Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine Fishing Report 3-7-2013

Ice Fishing’s Last Gasp?
It’s no secret that the last leg of ice fishing is often the best. Fish that have been cloaked under a dark ceiling of white for months are newly energized by the pre-spring thaw and glimmers of sunshine slicing through open patches of ice and eroded auger holes. But those same auger holes, some which are now feet wide, can be camouflaged by snowfall—so your priority should be safety and the buddy system even as you yearn for that personal best.

For those who are ready to bid the ice-fishing season of 2012/2013 a fond farewell, there is reason to look forward to open water. MassWildlife has about 512,000 trout that are nearly ready to be stocked among the 5 districts of the Bay State, with ice-free water bodies and easy access for the hatchery trucks getting first priority. Some standouts we can look forward to are about 3,250 tiger trout that will average one pound or better, 40,000 2-year-old brookies and several hundred broodstock brook trout that will be divvied up among the regions.

With the demise of the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon restoration project, some of you may have been wondering what will become of the state salmon hatchery in Palmer. Well, I’ve got some good news regarding that. While still in the planning phase, it looks as if this facility will be used similarly to the Sandwich, Massachusetts trout hatchery as a brook trout farm, with the emphasis on rearing broodstock brookies. We may soon be the beneficiaries of more and larger brookies swimming throughout the Commonwealth! Another option that is on the table is to use the facility, which is already geared for the rearing of broodstock salmon, as a hatchery for landlocked salmon. So it is conceivable that in a few years you may be hooking into silver leapers as you go about the business of casting Little Cleos for rainbows. Wouldn’t that go a long way toward taking the sting out of losing the broodstock salmon?

Of course, for those still making a killing through the ice, the talk of stocking is the farthest thing from their minds. You had better buy plenty of bait if you ice fish the region of Massachusetts from the Connecticut Valley to the western border—it’s almost comical how often shops are reporting patrons having to make repeated shiner runs because they are running out so quickly. Folks generally don’t think of warm-water species when the topic of Lake Mattawa comes up, but Rod from Flagg’s Fly and Tackle has been filling out “pin” affidavits with regularity for perch and pickerel catches. There was even a 6-pound pick that may vie for the gold this year in the Sportfishing Awards Program. And more than a few of the perch are 13- and 14-inch pot-bellied beauties. Some of the bigger slab crappie are cooperating at North and South Spectacle ponds. Barton Cove still has ice and ice-fishermen targeting walleyes and pike. If pre-spawn walleyes from open water have you curious, Rod recommends the launch on the Connecticut River in Northfield. Bounce blade baits in drop-offs and you may be surprised at how many walleye actually swim in the Bay State!

Jim from J.C.B. Bait in Cheshire said that the pike are getting bigger! The second basin in Cheshire Reservoir recently gave up an 18-pounder. This section of Cheshire is shallower and weedier, which is where you’ll find pike at this time of the year. One of Jim’s sons also pulled a 13-pound toothy out of there recently. If a water wolf is not on your list, the largemouth bass bite just may be better than it has been all winter. Both Cheshire and Pontoosuc are getting active. One patron within minutes of leaving the shop got into twin 3-pound largemouth bass and had to reload on shiners by noontime because the feed was so good. If you’re wondering about ice conditions, there is 14 inches of it on many water bodies in that region, and when that wanes anglers will be looking to segue more toward the extreme Northwest portion of the state where such places as Plainfield Pond have 30 inches of the hard stuff and that has pike in it as well.

Chad from Dover Marine said that the fishing is fine even if the foot travel is challenging. Ice-melt sandwiched between layers of ice makes for tricky, sloppy navigating but with catch rates up most are not complaining. Stick to Bellamy Reservoir for crappie and Pawtuckaway Lake for largemouth bass. For a “what could it be” outing, book a day at Bow Lake, where a tripped flag could be a rainbow, smallmouth bass or white perch. For potentially a better panfish bite, Lake Winnipesauke is still king for white perch among the bays which have plenty of ice. While I’ve never heard of crappie in the Granite State’s big lake, Chad said that while there aren’t many, numbers may be increasing and they are all 13-inch-plus porkers. As always with crappie, your catch rate will soar if you downsize your presentation to 2-pound line; just don’t curse me when that lake trout comes along!

Dillon of Dag’s would like the emphasis from now until the end of the season to be on safety, more than at any time of the year. He told me that there are dangerous conditions because of a layer of water that has been trapped between solid ice and a sliver of top thin ice. That water continues to play havoc with auger holes, and some have eroded to where they are a yard wide and they are difficult to see with the naked eye. Do not venture out there without a set of ice picks draped abound your neck, have a rope at the ready and never go out by yourself. That said there are plenty of reasons to ice-fish Maine safely. Pleasant Lake is home to splake (a laker/brook trout hybrid, hence the abbreviated speckled trout/lake trout name) and big largemouth bass. While obsession may be too strong of a word, Dylan has been mildly preoccupied with catching one of the brownies there that are growing large on the ample smelt base in Sabbathday Lake. He’s coming close with a “4 flag but all whiffs” outing the other day. Set some bait 6 to 10 feet below the surface and set others over humps in 20 to 30 feet of water. Thin as you dare fluorocarbon leaders give brown trout seekers an advantage. For something different, consider Moosehead Lake, this mammoth lake is home to a host of salmonids and brookies should be biting well about now.

Fishing Forecast

If your vantage point is a sloppy, mushy mess then relax – just a short drive away you could be pulling in pin-sized perch and pickerel from Lake Mattawa or one of the holdover salmonids that prowl this place. If a walleye is on your check-off list, then bounce a jig/small shiner into depressions or on top of humps in Barton Cove. Farther out west the buzz is that it is taking large pike to raise eyebrows and you may find them at Cheshire Reservoir, Pontoosuc, Onota or Buel Lake. Just make sure your auger blade is sharp as there is over a foot of ice in most places. The Granite State gang of hardwater warriors is still jigging up crappie from Bellamy Reservoir, horsing in hawg largemouth out of Pawtuckaway and whipping white perch from the bays of Winnipesauke. Last but certainly not least, there are many options in Maine; check out the Androscoggin watershed for the big pike that are feeding aggressively now or set a trap out for splake at Pleasant Lake. For big water and just maybe a big brookie, there’s the amazing Moosehead Lake option.