While still winter, natural stimuli such as current from snowmelt have bumped up the feeding window of a number of species dramatically. Winnipesaukee white perch are among the best bets, as are pike in Sabattus. One quintessentially New England pastime is cusk fishing, with reports of a blistering bite out of Sebago. If there ever was a “try it, you’ll like it” fishery, this is it!
New Hampshire Fishing Report
Joe from Granite State Rod and Reel Repair in Nashua said that Beaver Lake has been giving up some solid brown trout as well as big pickerel between 4 and 5 pounds. Other popular spots for the warm water species trifecta – bass, panfish, and pickerel – are Silver Lake, Horseshoe Pond, Rocky Pond, and Potanipo.
Lon from Berry’s Bait in Meredith told me that Winnipesaukee white perch seem to be feeling the effects of the strengthening sun and are strapping on the feedbag. Smelt and medium shiners are getting it done in Alton Bay, Winter Harbor, Center Harbor, and 19 Mile Bay. Anglers who are doing best are not blindly setting up traps but rather staging them up against bends in depth contour lines, with 30’ of water the sweet spot. In addition to those famed white perch, lakers, rainbows, and cusk have all become cooperative.
Southern Maine Fishing Report
Brady from Dag’s Bait & Sportgoods in Auburn told me that Lake Sabattus has been hot for pike, with some real monsters being caught out of there. The lower bay of Sebago has been solid as well, with lakers following the alewife and smelt forage. Pike can also be caught there with anglers successfully targeting weedlines, especially areas where weeds are alive and giving off oxygen. The Turner Boat launch area has been largely hit-or-miss for pike, with anglers jigging up crappie while waiting for the big predators to come along. Cobbosecontee has been good for largemouth bass and smallmouth bass. A cold water species gem that Brady is ready to take advantage of is the 6,803-acre Sebec Lake, which is renowned for salmon, lake trout, and rainbows. Many species are becoming more active as conditions thaw – even bait acquisition is getting easier as bogs begin to flow and water gets more oxygenated.
Andrew from Sebago Bait and Tackle said that the big cusk bite – fish up to 31” – has been on fire at Sebago. Shallow, rocky shorelines at dusk have been the formula with dead bait fished off of Big Nasty Tackle jigs working best. For a strong laker bite, the go-to area is Thompson Lake, where size gives way to numbers, making for a fast action outing. Reports from the smelt shacks, such as Baker’s, is that the smelt bite is still strong.
For more on northern New England, from Kittery Trading Post
Extra snow is creating slush and some travel issues on some waters. ATV operators are reporting tough going, but snowmobiles are still making a go of it. The fishing has been what most expect for late February, good catches full of anticipation for March, and excellent bites. Panfishing is picking up on smaller ponds, and reports of good crappie and perch fishing are becoming more frequent. Lake trout are beginning to recover from the large derbies, and anglers who can get to them are beginning to report better bites. For trout anglers, splake in Tricky Pond are still being caught, and rainbow trout are still plentiful in most waters that were stocked with them. March is highly regarded as the best month of the ice fishing season, and many are champing at the bit for it.
Maine
Greg Cutting at Jordan’s Store in Sebago says that, as usual, the week after the Sebago Lake Trout Derby was slow. “The fishing is always slow the week after the derby. Between all the pressure the fish saw, some people fished hard and needed a break. There is a pile of smelt down off Nassan’s Beach in that deep water, over 120 feet. There’s a lot of smaller fish there. Lots of chasers, but not a ton of biters. I’m hearing of guys catching quite a few fish on glow Little Cleo spoons, so maybe some folks should start trying a bit of hardware. Typically, a little over a week after the Sebago Derby, the fishing really starts to pick up. The splake are still biting a little bit up to Tricky. I did hear that it is really slushy in places, though,” he said.
Vern at Cobbossee Bait reported a very fun weekend for most in his area. “We are starting to see some slush, but it really isn’t that bad. We had the kids’ derby this weekend. We baited up 600 children’s hooks five times each with our lucky Cobbossee bait. This added snow will surely bring up more slush unless the wind blows most of it off. That said, the fishing has been great. I can’t remember when it has been this good. It’s really fun to see,” he said.
New Hampshire
Tim from Tim Moore Outdoors/Lake Winnipesaukee Fishing Guide Service on Lake Winnipesaukee reported a pretty productive week of ice fishing on Lake Winnipesaukee. “The numbers on the lake were a tad slow most days, but we have caught some huge white perch, which seems to make up for the lack of numbers. I have seen several 2 ½ pound white perch in the past week. I had Joe Cermele of the Cut and Retie Podcast and a Minnesota content creator from the SHORELUNCH with Nate P. YouTube channel for a few days. Joe caught the three biggest white perch he has ever caught and his first burbot. A few clients also caught their personal best white perch. Joe got his jigging with a 1/8-ounce white Clam Blade Spoon. The client caught jumbos with live smelt on tip-ups. The weather has been all over the place. We have had what would normally be ideal pre-storm conditions, but accompanied by east winds, so the two seemed to cancel each other out and keep things fairly normal. We should start seeing the bite pick up with longer days and a bit of warmer (not below zero) weather,” he told us.
Alan Nute at Winnisquam Country Store in Tilton said that he had a busy week with Massachusetts and Maine school vacations last week. He expects more of the same with New Hampshire schools on vacation this week. “We had a lot of people who fished the Newfound Derby. A lot of people are buying shiners for pond fishing. We still have good ice and good fishing ahead. We’re coming into that good March fishing. It’s just a matter of finding places with no slush to go to. They are still buying the bucktails for jigging lake trout and cusk,” he said.
Ki at Dover Marine/Covered Bridge Sports in Dover reported good fishing at Winnipesaukee and some local ponds. “I heard of a couple big lakers caught on a Damiki head jigs dressed up with some marabou and a small white paddletail. One guy caught some fish on Winnipesaukee, around 10 pounds in 50 feet of water. They’ve been getting crappie at the Bellamy Reservoir on dillies. Tip-ups and hook setting devices with dillies have been hot there. The conditions are getting a bit tough with all the snow on top, but still fishable. Rainbow trout fishing has been good. The fly guys have been doing well in the catch and release areas of the Lamprey and the Cocheco.”
New Hampshire And Southern Maine Fishing Forecast
For a unique combination of big pickerel and brown trout, Beaver Lake is hard to top. The white perch bite in Lake Winnipesaukee has picked up a notch, possibly because the smelt population is getting more active in preparation for the eventual spawn. Other big lake options are the Standish and Jordan Bay areas of Sebago Lake, where the cusk are chewing come dusk. For something different, consider what shop staffers are wont to do: they head to Sebec Lake, which is a pristine cold water species gem where lakers, salmon, and rainbows all thrive.