IF&W fishing report and forecast
IF&W fishing report and forecast
Moosehead Lake Region
By Tim Obrey
IF&W Regional Fisheries Biologist
Can we declare the end of global warming? Probably not, but we can find some reason to be thankful for the cold, wintry weather that enveloped the North Woods in November and December.
As the snow birds fled south to warmer climes, old man winter brought the rest of us hardy souls an early ice-in.
We have already seen a flurry of ice fishing activity on our smaller ponds like Fitzgerald Pond and Prong Pond, both of which were stocked with 12-14 inch brook trout in late fall to provide some early ice fishing action.
To the south of us, Brann’s Mill Pond in Dover-Foxcroft and Harlow Pond in Parkman should be fishing well as we approach the traditional start of the ice fishing season. Drummond Pond in Abbot is open to kids only and is also stocked just before the ice forms in the fall.
We’d like to thank those individuals that have generously plowed out the parking area at Drummond Pond and Fitzgerald Pond. I’m sure the anglers appreciate it as well.
Of course one of the hottest early-season favorites is Big Wood Pond in Jackman. The pond is stocked with splake and brook trout (including some adults) and even an occasional salmon is caught. Access is very easy, with plenty of parking in this friendly town and snowmobile trails onto the lake. This is a terrific place to take the family to catch a limit in January.
We’ve been riding the wave of big brook trout on Moosehead Lake for the past several years. It is unclear how long it will last, but we’ve seen and heard of many trophy trout from Maine’s largest lake recently. The best trout fishing is early in the season and anglers should be tight to shore amongst the rocks.
Don’t forget the 7th Annual Moosehead Lake Togue Derby from Jan. 24-26. It is a great opportunity to win some prizes while helping us control the lake trout population in the lake.
As always, check the ice before venturing out in unfamiliar territory. No fish is worth a surprise dip in the lake this time of year.
Region F – Penobscot Region
Like most of the state, ice fishing came early to Region F.
“A lot of years we are wondering if we will have good ice on January 1, but Cold Stream Pond iced up over a week ago, weeks ahead of normal,” said IF&W fisheries biologist Nels Kramer, who added that a lot of area waters were buttoned up.
Two popular destinations for ice fishing include Seboeis Lake in T4 R9 and Endless lake in T3 R9. There’s good access to Endless by snowmobile. Another option is Schoodic Lake in Brownville. Wintertime offers some very good landlocked and brook trout fishing on the lake. IF&W staff will be conducting creel census surveys on Schoodic, Seboeis and Endless this season.
If you want to head a little further north and east, Matagamon Lake, East Grand and Pemadumcook Lake all offer good ice fishing opportunities for trout, salmon and togue.
Perhaps more importantly, due to the cold weather, it looks as though this season, anglers will have a variety of lakes and ponds they can choose from for ice fishing.
“There seems to be a good base for snowmobiling,” says Kramer, “I’m looking forward to a January 1 opening where many lakes and ponds are frozen and you can travel by snowmobile all over the area.”
Region G – Aroostook Region
It may be early in the ice fishing season, but anglers are taking advantage of fishing opportunities at Scopan Lake and Mud Pond in Linneus. Both were stocked heavily with brook trout earlier this season, and anglers are out enjoying the early season ice conditions.
Other ponds for those looking to get out early include Arnold Brook Lake in Presque Isle, and Hodgdon Pond in Hodgdon. Arnold Brook has excellent brook trout fishing and a two trap limit, and Hodgdon Pond is stocked with brown trout.
“We have seen a lot of people out on our early waters and they are catching fish,” said IF&W fisheries biologist Frank Frost.
Many in the area, however, look forward to January 1 and the traditional opening of ice fishing season.
“Our ice conditions are pretty good, we have five to nine inches of ice on a lot of our lakes,” said Frost.
Already there is up to a half a foot of ice on portions of Long Pond and Square Pond. That’s good news for anglers, since the past several years, both of those ponds have had somewhat sketchy ice conditions on opening day.
In southern Aroostook, Nickerson Lake in New Limerick has both browns and brookies, and Drews Lake in Linneus offers both browns and splake. Anglers may also want to test Spaulding Lake in Oakfield for brook trout.