The following fresh water fishing reports are compiled by biologists from the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. The complete report is available at: www.state.me.us/ifw/

Aroostook County

Hot, summer conditions prevail now in northern Maine and for many anglers who prefer to fly fish for brook trout in the summer, this is the time they look forward to all year. Lakes and ponds all over northern Maine produce insect hatches that bring our sport fish to the surface to feed.

One well-known hatch is that of a burrowing mayfly common in silt-bottomed lakes and ponds, known as the “green drake” or sometimes referred to as the “Hex hatch,” coined after the scientific genus Hexagenia to which they belong. For fish, particularly brook trout, it’s an important time of year to gain lots of body mass and energy to get them through the rigors of summer habitat conditions and spawning in the fall.

For older trout, this large gain in body mass may mean life or death after spawning – if they have attained adequate body condition, their chance of survival beyond October is much greater. For anglers, this survival may mean a trophy trout the following spring.

Currently, green drakes are hatching and anglers are having excellent success fishing in their favorite lakes and ponds that historically support these hatches. The extended period of hot, dry weather has helped bring these hatches along.

A short period of cool, wet weather is forecast over the next several days which will help rivers, brooks, and streams regain some flow and cooler temperature. Anglers who fish spring holes and cool tributaries that enter larger streams and rivers are reporting that trout have congregated in these places, which is typical behavior to survive the summer months.

– Frank Frost

Downeast

The Fisheries staff from the Jonesboro headquarters has been busy sampling brook trout populations. Maine uses two strains of brook trout in its hatchery programs: 1. The wild Kennebago strain, from Kennebago Lake and River in western Maine, and 2. The domesticated Maine Hatchery Strain, which grows very well in the hatchery.

Maine also crosses the Kennebago strain with the Maine Hatchery Strain, to produce a stocked brook trout of good size that also has the ability to survive longer than the domesticated brook trout.

We sampled 10 Maine Hatchery strain trout from Peep Lake in Township 30 MD. These trout were age 1, very fat, and ranged in length from 11-14 inches. Their primary food was sticklebacks and insects, with some individuals containing up to 14 sticklebacks in their stomachs.

We also sampled 16 Kennebago wild strain brook trout from Ledge Pond in Charlotte, located on Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge. These were also age 1 trout, but were notably more slender (as can often be the case with wild strain brook trout) and ranged in length from 9-11 inches, which is more commonly the size range for age 1 brook trout in most eastern Maine ponds.

Based on summer water temperatures, we found the trout in 10-15 feet of water. Anglers know that at this time of year, they must fish deeper to catch trout and salmon, but the results can be good, as fish concentrate into a smaller area of the pond.

So, if trout and salmon are your favorite species, they can still be caught if you fish a little deeper. Or if the warm-water species are what you turn to in July, bass, pickerel, and perch will commonly be caught in shallow water along the shores.

– Rick Jordan

Moosehead Lake region

The Moosehead Lake Region has completed its fall fingerling stocking evaluations. This spring we visited 11 ponds to evaluate the status of the three brook trout strains being stocked in the Moosehead Lake Region.

The three strains being used in our fall fingerling stocking program are the Maine Hatchery Strain, Kennebago Strain and F1 Strain (Maine Hatchery and Kennebago cross). Information from these sampling events help regional personal with the management, including stocking and regulations, to provide the best produce possible.

Warm temperatures over the last week have increased water temperatures on many of the larger lakes and ponds in the region. With these changes in temperature anglers will soon find that their best chance to catch salmonids will be a result of deep trolling. Lead line and down riggers are your best bet to get down into deeper water.

When larger lakes and ponds begin to stratify thermally in midsummer, cold water fish such as brook trout, lake trout, char, and whitefish remain in deep water or below the thermocline. Warm water fish are restricted to shallow upper warm water layers.

Those of you who are looking to take advantage of the last of the superlative insect hatches, the 4th of July is when we begin to see green drake hatches in our region. I find myself staying on my favorite trout ponds late into the evening during this time of year. On some of the ponds, the green drakes don’t begin to come off the water until the sun has disappeared over the horizon, so make sure to bring a flashlight with you on these late night adventures.

This past week John Bryant, an angler from Sangerville, caught a splake that was just shy of the 8-pound mark. The fish weighed 73/4 ponds and came from one of his secret fishing holes.

– Stephen Seeback

Penobscot Valley region

We continue to hear reports of excellent fishing in Region F. Last week, we heard from three anglers that green drakes were hatching on the trout ponds in Baxter Park. This was providing the fly casting angler with some great evening trout fishing. Brook trout as large as 2.5 pounds were reported.

East Grand Lake has been producing some nice lake trout. We have been getting reports of fish up to 8 pounds. Several anglers are also reporting some nice brook trout in the 16-inch range – fat and full of fight. Smallmouth bass fishing is great as is the white perch fishing.

The salmon fishing, however, is not as good. We are getting reports that the salmon are very thin and that smelts are not being found in their stomachs. We will be checking in to this in the coming weeks.

Schoodic lake is still producing great lake trout fishing with fish up to 9 pounds. Anglers are also having some nice brook trout fishing.

Splake fishing has been pretty good in Cedar and Endless Lakes. Seboeis Lake is producing some very good splake angling with fish reported up to 3 pounds

Some nice plump salmon are being caught in Scraggley, Seboeis, East Musquash, Pleasant, Duck and West Lakes

Smallmouth anglers on the Piscataquis and Penobscot River are enjoying some excellent fishing. Most of the bass are off their nests. Catches of up to 55 fish a day have been reported. South Branch, Endless, Pushaw, Baskahegan and Spednic would be good bets for some nice smallmouths.

Great white perch fishing can be found on Saponac, Pushaw and Silver lakes.

– Brian Campbell