Fishing Report March 3, 2025
Spring-like weather hasn’t begun to hurt the ice conditions much. Traveling in some southern and central areas is getting tougher due to slush, but with random cold snaps, much of that slush has been refreezing. Longer days and some melting snow always seems to invigorate fish and we hear of much better fishing as March progresses. It is definitely not a time to pack away the ice fishing gear yet but is certainly a time to start thinking about safety again.
MAINE:
Greg Cutting at Jordan’s Store in Sebago told us that many anglers are catching fish on Sebago. “They are out front here fishing. The fishing seems to be a little better. They aren’t setting the world on fire, but you can go out and catch a few fish. The cusking has still been good. The Camel’s Pasture is still producing well. I’ve heard of cusk up to 10 pounds. The lake trout are moving around a lot. If you’re there when they move through you can catch quite a few, but then you have to figure out where they went. One guy caught 15 right out front here in 90 feet of water in 2 1/2 hours. They’re still hitting small stuff. If you’re using soft baits, you may want to cut your baits down. I like to tip them with a shiner or a little cut sucker meat. Down below Frye’s and off Harmon’s has been producing a lot of fish. They are still catching splake up to Tricky Pond, and some nice ones.
CJ Harmon of Burnt Meadow Guide Service in Brownfield furnished the following report: “It was a nice change this week with some warmer weather that seemed to fire the fish up. We had some full day trips that produced several large crappie and a steady pick of yellow perch, sunfish and lots of largemouth bass! We were able to change things up to more aggressive tactics using spoon type baits, Clam’s pinhead in the wonder bread color pattern was working well. The warm weather helped settle things on the smaller ponds we fished and being able to move around easier was a nice change. It’s been a few years since we’ve been able to fish into March. We expect to see some awesome fishing from here till ice out!”
Vern at Cobbossee Bait in Winthrop reported great ice conditions and some excellent fishing over the last weekend. “The fishing was pretty hot this weekend and even hotter up to Moosehead. They were slamming them—all species, brook trout, salmon, and togue. We had the big Cony High School Cobbossee ice fishing derby this weekend. A 17-pound pike won, and a 4-pound brown won the brown trout division. There was a 2-pound white perch that also won money. No moon and calm weather until recently really helped the fishing. Slush conditions have gone, everything has hardened up, and the coming rain will bring the ATVs back out,” he said.
NEW HAMPSHIRE:
Tim from Tim Moore Outdoors/Lake Winnipesaukee Fishing Guide Service on Lake Winnipesaukee told us that other than more botched wind forecasts, the past week was productive. “The fishing has been steady, but the windy days have been the slower days most of the time. There are exceptions, like when our friend Drew brought his son Wilf out ice fishing. The wind forecast was for 5-10 MPH, then upgraded to 10-20 MPH, and blew 25 MPH with higher gusts, but the fish didn’t care. We caught smallmouth and lake trout all morning. It hasn’t been the best jig bite this year. Most of our better fish are coming on tip ups with live smelt, but we have caught some huge white perch that way. I prefer jigging, but I like when my clients catch fish more, so we give the fish what they want. Two more weeks and I will pack it in a little early. I have my delayed honeymoon in the Bahamas waiting,” he said.
Alan Nute at Winnisquam Country Store in Tilton reported a good week of fishing. “It was a good week. Even I caught fish. We fished out in the broads and ended up with 15 lake trout. Some on jigs, some on smelt, and some on jig sticks. Most fish came on Bucktails with sucker meat. We tried for cusk, but it’s still a bit early. The warmer weather coming should get that going. The ice wasn’t as thick as I have heard out there. We should see a typical late-March ice out, at least in the Broads. The ponds have been fishing well for bass and pickerel running bigger shiners,” he said. Dana Berry at Berry’s Bait in Alton Bay told us that the number of anglers ice fishing Alton Bay has dropped off a bit. “The weekend was a bit slower than the past few. People keep saying that the season is over, but we still have a lot of ice, and the shoreline is still good. I mean, it’s slushy and there is some water on top of the ice in spots, but the ice is still good. As long as people check as they go, they should be fine. Smelt and tip up suckers have been our best sellers this week. The runway is now closed and there are people heading to that area of the bay to target yellow perch,” she told us.
Jason MacKenzie at Pawtuckaway Trading Post in Raymond told us that they had such a busy week that they ran out of bait over the weekend. “We loaded up heavy with shiners and we still ran out. It was a really nice weekend, and a lot of people were fishing. There are still quite a few people smelt fishing down at River Road in Stratham. The fishing has been good. It’s nice to see that come back. There were even people fishing on Great Bay and catching quite a few smelt,” he said.