The remarkable combination of adequate ice and little snow cover continues to make this an ice fishing season to remember. Sprinkled in are good reports of lakers from both New Hampshire and Maine.
New Hampshire Fishing Report
It’s a daunting task tackling the massive Lake Winnipesaukee for the first time on the ice but two Massachusetts anglers recently gave themselves a big edge, they visited AJs Bait in Meredith first! Those guys were pointed toward Gilford Beach with the right gear and right bait (smelt!) and caught lake trout! Harold said that he’s hearing good reports of those spectacularly big white perch from Center Harbor. By the way, there’s that little old Meredith Rotary Ice Fishing Derby scheduled for the weekend after this, February 9-10. For New England hardwater junkies, this event is less of a derby and more of an event!
There’s been a good lake trout bite on the northern end of Winnisquam! According to Jason from Suds ‘N Soda, Great Bay has caught and a few are dragging their Bob Houses onto the ice in search of smelt! If seaworms are a tough find than consider crawlers sprinkled with a dab of BioEdge bloodworm potion. I’ve used that combination with a tube-and-worm for stripers and it works so well that sometimes I wonder why I even bother with seaworms! A few decent bass have been taken recently at Northwood Lake and Bow Lake. The former is your pick if you’d like largemouth bass while the latter gets the nod if smallies are more to your liking.
Southern Maine Fishing Report
Wayne from Sebago Bait is able to offer a unique perspective on Sebago Lake since he flies his own plane! He said that Jordan’s Bay has safe ice with some reports putting the hard stuff at 10-inches! While togue are the target there, Little Sebago should be in your sights should you be after brown trout. The Otter Ponds are other options for trout.
Scotty from Dag’s treated 4 anglers to pretty good lake trout fishing at Thompson Lake with a 20-foot hump right next to a drop-off producing best. Swedish Pimples and smelt were the ticket to the anglers limiting out on the lakers. There’s a major pike tournament on Lake Sabattus this weekend and Dag’s has plenty of sucker’s in stock for the special event. From all indications, the smelt bite is solid throughout the smelt camps in the Kennebec River/Merrymeeting Bay area. Pike continue to be a factor in the “Andro” with the feed fast and furious when atmospheric pressure is dropping.
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New Hampshire and Maine Fishing Forecast
For lake trout love, drop an AJ’s jig over marked fish in the Gilford Beach area of Lake Winnipesaukee while Thompson’s Lake is the ticket for togue in Southern Maine. Sebago has good ice and a good lake trout bite on Jordan’s Bay. Pick a plummeting temperature outing for pike in the Androscoggin River and you may find those water wolves more than willing! While Sebago is all about cold water species, the pike which were illegally introduced are remarkably healthy and colorful. Find a shallow basin and sink a sucker towards the bottom to see if a big northern is home.