Fishing Report February 23, 2026
Extra snow is creating slush and some travel issues on some waters. ATV operators are reporting tough going, but snowmobiles are still making a go of it. The fishing has been what most expect for late February, good catches full of anticipation for March and excellent bites. Panfishing is picking up on smaller ponds and reports of good crappie and perch fishing are becoming more frequent. Lake trout are beginning to recover from the large derbies and anglers who can get to them are beginning to report better bites. For trout anglers, splake in Tricky Pond are still being caught and rainbow trout are still plentiful in most waters that were stocked with them. March is highly regarded as the best month of the ice fishing season and many are champing at the bit for it.
Maine:
Greg Cutting at Jordan’s Store in Sebago says that as usual, the week after the Sebago Lake Trout Derby was slow. “The fishing is always slow the week after the derby. Between all the pressure the fish saw, some people fished hard and need a break. There is a pile of smelt down off Nassan’s Beach in that deep water, over 120 feet. There’s a lot of smaller fish there. Lots of chasers, but not a ton of biters. I’m hearing of guys catching quite a few fish on glow Little Cleo spoons, so maybe some folks should start trying a bit of hardware. Typically, a little over a week after the Sebago Derby, the fishing really starts to pick up. The splake are still biting a little bit up to Tricky. I did hear that it is really slushy in places though,” he said.
Vern at Cobbossee Bait reported a very fun weekend for most in his area. “We are starting to see some slush, but it really isn’t that bad. We had the kids’ derby this weekend. We baited up 600 children’s hooks five times each with our lucky Cobbossee bait. This added snow will surely bring up more slush unless the wind blows most of it off. That said, the fishing has been great. I can’t remember when it has been this good. It’s really fun to see,” he said.
New Hampshire:
Tim from Tim Moore Outdoors/Lake Winnipesaukee Fishing Guide Service on Lake Winnipesaukee reported a pretty productive week of ice fishing on Lake Winnipesaukee. “The numbers on the lake were a tad slow most days, but we have caught some huge white perch, which seems to make up for the lack of numbers. I have seen several 2 ½ pound white perch in the past week. I had Joe Cermele of the Cut and Retie Podcast and a Minnesota content creator from the SHORELUNCH with Nate P. YouTube channel for a few days. Joe caught the three biggest white perch he has ever caught and his first burbot. A few clients also caught their personal best white perch. Joe got his jigging with a 1/8-ounce white Clam Blade Spoon. The client caught jumbos with live smelt on tip ups. The weather has been all over the place. We have had what would normally be ideal pre-storm conditions, but accompanied by east winds, so the two seemed to cancel each other out and keep things fairly normal. We should start seeing the bite pick up with longer days and a bit of warmer (not below zero) weather,” he told us.
Alan Nute at Winnisquam Country Store in Tilton said that he had a busy week with Massachusetts and Maine school vacations last week. He expects more of the same with New Hampshire schools on vacation this week. “We had a lot of people who fished the Newfound Derby. A lot of people are buying shiners for pond fishing. We still have good ice and good fishing ahead. We’re coming into that good March fishing. It’s just a matter of finding places with no slush to go to. They are still buying the bucktails for jigging lake trout and cusk,” he said.
Ki at Dover Marine/Covered Bridge Sports in Dover reported good fishing at Winnipesaukee and some local ponds. “I heard of a couple big lakers caught on a Damiki head jigs dressed up with some marabou and a small white paddletail. One guy caught some fish on Winnipesaukee around 10 pounds in 50 feet of water. They’ve been getting crappie at the Bellamy Reservoir on dillies. Tip ups and hook setting devices with dillies have been hot there. The conditions are getting a bit tough with all the snow on top, but still fishable. Rainbow trout fishing has been good. The fly guys have been doing well in the catch and release areas of the Lamprey and the Cocheco.