Prior to Mother Nature dumping copious amounts of “slop” on northern New England, anglers were beginning to enjoy a nice little hardwater bite on big water. Now that the onslaught of snow/rain is in the rear view mirror, the major freeze predicted next week should shore up those opportunities nicely.
New Hampshire Fishing Report
There’s no substitute for really knowing a water body. Tim Moore from TimMooreOutdoors certainly falls into that category when it comes to Winnipesaukee and on Wednesday he put that knowledge to good use as he guided a group to a good outing for white perch and lake trout. In the middle of slush city he found 5/6 inches of good ice in one of the bays. Live smelt as well as 1/4 ounce Clam Leach Flutter Spoons were the hot ticket. With sketchy ice wide spread Tim is understandably cautious about mentioning where he had luck for fear of putting folks in harms way. Your best bet is to book him to find out first hand.
Jim from the The Tackle Shack in Meredith did say that anglers had been out in 19 and 20 Mile Bays. With the highly coveted derby slated for February 11-12th, anglers still have hope that “Ice in” is declared by then. Regardless, the show will go on because now it’s a state-wide derby. Next up, should the freeze predictions hold true, will be Winnisquam Lake, Squam Lake and Newfound Lake – all of which look ready to go as they have some ice. Down the road a bit is news of Turkey Pond which has had hardwater crappie action.
Andrew from Sebago Bait had some encouraging news regarding Sebago Lake as of Wednesday where the Station area locked up from the shoreline to about 200 yards out! Fingers are crossed that this area will survive the intermittent thaw and freeze up long term next week. Little Sebago meanwhile has been pleasing perch fans with some nice panfish action. Meanwhile the shop is now carrying live smelt, the timing if which dovetails nicely with good news about Sebago.
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Zach from Saco Bay Tackle Company told me that patrons are putting in successful hours in Eagle Lake, Long Lake and Deer Pond. Brady from Dag’s Bait & Sportgoods in Auburn said that the wait is still on regarding the bigger ponds/lakes to ice up. He did say that Sabattus had 6/7” of ice but the downside was that the combination of a lot of snow and rain has resulted in about 1-2’ of slush. You had better put that place aside until we get a real good cold snap!
New Hampshire And Southern Maine Fishing Forecast
Look for solid Sebago ice later next week provided that the single digit night time temperatures prove accurate. The same can be said for Winnipesaukee with ice among the larger bays already present and the big lake simply in need of another chill to get really solid. There’s even been some hope from the smelt camps that next weeks cold snap should do it and allow those outfitters to drag their shacks onto the estuaries/rivers of the Merrymeeting Bay/Kennebec River area.