With ice fishing increasingly being taken off the menu, some are turning to open water prospects. But the good news for those who can’t kick the hardwater habit is that if you snoop around, you can still get your fix.
New Hampshire Fishing Report
While ice fishing is in the rearview mirror on Lake Winnipesauke, that doesn’t mean the fun is done! According to AJ from AJs in Meredith, anglers have just switched their approach to landlocked salmon among open water stretches in bays. Some of these locations are at the town dock, Center Harbor Dock and Alton Bay Dock. Most anywhere you find open water near an inlet or a bridge over moving water is potentially prime landlocked salmon water. Smelt under a float is an easy/effective method, as is casting a spinning bubble/streamer combination. Dabbing a streamer with a BioEdge Smelt Wand has proved very effective for me when targeting salmon. Hammered orange/gold Krocodiles are also good. Ice fishing is very much alive in other places such as Pemigewasset and Lake Waukewan, both of which have stirring smallies with rainbows a bonus at Waukewan.
Roland of Suds ‘N Soda said that he has personal experience with the excellent trout fishing at Pleasant Lake in Deerfield. He’s been catching the trout trifecta there with bows, brookies and brown trout all part of the bag. He’s been getting them on dillies, shiners, salmon eggs you name it. The key is to have your baits in close proximity to a sun-soaked shoreline, preferably one with a sandy bottom. Inlets are also promising. Stick shiners and dillies just under the ice while salmon eggs should be just off the bottom. Bellamy Reservoir remains a best bet for black crappie, which are shoaling now.
Southern Maine Fishing Report
Brady from Dag’s said that with plenty of ice and “gloveless” conditions now is the best time to be on the ice! Plus the fact that pike are feeding furiously in preparation of the ice-out spawning period makes now as good a time to ice fish as any. There are promising pike places in the Belgrade Lakes Region principally at North Pond and Messalonskee Lake. Brady has been pounding the crappie in Tacoma Lake. They’ve been having a hard time passing up white Mini Mite jigs which he’s been sticking in the midst of suspending fish. Some who have targeting toothies in Sabattus have been finding increased interest in their baits from largemouth bass. Stick to deeper water stretches for smallies. For something different try for splake at Trickey Pond. These brook trout/lake trout hybrids are feisty and not shy.
Scotty from Dag’s even had some open-water possibilities to discuss. Just yesterday, he was fly-fishing open water in the Little Androscoggin River and while he came up empty, it was worth a go. The Little Andro has brook trout, brown trout and the occasional landlocked salmon. Scotty recommends streamers and nymphs this time of the year. While open water proved challenging, a recent ice-fishing trip was a lot more successful. They caught 6 largemouth bass over 5 pounds from Worthley Pond in Peru! Those big bass were all caught in 6’ to 15’ of water!
Fishing Forecast
A best bet in New Hampshire is to target the open water sections on Lake Winnipesauke for landlocked salmon. River bridges and marina docks are among the first to sport open water and anglers are targeting them with smelt, streamers and spoons. If early April to you still means ice, you can find frozen fun for smallmouth bass at Lake Waukewan. The Little Androscoggin River in Maine has opened up making it a prime place to wet a fly for brookies and maybe a salmon. But if a big bass on ice is more to your liking, soak some large shiners in shallow water at Worthley Pond for impressive largemouth.