Is anyone still ice fishing in the state?

[Bottle_O_Moxie]

I'm curious if anyone is still able to ice fish now that we are in the middle of March.   The southern part of the state is likely out of the question, but how about the northern parts?  If so, where?

[GNFISHIN]

I made it out last weekend, think that was it for me. We were around the Forkes area.

[woodchip]

Only ice in Maine thats safe is in our freezers for cubes. water temp in so and central  is over 40DEg.s

[Anomaly]

I Biolgist friend of mine fished Eagle a couple days ago, said 15" or "decent" ice.

[jacksmelt71]

was out on cross today with the utv. solid 16in. shores are getting sketchy. could probably walk on safely for another week or so.

[9huskies]

I was on a pond in Franklin County today. Everywhere I drilled there was 14 inches of ice.

[jacksmelt71]

supposed to be cold here this coming week. (normal march weather). below freezing at night with snow showers all week long. we might be able to fish right till the end of the season here. got over 100 w. perch yesterday with some big yellows and even caught 2 legal salmon we werent targeting.

[Anomaly]

supposed to be cold here this coming week. (normal march weather). below freezing at night with snow showers all week long. we might be able to fish right till the end of the season here. got over 100 w. perch yesterday with some big yellows and even caught 2 legal salmon we werent targeting.

We have some white perch spots like that. Caught a couple hundred several times at Sebasticook thinking they's be good lobster bait. It didn't work. I heard some guys will use them on halibut trawls. One other thing; whites are heavy bio-accummullaters as they feed pretty high on the food chain and live a long time. Yellows, along with crappy and whitefish are among the lowest in toxin content as they eat much lower on the food chain with diets leaning more on insects and invertebrates. I have come to avoid high end consumers.   [/color

[EmeraldShiner]

I can tell you from 1st hand experience as I just fished Moosehead Lake (walk on only) on 3/12 and 3/13.  The ice on Moosehead Lake in Northern Maine is extremely sketchy, average ice thickness we found was 12", however that thickness was compromised by 3" of black honeycombed ice on the bottom with 4" of junk ice on top, effectively there was only 4"-5" of solid black ice, pretty scary when your standing above 80' of water.  Not only that but with unusually warm spring Temps the Northern Lakes are losing 1" of ice per day!  When we were on Mooshead last week we both agreed we just barely made it to the end of ice fishing that lake this year!

[MarkNFish]

I was on 14" to 15" of good ice on Saturday. 

[jacksmelt71]

We have some white perch spots like that. Caught a couple hundred several times at Sebasticook thinking they's be good lobster bait. It didn't work. I heard some guys will use them on halibut trawls. One other thing; whites are heavy bio-accummullaters as they feed pretty high on the food chain and live a long time. Yellows, along with crappy and whitefish are among the lowest in toxin content as they eat much lower on the food chain with diets leaning more on insects and invertebrates. I have come to avoid high end consumers.   [/color

where did you hear that? id think big togue and muskie would be ones to be boi accumulators. i dont think any perch would have this issue. these whites showed up 6-7 years ago so none older than that and the fish river chain has some of the cleanest water in the state. there were no mills other than saw mills ever on these lakes. luckily fishing for them is getting popular because of how easy it is to catch a bunch of them. that should control their numbers so they dont stunt, overpopulate and out compete the natives. i wont give out my favorite cold water species spots but i will gladly drill a hole for anyone, right next to me to fish for perch. more the merrier! see big groups with kids running like crazy for flags. that warms my heart to see. what was a bad thing might be a a blessing to pass the love of fishing to the young ones and keep them off the net and get some fresh air in the outdoors.

[jacksmelt71]

I can tell you from 1st hand experience as I just fished Moosehead Lake (walk on only) on 3/12 and 3/13.  The ice on Moosehead Lake in Northern Maine is extremely sketchy, average ice thickness we found was 12", however that thickness was compromised by 3" of black honeycombed ice on the bottom with 4" of junk ice on top, effectively there was only 4"-5" of solid black ice, pretty scary when your standing above 80' of water.  Not only that but with unusually warm spring Temps the Northern Lakes are losing 1" of ice per day!  When we were on Mooshead last week we both agreed we just barely made it to the end of ice fishing that lake this year!

1st thing. Moosehead isnt northern Maine. im on the Canadian border where rt.1 begins. it would take me 3.5 hrs driving s.w to get to the northern part of Moosehead. there is 16in. of blue ice right now up here. shorelines are starting to open in a few places but if your careful where you get on, it isnt a issue. this weeks colds going to preserve it longer. couldnt ask for better fishing conditions right now.

[jacksmelt71]

I was on 14" to 15" of good ice on Saturday.

were you out with the boy scouts? thats why Matt was fishing with me. didnt want to get mobbed.

[Bottle_O_Moxie]

Good to hear there are a few places still left with safe ice. 
March fishing was always my favorite but we here in the southern part of the state got robbed this time. 

[eiderz]

1st thing. Moosehead isnt northern Maine. im on the Canadian border where rt.1 begins. it would take me 3.5 hrs driving s.w to get to the northern part of Moosehead. there is 16in. of blue ice right now up here. shorelines are starting to open in a few places but if your careful where you get on, it isnt a issue. this weeks colds going to preserve it longer. couldnt ask for better fishing conditions right now.

Always fished ice out in Eagle and Square when I was a kid, and later when I lived in Presque Isle. Ice out dates for Moosehead and the Fish River chain are typically within a few days. Maybe not this year, who knows?  But less than 80 miles north by latitude, 100 miles as the crow flies isn't another climate zone. Frenchville and Greenville are both in the Northern Interior climate zone. The 3.5 hour car ride confirms that the roads are lousy, aren't direct, and "You cain't get there from he'ah". Part of the charm of Northern Maine. 

[Anomaly]

where did you hear that? id think big togue and muskie would be ones to be boi accumulators. i dont think any perch would have this issue. these whites showed up 6-7 years ago so none older than that and the fish river chain has some of the cleanest water in the state. there were no mills other than saw mills ever on these lakes. luckily fishing for them is getting popular because of how easy it is to catch a bunch of them. that should control their numbers so they dont stunt, overpopulate and out compete the natives. i wont give out my favorite cold water species spots but i will gladly drill a hole for anyone, right next to me to fish for perch. more the merrier! see big groups with kids running like crazy for flags. that warms my heart to see. what was a bad thing might be a a blessing to pass the love of fishing to the young ones and keep them off the net and get some fresh air in the outdoors.

You are correct about top predators. bass, white catfish, pickerel, large lake trout and other large long lived salmonid species, yeah muskies and pike... Anything that eats high on the food chain and lives a long time (gets big) is a likely suspect. Pristine water fish are better. Like PFAS is worse in these and all species the closer their proximity to point sources. I've read quite a bit about it to know what I'm eating or not.  Yellows, crappy, smelt, whitefish and a few others are best choices. 

[EmeraldShiner]

I was on 14" to 15" of good ice on Saturday.
[quote
Where? Prove your point because that is bad advice and most of that ice is rotten from bottom up and top down.  Somewhere in the middle is barely 4"-5" of solid black ice.  With warm spring temps Lakes lose 1" of ice per day.  What you call "Good Ice" is most certainly not!

[MarkNFish]

were you out with the boy scouts? thats why Matt was fishing with me. didnt want to get mobbed.

Nope.  I was all by myself except when JDK stopped-by for a bit.  Where were the Boy Scouts? 

[MarkNFish]

I was on 14" to 15" of good ice on Saturday.
[quote
Where? Prove your point because that is bad advice and most of that ice is rotten from bottom up and top down.  Somewhere in the middle is barely 4"-5" of solid black ice.  With warm spring temps Lakes lose 1" of ice per day.  What you call "Good Ice" is most certainly not!

I was in northern Aroostook County.  I didn't give any advice to anybody.  I was simply responding to the original post that asked if anyone was still ice fishing in the state.  I've been ice fishing for for almost 50 years and have stayed above the ice that entire time.  I know good solid ice when I see it.  JackSmelt (who was fishing a couple of lakes away) reported driving a UTV on 16" of ice the same day. 

[jacksmelt71]

Nope.  I was all by myself except when JDK stopped-by for a bit.  Where were the Boy Scouts?

squa pan.

[jacksmelt71]

squa pan.

went back a few days ago. still about 14in. of good blue ice. unfortunately, all this snow is going to turn it into a slush pit. im done with the hardwater. all the rivers are already opened up so plenty of places to hit after apr. 1, mid 40's again next week so the snows going to go quick.

[MarkNFish]

went back a few days ago. still about 14in. of good blue ice. unfortunately, all this snow is going to turn it into a slush pit. im done with the hardwater. all the rivers are already opened up so plenty of places to hit after apr. 1, mid 40's again next week so the snows going to go quick.

Yeah, I put all of my ice fishing gear away.  No sense to fight the deep snow at this point. 

[eiderz]

Yeah, I put all of my ice fishing gear away.  No sense to fight the deep snow at this point.

Still a lot of good ice on Moosehead. The lake was booming for a couple of days before the snow. We had a bonfire on the edge of the lake with some friends Saturday morning. A couple of large trees came down in the December storms, we made good use of the brush left on the ice after we removed the logs. Although we weren't fishing, I drilled a few holes out of curiosity. Still well over a foot of good ice. Then came 2 feet plus of the white stuff. I tried riding my Expedition on the lake yesterday, epic fail. The powder was coming over the windshield and damaged some plastic over the engine. First time ever I thought the machine might not make it. I couldn't get on the lake to fish if I wanted to today. A week ago I was sure this year would be the earliest iceout ever on Moosehead, now I'm not so sure. Warm weather coming, but will it be enough?