Weekly Fishing Report: January 23, 2023
Fishing Conditions & Updates for Maine & New Hampshire
Week of January 23, 2023
The days are ticking by and the only constant seems to be the complaints about ice conditions, or lack thereof. Single digit overnight temps in the coming forecast can’t come soon enough to allow ice anglers the chance to salvage their season. We are hearing reports of a lot of fish coming from smaller ponds, but most larger lakes still have little or no ice. We did see a report from the Meredith Rotary Club that their annual statewide ice fishing derby is going forward, regardless of ice conditions on Lake Winnipesaukee, since anglers can fish any legal waters in the state. If you’re heading out fishing, be extra cautious and always check the ice for yourself. Ice thickness reports are always subjective and sometimes misleading, so bring that spud bar and safety ice picks. Also, the new live bait tank in our fishing department is up, running, and stocked with shiners and suckers for our customers who also need bait.
Greg Cutting at Jordan’s Store in Sebago told us that there are still people fishing the Otter Ponds and Cold Rain for brook trout, Turtle Cove on Sebago for crappie and pike, Hancock Pond for browns and cusk, and heard of some guys on Tricky. “Tricky bothers me because the ice is so variable there, but Hancock is walkable most everywhere. From what I hear, they pull some nice browns out of there every winter,” he said. Greg says the Lower Bay on Sebago still has no ice, but he saw some pictures of salmon that came out of Moose Pond in Bridgeton.
Vern at Cobbossee Bait in Winthrop reported that they still have walkable ice everywhere, but this recent round of snowstorms has brought slush with it. “I don’t see the slush freezing in the next day or two, but hopefully the cold weather in the forecast a few days from now will tighten everything back up,” he said. Vern says that all their local pike lakes are beginning to produce more and better fish. He says Little Cobbossee has had people on it every day and the fishing has been great.
Full-time New Hampshire fishing guide Tim from Tim Moore Outdoors reported that he still hasn’t begun his guiding season but hopes to this week. “This has been dreadful. Winnipesaukee has ice in a few places, but it’s so sketchy that my clients are uncomfortable going on it, and I don’t blame them. It’s best to be extra conservative with ice when people’s lives are at risk. I plan to begin running some trips this week and hopefully conditions will continue to improve, even if ever so slowly. I am looking forward to my white perch seminar this coming Thursday (1/26) at NH Fish and Game Headquarters in Concord, NH at 7pm. I will have some awesome giveaways for those who attend in person, but I will also stream the seminar live on the Tim Moore Outdoors Facebook page, he said.
Jason MacKenzie at Pawtuckaway Trading Post in Raymond reported no change from last week. “There are a few people finding a bit of ice locally, but I don’t want to burn those spots for them or give anyone the illusion that conditions are better than they really are,” he said. Jason says he has heard of people fishing shoreline ice in very shallow water on some trout ponds, like Pleasant Lake in Deerfield, but hasn’t had any reports on the fishing.
Mike Crouthamel at Wildlife Sport Outfitters in Manchester tells us that ice conditions haven’t improved much in the past week. “I don’t have much to add that is different this week. There is no safe ice near the shop. If people want fishable ice, they will need to head north or west,” he said. Mike, like most other shop managers, tells us that they are sitting on a ton of bait and inventory, as they are fully stocked up on everything ice fishing.
George Taylor at Taylor’s Trading Post in Madbury was feeling as discouraged as most everyone else. “I’m sitting on a ton of ice fishing gear and bait, so they won’t have trouble finding what they need here. The Bellamy still isn’t safe to fish. There is a lot of water running over the dam. All that moving water will keep the ice thin. I wouldn’t go out there right now,” he said.
Because of inherent time restrictions of gathering fresh, up-to-date information, editing & producing this report in a timely manner, occasional errors or marginal information may slip by us. We try our hardest to provide accurate information. We urge readers to use this report as a tool to increase their fishing pleasure and not to rely on as their sole resource. First or second-hand information is offered by fishing guides, commercial fishing charters or party boats, bait & tackle dealers, well-known successful anglers, and state & federal fisheries and natural resources enforcement officials. We also welcome and use reports forwarded to us by fishermen that use this report. - Kittery Trading Post Fishing Report Editor