For Immediate Release

February 10, 2004

February 10, 2004 Ice Fishing Report

Region A- Southwestern Maine Our efforts this winter have focused on: continuing evaluations of our experimental rainbow trout stockings on three waters (Crystal Lake - Gray, Middle & Upper Range Ponds-Poland); assessing four regional splake fisheries (Bryant Pond-Woodstock, Bear Pond-Waterford, Trickey Pond-Naples, Stanley Pond-Hiram); and examining the effects of increased fall stocking on angler use at Norway Lake-Norway and Songo Pond-Albany.

In addition, I have been collecting splake stomachs at Stanley to evaluate the success/failure of our attempts to re-introduce smelt to this water. Historically, Stanley Pond supported an excellent smelt population, but in the 1980's the population crashed and never rebounded. Biologists have tried to revive the population by introducing smelt eggs to the pond several times without success. Last year, we decided to try a more concerted effort by stocking larger numbers of eggs for at least three consecutive years. This past spring I collected and stocked approximately 2 million smelt eggs into Stanley...we will keep you posted on the results of the project.

Weather wise, the weekday fishing was a little better than it has been, but use was relatively light on the 10 or so waters we have been censusing on a regular basis. Mother nature then threw anglers another curve ball on the weekend with a Friday/Saturday snowstorm to cleanup and blistering winds on Sunday that created white-out conditions. Nevertheless, we still heard some good fishing stories.

I checked 2 guys on Sunday at Trickey that had a 3.5 and a 4.3 pound smallie! Greg Massey, our seasonal clerk, and his buddies had a great week! He picked up a beautiful 3-pound brook trout at Trickey last week and some nice smallies, went back again and caught a couple 13-14" brookies and more bass. Greg's fishing partner, Steve Cody, won 1st place at the Sabbathday Lake Derby last Saturday with a 4 1/4 pound largemouth and they went home with a brand new ice auger. Largies also took the 2nd and 3rd place spots with the biggest trout of the day being a 2 1/2 pound brown.

We have had several people call or query us over the past few weeks about where to go for hook-and-line smelt fishing. Unfortunately, waters that seem to produce good numbers and fishable-size freshwater smelt are often fleeting and change from one year to the next. Some of our more consistent producers on a year to year basis include: Sabbathday Lake (New Gloucester), Hobbs Pond (Norway), Big Clemons Pond (Hiram), Bryant Pond (Woodstock), and Crystal Lake (Harrison). However, I am quite surprised that other than a few guys nobody has really given Trickey Pond in Naples a good try. We closed this water to smelt dealers a few years ago and the population has rebounded nicely. We suspect hook-and-line smelt anglers might do fairly well....give it try and be sure to let us know how you make out. Reports indicate that some nice togue have been taken at Sebago in the past couple of weeks, but overall the fishing remains somewhat spotty. It appears the fish are bunched up in groups, likely congregated where there are schools of smelt, so the key to success is moving around to you locate some fish to work.

Speaking of Sebago...the buzz about the upcoming Rotary Derby is increasing as the date draws near (Feb. 21-22) and anglers are gearing up for the biggest fishing event of the season. The derby features $25,000 in prizes as follows: Largest Fish by weight 1st place - 17.5' Bayliner Boat & Trailer ($9,995); 2nd place - Custom Ice Shack ($1500); 3rd place - cash ($500). Other prizes include a Polaris 4-wheeler, SkiDoo Tundra Snowmobile, 1 - $1000 and 2-$500 cash prizes, a Jiffy Power Auger, and a variety of sporting goods. In addition, there will be lots of food and a variety of old & new events. Some of the event highlights inclide: the polar ice dip, ice skating, snow sculptures, ice fisherman of the year contest, an even an air show! For more information or to register call 1-888-ICE-FLAG or visit www.icefishingderby.com.

-Jim Pellerin, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region B - Central Maine

For nearly two decades, we have inspected live baitfish dealers around the state. These inspections are done in cooperation with the Maine Warden Service and fisheries biologists. The incentive to create this program came from a need to learn more about the bait business, learn more about where bait originates and determine whether the laws for the procurement and sale of bait were being followed.

In central and southern Maine, the most populous area of the state has the greatest number of bait dealers. It stands to reason therefore, that most of the inspections of bait dealers are done in these regions. Through these inspections we get information that lets us know what species are being sold, what problems may be arising, and the economic value of the baitfish industry. Almost a third of the bait dealers in the state reside in the Belgrade Fishery Region, which is the part of the state encompassed within an area from Lewiston to Bangor, along the coast and as far north as Dexter. The Department offers three types of licenses for selling live bait: a live bait retail license that is used by many convenience stores or small retail shops, a baitfish wholesaler, and a smelt wholesaler. The wholesaler licensee's use their license to capture legal bait and either sell it themselves at their own shop or sell it to a retail shop.

Recently, two biologists and three wardens visited nine establishments during the beginning of our seasonal bait inspections. We try to visit 20 to 30 shops each year to give us some idea as to what success and failures are being experienced in the bait business.

This last month, at the nine bait shops we visited, we found little in the way of problems that would raise a flag of concern. No fish that that would be illegal to use as bait were observed in the bait fish tanks. All the dealers seemed to be well supplied and none seemed to anticipate a shortage in the future. The variety of species offered for sale was extensive and size distribution was well represented. Smelt, a very popular bait for the salmonid anglers in this state was in good supply at the shops that advertised them. Since this part of the state has most of the northern pike waters, the shops had a good supply of large bait. Only one violation was observed, in that a dealer did not have a current license. It was a good cooperative effort in the field by both the Fishery Division and the Warden Service. One of the wardens, who is fairly new on the job, was able to learn more about the bait industry and how the business is handled in the state.

There are many ways to bait a hook, whether it is with a fly, worm, or minnow. All of us need to remember what my perpetual calendar says for the 14th of February: "When you bait your hook with your heart, the fish always bite." Well said, John Burroughs.

- Bill Woodward, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region C - Downeast

Now that the icy, sub-zero degree blasts of January wind are history, it's time for ice anglers to enjoy fishing in February weather, when the days on the ice are much more tolerable. And with school vacation just around the corner, many kids and families eagerly look forward to family fishing, mixed with trips to the basketball tournaments and trips to their favorite restaurants. Since humans don't hibernate, these activities help us survive the long Maine winters.

As a high-schooler, my favorite backwoods trout pond could only be reached by a 3-mile hike on snowshoes. We fished a shallow shelf on the southeastern end, so we were always exposed to the strong, cold northwest winds. Snowmobile suits and felt-lined insulated boots hadn't been invented yet, so when the cold penetrated through our wool pants and rubber pacs, we hunkered down amongst the cedar trees on shore and kindled a fire in the lee of a big rock, cooking hot dogs and drinking hot chocolate. Our survival skills and patience were usually rewarded with at least one trout a day - between 2 and 3 pounds. Kids and teenagers never forget those early fishing trips, forming many mental pictures that last a lifetime. The memory I've never forgotten is that of looking at the colors and spots on every brook trout I ever caught - no fish is any prettier.

The key to keeping most kids happy when ice fishing is ACTION. It may come from catching pickerel in a shallow weedy pond or it may come from schools of white perch in the deeper water. The best perch action is usually early morning or late afternoon, but if you are fishing on a cloudy day, the action may occur all day.

Eastern Maine pickerel lakes include Upper Patten Pond in Surry and Orland, Fields Pond in Orrington, Eddington Pond in Eddington, Spectacle Pond in Osborn, Great Pond in Aurora, Rocky Pond in T 22 MD, Beddington Lake in Beddington, Jones Pond in Gouldsboro, Second Gardner Lake in Marion, Orange Lake in Whiting, and Round Lake in Charlotte.

Good bets for white perch in eastern Maine include sections of Green Lake in Ellsworth, Georges Pond in Franklin, Bog Lake in Northfield, Chain Lakes in T 26 ED, Lower Sabao in T 35 MD, Meddybemps Lake in Meddybemps, Big Lake in T 27 ED.

West Grand often provides good action because there are 4 species that bite actively in the winter: salmon, togue, lake whitefish, and cusk. Those who target this variety of species throughout the fishing day have the best chance of good action.

-Rick Jordan, Assistant Regional Biologist

Region D - Western Mountains

There's nothing like a stormy day to produce some good fishing. We had snow last Friday night through midday Saturday and most anglers on Clearwater had fish on the ice, according to Dave Howatt. Clerk Toby Bonney reported a 5 ½ pound lake trout caught from Porter Lake, and he said that most anglers at Spring Lake were successful as well.

I've spent some pleasurable time recently interviewing some of Maine's retired fisheries biologists, gathering information for my brook trout book that I hope will actually be completed some day. These stories are from the early days of the Fisheries Division, in the 1950's and 1960s. Not all of the stories pertained to brook trout, but I've recorded them anyway because they represent an important part of the history of fisheries management in Maine. Most of the storied pertained to long hours worked, vehicles and equipment that broke down, hair-raising plane rides, boats that sank, black flies, thin ice, and the like. These biologists brought scientific management to Maine's sport fisheries and we a lot to them.

-Forrest Bonney, Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region E - Moosehead Region

A few weeks ago our good friend and confidant, V. Paul Reynolds, took us to the woodshed for our ongoing efforts to encourage ice fishermen to harvest lake trout from Moosehead Lake, and other Maine lakes where they have become abundant in recent years.

At the risk of boring our readers with facts and figures, instead of juicy tips about where the fish were biting this past weekend (they weren't), I will take this opportunity to explain why Moosehead Lake fishermen can keep 5 lake trout 14 inches and longer per day, with only 1 fish in the limit over 18 inches allowed. Most fishermen would probably agree that the fishing on Moosehead 20 years ago was better than it is today.

To see how the fishing today compares with that of 20 years ago, I have looked at the information we collected from fishermen during the 1983 ice fishing season, and the information we collected during the 2003 ice fishing season. The differences are interesting. Believe it or not, in 2003 Moosehead ice fishermen reported catching lake trout and salmon (all sizes, both species combined) at a rate that was 25% better than they reported in 1983. If you consider only salmon however (all sizes); in 2003, they were caught at only half the rate reported 20 years ago. And considering only lake trout 18 inches and longer, in 2003 they were caught at a rate 20% less than that reported by fishermen 20 years ago.

How then, could the catch rates reported in 2003 be better than 20 years ago? We need look no further than to lake trout less than 18 inches. In 2003, lake trout less than what was the legal length limit in 1983 were caught at a rate 6 times faster than fish of this size were caught 20 years ago. It is a fact, small lake trout are now a lot more abundant than they were 20 years ago.

Lake trout can and do live a long time, and require a long time to grow large. Most of the lake trout less than 18 inches that are caught in Moosehead today are 4 to 6-year-old fish. They compete for food with all of the other game fish out there, and it is unrealistic to expect that Moosehead Lake can support the present abundance of lake trout and at the same time support the number of salmon that it did 20 years ago. To improve the fishing for salmon (and that's what fishermen tell us they want) we must reduce the abundance of lake trout less than 18 inches. For that we must rely on fishermen.

So if we are encouraging fishermen to take more lake trout, why can't they keep more than one lake trout over 18 inches in their daily bag limit? As noted above, the fishing for older lake trout, 18 inches and longer, is not better now than it was 20 years ago. Only the number of small, younger lake trout has increased over the years. In trying to restore a balance in the lake trout population, it is important to have good numbers of larger size fish in the population. Think about the lake trout waters you fish where you consider the fishing good. In those lakes seldom is the catch of fish less than 18 inches higher than the catch over 18 inches.

So in trying to restore this kind of balance to Moosehead's lake trout population it makes sense to conserve the older fish, and exploit the younger, most abundant part of the population. During all 3 months of the ice fishing season lake trout are found throughout the lake at all depths, and they are easily caught by anglers of all skills. If harvesting small lake trout is the management objective, it just makes sense to encourage ice fishermen to take advantage of this opportunity.

That's what it's all about here at Moosehead - marketing and management! The objectives - more numerous and larger lake trout, and more salmon!

-Paul Johnson, Regional Fishery Biologist

Region F, Penobscot Region

Overall ice fishing pressure has been at moderate to low levels throughout the region. Travel conditions are generally good in the region but very cold temperatures seem to have kept anglers from traveling to more remote lakes. Although there have been some slow times, overall catch rates have been quite good.

Free fishing days are scheduled for "Saturday and Sunday immediately preceding President's Day" which will be on Feb 14 and 15 this year. The annual Schoodic Lake ice fishing derby is also scheduled for this weekend, Feb 14 and 15. The lake trout fishing in Schoodic has been very good with fish from 7 to 9 lb. fairly common and reports of fish up to 16 to 18 lb. The fishing emphasis on Schoodic has been on lake trout but there are also some nice brook trout to be found in the shallower waters of the lake. The ice fishing derby also includes neighboring Seboeis Lake where some nice salmon and splake have been providing very good fishing action.

Elsewhere the lake trout action, although experiencing some slow days, has been mostly good at Cold Stream Pond and East Grand Lake.

There have been some good reports on salmon fishing in East Grand Lake, Duck Lake, West Lake, Pleasant Pond, and Lower Sysladobsis Lake.

Wardens working in the Matagamon area report that anglers were having good luck catching brook trout and lake trout in Matagamon and brook trout in Scraggly Lake.

Action has been good for bass and perch on some of the shallower lakes in the region. There have been reports of good perch fishing on South Branch Pond and both species have been taking bait on the lakes in the Lincoln area.

-Mike Smith, Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region G - Aroostook County

With the added snow from last week and weekend, some lakes are beginning to show slush from the added weight on the ice. It is that time of year when an ounce of prevention can certainly save you pounds of aggravation by unhooking the tote sled and traveling on the lake with just the sled to check for slush on your fishing trip.

With the upcoming school break and free fishing days this weekend, we would suggest the following waters for fishing trips. For those without a sled, Arnold Brook Lake, Nickerson Lake, Squa Pan Lake and Long Lake in the Fish River Chain are readily accessible. For those desiring more of an adventure and have a sled, Big Eagle Lake , Millinocket and Millimagassett Lakes and Square Lake have been rewarding anglers with action.

We would be remiss if we didn't say that the muskellunge caught last week by Kim Masse was a new state record at 27 pounds. The fish was weighed on certified commercial scales and verified by a Notaray Public at Aroostook Milling in Houlton. For a look at this fish, you can go to our website at http://www.state.me.us/ifw/fishing/regiongphotos.htm.

Whatever your preference, next week usually marks the turning point toward the back side of winter and with longer and milder days, is a good time to enjoy the sport of fishing. If you are a real Mainer, you won't forget to take the radio to tune in to the high school basketball games at the Bangor Auditorium while you're fishing!

-Dave Basley, Regional Fisheries Biologist

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