Maine Fishermen Setting Sights On New White Perch State Record

The news that a new Maine State Record white perch had been caught on December 19th, 2008, at a weight of 3.02 lbs. which eclipsed the previous record of 2.84 sent Maine fisherment who thought they were in the know scrambling to their record books and websites. Most listings put the record at 4 lbs 10 oz. caught by a Mrs Earl Small in Messalonskee in 1959. For some reason this catch has been disqualified, and now the State, and Harry Vanderweide, who keeps the records, are not recognizing it.
To make the situation more interesting, on Jan. 24th, a Wilton man named Chris Bubier landed a larger perch, overtaking the December record at a weight of 3.13 lbs. This new perch was caught at Parker Pond in Jay.

Now, as word spreads about the suddenly lower than previous thought record seems to be well within reach to many anglers. The white perch, actually a member of the bass family, is widely pursued by Maine anglers year round for its flaky white meat and steady biting tendencies.
It seems that every fisherman I speak to about this record comments that they are pretty sure they have had a couple bigger than that one.

With many Maine state records seemingly out of reach to most weekend anglers (brook trout at 9 lbs, brown trout over 23 lbs and landlocked salmon at 22 lb. 8 oz) the white perch record puts any angler back in the running to put their name in the record book, if even for a short while.

In many bodies of water, a little more perch pressure could actually help the fishery, as many ponds hold overpopulated and thus stunted fish. The only question that remains is not if, but how many times in the coming year, will this record fall?

Near Record Togue Caught On Moosehead Lake In Greenville Maine

March 10th 2009 was a banner day for a Rockwood man ice fishing on Moosehead Lake in Greenville, Maine. Bill Maynard Jr. couldn't have expected the fish he had just hooked onto would approach a state record, and even after landing the fish he didn't immediately entertain the thought that it might weigh in over the state record of 31 lbs. 8 oz. set by a man named Hollis Grindle on Beech Hill Pond back in 1958. Matter of fact, he even fished for more than another three hours before heading to shore. Maynard stated to The Bangor Daily News that he figured the fish was about twenty-five pounds, but others who knew big fish said they thought it could go as high as thirty-four.

All in all, Maynard drove to three seperate businesses, including Indian Hill Trading Post, before he found a scale capable of weighing a fish over thirty pounds. The end result was that, more than 5 1/2 hours after landing the fish, and considerable weight lost due to evaporation and bleeding, the official weigh in came in officially at 29.67 lbs. and 41" in length.

In his interview with BDN, Maynard explained that the he has expected that Moosehead holds some very large togue, and it is likely that the only explanation for why more ice fishermen don't land the big fish is that they are not equipped to handle them. He says that most ice fishermen will hook onto a fish this size and suffer a broken line before ever having an idea how large the fish actually is.

This is an interesting story, not only for the monster fish Maynard landed, but also because in recent years state officials have been encouraging ice fisherment to keep all togue landed in an effort to reduce populations and hopefully spur growth in the salmonid population.

In the 1930's and before, Moosehead Lake was known as a place where intrepid fishermen could land thirty to fifty pounds of brook trout in a single day. While those days are gone, it is heartening to see the majestic beauty of Moosehead once again in the headlines with a catch like this.

Boy Scout Ice Fishing Derby Day 2 & 3

This weekend did not go as we planned. While the weather held off nicely, and Sunday, although not as sunny as Saturday, was warmer, the fish didn't seem to want to cooperate. Day number two offered us just a couple of fish, and nothing in the realm of a prize winner. The wind was blowing the snow so hard we had all we could do to keep the holes clear.

Day three was equally challenging, and our end of the lake just did not seem to be offering any action at all. From what we could see, there were just a handful of flags and not a single fish was iced.

The word on the ice was that there were hotspots on Cold Stream, these were mostly confined to some of the less accessible coves and the deeper holes, already heavily covered by ice shacks.

We'll continue fishing, and hopefully have a report from Caribou Lake next weekend.

Day One - Boy Scout Ice Fishing Derby In Maine

We got a late start for our first day (Friday, February 20th) in the annual ice fishing derby. We did not have lines in the water until after nine, and after a brief malfunction with the auger (detached starter cord) we were fully set up by ten.

This was Jasmyne's first trip of the season, and with the weather not cooperating as well as we would have liked, we decided to fish until about three pm and then pack up. We had one flag no more than ten minutes after baiting our last line. Although we lost bait we did not land a fish on this one.

The pond we were fishing (Saponac Pond) in Burlington, is known for producing large white perch and the occasional chain pickerel or smallmouth bass. All three of these species are prize categories in the ice fishing derby we are in, so it offers fast fishing, especially good when you have youngsters along.

It was not more than an hour after we had set up that one of my Heritage Lakers sent a flag flying, and Jasmyne and I went running out to check the flag. Just as I had pulled the trap and set a hook in the fish on the line, I looked up to see another Laker displaying a flag no more than fifty feet from the hole where we knelt. "Jasmyne! Flag! It's yours, go get it!" And off she went.

The strength of the fish on my line surprised me, and after a couple of minutes (he had run about 40 feet of line before we got to him) I flopped a pretty fat 24" chain pickerel out onto the ice.

By this time, Jasmyne had set her hook like a pro and was pulling up a fish down the pond from me. I ran over to watch her land her fish, and just as I arrived at her hole to take a couple of pics, she wailed in disgust as she pulled a fat little chub through her hole.

Needless to say, Jasmyne, while she is only eleven, can identify her fish easily and after watching us moan and groan about these chub fellows during trout fishing season, felt about as miserable as we would for pulling this guy. Still she handled it like the pro she always proves herself to be when she is out fishing with the guys. I just know she wanted to take a big fat fish to the weigh in herself, one with a prize for largest in species.

We fished the rest of the day with a few more flags, and landed two more fish, but nothing of the size of the first one of the day. So, just for the record, the biggest fish we landed on day one was a 24" chain pickerel, probably around 4 lbs. but we'll have exact weight tomorrow at weigh in. We caught him on a 3" golden shiner, with 12 lb HT Polar Braid and 12 lb. Polar Ice Leader. The bait was hooked with a red Lazer hook, size 6.

We still have two more days to go! Here are a few pics.

A traditional setup in the morning. The sky was overcast. I just love looking at the auger sitting out amongst the traps. The second picture is of a set of heavy storm clouds moving out over Passadumkeag Mountain. The picture looks as if they are coming at us. A sight like that when you are in the middle of a frozen lake is quite humbling.

The picture of Jasmyne setting the hook and beginning to bring one in is at the top of the page, the picture on the left is of her (ugh!) chub! LOL. But, she got one this weekend last year that was bigger than the one I am holding on the right (24").

The HT Hardwater Explorer Strikes Again!

It's funny, really, how much we ice fishermen believe in our gear. I purchased a new set of Heritage Lakers this season. So far, the upgraded tip-ups have not seemed to pay off, as I am way down in my catch from last year. On Valentines Day Bob and I decided to go out to Cold Stream for a few hours before I was leaving with my wife on our date. We fished for a while, and at some point in the day I ended up with one of my old HT Hardwater Explorers in the water while I untangled some line that had been poorly spooled. Wouldn't it stand to reason that the first fish I would land of the season would come with the oldest tip-up in my basket. She was a 23" 3+ lb. Lake Trout, which only ran a couple dozen feet of line at best before I brought her back. Here is a picture.

Heritage Lakers vs. Jack Traps

I have to say, up front, that I think either the Heritage Laker or the Jack Trap are what hardcore Maine ice-fishermen all want to fish with.

I recently listened to a couple of my buddies go back and forth on the issue, and neither really seemed to come out on top. However, let me point out, nobody uses the Frabill Polar Therms or the low-lying thermal type traps up here. Even on good days, snow blows over the top of them.

Sure, they're great for keeping your holes clean, but what good does that do you if you can't find them in the snow, or the flag doesn't go up because it's buried? Worse yet, how many times are your buddies gonna run over them before you just give up on those little buggers.

Let me give an honorable mention to the HT Hardwater series, sometimes I even think I prefer the drag screws on these budget tip-ups over the Lakers. And the "Frontier Tip-Up" I think by HT is nearly the same size as the Laker.

Be prepared, though, with either the Frontiers or the Lakers if you purchase the unfinished trap, polyurethane them, that way, the wood won't expand and contract when they get a little moisture on them. I actually knew a guy who ruined a whole set of Lakers just overdrying them by his wood stove.

If you're in Maine and looking to respool this year, Marden's has HT Polar Braid for $2.99/spool of 100 yards. It comes in 20-50 lb in multiple colors. Buy it up! Good luck on the ice.

Great Deals On Light Line! 4 LB Test Fishing Line Bargains -- That's Right, Go Light

A recent outing in which I discovered I had three ultra-light reels in desperate need of respooling left me searching for a great deal on quality 4 lb. test line.

Gofishin.com has several outstanding deals currently on 4 lb test. Among them a line which I have had great success in the past with. Gofishin.com has the Shakespeare Super Smooth Formula in 330 yard spools for just $3.09. This quality but budget minded line has a very low memory which greatly reduces kinks and twists, a crucial feature if you plan on battling big fish with your light line!

Another product that Gofishin.com is currently offering is the premium "America Maxima" Moss-4 1-Shot in spools of 280 yards of 4 lb test. This stuff gets great reviews from serious fishermen online, and at only $8.49, it is bargain price priced for a premium level line.

Gofishin.com also currently has in stock the Maxima Flourocarbon 4 lb. test in 200 yard spools for only $19.98, which is a high-quality line, in some internet forums, it is the standard by which all others are measured.

Bass Pro Shops is offering great rebates on Berkley Trilene lines, with a $5 rebate for every two spools purchased. A couple of the quality bargains they have, including the
Berkley Trilene XL Smooth Casting? Line - 330 Yards at $5.79 and
Berkley Trilene XT Extra Tough? Line - 330 Yards at $5.79, will cost you less than $3.50/each before shipping and after rebate. The Trilene Smooth Casting comes in Clear/ Low Vis Green and Flo Clear Blue in 330 yard spools, the XT Extra Tough comes in Clear/Lo Vis Green/ and Tough Red, if you just have to show off to your buddies. It also is just $5.79 for 330 yards.

An intriguing choice, and the one which I actually made, was for the
Yo-Zuri Hybrid Line 275 Yards In Camo Green at $7.99 for 275 yards, it caught my interest, and after reading rave review and rave review, I figured I better dig a little deeper. The Yo-Zuri Website says this, "Hybrid is the first and only fishing line that molecularly bonds nylon and fluorocarbon during extrusion. The result is a strong, dense new material that we call Hybrid. Hybrid takes advantage of the awesome abrasion resistance and sensitivity of fluorocarbon, while utilizing the flexibility and stretch of nylon. The result will open your eyes to a new level of fishing line performance." and judging by reviews, they are right!

Hope this post was some help to you in your search for quality ultra-light line, most of the products above are also available up to at least 8 lb. test, and remember, spool lengths are usually approximate!