There’s two maxims to this weekend: water bodies will packing on ice, and the hearty who plan on taking advantage of it will be packing on layers of clothing. However, you can have the best of both worlds if you have some free time, which coincides with school vacation next week. It looks as if after the big chill, upper 30s or even 40s could be in the offing!
New Hampshire Fishing Report
For those who associate ice fishing with Lake Winnipesaukee, there’s good news – it finally caught! Al from AJs in Meredith made the rounds on Wednesday and found 7 – 8 inches of good ice among a number of sought-after spots such as Winter Harbor. Of course exploring is no fun without fishing, so AJ set out a few traps and was rewarded for his efforts with a few lake trout. He’s betting there were white perch as well as rainbows roaming underfoot as he fished. For a chance at a rainbow, AJ recommends smelt as well as salmon eggs. You don’t have to venture far to tempt a trout, in fact many are caught in the skinniest of water right next to the shoreline. For another trout location, consider Little Winnisquam where an 8-pound monster rainbow was recently caught! Big Winnisquam continues to be a winner for those looking for lake trout.
Tim Moore of Tim Moore Outdoors was especially excited about the news that Winnipesaukee caught. Ordinarily that place has been pounded by now but not this year. Much of where you fish will be similar to first ice bliss! Tim has gotten word of an impressive pike bite from the 3500 acre Moore Reservoir. This spot is also known for its big brown trout. For everything from panfish to brown trout, Tim’s guide tip of the week is Clam’s new Rattling Blade Spoon which is a vertical jigging assassin.
Rick from Suds ‘N Soda has been practically living on the ice locally. Crappie have been king at Bellamy Reservoir, Madbury Reservoir, as well as Pawtuckaway Lake. For largemouth bass, pickerel as well as the occasional leftover trout, the Lamprey River should be more to your liking.
Southern Maine Fishing Report
Brady from Dag’s said that it was like a social media soiree at Sabattus over the weekend as photo after photo of impressive pike were shared. When asked where, he replied, “where not”! There’s some togue tales from Thompson Lake but ice here has been sketchy so proceed with caution. Sebago still hasn’t caught and the feeling is that it won’t. A nearby option is Long Lake, which connects to Sebago and is thought to be partially the source of the pike migration. If you want big water with plenty of ice than check out Moosehead. Brady’s best bet for brookies, togue and salmon is the Rockwood and Greenville sections. Wayne from Sebago Bait said that while big Sebago is a lost cause, Little Sebago has willing yellow perch, brown trout and bass. For salmon, he steers his customers to Trickey Pond and Moose Pond. Long Lake is a recommendation for white perch. For salmon, Wayne said to stick your smelt or shiner just under the ice, for rainbows and brookies a worm or small shiner close to shore is a solid bet. For brown trout uptick the size of your bait and fish 20-30 feet of water. Brown trout seldom stray far from baitfish schools; if you have sonar look for the bait!
Fishing Forecast
The big news has to do with big water, namely Winnipesaukee where 2-pound white perch await you at Winter Harbor. Little Winnisquam gave up at least one big rainbow recently and no doubt there are more where that came from. For panfish try jigging up some crappie from Pawtuckaway Lake and Bellamy Reservoir. Try tugging in a togue from Thompson Lake and for something toothier, pike have been cooperating at Sabattus as well as Long Lake.
A correction: There are Little Squam & Squam lakes but no Little Winnisquam Lake.
Yes but locals refer to the lake south of Mosquito Bridge Little Winnisquam. (fyi)