Because of the extremely dangerous situation with the current lack of safe ice, we feel it’s a necessity to run a press release from the Maine Warden Service in reference to current conditions: Maine Warden Service urges caution before venturing on the ice.
AUGUSTA – “Due to the season’s unusually warm temperatures, The Maine Warden Service is urging people to use extreme caution before venturing out onto any ice covering Maine’s waterways.”
“Many of Maine’s lakes and ponds do not have any ice cover, but smaller ponds and waterways in central and northern Maine do. Ice conditions vary greatly throughout the state, and while ice conditions may be safe in some spots, it can be very dangerous in others. The Maine Warden Service is recommending that people check the thickness of any ice before venturing out for any activity on frozen water.”
“If you must go on the ice, the Maine Warden Service offers these tips for ice safety: Never guess the thickness of the ice - Check it! Check the ice in several different places using an auger or some other means to make a test hole and determine the thickness. Make several, beginning at the shore, and continuing as you go out. Check the ice with a partner, so if something does happen, someone is there to help you. If you are doing it alone, wear a lifejacket. If ice at the shoreline is cracked or squishy, stay off! Watch out for thin, clear or honeycombed ice. Dark snow and dark ice are other signs of weak spots. Avoid areas with currents, around bridges and pressure ridges. Wind and currents can break ice. Parents should alert children of unsafe ice in their area, and make sure that they stay off the ice. If they insist on using their new skates, suggest an indoor skating rink. If you break through the ice, remember: Don’t panic. Don’t try to climb out immediately - you will probably break the ice again. Reach for solid ice. Lay both arms on the unbroken ice and kick hard. This will help lift your body onto the ice. Once on the ice, roll, DON’T WALK to safety. To help someone who has fallen through the ice, lie down flat and reach with a branch, plank or rope or form a human chain. Don’t stand. After securing the victim, wiggle backwards to the solid ice.” (Many thanks for this well written and very in-depth advice!)
Maine:
Chris Henson at Kittery Trading Post’s fishing department advises that rather than staying home and sulking about the limited ice fishing opportunities, get your gear out and get it ready because it’s not a case of getting the ice, it’s just a case of when. “And you want to be ready!” Chris said.
“One of the biggest problems with tip-up gear is that because of the nature of the fishing, spools on the tip-ups or the shafts that they spin on can be bent or disfigured. Nothing will cause a fish to spit your bait than a spool that runs rough or ragged. If bent, carefully straighten out or replace. Make sure the shaft is lubricated. A light grease will work better than oil that often becomes coagulated and will cause your spool to run hard.”
“Replace your leaders or if you fish with all mono line, replace the first fifty feet or so of line. Mono lines or leaders will deteriorate with age, even if not fished hard. But when fished hard, a little knick that is not noticeable could cause you to loose that fish of a lifetime. Check your sinkers and replace any that are lead with non-toxic sinkers. It is also a good time to either sharpen or replace your hooks. If you have plated or stainless steel hooks, remove them and replace with hooks that are non plated and will rust out if you have to cut a hook off to release a fish. Tip-up flags are also replaceable and should be checked, and if missing or worm, replaced.”
“If you use jigging rods or sticks, the same rules apply for maintenance. Clean and re-lube your reels, check lines and leaders and check your rod’s line guides for breakage or line wear or other damage.”
“I like to set out all of my jigs and ice fishing lures on my work bench and either sharpen or replace hooks that need it. A few touches of nail polish can repair some lures that have lost their paint. Putting a shine with metal polish to restore spinners and spoons is also worth while doing.”
“There is nothing more frustrating that getting out on the ice with an auger that is dull or a power auger that won’t start. If you failed to empty out or stabilize the fuel in your power auger, pour out the old fuel and replace with fresh fuel. Most augers are two stroke so don’t forget to add the oil. Save your old fuel in a safe container and when special days are offered for getting rid of hazardous materials, make sure that is where that old fuel goes. A new spark plug or cleaning the old one is a good idea. Sharpen or replace a dull blade.”
“Ice fishing becomes a lot less frustrating and enjoyable when a little extra care to these details is taken. Now all you have to concentrate on is having fun,” Chris laughed.
Francis Brautigam, Regional Fisheries Biologist in Maine’s Region A-Southwestern sent us this report: “At the time of this writing, the prevalence of unseasonably warm weather suggests the traditional start of the ice fishing season (January 1) may offer rather tenuous ice conditions in southern Maine. Unfortunately, these conditions will not embrace new ice fishing regulations in effect this year that allow for the taking of catchable brook trout in Class “A” designated waters from the time ice forms in December. Anglers should also take note of the other new statewide regulation changes highlighted on Page 9 of the 2006/2007-ice fishing law book.”
“The ice fishing forecast for southern Maine is excellent! Fall-stocked ponds received little fall fishing pressure due to unusually rainy conditions. Similar conditions in the spring of the year also limited angler participation during the early part of the season. Furthermore, significant stocking increases this fall including adult retired hatchery brood, and 12 to 14 inch fall yearling brook trout will provide bigger and more fish in many of our stocked waters. In fact, our fall yearling brook trout stocking program has expanded from a program of just 2000 fish in 2001 to about 9,000 fish in 2006. Approximately 353 brood brook trout (2 ½ lbs), 410 brood landlocked salmon (2-3 lbs), and 460 brood brown trout (3 lbs) were retired from Maine’s hatchery system and stocked in southern Maine. These large fish are always well received by anglers. For a complete list of stockings check out the Department’s web site.” (www.mefishwildlife.com).
“Expanded hatchery production has certainly increased winter brook trout angling opportunities by growing more and larger, legal-size fall yearling brook trout. Most waters that received fall yearling brook trout in the past were again stocked in 2006, but at much higher rates due to increased production. Significant additional increases in this popular fall stocking program are also planned for the future, made possible by the renovation of the Emden State Hatchery using funds provided by a bond referendum several years ago. Some of the more heavily stocked brook trout waters, where larger brook trout (brood and fall yearlings) were planted include: Little Ossipee Lake (Waterboro), Middle and Upper Range ponds (Poland), Wilson Lake (Acton), Thomas Pond (Casco), Worthley Pond (Peru), Keoka Lake (Waterford), Mousam Lake (Acton), Presumpscot River (Windham), and Kennebunk Pond (Lyman). A number of winter brook trout fisheries also occur where habitat is not suitable to sustain a year round trout fishery, but where fall and winter temperatures support stocking of legal size fish to create winter/spring fisheries. Examples of very successful winter/spring brook trout fisheries include Worthley Pond (Poland), Barker Pond (Lyman), Otter Pond #2 (Standish), Littlefield Pond (Sanford), and Hobbs Pond (Norway), Knights Pond (S. Berwick), Cold Rain (Naples), Halls Pond (Paris), and Silver Lake (Phippsburg), and Sprague Pond (Phippsburg). These waters are fished hard the first few weeks of the season, but often boast high catch rates. Some of these waters continue to offer good fishing throughout the entire winter season. Some additional fall stocking programs that are new for 2006/2007 include: Parker Pond (Casco), Moose Pond (Acton), Horne Pond (Limington), Round Pond (Lyman – open to youth only during the winter), Wilson Lake (Acton), Thomas Pond (Casco), Hutchinson (Albany), South Pond (Greenwood). Expanded fall stocking of legal size brook trout has helped spread out winter angling pressure away from some of the more popular regional trout waters.”
“The first southern Maine winter brook trout fishery created exclusively for kids under the age of 16 will open on Round Pond in Lyman this winter. Round Pond is owned by York County Fish and Game, who have partnered with the Department to create the only exclusively youth winter fishing opportunity in southern Maine. Beefed up Department fall stocking should offer some exciting youth angling and help promote youth fishing.”
“The top picks for great lake trout action remain consistent over the last few years, including Great East Lake (Acton), Sebago Lake (Naples), and Thompson Lake (Otisfield). All three waters will offer good catches of 16 to 22 inch togue, with Sebago being the most consistent producer of wall hangers each year. The lake trout found in Sebago are exceptionally fat this year, with reported increases in average size quality. 2006 open water catch rates for togue on Thompson were excellent and there seems to be an abundance of lake trout that should be welcome news to winter anglers. The largest catches of lake trout are usually taken by jigging, and this technique is particularly effective on Sebago and Thompson lakes.”
“The best winter prospects for large salmon (over 4 pounds) are Trickey Pond (Naples), Bryant Pond (Woodstock), South Pond (Greenwood), but the fishing for salmon is generally very slow on these waters. Most other regional waters open to winter salmon fishing offer higher catch rates, including some of the less fished waters like Long Lake (Naples/Harrison), Panther Pond (Raymond), Crescent Lake (Casco), and Kezar Lake (Lovell). Increased availability of brood salmon have also allowed for the creation of some new salmon fishing opportunities in waters marginally suited for salmon. Most of the retired salmon brood was stocked in Little Ossipee Lake (Waterboro), Thomas Pond (Casco), Tripp Lake (Poland), Mousam Lake (Acton), Presumpscot River (Windham), Pennesseewassee Lake (Norway), Songo Pond (Albany), and Highland Lake (Windham).
Splake enthusiasts will find fast action, but heavy fishing pressure on Bryant Pond (Woodstock) and Trickey Pond (Naples). However, it is likely to be standing room only on both these popular and productive waters, providing favorable ice conditions prevail on January 1.”
“Brown trout anglers have no shortage of waters to fish. With the exception of the more popular fisheries, like Sabbathday Lake (New Gloucester), Middle/Upper Range Ponds (Poland), Worthley Pond (Peru), and Hancock Pond (Denmark), Square Pond (Shapleigh), many of the approximately 35 regional brown trout waters will receive very little fishing pressure, yet these waters offer quality fish. Sampling undertaken the past few years has indicated that a high percentage of our brown trout waters support fish between 3 and 6 pounds. So get away from the crowds and check out some of the those ponds you don’t hear about, but be patient, brown trout do not generally offer brisk action, but they do offer some of the largest fish caught in the region each year. As a bonus, many of the retired brown trout brood were stocked in southern Maine, including Horne Pond (Limington), Long Lake (Harrison), Presumpscot River (Windham), and Woods Pond (Bridgton).”
“For those that still like to open water fish throughout the winter, there are several year-round river-fishing opportunities in the region, which have been enhanced under beefed up fall stocking programs. These waters include the entire Presumpscot River, The Saco River (particularly below Skelton Dam, Hiram Dam) and the lower Royal River (below Elm Street). Additional open water trout fishing opportunities continue to increase in popularity on some tidewater rivers, including the Mousam (Kennebunk) and the Ogunquit (Wells), and more recently the Salmon Falls River (S. Berwick).”
Dave Garcia at Naples Bait on Long Lake in the Sebago area said that there was no ice fishing available except for maybe some of the tiny, sheltered ponds as did Carroll Cutting at Jordan’s Store in East Sebago.
In the Moosehead Region, Penny Legere at the Maine Guide Fly Shop said that the big lake was wide open but that some of the smaller ponds were producing some ice fishing, notably Prong, Fittsgerald, Mountain View and Shirley Pond. |
