If you’ve been panting for those white perch in Lake Winnipesauke, then now is the time as pre-spawn whites have put on the feed bag! For something that could turn the tables on a white perch, pike are on the prowl among prime Maine water bodies.
New Hampshire Fishing Report
Alton, Wolfeboro and Meredith Bays look like shantytowns as the white perch, cusk and lake trout action improves on Lake Winnipesauke. AJ from AJs in Meredith said that the caveat is that sloppy conditions due to traffic and auger holes are making snowmobiles imperative and he strongly urges 4 wheelers to use caution. Clam’s Tim Moore told me that he’s doing most of his launching from 19 Mile Bay and he’s finding a mixed bag of lakers and white perch in 30-40 feet of water. Spindle Point is a good starting point for perch. White Clam Epoxy Drops are doing most of the damage. The tip of the week from Tim is to completely cover the hook with a grub or two!
Jason of Suds ‘N Soda suggests Swains Lake for largemouth bass and Bellamy Reservoir for suspended crappie. Greenwood Pond in Kingston has been a crappie producer in the past as well. Look for the fish to be suspended 20 feet down in 24 feet of water and the subtlety of 2-pound test and micro tungsten jigs matters. Taylor River is perfect for a day of catching pickerel and is a sleeper place for crappie. The Lamprey River has been red hot for “Larry”!
Maine Fishing Report
Dylan of Dag’s told me that it is cusk time in many deeper water bodies in Maine that harbor these freshwater cousins of the cod. Expect them to be in spawning/hunger mode now and going about their business between 10 and 20 feet of water in muddy/soft bottom. Drop down a dead baitfish or entrails from a filleted fish and you might catch a few of these unique fish which can grow to over 15-pounds and like their cod-kin make for fine table fare. Check out the cusk action at Sebago, Thompson and Crystal Lakes. There’s a toothy presence that is stirring in many watersheds as pike begin feeding with purpose. Check out the Androscoggin River by the Turner Boat Ramp for starts. Those pike should be aggressive now and should be migrating from channels, flats and bar-cuts into skinny water. If there was ever a time to focus on that personal best pike it will be over the next few weeks. Other likely pike lairs are Long Lake and Big Lake in the Belgrade Lake Region.
Ken from Saco Bay Tackle Company has had patrons putting in hours pounding panfish and having great luck. The hot lure is white 1/8-ounce Kastmasters and these things are accounting for salmon/trout/crappie and perch from Little Ossipee Lake, Moose Pond and Mousam Lake. The bulk of smelt should be moving farther upstream in the southern Maine estuaries now, so it may behoove you to book camps accordingly.
Maine and New Hampshire Fishing Forecast
Now that we are on the doorstep of March it’s time to try in earnest to check off that hardwater species list! For the ultimate grab bag, drop an epoxy jig tipped with a grub among 19 Mile Bay on Lake Winnipesauke. You could be rewarded with a white perch, rainbow trout, lake trout or a smallmouth bass. For that pig of a pike that you dream of, drop a fresh-dead pond shiner onto the bottom of the Androscoggin River or Long Lake. Think shallow now, that’s where pre-spawn pike will be prowling. It’s been a better year for the smelt camps than the past two years but look for the bulk of those breeders to be moving closer to camps upstream of the Kennebec River/Merrymeeting Bay area as they near their spawning streams.