ArrayApril 28, 2017 at 11:15 am
[caption id="attachment_2287" align="alignright" width="507"]
Large, plump salmon are often the reward if you are willing to dress warmly in order to troll Rangleley Lake right after ice out.[/caption]
By IFW Fisheries Biologist Dave Howatt
Based on our records, the average ice-out for Rangeley Lake is about May 3, but this year a couple of warm days and high winds moved things ahead and official ice-out was declared on Sunday, April 30. The latest ice-out date for the lake in our dataset (going back to 1979) is May 14, 1992.
Fishing in Rangeley Lake should be good this year. Our annual fall trapnetting efforts showed decent numbers of age 2 and 3 hatchery origin salmon, averaging 16.1 and 20.3 inches, respectively. The largest salmon we handled was 24.4 inches long and weighed 5¼ pounds. Also, 48% of the fall salmon sample was made up of wild fish. A notable wild cohort of age 5 salmon is now in the system and averaging over 20 inches in length. Quality brook trout are also present in Rangeley Lake’s fishery.
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Ice out on Richardson Lake is generally 1-3 days earlier than on Rangeley and Mooselook. Richardson produces nice brook trout.[/caption]
The ice-out date of Mooselookmeguntic Lake, downstream in the Rangeley drainage to the west, is usually a day ahead of the Rangeley Lake. This year, ice-out on Mooselook was also declared on Sunday, April 30. Its fishery is made up entirely of wild-origin brook trout and salmon. Brook trout are commonly caught in the 14 to 16 inch range with some reaching 20 inches. Currently, there are many small-medium sized salmon present in the fishery, so the lake’s regulations are set to allow for a high harvest of these fish with a 3-fish bag limit and a 12-inch minimum, only one over 16 inches length restriction. We encourage anglers to keep their limit of salmon, which will help to increase the size quality of salmon in the lake.
The Richardson Lakes, located further downstream in the drainage, has an ice-out date usually 2-3 days before Rangeley Lake. We trapnetted Richardson last fall, and measured and released nearly 200 salmon and brook trout. Several trout were over 18 inches, and one brookie measured nearly 20 inches and weighed 3.25 pounds. The size and weights of salmon have remained consistent over the past few years, but we plan to slightly reduce the number of salmon stocked annually which should increase the size of salmon in the future. These lakes (Upper & Lower) continue to be popular fisheries for brook trout, lake trout, and salmon, with lake trout growing to especially attractive sizes.
Overall, the spring fishing season is setting up to be a good one, if only winter will release its grip on western Maine!
[caption id="attachment_2288" align="aligncenter" width="632"]
Rangeley lake produces some large salmon. One salmon that was netted and released by biologists this fall measured 24.4 inches in length and tipped the scales at 5 1/4 pounds![/caption]
Large, plump salmon are often the reward if you are willing to dress warmly in order to troll Rangleley Lake right after ice out.[/caption]
By IFW Fisheries Biologist Dave Howatt
Based on our records, the average ice-out for Rangeley Lake is about May 3, but this year a couple of warm days and high winds moved things ahead and official ice-out was declared on Sunday, April 30. The latest ice-out date for the lake in our dataset (going back to 1979) is May 14, 1992.
Fishing in Rangeley Lake should be good this year. Our annual fall trapnetting efforts showed decent numbers of age 2 and 3 hatchery origin salmon, averaging 16.1 and 20.3 inches, respectively. The largest salmon we handled was 24.4 inches long and weighed 5¼ pounds. Also, 48% of the fall salmon sample was made up of wild fish. A notable wild cohort of age 5 salmon is now in the system and averaging over 20 inches in length. Quality brook trout are also present in Rangeley Lake’s fishery.
[caption id="attachment_2289" align="alignleft" width="354"] Ice out on Richardson Lake is generally 1-3 days earlier than on Rangeley and Mooselook. Richardson produces nice brook trout.[/caption]
The ice-out date of Mooselookmeguntic Lake, downstream in the Rangeley drainage to the west, is usually a day ahead of the Rangeley Lake. This year, ice-out on Mooselook was also declared on Sunday, April 30. Its fishery is made up entirely of wild-origin brook trout and salmon. Brook trout are commonly caught in the 14 to 16 inch range with some reaching 20 inches. Currently, there are many small-medium sized salmon present in the fishery, so the lake’s regulations are set to allow for a high harvest of these fish with a 3-fish bag limit and a 12-inch minimum, only one over 16 inches length restriction. We encourage anglers to keep their limit of salmon, which will help to increase the size quality of salmon in the lake.
The Richardson Lakes, located further downstream in the drainage, has an ice-out date usually 2-3 days before Rangeley Lake. We trapnetted Richardson last fall, and measured and released nearly 200 salmon and brook trout. Several trout were over 18 inches, and one brookie measured nearly 20 inches and weighed 3.25 pounds. The size and weights of salmon have remained consistent over the past few years, but we plan to slightly reduce the number of salmon stocked annually which should increase the size of salmon in the future. These lakes (Upper & Lower) continue to be popular fisheries for brook trout, lake trout, and salmon, with lake trout growing to especially attractive sizes.
Overall, the spring fishing season is setting up to be a good one, if only winter will release its grip on western Maine!
[caption id="attachment_2288" align="aligncenter" width="632"] Rangeley lake produces some large salmon. One salmon that was netted and released by biologists this fall measured 24.4 inches in length and tipped the scales at 5 1/4 pounds![/caption]