Long Lake landlock a catch of ‘a lifetime’

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When the days grow hot and water temperatures rise, many anglers see that as a signal to move on to other pursuits.

The best fishing is behind us, they’ll say.

Scott Picard of Madawaska isn’t one of those anglers. And on Sunday, his persistence paid off.

Picard, who spends most of his fishing time on Long Lake, the sprawling fish factory that sits in St. Agatha and Madawaska, admitted that at this time of year, he does make a few changes.

Typically, he’ll stop trolling, instead opting to use a method the locals call “plugging.”

Picture ice-fishing, without the ice: You find a likely spot where fish hold, anchor your boat, hook a live bait onto a hook, and lower it.

Then you sit … and sit … and sit.

On Sunday, that wasn’t an option. Picard explained that he had agreed to take a co-worker’s young son – 9-year-old Cedrec Gendreau – on his first fishing trip in a boat. And he knew Cedrec wouldn’t have much fun sitting in the summer sun.

“That day was Cedrec’s first time, so I knew if we were plugging, he’d be bored out of his mind,” Picard said.

As it turns out, Cedrec still got pretty bored. The trio – Picard, Cedrec, and Cedrec’s dad, Don, began fishing at 3:30 p.m., planning to stop at about 5.

But just before 5, Cedrec caught his first landlocked salmon, a healthy 19-incher that weighed about 3 1/2 pounds.

Excited about his fish, it didn’t take Cedrec long to decide he wanted to head ashore and tell a few fish tales of his own.

It would be quite some time before they got there, however.

“I got up to reel in the lines, and I noticed the rod bobbing in the downrigger,” Picard recounted.

When the hooked salmon flew out of the water and Don Gendreau’s eyes grew large, Picard realized he had a large fish on.

And for the next hour, Picard fought the mammoth fish, retrieving and relinquishing line to the largest landlock he’d ever caught.

“If I would have caught this fish in the spring [when the water was cooler], I don’t think I would have been able to bring him in,” Picard said. “He was so massive. I had to keep him in the hot water for 40 minutes [to tire it out], and he was just slowly swimming [when we netted it].”

Coldwater fish like salmon become stressed in warmer water, and try to avoid it. Picard’s ploy was designed to take some of the fight out of the fish by making it swim in water warmer than it preferred.

Picard said Don Gendreau still had a hard time hefting the fish out of the water with the net when the spent fish reached the side of the boat.

“Then, of course, I did my traditional yell, so everybody on Long Lake could hear it, because I knew I had just caught the fish of a lifetime,” Picard said.

Shortly after that, Picard, who has caught three other Long Lake salmon that have weighed more than 6 pounds in his years of fishing, stopped at a local store to get a true measurement on the fish.

The 30-inch fish boasted a girth of 17 1/2 inches and weighed 11.24 pounds.

As you may recall, Keith Ouellette of Caribou hooked and landed another monster landlocked salmon through the ice of Long Lake in January. Ouellette’s fish, which was briefly recognized as a world ice-fishing record for the species, weighed 12.78 pounds.

All of which does nothing to hurt Long Lake’s reputation as a place where large fish thrive.

And while many anglers rely heavily on electronics to determine water depth, trolling speed and whether fish are present in a particular location, Picard had to do things a bit differently than he usually does.

“My fish finder [died] and I was just going by GPS navigation, [retracing] what I had done all summer, and was following my tracks from earlier in the summer,” Picard said. “And I was controlling my speed by GPS.”

Whatever he did, it worked out perfectly. And after years of fishing Long Lake, Picard finally caught the trophy fish he knew was lurking … somewhere.

“I’m still excited,” he said on Wednesday. “I haven’t slept for days.”

Icy thoughts Down East

The dog days of summer are upon us, and warm weather is (finally) the rule, rather than the exception.

That’s not stopping a group of outdoors-minded Washington County folks from letting their thoughts turn to winter … and snow … and ice.

And on a day like this, a few cool thoughts could go a long way.

Here’s what’s up: Each winter, the East Grand Lake Snowmobile Club holds an annual ice fishing derby. Plans are already under way for next year’s event, and if you’re a part-time Mainer (preferably one whose grandkids still live here full-time) , you may want to buy a few derby tickets before you head south this fall.

The top derby prize has always been $1,000, and has been handed out by raffle, whether the ticket holder actually showed up to fish or not. This year, Plummer has added an attractive drawing for kids … thus, the early planning.

That prize: A lifetime Maine fishing license for one lucky winner.

“We think this is going to accomplish a couple of things,” Plummer said. “[First], bring in a little more interest in [the derby]. And we’ve been working to get more kids involved over the years, and this will be a good way to do it.”

Plummer said derby tickets went on sale over the weekend at a festival in Danforth, and the response was good.

Now he says he’ll continue to sell the tickets right up until derby time – Jan. 27 and 28, 2007.

“It’s not too early to start wishing for cold weather and snow, as far as I’m concerned,” Plummer said with a laugh.

While selling ice fishing derby tickets in July may seem a bit like peddling snow cones in January, it has worked well so far.

“We sold quite a few tickets right off the bat,” he said. “We’ve tried [selling derby tickets early] in the past with virtually no success. People wait until winter to do this. But with this chance at a lifetime license, there’s a lot of people up here right now who summer here, but you never see them in the winter.”

A couple rules to keep in mind: A young angler must be a Maine resident to qualify, and must not have turned 16 years old.

So there you have it.

It’s hot out … the only ice in sight is quickly melting in your water glass … but if you’re interested in planning ahead and buying a ticket, you’re welcome to think cool thoughts. Just call Plummer at 448-7018.

John Holyoke can be reached at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net or by calling 990-8214 or 1-800-310-8600.