fisheries Biologist Specialist
Region C - Downeast
Exciting April fishing opportunities await anglers in the Downeast
region.
Many lakes and ponds will have recently experienced ice-out prior to
opening
day that will produce immediate action for salmon and trout. The thin
ice
conditions that prevailed across the area through out the winter helped
reduce the ice fishing harvest and consequently more fish carried over
to
open water anglers. Here is the inside scoop on what anglers can
expect for
early action.
Landlocked Salmon
Long Pond - Mount Desert Island - is one of my top picks for hot salmon
trolling. This water, immediate to the coast will be wide open on
April
1st. It experienced very little use this past winter and should hold
some
eager landlocks averaging between 17 and 20 inches.
Green Lake - Ellsworth - This deep cold lake stubbornly sealed over
late in
the season and experienced little winter use. Trollers should have
good
fishing for 15 to 17 inch salmon with a reasonable chance at a lunker
togue.
Nashes Lake - Calais - This little known water is the sleeper for nice
sized
salmon. Anglers here should have good fishing for salmon between 17 to
22
inches.
Tunk Lake - T 10 SD - This water barely had safe ice on its main body
leaving only a brave few to fish it this past winter. This translates
into
more big salmon at large. Although this lake usually takes a few weeks
after opening day to heat up, it's worth anglers putting it on their
list
for early salmon trolling.
Jordan Pond - Seal Harbor - This relatively small but deep water was
another
pond that sealed over late and saw very little use this past winter.
It
holds big salmon and is worth anglers giving it a try as they could
have a
good catch of silversides between 17 and 22 inches.
Cathance Lake - Cooper - After a sensational open water season last
year, I
predict this water will be just fair fishing this spring. Ice fishing
was
good this past winter and between the last two seasons of use and
harvest,
and the low stocking rate, along with a poorer condition of salmon,
fishing
will likely not be as fast as 2005. But I do expect that there will be
some
good catches of salmon between 17 and 21 inches. This water's main
body
will be ice-free shortly before or after April 1st, but the landing
cove's
ice may keep anglers at bay for a few days longer before it melts away.
West Grand Lake - Grand Lake Stream - The spring's salmon prospects for
this
region's biggest water looks good. Last fall's sampling showed that
salmon
are in excellent condition and together with the lake's winter use
being
down, equals more fat, active landlocks for the trolling fraternity.
Anglers here can expect to catch sassy fish between 16 and 20 inches.
Big Lake - T 27 ED - This lake was the recipient of a flush of salmon
for
Grand Lake Stream this past fall and winter making salmon numbers good
for
this spring's fishing. This is one of my top picks for April and May
salmon
trolling. Anglers here should expect very good action for landlocks
between
17 and 19 inches.
The Narrows between Long & Lewy Lakes - Princeton - This is one of the
best
early salmon areas in the region especially following big flush years
when
Grand Lake Stream's salmon get pushed down in the drainage. This
stretch of
water is best fished in the month of April.
Gardner Lake - East Machias - This is another one of my top picks for
very
good salmon action in April and May. Reports from this winter indicate
that
the salmon are in terrific condition and were eager to bite. This
coupled
with the little use that it experienced this past winter makes for
winning a
combination for spring trollers.
Alligator Lake - T 34 MD - This water will be slow for spring fishermen
because of the absence of the age three year class but the remaining
2's,
4's and 5 year old cohorts will make for some of the biggest salmon
anglers
will experience in the region. It's not unlikely that some lucky
angler
will catch a 6-pound plus salmon here.
Grand Lake Stream - town of Grand Lake Stream - We predict slow opening
day
fishing in the dam pool for the usual kelt salmon. This is due to the
past
fall's and winter high water flows resulting from torrential rains.
This
pushed the weary post spawn salmon out of their wintering holding area
and
down into Big Lake and beyond. Consequently, April fishing in the
stream
will be slow but don't fear, because use in West Grand Lake this past
winter
was low and this, coupled with good growing salmon, translates into a
good
migration of bright fat salmon in May.
Brook Trout
Fox Pond - T 10 SD - This water will be stocked in mid-April with 9 to
11
inch trout that will produce good roadside fishing off Route 182. This
water is also stocked with brown trout and anglers commonly catch a big
brownie in amongst their brookies.
Lower Hadlock Pond - Northeast Harbor - This water is stocked heavy
with
large and small brookies in the fall as well as brown trout in the
spring,
so it should be prime for early trout action. This water has a
waterside
footpath all the way around it that provides many vistas and bank
fishing
opportunities.
Orland River - Orland - Between just below the Alamoosook Lake Dam and
the
Mast Hill Road, the Department will again stock this section of the
Orland
River that last spring provided popular brook trout fishing
opportunities
for newly stocked spring yearling trout ranging from 9 to 11 inches.
This
is a great place to take kids and bank fish or for an adult to fly fish
and
ply the waters with streamers and dry flies. This stretch will be
stocked
in mid April.
Union River - Ellsworth - Below Route 1A and Leonard's Lake and off the
mouth Branch Lake Stream, the Dept. will again stock 9 to 11 inch
brookies
in mid April for immediate fishing opportunities. This was first done
by
the Dept. last spring and was a big hit with local youngsters. This
section
of the Union River is best accessed off the Christian Ridge Road by
Branch
Lake Stream.
Long Pond - Great Pond Plt. - This one of the region's best trout
waters for
fish between 14 and 16 inches with occasional trout being caught over
20
inches. This pond is accessed off the GMO 27-00-0 road in the village
of
Great Pond.
Six Mile Lake - Marshfield - This water is another current two-story
fishery
with both brown trout and brook trout. This water was not open to ice
fishing and was stocked with brookies last fall. These 9 to 11 inch
trout
are waiting your arrival and are usually eager to bite a worm or
trolled
spinner.
Middle River - Machias/Marshfield - The small little known river starts
at
First Mark's Lake Dam off Route 192 and drains into the Machias River 3
miles away. The Department stocks brook trout in three different
locations
along the river with the lower section below the Marshfield Road being
restricted to children's only fishing. This river will be stocked
twice
this spring, once in mid May and once in early June. This is a great
area
for moms and dads to spend the day; morning or evening, with children
bank
fishing for feisty newly stocked trout.
North Myers Pond - Columbia - This is a terrific children's only water
that
is stocked early in the spring and provides great bank fishing for
kids.
Brown Trout
Walker Pond - Sedgwick - This water will be hot for good size browns
caught
trolling along the drop-offs in April and May. This water produced a
10
pounder last winter but was fished very little because of poor ice
conditions.
King Pond - Great Pond Plt. - This is a terrific remote brown trout
water
that produces nice sized browns for early trollers. Remember to troll
tight
to the shore with the tip of your rod almost touching the over hanging
branches.
Rocky Lake - Whiting - This is a little known lake and is a sleeper for
browns in the spring. Rocky Lake has a new dam that has raised the
water
level, making it better for navigation into the main lake and better
for
shoreline trolling for browns. The Department has just purchased the
launch
site next to the dam and trailered boats can now be launched because of
the
new water level. This lake can be reached by traveling to the end of
Hall's
Mills Road.
Pennamaquan Lake - Charlotte - This lake is producing big browns and is
ripe
for early shoreline trolling. This lake will be ice-free come April
1st.
The Department just purchased a trailerable boat launch off the Porter
Landing Road and anglers are encouraged to use it.
I hope this information is helpful to kick-off a successful fishing
season.
Have fun and be safe, and remember to wear a life jacket around our
cold
spring waters.
-Greg Burr, Fisheries Biologist Specialist
Region D - Western Mountains
What's bad for ice fishing is good for open water fishing. I don't
believe
I've ever seen conditions so favorable for open water fishing this time
of
year. Rivers are free of ice or partially so, and water levels are
low.
With continued mild weather predicted, the only problem may be an early
crop
of black flies. We have a number of waters scheduled to receive
stockings
of spring yearling brook trout, but that won't happen by opening day.
In
the meantime, here are some opportunities for wild fish and holdover
stocked
fish. The main stems of the big rivers (the Androscoggin and the
Kennebec)
are excellent bets for brown trout, rainbow trout, and brook trout.
The
Sandy River and the lower Carrabassett Rivers are mostly free of ice
and, as
I mentioned, water levels are low and fishable. Even smaller brooks,
which
are usually flowing over their banks this time of year, should yield
some
wild trout. The ice is still in most of our lakes, but it is black and
unsafe. We predict that it will be going out at least a couple of
weeks
early this year, including the big lakes in the Rangeley area.
We have begun our spring fieldwork already. Dave Boucher and Dave
Howatt
set nets in Norcross Pond, Chesterville, to determine whether pike
-which
were illegally stocked upstream in Mosher Pond - have moved to the next
pond
downstream. This illegal introduction threatens our wild fisheries
throughout the Sandy River drainage as these predators will, over time,
move
for miles. Responding to illegal fish introductions is taking up more
and
more of our time as we combat the spread of pike and bass.
-Forrest Bonney, Regional Fisheries Biologist
Region E - Moosehead Region
Well, no one can complain about a long, cold winter this year. April is
coming and that means it's time to put away the ice auger and
snowmobile and
pick up the rod and reel. Time to pack away the woolies and get out
the hip
boots. Maine has some truly exceptional fishing if you know where to
go and
how to do it. The Greenville area is a favorite destination for
anglers.
Within a short drive from downtown, you can have your pick of fishing
opportunities, including: trophy wild brook trout fishing on small
ponds,
river fishing for salmon and brook trout, big lake fishing for trout,
salmon, and togue, brook fishing for pan-sized brookies, remote hike-in
ponds either wild or stocked brook trout, easy access family fishing
ponds
stocked with trout, and several quality bass waters. Anglers should
check
the law book this spring. There have been many changes due to the
consolidation of trout regulations; most notably waters that previously
had
a 1 trout bag limit with a 12 in minimum length limit have been changed
to a
1 fish bag with a 14 inch minimum length limit. This includes
Moosehead
Lake, Chamberlain Lake, and Big Benson Pond. So please review your
2006
open water lawbook before heading out.
Despite the mild winter there will be very little open water in the
Moosehead Lake Region on April 1st. The lakes and ponds will still be
iced
in but anglers can cast a line in several rivers in the Region. Flows
should be favorable since there has been little runoff this spring.
The
East Outlet, Moose River, and Roach River are all open on April 1st.
Anglers should remember that these rivers have a catch and release
regulation until May 1. We are optimistic that the salmon fishing will
be
good on these rivers this coming summer. Growth and survival have
improved
and the poor ice fishing conditions kept winter use and harvest to a
minimum, which could create a windfall for summer anglers.
The Piscataquis River is open year-round and anglers will find it
fishable.
There is also a traditional early season salmon fishery on the West
Branch
of the Penobscot River. Salmon anglers fish the deadwaters for
overwintering salmon. Success can vary depending on flows, but many
anglers
just like to get out and put a line in the water. There are different
regulations along the West Branch so know where you are fishing and
know the
regulations on the section of river you plan to fish.
If the mild weather continues then you can expect an early ice-out on
the
lakes and ponds in the Moosehead Lake Region. Smaller waters usually
have
enough open water by the last week of April and larger lakes soon
after.
The cool, wet summer of 2005 should have helped trout populations in
many
smaller ponds that normally get stressed during the warm summer months.
We
should expect better than average survival and growth in these waters.
Ice
fishing pressure was down everywhere this winter due to poor ice and
travel
conditions. This is both good and bad for fisheries management. The
good
news is lighter winter use and harvest means more fish for the summer
anglers. The bad news is that several waters actually benefit from
winter
harvest. For example, at Moosehead Lake the majority of the lake trout
harvest occurs in the winter and we need to remove a large number of
the
smaller fish to encourage better growth for the other gamefish,
especially
salmon. Although we haven't crunched the numbers yet, it is unlikely
that
we met our winter goal for the harvest of lake trout in the 14-18 in
range.
The Fisheries staff in the Moosehead Lake Region is anxiously awaiting
ice
out. We have a busy and exciting spring field season ahead of us. As
soon
as the ice goes out we will trapnet two of our trout ponds that have
the new
experimental trout slot limit. We will also monitor smelt runs on
several of
our lakes. In May we will be cooperating with Brookfield Power Company
and
Florida Power and Light on a radio-telemetry study that is designed to
create/improve fishing in a few rivers in the Region. We will also
continue
to monitor the movement of wild lake trout and brook trout implanted
with
radio tags last fall on Moosehead Lake. We will be heading back to
Misery
Pond in late May - early June to follow-up on the report of an illegal
bass
introduction into this trout pond in 2004. Last year we did not find
any
evidence of bass and the trapnetting effort also enabled us to remove
large
quantities of competing species in this wild trout pond. Our fingers
are
crossed that the report was false since bass in this water could
eventually
spread to the Moose River drainage above Brassua Lake and into the
Jackman
area.
-Tim Obrey, Regional Fisheries Biologist
Region F, Penobscot Region
Although open water season begins on April 1, fishing opportunity
will be limited in Region F for the first few weeks of the season. The
ice
is out on most rivers and streams in the southern part of the region,
and
flows are nearly normal in larger rivers and streams, but the smaller
streams and brooks have very low water levels. The normal flow for the
Penobscot River in Enfield is about 15,000 cfs and the present flow is
at
10,800 cfs. Also, river flows will continue to decline unless some
significant rainfall occurs in the next few weeks. Conditions for the
salmon fishery in the West Branch of the Penobscot should be quite
good
early, the current flow is about 3500 cfs, in the season but again
unless
there is significant rainfall, dam gates will be lowered and flows in
the
West Branch will be reduced to conserve water. Water temperatures are
still quite low so although fishing access to smaller brooks and
streams
will be good, low temperatures will contribute to slower fishing
activity.
Suggestions for some great early bass fishing would be the Penobscot
and Piscataquis Rivers. The Penobscot has been free of ice off and on
all
winter and has been mostly free of ice for 2 weeks. This past weekend
the
remaining ice in the Piscataquis around Howland went out. The anxious
bass
angler should be able to catch a few on April 1st.
It appears that generally, ice out will be about two weeks early in
Region F. Some of our Bass waters that we would expect to be free of
ice in
the next couple of weeks are Pushaw Pond (Old Town), Stump Pond
(Lincoln),
Dolby Pond Millinocket, South Branch Lake (Seboeis). As the water
temperatures increase, pickerel and white perch catches will increase.
Pickerel and Northern Pike (found in Pushaw lake) will be spawning in
the
shallow weedy coves. These fish are especially aggressive hungry soon
after
spawning this can give the early open water angler lots of excitement.
Region F is expecting some great spring fishing for Brook Trout,
Lake Trout, Splake, and Salmon. This past winter we observed that
fishing
pressure thought the region was well below normal. Poor ice conditions
for
most of the winter and extreme changes in the weather were the major
contributors to this. With this in mind, fish that we expected to be
harvested still remain. These fish will be providing the spring angler
with
lots of opportunities. For the early spring angler might we suggest
several
waters: Seboeis (T4R9 NWP) - this water should produce some great
Splake and
Salmon fishing. East Musquash (Topsfield) - Should produce some nice
Lake
Trout and Salmon. Silver Lake (Lee), Trout Pond (Lowell), Little Round
Pond
(Lincoln), Jerry Pond (Millinocket) -- should still have some of the
fall
stocked Brook trout hanging around waiting for a fly. We expect these
waters
to be ice free or at least have enough open water to fish next week.
Most of
our regions waters should be open buy mid April depending on the
weather.
The smelt runs should be going full steam in about 2 weeks. So get your
fishing gear ready and you can leave you bug repellent home at least
for a
couple of weeks.
-Mike Smith, Regional Fisheries Biologist and Brian Campbell, Fisheries
Biologist Specialist
Region G - Aroostook County
Ice conditions at the present time suggest that we may have an early
ice out
in northern Maine. A recent trip to St. Froid Lake had much water and
corn
ice on the surface by the time we left at 2:00 p.m. Although there was
still about 30 inches of ice, the auger went through it like a hot
knife
through butter except for the last 8-10 inches, which is about all of
the
blue ice that we got in early winter. A lot depends on what we get for
weather, but normal spring conditions may result in open water anglers
enjoying their sport a few days early.
During the winter, regions were asked to develop suggestions for
various
fishing opportunities in their management region. This information can
be
viewed on the Department web site under Fishing Opportunities in the
Fishing
section. This is an excellent internet site to visit for places to
fish in
this management region.
Anglers fishing in the Fish River Lakes Region should be aware of
several
regulation chnages that are in effect for 2006. Most of the lakes that
had a
daily bag limit of 2 trout with a minimum length limit of 8 inches now
have
a minimum length limit of 6 inches. On most of the waters in T15R9
WELS,
Aroostook County and the Pelletier Brook Lakes, the minimum length
limit on
trout is now 6 inches - the special slot limit has been discontinued.
Exceptions to this regulation are Crater Pond, South Little Black Pond
and
Big Black Pond (plus tributaries and outlet). These ponds have a 1
trout
limit with an 18-inch minimum length limit. This regulation will apply
to
blueback trout in Big Black as well as brook trout. Stink Pond will be
open
to catch and release.
Upper Hudson Pond & outlet in T11R10 WELS, Aroostook County now has a
daily
bag limit of 2 trout; minimum length limit 10 inches, only 1 may exceed
12
inches. We are seeking to improve the growth and size of trout in this
fly
fishing only water. Rockabema Lake in Moro Plt. and First and Second
Wallagrass Lakes in Wallagrass Plt., all in Aroostook County, have a
daily
bag limit of 3 salmon; minimum length limit: 12 inches.
The togue fishery in Eagle Lake in the Fish River Chain will continue
to
have a 5 fish daily bag limit with a minimum length limit of 14 inches.
Many anglers took advantage of this regulation this winter and we are
encouraging open water anglers to do the same. A large population of
wild
togue is competing with numerous wild salmon for smelts. We are
seeking to
remove a great proportion of the togue to improve the smelt population
while
enhancing salmon growth.
A number of brook trout lakes and ponds have been changed to No Live
Fish As
Bait in an attempt to prevent introduction of additonal fish species.
As
with the start of any fishing season, we would encourage anglers to
obtain a
copy of the new law book prior to going fishing. There is ample time to
become familiar with any regulation changes before ice out.
-Dave Basley, Regional Fisheries Biologist
|
