May 12A week of warm and sunny weather did wonders for the fishing in both the salt and freshwater. On the coastal scene, the season is progressing nicely as herring runs are building and stripers have shown up from Boston Harbor, to the Merrimack River and northward to a sprinkling of fish in New Hampshire and Maine.
Freshwater fishing on the big lakes continues to be great and as the rivers and streams drop their water levels, trout fishing has been very good, augmented by some serious fish stocking.
“There’s really too much mystique in the techniques used in trolling live bait for trout and salmon,” Donna Beyers at Kittery Trading Post’s fishing department reveals.
“For years, secret bait sewing techniques were handed down from generation to generation, but often withheld from even close friends and fishing partners. Some of these techniques went into so much detail and work that it took several minutes to prepare a live or dead bait for trolling. There is still some of this in practice, but some of the more modern methods and gear have changed much of this.”
“First of all, let’s talk about some of the old time gear that used to be placed in service, regardless of circumstances and time of the year. Togue (lake trout) anglers often used metal lines, either braided or single strand copper or single strand monell. These extremely stiff and heavy lines called for big, single action reels, like a huge fly reel. The Sal-Trout reel is still often seen aboard some boats. The rods used then had to be big and stiff to accommodate the lines. This gear was so heavy that a small fish that had taken a bait often went undetected and was dragged around the lake for sometime, before being brought in and released.”
“The use of downriggers, diving planes and improved lead core line has changed much of this, but there’s still the questions of the live bait. We’re going to answer some of those here and now,” Donna laughed.
“First of all, how much more simple could it get than impaling a light wire, single short-shank number 6, 8 or 10 hook up or down through both lips of a smelt or shiner? Many fishermen employ this method but the key to their success is to have the ability to strip out several yards of line when a fish hits the bait and lets go when it feels any line pressure. These anglers that are good with this procedure quickly feed that fish some line and nine out of ten times the trout or salmon will come right back and inhale that baitfish, resulting in a hooked fish.”
“A rig that is becoming very, very popular (at one time it was illegal in many states) is the two-hook-sliding rig. With this rig you can just lip-hook the front hook of the rig in your bait and place the trailer hook somewhere behind the dorsal fin, just lightly impaled under the skin. A large percentage of hits are hooked with this rig. The sliding feature allows you to adjust the rig according to the size of the baitfish.”
“Two hook non-sliding rigs are also becoming very popular. Some of these are tied with stiff wire leader. You can impale the second hook or just let it run free next to the baitfish. The knock on these rigs is that you need an assortment in different sizes.”
“If you insist on sewing-on your bait, there is one very simple method that does the job and needs only a small hook. With a bait-sewing needle, impale the dead baitfish by penetrating the body cavity just below the gills and running the needle out the fish’s vent. Tie your hook on and then pushing a loop of leader material into the eye of the needle, pass the needle up through both lips or nose. Remove the leader loop from the needle and then lengthen out the loop enough to pass the whole baitfish through the loop and slowly tighten. This method throws a harness knot around the baitfish’s mouth and you can adjust the bait for motion by moving this harness knot to run straight or to roll to either side. Don’t use live bait for this method. Dispatch your bait by a snap of your finger to the head.”
“Live or sewed-on bait-caught trout or salmon may be released unharmed if you do one of two things. If the hook is easily removed, do so. If the hook has been swallowed, cut your leader.”
Beyers says that these methods of live bait fishing can be used with light spinning, trolling or even fly fishing gear. No need of heavy lines and gear and no need of deploying big heavy sets of spinners or other attractors.
Maine: In Maine’s Moosehead Lake Region, the rivers are starting to drop and the fishing for trout and salmon should really start to pick up. Dan Legere at the Maine Guide Fly Shop reports that water levels on the popular East Branch (Penobscot River) will be dropping each day and that will provide some opportunities for wading this river, while previous flows were way too high.
“We don’t get to see a lot of the lake fishermen,” reports Penny Legere. “They’ll come in here and then we don’t seen them for a while, but we do know that there’s been a few salmon caught but the prime fishing here for a while is going to be on the togue (lake trout). The lake is just full of them and there is no size or bag limit except you are allowed only two fish over 18 inches.”
In the Sebago Lake Region, Dave Garcia at Naples Bait on Long Lake reports that there’s not much fishing pressure on his lake but that there was a crowd on Sebago over the weekend. “You can’t say that the Sebago salmon fishing is really fast, but the quality of the fish being caught is fantastic – lots of fish in the four to up to seven pound range.”
Dave fished for crappie on his secret spot at the Muddy River (a Sebago Tributary) and had a catch of two fish about two pounds and three others at about a pound, very nice sizes for crappie. “I filleted them all and we had a great fish fry,” he laughed.
“Over on Sebago, most of the salmon and a few togue are being caught at the Songo Bar where there’s a smelt run underway. There’s also some good action at the Songo Locks where a variety of fish are being caught – salmon, stocked brook trout and now the white perch run has started. This is a great place to fish from shore.”
“The Crooked River is dropping to a very fishable level and this coming week it should be ideal. There’s always a chance at a trophy brook trout there and it’s not unusual to catch a salmon. The Crooked River is a salmon-spawning tributary for Sebago Lake. Wild salmon do not have any fin-clips. Releasing these fish will add to the salmon population of the big lake as about 70 percent of the Sebago salmon are wild fish, not stocked.”
At Jordan’s Store in East Sebago, Carroll Cutting reports that you couldn’t call the Sebago Lake fishing “explosive,” but it has been very steady with some of the best sized average for salmon that he’d seen in years. “A lot of the boats are seeing clouds of smelt on their fish finders and that bodes well for this lake’s fishery. There are smelt runs going on right now in the northern part of the lake.”
“The few togue that are being caught have been in the shallows, being caught by salmon fishermen. Not many people are targeting togue yet but as the water warms there will be plenty of fishermen after them as the togue drop into the deep water.”
“Right now there’s been quite a few smallmouths being caught at the mouths of some of the rivers. We’ve had people in here that have been having a blast using topwater lures and catching and releasing a lot of smallmouths. The regulations right now require fish to be caught on artificial lures and there’s a one fish per day bag limit.”
The ice went out of Rangeley Lake on Monday morning of last week at eleven o’clock, according to Ken at River’s Edge Sports in Oquossoc. “The fishing has been kind of spotty but there’s been some good fish taken. The water temperature is still very cold here, under forty degrees. Most of the trout and salmon being caught are in the shallows, right around the shoreline where the water tends to be a little bit warmer.”
“Over on Richardson Lake, the togue fishing has been excellent. We’ve heard of two fish over eighteen pounds and several other good sized ones. The togue have been in the ten to forty foot depths while most of the salmon have been near the surface, down no more than ten feet. Streamer flies and sewed-on bait have accounted for most of the fish.”
“At Aziscohos Lake, both the salmon and brookies are doing well and also below the lake in the Lower Magalloway River. The Kennebago River should be holding some trout and salmon because the baitfish have moved in.”
Both Ken and Jerry at River’s Edge have been experimenting with trolling the new Berkeley Gulp smelt, a rubber-type bait that is not rubber and are biodegradable. They sew this bait on their hook in a very simple manner, running the leader through the fish with a fish-sewing needle from the head between the nose and the eyes and out the vent area where the hook is tied on. They offset the leader entry at the nose a bit to give the bait a little spin. “Last year we found these baits to be about as effective as using the real thing,” Ken ended.
Outdoor writer Stu Bristol of Lyman says that he hadn’t heard of any serious striper fishing yet at the Saco River, saying that there’s still a lot of freshwater coming down, but that local brooks were in good shape and that recent stockings had been producing some good fishing. “The apple blossoms are almost blooming and when they are, you can always count on stripers, shad and other saltwater fish to start to hit really well.”
Vermont: Vermont Fisheries and Wildlife sent us this report: Vermont’s “Trophy Trout” stocking program is underway with seven stream sections and 33 lakes and ponds receiving the two-year old trout, some over 18 inches long.
“The trophy rainbow and brown trout stocked in the Black, Winooski, and Lamoille Rivers as well as Otter Creek have provided exciting fishing for many anglers of all ages and skill levels for many years,” said Fish & Wildlife Commissioner Wayne Laroche. “We are now also stocking trophy trout in sections of East Creek in Rutland, the Missisquoi River in Enosburg and Sheldon, and the Passumpsic River in St Johnsbury. In addition, two-year old brook trout as well as some large rainbows will be stocked in selected lakes and ponds to provide excellent fishing opportunities.”
Trout fishing in the trophy trout streams is open from April 12 through October 31 this year in the stream sections listed below. There is no length limit. The daily creel limit is two trout.
Black River: along Rt. 131 in Weathersfield and Cavendish, from Downers covered bridge upstream, approximately four miles, to the next bridge across the river, the Howard Hill Bridge.
Lamoille River: from the downstream edge of the bridge on Route 104 in the Village of Fairfax upstream, approximately 1.6 miles, to the top of the Fairfax Falls Dam in Fairfax.
Otter Creek: in Danby and Mt. Tabor - From the Vermont Railway Bridge north of the fishing access upstream, approximately 2 miles, to the Danby-Mt. Tabor Forest Rd. Bridge (Forest Road # 10).
East Creek: in Rutland City – from the confluence with Otter Creek upstream, approximately 2.7 miles, to the top of the Patch Dam in Rutland City.
Missisquoi River: in Enosburg and Sheldon, from the downstream edge of Kane Road (TH-3) bridge upstream, approximately 5.7 miles, to the top of the Enosburg Falls Dam in Enosburg Falls.
Passumpsic River: in St. Johnsbury, from the top of the Gage Dam upstream to the top of the Arnold Falls Dam. This section includes the Moose River from its confluence with the Passumpsic River upstream to the Concord Avenue Bridge.
Winooski River: in Duxbury and Waterbury, from the top of Bolton Dam upstream to the Route 2 Bridge east of Waterbury Village. This section includes the Little River: from its confluence with the Winooski River upstream to the Route 2 bridge.
About 25% of the fish stocked in these waters will also be trophy trout: Adams Reservoir (Woodford), Amherst Lake (Plymouth), Baker Pond (Brookfield), Bean Pond (Sutton), Beck Pond (Newark), Black Pond (Hubbardton), Brown Pond (Westmore), Colby Pond (Plymouth), Colton Pond (Sherburne), Echo Lake (Plymouth), Goshen Dam (Goshen), Kent Pond (Sherburne), Knapp Pond #1 and Knapp Pond # 2 (Reading-Cavendish), Lake Paran (Bennington-Shaftsbury), Lefferts Pond (Chittenden), May Pond (Barton), McIntosh Pond (Royalton), Mill Pond (Windsor), Miller Pond (Strafford), Osmore Pond (Peacham), Lake Raponda (Wilmington), Lake Rescue (Ludlow), Rood Pond (Williamstown-Brookfield), Searsburg Reservoir (Searsburg), Lake Shaftsbury (Shaftsbury), Smith Pond (Pittsford), Stoughton Pond (Weathersfield), Sunset Lake (Brookfield), Townshend Reservoir (Townshend), Wheeler Pond (Barton), Zack Woods Pond and Perch Pond (Hyde Park-Wolcott).
Standard fishing regulations will apply to these lakes and ponds. For details, see the “2007 Guide to Hunting, Fishing & Trapping,” available where licenses are sold. Vermont fishing licenses are available statewide at more than 350 agents and on Fish & Wildlife’s website (www.vtfishandwildlife.com). More information about trophy trout stocking can also be found on the website. Click on “Fishing” and then “Stocking Schedule.”
New Hampshire: “Lots of herring running but only rumors of stripers being caught,” was the word from Kyle Walsh at Suds-n-Soda Sports in Greenland. “We’ve been watching the Lamprey River in Newmarket. It’s been rumored there’s been a couple of stripers there. Some fishermen are getting bait (alewives) there but we haven’t been able to confirm any stripers. Over at the Cocheco River there’s been a great run of alewives and again, only rumors of stripers.”
“A scattering of flounder, no mackerel yet and the cod and haddock guys have had to go way outside to get fish. The big cod should start to move inshore any time now.”
“We have seen some very nice trout being caught locally, with rainbows over two pounds quite common. The Winnicut River, Exeter Reservoir and Lucas Pond seem to be the most reliable places.”
George Taylor at Taylor’s Trading Post in Madbury says that the trout fishing recently has been excellent. Nearby Barbados Pond has been a real hot spot, sometimes even being overcrowded with anglers. The other best pond we’re hearing about is Lucas Pond in Northwood. Nearby Stonehouse Pond in Barrington is seeing some good action on brookies but the key there right now is to fish deep. The water temperature is cold there and the fish haven’t started to rise.” (This is a fly-only pond)
“Fishing the Lamprey and Cocheco River for trout has been quite spotty but some nice fish have been caught. The Isinglass River in Strafford and Rochester is best just after stocking but apparently is easy to get fished-out.”
“We’ve only heard rumors of stripers but we went over to the Cocheco River and watched the fisheries people hauling bucket after bucket of alewives up over the dam there. It should be only a matter of days before those big stripers appear.”
“We’ve got plenty of live smelt for the derby,” reported Paul Garland at Hot Spot Outfitters in New Durham. (Paul was referring to the big Winni Derby scheduled for May 16-18.) “We’re looking for a big derby turn-out, but according to other dealers and from what we’ve experienced, derby tickets sales are a bit slow.”
Paul said that a lot of very nice rainbow trout and salmon have been taken out of both Alton Bay on Winnipesaukee and Merrymeeting Lake. “Merrymeeting has been a bit of a surprise. The fish coming out of there are very fat and healthy. The state ramp there is quite usable but parking may be a bit limited. We’re urging boaters not to power load their boats back on their trailers there because it blows all the fill out at the end of the ramp.”
Alan Nute at AJ’s Bait and Tackle in Meredith on Lake Winnipesaukee also reports having plenty of live bait for the derby. “We’ve got a good supply and a good back-up, so we don’t anticipate running out. This week’s fishing on the big lake has been fantastic. The charter guys have had some incredible salmon fishing. Yo Adrian Charters had a 72 fish week while Coolwater Charters had over 50 fish. Most of the fish so far this year seem to be in the 15 to 16 inch range, while the larger fish in the 20 to 22 inch range seem to be scarce.”
“Last week, the salmon seemed to be hitting just about every color of fly and lure, but now that we’re overcast here, darker colors will be the best – flies like the green ghost and nine three and lures that have some copper.”
“It may be just about over, but last week produced some of the best rainbow trout fishing we’ve ever seen, right here at the mouth of and even up in the small Meredith Brook that runs into the lake here. We saw and heard of a lot of rainbows up to close to four pounds. It’s the sucker run that has brought them and quite a few salmon into the area. They are feeding on the sucker eggs.”
“White perch are still schooling up and being caught at Nineteen Mile and Twenty Mile Coves. Some of these perch are well over two pounds.”
In the far Northcountry, Tom Caron at Tall Timber Lodge on Back Lake reports the fishing both there on Back Lake and at the Connecticut River has been very fast.
“Over at the Magalloway section of the Connecticut, the smelt and salmon run is on and the fishing has been great. Last week, streamer flies seemed to be working, but as the week progressed, more of the fish were seen surface feeding as the water warmed. Last night I took a fat 17-inch salmon on a pheasant tail soft hackle fly. The fish took it just after the swing and I had started to twitch it back towards me.”
“On Back Lake, most of the action has been by trolling streamers and some lures.”
Massachusetts: This writer fished for flounder in the Boston Harbor area one day last week. We found the flounder on the flats after trying the deeper water off Deer Island. One of the boats there had caught a couple dozen flounder but we got on them a little late, only catching four fish before they moved and we couldn’t find them afterwards.
Pete Santini at Fishing FINatics in Everett has had some good luck fishing that Deer Island area, but reports that there’s been some equally good fishing at Hospital Shoals off George’s Island, where a nine pound tautog was also reported. Flounder remain hot at the Sugar Bowl in South Boston. The Zobo Rigs with a one ounce sinker and seaworms seem to be the best combo.”
“Up until a few days ago, the majority of the codfish being caught at President’s Roads have been undersized, but in the last few days, plenty of decent-sized fish have moved in – fish in the eight to nine pound range. Also, Skip-a-Dory Charters has been doing well on giant codfish just north of Stellwagon Shoals.”
“We’ve had some keeper-sized fresh run stripers being caught off the beach at Point of Pines in Revere and also reports of mackerel at the B Buoy.”
Pete asked us to mention that the annual Boston Striper Shootout is slated for June 13th and 14th this year.
Kay Moulton at Surfland on Plum Island told us that they had a lot of fish move in, she was referring to stripers. “We’ve got a guy here that caught six last night.” When she asked him how he’d done this morning, his answer was “five.”
He was fishing with white bucktail jigs. Kay said no news on flounder yet, but shad are still at Rocks Village in Haverhill and probably below the dam in Lawrence.”
Because of the inherent time restrictions of gathering fresh, up-to-date information, editing and producing this report in a timely manner, occasional errors or marginal information may slip by us. We try our hardest to provide accurate information. We urge readers to use this report as a tool to increase their fishing pleasure and not to rely on as their sole resource. First or second hand information is offered by fishing guides, commercial fishing charters or party boats, bait and tackle dealers, well known successful anglers and state and federal fisheries and natural resource law enforcement officials. We also welcome and use reports forwarded to us by fishermen that use this report. (Thank you, Dick Pinney Kittery Trading Post Fishing Report Editor.)
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