Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine Fishing Report 1-10-2013

Ice Options to the North and West, Open Water Elsewhere

It’s often been said that one’s perception is their reality; well, if your water body environs are a bit soggy from the January thaw, then set your GPS for parts west and north where the ice is good and the fishing even better.

Eddie of B&A in West Boylston said that the Comet crowd continues to catch broodstock salmon as well as the occasional rainbow, brown and brook trout. Current ice depth reports put the boat ramp area at about 4 to 5 inches, the beach about an inch thicker with the middle inconsistent. While it looks as if the current January thaw is going to ramp-up the melting factor, if nights remain below freezing, it should sustain conditions. AS always, use caution when heading out on the ice. Longer term (end of next week), the forecast is calling for a change in the weather pattern with a timely chill on the way! They are pulling trout out of Peter Carr and a smattering of warm-water species from South Meadow in Clinton.

After speaking to Jim from Barry’s B&T in Worcester, I almost felt like suggesting that he rename the shop to Big Bait Central. Fresh from receiving a slug of suckers up to 8 inches long, he was dolling them out to the pike patrol until ten o’clock Wednesday night. And he expects to get some next week that will dwarf those baitfish! There’s good reason for the big-bait buzz as water bodies in central Mass are sporting good ice and plenty of fishy opportunities. Anglers focusing on warm-water species have been out and about on Flint Pond, Lake Ripple and Little Chauncy. For a salmonid smorgasbord, your chances are better at Webster Lake, although owing to its volume of water, the ice is more variable.

What would you call it when the tally is 4 big bass, 20 crappie and 7 jumbo perch, all from one trap? I would call that a banner day, but Rodney Flagg from Flagg’s in Orange calls it North Spectacle Pond! I can only imagine the crappie tally should someone target this place when the nocturnal calico is most aggressive. For trout, you should target Lake Ellis or Mattawa, the latter of which is still producing the occasional broodstock salmon. Rod also recommends Tully Lake and Lake Ellis as good bets for warm-water species.

To really hedge your bets, take a trip north of the border. Chad from Dover Marine told me that anglers focusing in on trout as opposed to the noted warm-water species in Willand Pond are catching quality rainbows by setting their traps close to the shore. A single salmon egg on a small hook and very light line will fool those bows as will a small shiner in only a few feet of water. There’s news that Great Bay has locked up and has anywhere from 4½ to 7½ inches of ice on it. Some say that a full moon, with the resultant higher tides, brings the smelt in—and we have just that scheduled this weekend!

Fred from Suds ‘N Soda broke out a new toy that the shop is carrying, namely the Vexilar Pro Pak ll sonar, and opened up a whole new world at Bellamy Reservoir. He and fellow shopmate Tim caught consistent crappie as they could now see where they congregated. The bite was best on glow jigs tipped with spikes.

Ken from Saco Bay recommended some of the smaller water bodies in Southern Maine, which are sporting solid ice and a smattering of salmonids. Choice places are Kennebunk Pond, Barker Pond and Tricky Pond. The word from the smelt camps is that some tides are producing respectable numbers of 80 to 100 smelt per tide.

Your best bet may be to take the trip up to the Central Maine Region—there are almost limitless possibilities there. Dylan of Dag’s in Auburn told me that there’s plenty of ice and plenty of catching to go along with it. For brook trout as well as the unexpected little-known togue residents, spend some time on Little Range Pond. Taylor Pond has been a sleeper for pike. Higher-profile water bodies for pike are the Androscoggin River and Lake Sabattus, the latter of which features the altruistic Fish For A Cure derby the weekend of January 19^th. If you want to see some serious numbers of pike then sign up for this event at Dag’s.

Fishing Forecast

If your home base is lacking in the frozen water department, then I suggest you take a road trip out west or up north. Lake Mattawa should have enough ice to survive the thaw scheduled over the weekend and there are salmon, trout and bass luring plenty of anglers out onto the ice. North Spectacle Pond is a choice crappie water body, and for bass a better bet may be Tully Lake. Closer to the central region, Clinton’s South Meadow Pond has had good ice and a variety of warm-water species. There’s good ice in Great Bay, and with the full moon looming, many are looking forward to a better smelt bite. Maine certainly has a no shortage of smelt opportunities with many camps open in the Merrymeeting Bay/Kennebec River area. For something that would put a serious dent in a resident smelt population, try tugging in a toothy from Taylor Pond, Lake Sabattus and the Androscoggin River.