Plenty of ice, better conditions and feeding fish are resulting in many to conclude that other than first ice, now is the best hardwater of the season. White perch are tearing up Lake Winnipesauke in 30’ of water near inshore basins. There’s nothing “crappy” about the black crappie fishing in Big Island Pond. In Maine, the smelt camps are still delivering “dinner” albeit at a reduced rate than last month. To continue with the chow theme, cusk have moved inshore providing good sport and better eating!
New Hampshire Fishing Report
Joe from Granite State Rod and Reel Repair said that this spurt of “normal” temperatures was just the tonic snow-weary anglers were looking for and interest is high! Fortunately the snow banks are not quite so high and they are getting out and catching warm-water species and trout at Canobie Lake and Cobbetts Pond. The latter has been known to give up the occasional big brown trout. While you may be thinking in terms of big bait/big fish, with pressured trout smaller is often better. I know an angler who caught a 9-pound-plus brown trout through the ice of a Bay State pond a few years ago and he took it as “bycatch” while jigging 4-pound-test and a tiny Swedish Pimple for crappie! Big Island Pond is a consistent producer of crappie, while your fortunes for perch and pickerel may be better at Mill Pond and Flints Pond. Potanipo is the more promising for black bass. An occasional trout does wind itself into here from the Nissitissit River.
Roland from Suds N’ Soda said that the Squamscott/Exeter River stretch continues to be disappointing for smelt seekers with the few still at it only tallying a half-dozen to a dozen fish per outing. Far better was Roland’s personal results from Bowdoinham in Maine. March means a winding down period for the smelt camps in Maine as the main mass of fish begins moving well upstream to spawn, but tallies of 40 fish still aren’t half bad and far superior to the previous two years. Earlier, however, Roland had some tides where he caught almost a 150 of the little buggers! All that snow will only further provide ideal spawning conditions for smelt, so we may be looking at an upcycle over the foreseeable future! Roland checked out the Big Island Pond crappie bite personally and loaded up on Clam epoxy drops with Maki soft plastics.
For the word from Winnipesauke, I consulted Tim Moore who seems to live on that ice. He was out with a few friends from NH Fish and Game and they were picking away at those big white perch. Basins in 30’ of water is where you find them right now and once “fired up” they are whacking white Clam Epoxy Jigs tipped with a worm or even plain! An occasional interloping laker crashes the perch party making for interesting moments with 2-pound test. On Tim’s advice, I did switch over to P-Line Floroice and I cannot believe how strong 2-pound line can be!
Maine Fishing Report
The rumors of Brady from Dag’s hitting the talk-show circuit after catching the derby-winning togue last week in the Sebago tournament are not true; he’s still just a humble fisherman. There’s something humbling about hooking a pike big enough to scare you and March is that time! Sabattus had been slow but it is picking up and the fish are in shallow! Anglers are filling up with the shop’s big baits and hitting the Belgrade Lakes, where big pike lurk as well as big brown trout. In fact a 15-pound brown was recently taken from one of them! If largemouth bass are more to your liking, Brady recommends Cobbosseecontee Lake.
Dylan of Dag’s added some cusk comments which you may find valuable. March is a game-changer for what anglers think of cusk. Conventionally, cusk fishing is a boring exercise of dropping a dead bait onto the bottom at night in 80’ of water and then picking up the line the next day to find a spent listless cusk. Not now! The spawning urge brings them in shallow, gravelly, rocky basins of 8 to 12 feet of water in deep-water lakes. You can downsize to a sporting jig stick, 6-pound line and a 3/8-ounce jig or jigging spoon spiced with a baitfish strip and vertically jig as you would for lake trout. You’ll find the fish give a surprising good account of themselves, are suddenly fun to catch and still delicious at the dinner table. Sebago Lake is a steady cusk spot, especially by the Camel Pasture area. While most any big water will hold cusk, some obviously hold more than others. If you’ve been considering making the haul to Moosehead, now is the time! On the north side of the lake by the Lawrence Camps, you’re apt to catch salmon, togue, brookies and undoubtedly cusk! In fact Dylan fails quite certain that if you drop dead baits to the bottom in the pivotal 10’ on average range, you will not be able to leave a trap unattended for long before a cusk comes calling, check it out!
Fishing Forecast
Check out the crappie fishing among Big Island Pond or the coves of the Nashua River. That ice isn’t going anywhere for a while and the fishing will only get better. Consider Winnipesauke where the white perch are feeding actively in basins of 30’ of water. Pike are on the prowl among the Belgrade Lakes area and March is prime time to achieve that personal best. For a fish that often finds its way into a delicious chowder, consider cusk from the Camel Pasture portion of Lake Sebago. The fish are in close and far more sporting than when in deeper water.