Weekly IF&W Fishing Report

Moosehead Region
Submitted by IFW Fisheries Biologist Tim Obrey

    As July winds down, the fishing gets a little tougher. Salmon and lake trout are heading to depths below the thermocline in our larger lakes. Brook trout will get picky as the water warms and the hatches taper off.

    Trolling probably offers the best chance, especially in larger waters. We’ve had scattered reports from Moosehead Lake which indicate the fishing is hit or miss. Some anglers, particularly in the Rockwood area are still able to find some cooperative fish down deep.
    While the fishing is slowing down, our work hasn’t. This time of year we are very busy evaluating our lake trout waters. We’ve handled a number of nice fish in the Moosehead Lake Region this summer.
    We are also gearing up for the busy fall season and we plan to operate our fish weir on Wilson Stream, a tributary to Sebec Lake, this fall to evaluate the wild salmon population on one of Maine’s original salmon lakes. It will be a very interesting project as we hope to further evaluate the conditions which provide the best chance for these fish to pass over several falls on their way to reach their spawning grounds.

Penobscot Region

    Looking to catch some trout? You ought to take a visit to Baxter State Park. This summer, Region F crews have been in the park doing surveys of several ponds.
    “We went into Basin Pond, which we hadn’t surveyed in a while. It still has a thriving population of brook trout. It’s a couple of miles in, and it doesn’t get much fishing pressure. The water is gin clear and you can see bottom down to 30 feet,” said Nels Kramer, IFW fisheries biologist.
    Over on Daicey, the surveys showed a healthy brook trout population, with nice fish over 16 inches.
    Lost Pond revealed similar results, with very fat trout up to 16 inches over by now.