Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine Fishing Report 2-16-2012

If the claw marks on your walls are starting to talk to you, may I suggest a road trip – to Maine! The numbers really add up: 20-pound plus pike and ice depths averaging between 1-foot and 2-feet. And then there’s that little old matter of scant snow cover to trudge through. And if you’re still not sold, how about free fishing? Yup, this weekend, February 18^th and 19^th, you don’t even need a freshwater fishing license to fish in Maine!

Massachusetts

Somehow, someway the refrigerator that is the Connecticut Valley Region is holding onto its hardwater, but according to Rod from Flagg’s in Orange it doesn’t look good long-term. An 8-pound broodstock was slid onto the ice from Lake Mattawa recently where recent samples show ice to be about 4 to 5 inches deep, but you have to be cautious about sun-soaked shorelines. There’s better ice on the far smaller Moore’s Pond and Clubhouse Pond in Warwick, both of which have trout and Queen Lake in Phillipston which is a warm water fishery.

For salty kicks you may want to see if you can goad a gadoid into striking from the shore. March used to signal the onset of catching cod from noted shoreline hotspots in the Bay State, but maybe the tepid winter will result in an early bite. While the fall fishery was always a “night time is the best time” event, for some odd reason in the late winter/early spring we did just as well during the day. Hull Gut and behind the Hull High School along with the Nut Island Pier in Quincy have been places for cod-from-shore in the past. And don’t discount the dynamic duo from Southie: the Sugar Bowl and Castle Island. You’ll fare better if you bring a chum bag full of crushed clams and drop it over the pier on an outgoing tide. They’ll hit clams but if you can find seaworms they are the best bait.

New Hampshire

Seldom has mid-February ice been in such a state of flux as this season. Meredith Rotary Ice Fishing Derby participants found a foot of ice in Alton Bay in Lake Winnipesauke. Moreover, most of the bays have similar integrity. Last check Crystal Lake in Enfield also had decent ice. But closer to the coast and southward solid ice is not a given. However, Chad from Dover Marine told me that the crappie cadre have been downsizing at heavily fished water bodies and finding slabs that other guys are missing. Bellamy Reservoir and Willand Pond give up a different sort of crappie to those who opt for 2-pound test, tie on tiny glow Getz Bugs and shimmy them from sundown to sunrise. Ponds that are perennially knocked as having only emaciated 7-8” critters are showing life with 12-14” fish being taken by these specialists who target big fish.

Maine

The fine folks at the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Department have waived the freshwater fishing license requirement for this weekend, February 18^th and 19^th. If that doesn’t pump you enough, the weekend weather forecast is supposed to consist of 40-degree days. Still not sold? How about Dag’s Bait and Tackle weighing in a few more 20-pound plus pike including a nice northern of 22 ½-pounds taken by Jim Bowie from the Androscoggin River. One of the more productive places has been the area near the Turner boat launch. Most ponds and lakes feature between 1-2 feet of good ice! There’s some good news coming in from Moosehead Lake as the togue bite has been terrific and the salmon are anything but scarce. Closer to inlets, streams and sandy shorelines you’re apt to best a nice brook trout. There’s solid ice and ice fishing among “The Grands”: West Grand Lake and East Grand Lake. There is some cusk and togue fishing in Sebago Lake, especially in the relatively sheltered area by the Sebago public boat ramp where it plummets from 10-60 feet. If you’re traveling off hours and concerned with bait, Saco Bay Tackle Company keeps a fully stocked vending machine outside the shop, complete with suckers and shiners.

Timing couldn’t have been better for a fun-filled outing sponsored by Kittery Trading Post and the IFW. This Saturday February 18^th, between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon, there is a free Kids Ice Fishing Derby at Range Pond State Park in Poland, Maine. The first 500 kids (under 12) receive free ice fishing gear! “Big kids” will only be charged $1.50, combine this with the no-license waiver, recently stocked brook trout and the beautiful weather predicted it sounds like just the thing to escape cabin fever! If you’d like more information click on http://www.icefishingderby.com/kids-derby/

Best Bets

I’d say it’s high time you knock off the procrastinating, pack up the truck and head on up to Maine where the ice is fine and the fishing finer. Drop a big shiner or sucker toward the bottom of the Androscoggin River; that 40” pike that is waiting for you could forever change the way you view winter. If family sport is more to your liking check out the kids derby at Range Pond in Poland. If you need further incentive they just stocked it with brook trout! For a wilder sort of brook trout and maybe a togue big enough to eat one, haul out to Moosehead where there is big water to go along with some pretty big fish.