June 6, 2014

IFW Fishing Report For June 6, 2014

IFW Fishing Report For June 6, 2014

Compiled By Mark Latti with IFW Fisheries Biologists

For current stocking information that is updated daily, please visit: http://www.maine.gov/ifw/fishing/reports/stocking/currentseason/currentstockingreport.pdf .

Region A ? Sebago Lakes Region

In southern Maine, anglers are still catching salmon, even though the calendar says June.

?Salmon fishing is still the talk of the town, and the fishery is holding up well. Water temps are still in the 50s on Sebago, and it?s in the low 60s in the other ponds,? said IFW Fisheries Biologist Francis Brautigam. ?Anglers are still getting fish in relatively shallow water, on a variety of lures, streamers and hardware.?

Brautigam noted one angler who fished a local pond and caught 12 legal salmon last weekend, ranging in size from16-21 inches. He was one of only three boats on the pond at the time.

Bass seem to be a bit perplexed by the cool, rainy weather this spring. Brautigam noted that while electrofishing they found several empty nests, but on another pond, they got three smallmouth bass that were still all holding their eggs.

?We?ve had a number of cold snaps in the last two weeks, and those cold temps can delay or postpone spawning,? said Brautigam.

If you are looking to latch onto a rainbow, Brautigam said that he has received good reports on rainbow trout from Lily Pond, the Ranges and Little Ossippee.

Region B ? Central and Midcoast Area

In central Maine, anglers have had great success catching white perch.

?There?s been white perch everywhere,? said IFW Fisheries Biologist Jason Seiders, ?Even though it seems to be slowing down, we have received wonderful reports of big fish. In North pond, there was an excellent run of fish that were over one and a half pounds.

Fisheries biologists were trap netting in Long Pond as well, and on the last check of the nets, there were over 250 white perch, including some up to two and half pounds.

?They have been feasting on landlocked alewives,? said Seiders, ?All of the predatory fish are so robust. The condition of these fish is amazing.?

Anglers are still reeling in brook trout in central Maine, and Seiders suggests trying some of the local rivers and streams such as the Messalonskee, the Belgrade, the Medomak and the Pemaquid. These waters were stocked this spring with brook trout.

And if you are looking for brown trout, anglers are catching browns in the Shawmut section of the Kennebec. Fish that were stocked last fall seem to have survived the winter, and anglers are catching browns in the 12-16? range.

Region C -- Downeast

?We have been extremely pleased with the reports we have been getting,? said IFW Fisheries Biologist Greg Burr, ?Brook trout streams and rivers have been doing particularly well.?

Burr mention the middle branch of the Union, the Chandler River, Mopang Stream, the west branch of the Machias, Old Stream, and the Dennys as some of the blue ribbon brook trout waters in the Downeast region.

?On some of these waters, you need to know where to go, but once you find the locations, fishing has been fantastic,? said Burr.

Grand Lake Stream has also been hot. Flows have been in the 500 cfs range, and anglers are finding fish, especially in the lower section of the river.

Area lakes been terrific as well according to Burr. ?We are getting terrific reports for salmon on Cathance, West Grand, Beech Hill, and Tunk Lake,? said Burr.

If you are looking for something a little different, Burr suggests trying Jones Pond for a shot at some rainbows. The pond was stocked last fall with rainbows, and after a slow winter ice fishing for rainbows, this spring has been excellent.

?Jones Pond has gone from a slow brown trout fishery to an exciting rainbow fishery. Anglers have had success trolling for them. They hit like a ton of bricks and fight hard,? said Burr.

Bass anglers will be happy to know that fish are on their nests and anglers are having great luck on many Downeast waters.

Region D ? Rangeley Lakes

In the Rangeley and Western Mountains region, the cool spring weather has led to some fantastic fishing.

?I just talked with one man who said he just had the three best fishing days of his life,? said IFW fisheries biologist Bobby Van Riper. Unfortunately, Van Riper declined to disclose exactly what pond he was talking about. ?The fishing has been great all season long.?

Many of the bigger lakes have had some decent fish appearing in daily catches including Rangeley, Richardson and Mooselook. Van Riper said that Richardson in particular has been fishing very well, with good catches of salmon, lakers and trout. Mooselook salmon fishing has also been fast, and Van Riper is encouraging anglers to keep some salmon in order to improve growth rates in that water.

Now is an excellent time to try some of the remote ponds in the region. Some of the ponds that require some walking don?t get a lot of fishing pressure, but hold decent numbers of trout in the 12-16? range.

One of the best ways to figure out which pond to fish is to get your DeLorme and regulation book out and cross check it with the IFW stocking list. Look for fish that were stocked last fall in the 6? range and this spring, those fish are in the 8-10? range.

?There are a lot of ponds that are suitable for trout, they just don?t have the spawning habitat, that?s why we stock them,? said Van Riper. ?Look for small ponds with general law that are off the beaten path. If you are willing to hike in, the fishing experience can be outstanding.?

Region E ? Moosehead Region

?Fishing up here is as hot as a firecracker right now,? said IFW fisheries biologist Tim Obrey. ?The caddis have just starting coming off, it started late last week and the fishing is hot.?

Obrey mentioned that the trout ponds are extremely good right now, as the water temps are still cool and the fish are really active.

?We are getting great reports from a lot of ponds, especially some of the smaller ones in the Jackman and Greenville area,? said Obrey.

Fishing on Moosehead is still holding up, and anglers are still catching some salmon trolling in the Rockwood area. There also have been reports of several brook trout in the four to five pound range on Moosehead.

The East Outlet hasn?t really caught fire yet, but Obrey feels it will soon with the caddis flies popping off the water now. He also mentioned the Moose River should heat up as well.

Bass anglers may have to wait a bit as water temps are still cool and the bass haven?t really started hitting yet.

Region F ? Penobscot Region

Things have finally dried out a bit in the Penobscot region, roads have firmed up, and the fish are biting.

?We have received some good reports from some of the trout ponds in Baxter Park,? said Nels Kramer, IFW Fisheries Biologist. ?The park is open and all the roads are open as well.?

Near the park, anglers are having some good luck at Matagammon Lake. Kramer said to try trolling with some of your favorite lures or streamers and you should have some good luck.

If you want to catch some good size lakers, Kramer suggested heading up to East Grand Lake.

?There are a lot of anglers catching togue in the 8-12 pound range this spring. I?ve heard of more big lake trout this spring than I have in a while,? said Kramer, who added that some camp owners have called with good reports of landlocks, and that bass are just starting to move into the shallows preparing to spawn.

Region G ? Aroostook Region

Up in Aroostook, now is the time to hit the rivers.

?River fishing has been hot throughout the region,? reports IFW Fisheries Biologist Jeremiah Wood, ?Water temperatures and the flows have been just right. The bugs are hatching and the fish are active.?

If you are wondering just which river to try, how about the Aroostook River? According to Wood, anglers have reported excellent trout fishing throughout the river. Another good choice is the Fish River, where anglers are catching both trout and salmon.

?It?s prime time to be out fishing the rivers right now. The rain and cool weather have helped extend things, but it likely won?t last long. Warm weather will push the fish down into spring holes or seek out cooler tributaries,? said Wood.

Over on Eagle Lake, salmon are still feeding near the surface, but are running on the smaller side. Eagle Lake has a three salmon limit with a minimum length of 12?. Anglers are encouraged to keep some of the small salmon in order to increase growth rates.