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Moosehead Lake Region Fishing Report

January 29, 2008 - Well it's that time again. The time when the Fisheries Biologists in the Moosehead Region gear up and head out onto the ice to conduct our annual creel census work on Moosehead Lake. In addition to Moosehead we are checking Lower Wilson Pond, which is open for the first time to ice fishing.

Regulations at Wilson Pond include S-4, S-5, S-15 and all salmon caught need to be released alive at once. We will also be conducting census work on Sebec Lake this winter. Sebec is open to ice fishing from January 15 to March 15. Make sure to check your law book for current regulations on the particular body of water you are fishing.

One regulation change we made here in the Moosehead Region that is generating lots of conversation on the ice, is the change we made on lake trout. Starting this winter, anglers are able to keep 2 lake trout over 18 inches and a no size or bag limit restriction on lake trout under 18 inches. More than one party we encountered this weekend wanted to make sure that they were reading the law book correctly. We informed them that they were. We interviewed several parties taking advantage of this new regulation with some parties harvesting as many as 20, 30, and even 40 of these small lake trout. We also talked to a few parties that had caught some brook trout.

Anglers taking advantage of the new opportunity to fish Wilson Pond this weekend found the lake trout fishing to be quite good for the smaller 14 to 18 inch fish.

Moderate temps and little to no wind made for an enjoyable weekend of fishing. We didn't venture out to far onto the big lake but we did get around to several parties fishing in the southern end of Moosehead Lake in the Lily Bay, Beaver Cove, and the Greenville areas. In each of the areas we were in we noted that ice thickness varied from 6 to 14 inches in Lily Bay and Beaver Cove. East and West Coves in the Greenville and Greenville Jct. area we noted 10 to 14 inches of ice. However, north of there, we noted virtually no snowmobile traffic and did not attempt going there ourselves. Anglers and snowmobilers should still use caution when venturing out onto Maine's lakes and ponds. The thick blanket of snow we received early in the winter has kept the ice from setting up real well even though we've had some cold temperatures.

Mark your calendars, January 26th and 27th for the Moosehead Lake, Togue Ice Fishing Derby with Ricky Craven. A grand door prize will be given, daily drawings and cash prizes for the three largest togue. To enter the derby folks can purchase individual and family tickets at several locations in the Greenville and Rockwood areas. For more information on the derby log onto www.mooseheadlake.org, or contact the Greenville Chamber of Commerce at (207) 695-2702.

Another item that folks may be interested in; this Thursday, January 10th Moosehead Lake Region, Fisheries Biologists Tim Obrey and Stephen Seeback will be putting on a presentation titled Wild Brook Trout in Maine's Large Lakes, at 7:00 pm, at the Penobscot County Conservation Club in Brewer. This presentation includes work that the Moosehead Lake Fisheries staff, have conducted on wild brook trout in the Chamberlain Lake System.

SOURCE: Maine Today.com

DATE: 01-22-2008


Lakes: Lower Wilson Pond, Moosehead Lake, Sebec
Regions: Moosehead, Bangor


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