Editors note: The open-water fishing reports are provided weekly by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Region A Southwestern Maine

The Sebago Lake Pike saga continued.

Last Tuesday Francis and I spent the entire day electrofishing the Songo River area looking for more pike, but we found only chain pickerel. We plan to go out again this week and check out several other areas of the lake, unfortunately in the 28,000-acre lake it is like looking for a needle in a haystack. In addition, the Department’s Information and Education Division sprinted to the cause and quickly printed up some posters informing anglers about the illegal introduction, how to identify pike, and to kill and report all pike caught in the Sebago drainage. Thanks to the quick response, these signs were posted at four of the major Sebago boat ramps by Saturday morning.

We are still unsure if the pike were originally introduced directly to Sebago or some other water upstream in the drainage. We encourage anglers to report any pike caught in the region. Apparently this message got out loud and clear. Last week we received quite a few calls reporting catches of pike not only in Sebago, but also in a couple of other regional waters. Pike seem to be spreading. We are currently following-up on many of these calls and reports, and we would like to remind anglers again to kill and keep caught pike for proper identification and confirmation.

On a more pleasant note, the trout and bass fishing have been fantastic in southern Maine. Anglers have reported good catches of brown, brook, and rainbows on several local rivers including the Presumpscot (Windham), Pleasant (Windham), Little (Gorham), and the Little Androcoggin (Oxford-Auburn). Other than a few holdovers most of the fish are from recent stockings and they range from 8-13 inches in length. It is also prime time to get out and fish some of our small trout ponds. Although not truly remote, many of these waters will make you think you are in the North Country. Here are few good bets for wetting a line: Warren Pond (South Berwick), Littlefield Pond (Sanford), Clay Pond (Fryeburg), Lily Pond (New Gloucester), Long Pond (Denmark), Cushman Pond (Lovell), Broken Bridge/Crocker Pond (Albany), and Washburn Pond (Sumner). The trout in these ponds generally range from 8-12 inches, but several of these waters produce a handful of larger trout.

The cool, rainy weather pattern is expected to prolong the good trout fishing in southern Maine so get out there and enjoy while it lasts, because the peak of the season is upon us. Many of our larger trout ponds are also producing some fine catches. Our census clerk was out on the Range Ponds in Poland over the weekend and observed several nice trout including a few browns in the 3 to 6 pound class, a 4-pound lake trout, and rainbows in the 18-20 inch range are being landed on a fairly consistent basis. Another local angler from Windham has reported some great brown trout fishing at Little Sebago Lake with browns ranging from 17 inches to his largest of the season – 26 inches and 6 pounds. Most of the successful anglers are trolling in relatively shallow water (8-to-20 feet) with sewed on bait, tandem streamer flies, and small lures, including wobblers and stick baits.

The bass fishing is also peaking right now. Male smallmouths are actively protecting their nests and the fishing has been fast and furious. One of our seasonal workers was at a bass tournament on Lake Auburn over the weekend and the winning boat had a total weight of 23 pounds for six smallies, which equates to an average of almost 4 pounds per fish. Based on our observations largemouths are cruising the shallows and actively feeding, but we have yet to see any significant nesting activity from them. We expect their nesting activities to begin soon. If you like to get out and stalk bass here are some waters where you are likely to hook-up: Mousam Lake (Acton), Kennebunk Pond (Lyman), Lake Arrowhead (Waterboro), Sokokis Lake (Limerick), Little Sebago Lake (Windham), Thompson Lake (Poland), Hancock Pond (Denmark), Moose Pond (Bridgton), Lovewell Pond (Fryeburg), Norway Lake (Norway).

– Jim Pellerin, assistant regional fisheries biologist
Region B

Central Maine

Anglers who like to catch a limit of small brook trout from the brooks and small streams in Central Maine have little time left before the trout seem to disappear from the pools and run in the many streams throughout in the region.

Air temperatures that rise as spring makes way to summer also raise stream temperatures. Brook trout prefer water temperatures near 60 degrees or cooler, so anglers should seek those cooler spring holes. We have evidence of brook trout in many of the smaller tributaries to rivers and ponds, in a wide swath of towns between Lewiston and Augusta, but don’t limit your exploring to that section of the region. Many streams between Fairfield and Bangor, harbor a good number of Maine’s most popular game fish.

Another popular fish in the southern and eastern part of Maine is the black bass. Most waters in the central region are inhabited by both smallmouth and largemouth. At this time, spawning is nearing its peak,with many nests occupied by an attentive male guarding the eggs and fry. If you are fishing over a nest you should release the fish as quickly as possible, as the unguarded eggs or fry can fall to predators. A released adult fish will find its way back to the nest.

The regulations in Maine are restrictive enough to allow for a good survival of bass so that the population is maintained. Popular waters that have no shortage of bass are Maranacook, Cobbossee, Annabessacook and Androscoggin Lakes. A popular Sunday afternoon family outing might include attending a bass tournament weigh-in. The bass clubs are civic- minded organizations that support many causes. Keep a look out for boat launches that

are filled with bass boats and trailers you will be able to see some nice bass. All bass tournaments are conducted by an authorized bass club with the appropriate permit from the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

White perch action from spawning runs is winding down but other warm water fish as well as white perch are almost into the summertime mode. I have good fishing at camp with white perch that school up in the early morning or evening hours. Casting a small plastic grub to the school gives me continuous action for this tasty panfish.

– William L. Woodward, regional fishery biologist
Region D

Western Mountains

Restoration of the Sunday River in western Maine got under way last week with the help of about two dozen volunteers who contributed several days each to river assessment.

The Sunday, a tributary to the Androscoggin River, is eroding and cutting new channels during high flows as a result of changes in land use. The challenge is to restabilize the river, a process that not only protects nearby roads and structures, but restores fisheries habitat. A total of $25,000 in mitigation funding from reconstruction of nearby U.S. Route 2 is being used for assessment and planning to remediate the problems on the Sunday River (additional monies for restoration may become available from the Dept. of Transportation in the future). Trout Unlimited has also contributed $6,000 to the effort, and food and lodging for the volunteers were provided by Sunday River Ski Resort and the Sunday River Inn. Under the direction of fluvial geomorphologist (a river evaluation and restoration expert) John Parish of Parish Geomorphic, the volunteers learned how to evaluate river reaches, and were then sent out in teams to rate the Sunday and its tributaries.

The information collected by the volunteers will be used to prioritize restoration needs. Additional data collection is being conducted by Kleinschmidt Associates and Parish Geomorphic, who will design treatments for the most degraded areas. This work culminates several years of planning, including watershed assessments overseen by Jeff Stern of the Oxford County Soil and Water Conservation District, riparian assessment and mapping by the Natural Resources Conservation Service and a river survey conducted by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. In many cases, volunteers did much of the data collection. The Sunday River originates in the Mahoosuc Range and drains a spectacular part of the state that includes a section of the Appalachian Trail. There are lots of waterfalls and cascades, many accessible by trail. The entire restoration process is expected to take several years and will serve as a guide for other river work done in Maine.

– Forrest Bonney, regional fisheries biologist