Sports

Moosehead Lake Region fishing report

By Tim Obrey, Moosehead Lake Region fisheries supervisor

Here is a quick report on the 18th annual Moosehead Lake Togue Derby that was held last weekend on Maine’s largest lake. The weather was great on Friday and Sunday Jan. 31, Feb.1, but anglers had to contend with a strong northwest wind on Saturday with very cold wind chills. But ice fishermen are a hardy lot. There were around 800 derby tickets sold and there were over 200 entries in this year’s youth raffle.

The fishing was a little slow overall, but there were some quality fish caught. On Friday, Michael Carpenito of Windham was in the No. 1 spot with a 5.13-pound lake trout. There was a flurry of activity on Saturday with many 3- to 4-pound fish jockeying for the second and third positions until Spencer Valley of Brewer dropped a 12.4-pound bruiser on the leader board at Moosehead Bait and Tackle in Rockwood. That was soon followed up by a nice 11.07-pound laker from Andrew Dalton of Windham, which left Michael still clinging to third place. 

Contributed photo
DERBY WINNER — Spencer Valley of Brewer earned first-place honors in the 18th annual Moosehead Lake Togue Derby with a 12.4-pound fish.

The weather warmed with a light wind on Sunday, but many anglers had enough and were headed home by noon, and the remaining hardcore anglers could not crack the leader board. These gentlemen held on to take the checkered flag at the close of the derby at 4 p.m.

There were around 50 door prizes given out as well as several prizes in the youth raffle. Leif Fokine of Alfred took home one of the two lifetime fishing licenses sponsored by the Moosehead Lake Fisheries Coalition. If you’re interested, you can see the list of prizes and winners along with photos from the derby on the Moosehead Lake Togue Derby Facebook page. Next year’s derby is scheduled for Feb 6-8, 2026.

Contributed photo
LIFETIME FISHING — Leif Fokine of Alfred won a lifetime fishing license during the weekend’s Moosehead Lake Togue Derby, the prize is sponsored by the Moosehead Lake Fisheries Coalition.

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