Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine Fishing Report 1-12-2012

Favorable temperatures are predicted for the weekend on two fronts: the Pats play great when the mercury dips below freezing and more ponds and lakes are likely to freeze up. But why wait? If you haven’t chipped your way through black ice, then you’re lagging behind others who have already caught fish from hardwater honey holes.

Rodney from Flagg’s Fly and Tackle in Orange told me that anglers have been making a go of ice fishing in the Connecticut Valley Region for 10 days now! Not surprisingly, Club House Pond, which belongs in that “first to freeze/last to thaw” category, has been one of the more heavily fished with tallies of coldwater and warmwater fish the result. Crappie have been iced from North Spectacle Pond as well; those out and about on Club House and North Speck report that there is 6 inches of good, hard ice. They’ve also been catching largemouth bass from Lake Rohunta in Orange, which annually gives up 5- to 6-pound largemouth bass. A young lady and her boyfriend purchased a half-dozen shiners from the shop last weekend and announced that they were heading to Lake Mattawa. Rod advised them that the ice was not safe, but their intentions were to fish open water there. They found some open water and a beautifully-proportioned 10-pound, 12-ounce broodstock salmon. There are more salmon there where that came from and with the chill called for this weekend Mattawa may lock up. Rodney also has been selling pike bait for northern hunters finding toothies north-of-the-border among the setback lakes of the Connecticut River in Hinsdale, New Hampshire.

Paul from Granby’s B&T was relieved that his bailiwick was getting a soaking rather than a fluffing. The enemy of freshly frozen water bodies is snow, and numerous kettle ponds are setting up nicely in the Beckett area – some folks are already fishing on them. Paul also commented on the hard times many who depend on hardwater for business are having now. Imagine what your ice-fishing future would be like with no bait shops? Patronize these guys by spending on more than just a couple-dozen shiners, by helping them and the local economy you ultimately may be helping yourself.

There’s a frenzy of ice-fishing going on in the Granite State according to Chad from Dover Marine. For brook trout, drill some holes close to the shoreline over sandy bottoms or close to inlets/brooks etc. at Whites Lake. Within the shadows of the shop, they’re catching a smorgasbord of warmwater species from Willham Pond. For smallies, you should try Manning Lake in Grafton. Smallmouth bass have always given me fits through the ice and thankfully Chad gave me some therapeutic advice. Fish for winter time smallies similarly to how you fish them in fall, with a blade bait. The standard blade bait – the Silver Buddy – is no longer in production, but two timely alternatives are available, Heddon’s Cicada and the Bass Pro Shops XPS Blade Bait. Expect smallies to be stacked over humps in 30 to 50 feet of water. They won’t venture far from this structure, so sonar and GPS are essential when searching and saving a spot. The blade baits are the perfect offering to drop in front of these bronzeback noses and to tempt them into striking. These are the same lures that accounted for recent mixed bags of stripers/black bass from the lower Mystic Lake in the Bay State. I am definitely going to gain familiarity with these baits this winter.

Some of the bigger bodies of water are beginning to lock-up as well. They’re already fishing on some of the coves of Great East Lake, which is on the New Hampshire/Maine border and Alton Bay on Winnipesauke has fishing foot traffic, in fact there are even bob-houses on the bay. The latter is good news for the thousands who greatly anticipate the Meredith Rotary Fishing Derby which takes place on Winnipesauke next month.

Marcel from Dag’s in Maine gave me the best big fish reports of the week. First up there was news of a 13-pound-plus monster brown trout that was hauled in from Hobbes Pond. You’ll also find brown trout in Sabathday Lake. A tip from Marcel is to use smelt as bait and you’ll find them at Dag’s. When we spoke Thursday, patron Chad Porter was fresh from a tryst with a 20-pound toothy! Chad took the nice pike from Sabattus Pond. The shop is one of the sponsors of the Fish For The Cure Derby that will take place on January 28^th on Sabattus, the proceeds of which go toward the battle against breast cancer. You can get more information at www.pikederby.com. If brook trout are more your style you’ll find them at Lower and Middle Range ponds.

Best Bets

Hopefully the Pats will be stomping the Broncos and you’ll be hauling your first fish from an auger hole this year. High-altitude destinations in Massachusetts are a best bet for safe ice; you should find it in the Berkshires area as well as the Connecticut Valley Region. Stop in B&A B&T, Flagg’s and Granby’s for the latest to lock-up. In New Hampshire you’ll find trout in Whites Lake and smallies in Manning Lake. And Downeast is hardly a downer as 20-pound pike snap up shiners from Sabattus and monster browns are coming from Hobbes Pond.