April 6, 2016 at 5:05 pm
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New opportunities for young anglers in the Rangeley Lakes Region had many kids out ice fishing this past winter.[/caption]
By IFW Fisheries Biologist Dave Howatt
The 2016 winter fishing season started off slow statewide with warm weather and thin ice conditions. Ice thickness varied greatly from pond to pond and even from cove to cove. It was one of the most dangerous January’s that we had seen in recent years.
Despite the problematic circumstances, a few anglers did fish in our area during January and thankfully we heard of very few mishaps. By early February conditions had improved greatly and things stayed relatively safe until mid-March when warm weather began to deteriorate the ice thickness.
In the Rangeley Region, we had scheduled 8 different waters to survey in order to assess fishing use and pressure. Of the waters surveyed, Embden Pond in Embden (Somerset County), Porter Lake in New Vineyard (Franklin County), and Clearwater Pond in Industry (Franklin County), anglers had good winter fishing success. Many salmon and lake trout (togue) were caught at all three waters. An 11-pound togue was taken from Clearwater Pond. Lufkin Pond in Phillips (Franklin County) was very popular as the ice was safe there in early January. Splake and smallmouth bass were regularly caught. The splake ranged in length from 11 inches to just over 18 inches.
Two Franklin County waters were opened to ice fishing for the first time in 2016. Mount Blue Pond in Avon proved to be fairly slow fishing for splake, brown trout, smallmouth bass, and white perch. It has been stocked at rates for summer fishing only. The numbers of splake and brown trout stocked will be increased in the future and hopefully improve the catch rates in future years.
Harvey Pond in Madrid was opened to kids under 16 years of age. This new fishery proved to be very popular with young families with many brook trout being caught by fledgling anglers. An official estimate of 40 young people fished there in its first year of being open to winter fishing, but that number is likely to be much higher, as the trip lengths were often very short and our survey counts were low. Most of the brook trout averaged 13 inches in length, but occasionally a fish was taken over 18 inches.
[caption id="attachment_1382" align="alignleft" width="595"]
As ice out nears, anglers soon will get a chance at some healthy and husky landlocked salmon.[/caption]
Looking to the future, the ice will be leaving Rangeley Lake in roughly a month. The average ice-out is about May 3rd, but with this year’s abnormally warm conditions, it could easily go out in mid- to late April.
Anglers should expect good fishing in Rangeley this spring, as the salmon and trout populations appear to be healthy. While trapnetting near the outlet last fall, we captured 239 salmon in 13 days. After measuring and weighing these fish, they were released back into the lake. The largest salmon, a 5-year old fish of hatchery origin, was 24¼ inches long and weighed almost 5 pounds. Twenty-one brook trout were also sampled and processed in a similar fashion. The largest of these was just over 15 inches long.
New opportunities for young anglers in the Rangeley Lakes Region had many kids out ice fishing this past winter.[/caption]
By IFW Fisheries Biologist Dave Howatt
The 2016 winter fishing season started off slow statewide with warm weather and thin ice conditions. Ice thickness varied greatly from pond to pond and even from cove to cove. It was one of the most dangerous January’s that we had seen in recent years.
Despite the problematic circumstances, a few anglers did fish in our area during January and thankfully we heard of very few mishaps. By early February conditions had improved greatly and things stayed relatively safe until mid-March when warm weather began to deteriorate the ice thickness.
In the Rangeley Region, we had scheduled 8 different waters to survey in order to assess fishing use and pressure. Of the waters surveyed, Embden Pond in Embden (Somerset County), Porter Lake in New Vineyard (Franklin County), and Clearwater Pond in Industry (Franklin County), anglers had good winter fishing success. Many salmon and lake trout (togue) were caught at all three waters. An 11-pound togue was taken from Clearwater Pond. Lufkin Pond in Phillips (Franklin County) was very popular as the ice was safe there in early January. Splake and smallmouth bass were regularly caught. The splake ranged in length from 11 inches to just over 18 inches.
Two Franklin County waters were opened to ice fishing for the first time in 2016. Mount Blue Pond in Avon proved to be fairly slow fishing for splake, brown trout, smallmouth bass, and white perch. It has been stocked at rates for summer fishing only. The numbers of splake and brown trout stocked will be increased in the future and hopefully improve the catch rates in future years.
Harvey Pond in Madrid was opened to kids under 16 years of age. This new fishery proved to be very popular with young families with many brook trout being caught by fledgling anglers. An official estimate of 40 young people fished there in its first year of being open to winter fishing, but that number is likely to be much higher, as the trip lengths were often very short and our survey counts were low. Most of the brook trout averaged 13 inches in length, but occasionally a fish was taken over 18 inches.
[caption id="attachment_1382" align="alignleft" width="595"] As ice out nears, anglers soon will get a chance at some healthy and husky landlocked salmon.[/caption]
Looking to the future, the ice will be leaving Rangeley Lake in roughly a month. The average ice-out is about May 3rd, but with this year’s abnormally warm conditions, it could easily go out in mid- to late April.
Anglers should expect good fishing in Rangeley this spring, as the salmon and trout populations appear to be healthy. While trapnetting near the outlet last fall, we captured 239 salmon in 13 days. After measuring and weighing these fish, they were released back into the lake. The largest salmon, a 5-year old fish of hatchery origin, was 24¼ inches long and weighed almost 5 pounds. Twenty-one brook trout were also sampled and processed in a similar fashion. The largest of these was just over 15 inches long.
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