Well by all standards it was a relatively easy winter. Ice
had a late start and an early demise, which resulted in a shorter ice
fishing season. The good news is that resulted in an early open water
start, and some lucky folks were able to take advantage of that. Bass will
be entering the shallow water in preparation for their spawning
activities. Pre-spawn bass are very aggressive and generally easy to
catch. Some beds were spotted in ponds just south of us by mid April but
the fish were blown off by a successive series of cold fronts. We just
need some consistent warm weather to put the drive to shallow water into
full gear. By the time you read this, that should have already occurred.
The shorter hard water season means more fish availability in the spring
due to the less winter pressure. The I F & W stocked Tripp with 200 12
– 14" Brown Trout and 25 Brood Browns last fall, so make sure you
respool your reel with fresh line this year….hate to lose a huge Brown
trout due to old line ! Remember…if you catch any trout, call the I
F& W in Gray (or let me know and I’ll call them). They want feedback
on the success of the trout stocking. Simply, if people catch them, the
stocking will continue.
Got back into Landlocked Salmon fishing this year. Tried
Trickey and Thompson April 27 and 28. Had a balmy day on the 28th …..
36 degrees, wind and snow ! Actually that should have been good
conditions for Salmon but turned out not to be. Now I know why I stopped
chasing Salmon !! Looking forward to a banner year on bass and trout in
our area. Will be doing several float trips down the Androscoggin River in
Bethel starting late May so if your interested, let me know. Anna thinks
she may try to kayak it when the water warms in July/August. Haven’t
tried a drift on the Royal as yet but this might the year to give it a
try. Got to keep exploring !
Even though it was an easy winter here, it was still
better in Florida ! Went back to Islamorada in the Keys for a week of
fishing. We moved the time up a month to February to try to time the
Sailfish migration through that area. It worked ! The Sailfish had moved
into the area and were concentrated around Marathon by mid February.
Weather and wind conditions were also favorable. We left the dock @ 6:30
am and motored out in search of baitfish. This is still a bizarre concept…..thousands
of square miles of ocean and all the boats from 3 neighboring marinas
converge on a pin point which is the last recorded spot the schools of
baitfish were seen. Our mate sets the anchor per the captain’s exact
instructions, chum is laid out (luckily not by us !) and the captain
throws the 14-foot cast net over schooled baitfish. All the boats are
performing a similar ritual as they pitch, rock and roll within a few
yards of each other. After 250 – 300 cigar minnow and sardines were
safely in the livewell, we headed for Marathon. As we approached we could
see that many boats were already in a trolling pattern and a few boats
were "hooked up". It’s easy to tell which boats were onto
fish. The first step after a hook-up is to position the boat correctly.
After the 1st long, spectacular run, the boat is reversed to
gain line. This shorter line adds pressure to the fish which generally
results in the phenomenal jumps, leaps and tailwalking that you may have
seen in pictures (it’s really like that !!). It is also healthier for
the fish to end the fight early so that lactic acid doesn’t build up.
This is true with all fish…even Tripp Lake bass ! So…our optimism
soared at the sight of multiple boats battling Sails. We soon joined into
the fray and ended the day boating 3 and losing 2. All the Sails hit
trolled sardines or cigar minnows. The boats that managed to find Ballyhoo’s
for bait fared even better. There was a boat about 200 yards from us that
had 4 Sails on at once….what a thrill…what a mess !! We also caught
some King Mackerel and Mahi-mahi, which the marina restaurant transformed
into a great meal for 4. Later that week we headed to the backcountry.
While we saw some nice barracuda and caught a couple of small sharks, we
had our typical lack of success with the Bonefish. Pounded them for 3 days
and came up empty ! One bright spot…Pete hooked one but lost it after a
screaming run around a mangrove root. Close…we’ll get ‘em…eventually
!!
