Maidstone Lake - Lake Trout

[Dbarz]

Hi All,

My buddy's parents live on Maidstone Lake and we're headed up this weekend to go for lakers.  Has anyone had any luck there this year?  Considering it's depth in some spots I'm anticipating slow fishing, but it'd be great to hear any success stories.

-DB

[fishingidjit]

I haven't fished Maidstone in years but there were always plenty of lakers in there. Lakers are finicky and when they are hungry you'll be busy but there are lots of days that its' hard to get a bite ! Good luck !

[thefishingweatherman]

Fished it a few times, but never caught any big ones there, but they are in there somewhere. Should have good ice though I would think, even with this warm spell. As for depth, well, they could be at any depth this time of year. I would setup tip ups fairly close to shore, especially around some of the small brooks that feed into the lake. Right around sunrise and sunset can be productive times. If you have a finder, jigging can work well, but I have never been able to locate where the fish are hanging out while doing that.

[fishingidjit]

I would stay away from areas where brooks run in with the warm weather and snow melt. The ice is melting from the bottom from the  current. 

[Honest_John]

Wonder if anyone will post the old thread where some dudes from NH caught like 60 there in one weekend.

[Vrmontrout]

That was an epic weekend, I've looked for that post but can't find it.  4 lakers over 19# and biggest was 28# if I remember correctly.

[JMailbox8]

Here it is: http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=146903.0

[VTMatt]

That was an epic weekend, I've looked for that post but can't find it.  4 lakers over 19# and biggest was 28# if I remember correctly.

Epic for the fishermen, but not the fish. From what I can recall, the size of fish still hasn't recovered. Makes sense if they killed the fish since some of them were probably over 20 years old. Laker size and numbers went down - time for some walleye?!?!?!

[dickbaker]

  Matt,  So four NH fishermen spent a weekend at what you assume is Maidstone and ruined the fishery??   Maybe your just jealous
I can only hope that the 50 lakers they released survived?   If so they would be many years older at this time?
Dick

[NHHARDWATER]

I know these guys fairly well. They released all but those 4 fish responsibly. They are very respected outdoorsmen.
I can't see how Taking 4 big lakers off a body of water could be ruining the fishery.
Are we no longer condoning keeping our catch? I know what I would have done if I had hauled out any of those fish..... During a derby.

[ship of fools]

I know these guys fairly well. They released all but those 4 fish responsibly. They are very respected outdoorsmen.
I can't see how Taking 4 big lakers off a body of water could be ruining the fishery.
Are we no longer condoning keeping our catch? I know what I would have done if I had hauled out any of those fish..... During a derby.

Well said

Those were some impressive fish. Any idea if they were jigging or using tipups?

[NHHARDWATER]

Jigging. I have never known them to use tipups

[VTMatt]

I was under the impression that there was a derby held ON that lake, and that the kill rates of big fish were pretty high. I seem to remember a much longer controversial thread?  Or am I thinking of something else?  Either way, no big lakers caught out of there recently?  Needs walleye.

[NHHARDWATER]

Either way, no big lakers caught out of there recently?  Needs walleye.

...  might not be hearing about any..... just sayin. lol. 
That was a total anomaly, and they will all tell you that, as CUB told me. It will likely never happen again... to them.... at lake X.... in one weekend.

Coming back around to the subject of Maidstone... There are some beauties in there, but like any other lake in New England, fish that big don't come easy.... for me at least. cant speak for all, but I haven't yet caught a laker over 12lbs. been trying like hell. And I grew up ice fishing on places like Willoughby.

[Dbarz]

I would stay away from areas where brooks run in with the warm weather and snow melt. The ice is melting from the bottom from the  current. 

Thank you! We'll be cautious

[Dbarz]

...  might not be hearing about any..... just sayin. lol. 
That was a total anomaly, and they will all tell you that, as CUB told me. It will likely never happen again... to them.... at lake X.... in one weekend.

Coming back around to the subject of Maidstone... There are some beauties in there, but like any other lake in New England, fish that big don't come easy.... for me at least. cant speak for all, but I haven't yet caught a laker over 12lbs. been trying like hell. And I grew up ice fishing on places like Willoughby.

If we catch anything over 20" I'll be more than happy haha I'd consider myself a pike fisherman when it comes to ice fishing and I've never caught a laker.  I'll take some pictures (hopefully).

[NHHARDWATER]

If we catch anything over 20" I'll be more than happy haha I'd consider myself a pike fisherman when it comes to ice fishing and I've never caught a laker.  I'll take some pictures (hopefully).

Good Luck To Ya!
 If you decide to go to Maidstone, bring your patience. I have heard it is slow on most days. There are other options in that area for places to catch nice lakers as well (Willoughby, salem, averill, magog, echo to name a few)... Don't forget about the setbacks on the river too, since you are into Pike hunting, and you wont be far from the border.

[shirefisher]

I was under the impression that there was a derby held ON that lake, and that the kill rates of big fish were pretty high. I seem to remember a much longer controversial thread?  Or am I thinking of something else?  Either way, no big lakers caught out of there recently?  Needs walleye.

I'm not quite following this line of thinking of adding walleye to the fishery @ Maidstone. Maybe I'm missing a joke. This state has stopped stocking lakers in Maidstone (since 2006) as they are reproducing themselves in good numbers and there are some remnants left of the original so called "longe" trout left in this lake. I have been trying for a while and caught a couple this Summer... so please don't advocate for a bucket biologist to add walleye to this amazing fishery. Here is a conversation on IFF earlier this year... http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=338124.0

[NHHARDWATER]

I'm not quite following this line of thinking of adding walleye to the fishery @ Maidstone. Maybe I'm missing a joke. This state has stopped stocking lakers in Maidstone (since 2006) as they are reproducing themselves in good numbers and there are some remnants left of the original so called "longe" trout left in this lake. I have been trying for a while and caught a couple this Summer... so please don't advocate for a bucket biologist to add walleye to this amazing fishery. Here is a conversation on IFF earlier this year... http://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=338124.0

Pretty Sure Matt is not (in ANY way) advocating bucket biology.... I think he is referring to state stocking programs.

[shirefisher]

Pretty Sure Matt is not (in ANY way) advocating bucket biology.... I think he is referring to state stocking programs.

hopefully soon he'll chime in.. but I'm completely opposed to either idea. This lake is a gem and walleye should not be stocked here.


http://www.vpt.org/clip?736

[VTMatt]

hopefully soon he'll chime in.. but I'm completely opposed to either idea. This lake is a gem and walleye should not be stocked here.


http://www.vpt.org/clip?736

You must have not been following the Moore thread. Its a joke. People want to throw eyes everywhere, I am opposed to it in certain areas. Its going to be my ongoing joke for a while. Fishing is slow?  Needs walleye!

[shirefisher]

10-4! I was hoping it was a joke... I didn't "catch" the Moore thread. I'll go read it now.  thanx.

[TRT]

I caught the joke an just shook my head thinking damn I hope hes joking.

No way 4 big lakers out of any of the NEK lakes is going to change a fishery.
Some of those lakes have a gazillion lakers in them.  

[thefishingweatherman]

While Maidstone is pretty small, from what I can tell, it is pretty lightly fished, at least by jigging fishermen. Talked to a biologist about the laker population there once, and it's healthy. He did mention those 4 trophy catches, and said "that has never happened before, and may never happen again." I didn't take that to mean because it is getting fished out. Sure there probably aren't a ton of huge ones in there, but they seem pretty good at being elusive, or you'd hear more about this place. There are other even smaller lakes in VT that are fished far harder, that still harbor fish in this size range, or even bigger. It takes a LONG time for fish to get 30+ pounds, but when a lake like this is fished pretty hard, I have to think the remaining fish grow faster because there is more forage food available to them. It's the allure of catching a big laker like this that keep me going to try and get one this size some day.

[Vrmontrout]

Not walleye, lets put PIKE in there!  Just kidding.  I think the fact that those 4 fishermen caught those 4 fish in a weekend was an alignment of everything that could possibly be aligned, kind of like the perfect storm.  What a day!

[spot]

Are we no longer condoning keeping our catch? I know what I would have done if I had hauled out any of those fish..... During a derby.

I would have kept them (or at least my legal limit)... and not felt compelled to apologize.

I have only bought into a derby once though, and that was quite a few years ago. I usually pick the LCI weekend to do some quiet trout fishing. 

He did mention those 4 trophy catches, and said "that has never happened before, and may never happen again." I didn't take that to mean because it is getting fished out. Sure there probably aren't a ton of huge ones in there, but they seem pretty good at being elusive, or you'd hear more about this place.

This isn't to be taken as a criticism of electronics, but the way a lot of people use them could actually keep them from the larger fish. In my experience at least, larger predators tend to be territorial and therefore more solitary. The bulk of fishermen using electronics tend to seek out concentrations of fish, which can mean that they catch more, but not larger fish.

The sudden presence of a real monster will often shut off the bite, as the smaller ones are dispersed by the brute. I've seen this in both pike and lake trout fishing. I have learned not to immediately move when things go suddenly quiet down there. Give it a few minutes, or a half hour when it happens and a lot of the time that monster ends up on your line.

[Registered Kayak]

I would have kept them (or at least my legal limit)... and not felt compelled to apologize.

I have only bought into a derby once though, and that was quite a few years ago. I usually pick the LCI weekend to do some quiet trout fishing. 

This isn't to be taken as a criticism of electronics, but the way a lot of people use them could actually keep them from the larger fish. In my experience at least, larger predators tend to be territorial and therefore more solitary. The bulk of fishermen using electronics tend to seek out concentrations of fish, which can mean that they catch more, but not larger fish.

The sudden presence of a real monster will often shut off the bite, as the smaller ones are dispersed by the brute. I've seen this in both pike and lake trout fishing. I have learned not to immediately move when things go suddenly quiet down there. Give it a few minutes, or a half hour when it happens and a lot of the time that monster ends up on your line.

Now that is some great advice there. I'll definitely work the bigger sonar fish in the abyss this month once I get out on the boat. All too soon.

[Bailbuster]

these were caught in Maidstone

[thefishingweatherman]

these were caught in Maidstone

Crazy awesome day you guys had! Congrats once more! Must be a source of pride to know that people are still talking about it to this day! You guys caught a mess of fish that day, aside from these hogs, correct? I tend to think that lakers of all sizes hang out in certain areas at various times, usually for feeding or spawning reasons.

[pikeaddict]

I tend to think that lakers of all sizes hang out in certain areas at various times, usually for feeding or spawning reasons.

Totally agree with that thought.