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Maine => Ice Fishing Maine => Topic started by: hardwatergrampa on Jan 28, 2018, 07:35 AM
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whats the best bait to use live or dead bottom or just off
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whats the best bait to use live or dead bottom or just off
My husband and I fish right on bottom
with dead bait (suckers, shiners, or smelts)
They'll eat anything. 😀 Good luck
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thank you
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They will eat lots of different things for sure. A chunk of sea smelt or sucker filet is always good. My current favorite is a combo bait, first thread a chunk of sea smelt on the hook for scent, then a live sucker or shiner in the 5-8” range. Set a foot or two off bottom, this rig seems to deter the smaller fish, may not get quite as many, but most are 20” or better.
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this sounds like a bunch of bull but tonight on 2 set ups my soninlaw had fish running set the hook and couldn't move the fish towards the hole
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If you’re fishing near rocks, which you usually are with cusk, they will quickly bury themselves in the rocks if you give them too much line. I had this happen to me several times on one of my first trips cusk fishing before I figured out what was going on. Now I use the rubber band trick so they can’t take more than 5-10 feet of line before the rubber band stops them, usually enough for them to swallow the bait and not bury me in the rocks.
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If you’re fishing near rocks, which you usually are with cusk, they will quickly bury themselves in the rocks if you give them too much line. I had this happen to me several times on one of my first trips cusk fishing before I figured out what was going on. Now I use the rubber band trick so they can’t take more than 5-10 feet of line before the rubber band stops them, usually enough for them to swallow the bait and not bury me in the rocks.
we were thinking that s what had happen was a fun night
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do u use a mono leader I was thinking of going with a pre tied snell hook next time
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you dont need a reel with cusk, tie the line to a board
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I use 12 lb fluoro, about 10’. Probably not really necessary, but it lets me use the same rig for togue and cusk without needing to change hooks and leaders. Fluoro is really tough and holds up well to rocks, hole edges, and fish teeth. Costs more up front, but I can go a long time with the same leader.
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do u use a mono leader I was thinking of going with a pre tied snell hook next time
have only fished cusk in nh, they are really dumb fish, you just need to be where they are. a nh cusk trap is just a board to wrap the squidding line around and tie it off, a 1.125 ounce weight to make it nh leagal, the pretied eagle claw hooks with 6 inch mono, a squished bait. maine you will need to routinely check it or bury in snow at a 45 to see if the board moved. these traps are made to get run over and or lost, nh allows you to leave them out overnight. there isnt much need for a fancy trap or setup, cusk are not line shy
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whats the best bait to use live or dead bottom or just off
If it is legal.... baby cusk.
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If it is legal.... baby cusk.
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i asked, its not. asked 3 men in green, after 20 minutes they came up with its in the sport fish group so cant be used for bait
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If it is legal.... baby cusk.
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i asked, its not. asked 3 men in green, after 20 minutes they came up with its in the sport fish group so cant be used for bait
Are you talking in NH or in ME?
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Are you talking in NH or in ME?
maine, i asked because somehow i caught a cusk in a bait trap, played it safe that day and let it go. i asked at a winter show, they never found it in the rule book but found it in a maine book of maine sport fish. i would not chance it now, the consensus was you cant use a sport fish for bait
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The law book specifically lists all of the legal baitfish. (Dead or alive) If the fish is not on the list, it is not legal for use in Maine waters. There are 20 total species including smelt. Cusk are not a legal baitfish.
It really surprises me that the wardens had to go through all of that to then take a guess. Wouldn't you think they would have a general law like that down stone cold?
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somehow i caught a cusk in a bait trap, played it safe that day and let it go.
You sure it was a cusk and not a Sculpin?
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The law book specifically lists all of the legal baitfish. (Dead or alive) If the fish is not on the list, it is not legal for use in Maine waters. There are 20 total species including smelt. Cusk are not a legal baitfish.
It really surprises me that the wardens had to go through all of that to then take a guess. Wouldn't you think they would have a general law like that down stone cold?
this was maybe 12 or so years ago, i dont believe it was spelled out the same like it is now
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You sure it was a cusk and not a Sculpin?
have not caught to many sculpin before but this was different and all the sculpin ive caught were in the river
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have only fished cusk in nh, they are really dumb fish, you just need to be where they are. a nh cusk trap is just a board to wrap the squidding line around and tie it off, a 1.125 ounce weight to make it nh leagal, the pretied eagle claw hooks with 6 inch mono, a squished bait. maine you will need to routinely check it or bury in snow at a 45 to see if the board moved. these traps are made to get run over and or lost, nh allows you to leave them out overnight. there isnt much need for a fancy trap or setup, cusk are not line shy
have a set of 12 the grandson and I made several years ago I 1/2 sinker with eyelets on each end use 2 fish winnie
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Not sebago but since on the topic of cusk. How are they biting on Thompshon lake the Heath end? Has anyone been hitting it up? Was going to relocate my shack to Laker and cusk land.
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(https://s17.postimg.cc/uyz5kcha3/drew_fish.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/uyz5kcha3/)
drews first cusk from sebago
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You on the station end? There were 2 groups setting up as we were leaving today.
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You on the station end? There were 2 groups setting up as we were leaving today.
no we were further up the road
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About 1530 I heard an old jiffy 30 fire up in fairly shallow. I thought wth. Then it clicked. Must be some nice cusk that come outta there?
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there are a couple on here who do real well on Sebago iam new at cusk fishing done some here and there
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Great cusk fishing in many areas on Sebago. It’s a great habitat for them, and except for a couple of months a year during good ice years, they get zero fishing pressure. I’m far from an expert, but I’ve usually done well anywhere you have a rocky shoal that comes up to 15’ or shallower near deep water.
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Did pretty well on south end of sebago saturday. bite turned off around midnight but I stayed until 1:30 am or so. my buddy and I caught 7 total, 3 in the 22-24" range.
They hit everything: live bait, stomped bait, sucker chunks, dead bait and live bait to get smell and movement. I'm letting my leftover bait get stinky and then freezing it for next weekend.
Also try a jingle bell on the leader when using live bait. extra noise brings them to your bait.
Staying off bottom is a trick I haven't heard for bigger cusk. I think that's illegal in NH
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Did some cusk fishing on the lake mid January. First night pulled up 15 between two of us, all small sized. Only two that were worth keeping. Second night was a lot slower but pulled up 4, 3 pounders. Also a 24 inch togue that stripped my reel in 20 feet of water. Never heard of fishing for cusk off bottom, left over dead smelts or chunks of sea smelts work best laid on bottom. Always tie my reels off after 3 feet, can't tell you how many times I've lost big cusk to a boulder.
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What do you mark traps with for visibility
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That's how l have mine set up as well
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Reflective tape works really well. The cheapest alternative I’ve found is at Walmart, down back in the fishing/camping section they have hat lights for a buck. They’re cheap looking but have a clip on the back and take LED batteries so they’re bright as a ba$tard and the clips make for an easy hook onto your flag (I usually fold the flag over and just clip it on). When setting traps up for cusk I like to point all the lights facing out away from your trap so you can’t see them when you get back to your shack, flag goes off and that thing starts waving at ya, can’t miss it. Only issue with your lights facing the shack is it can be tough to see when you get a flag (especially on your furthest traps) unless you see it go off/wave around......otherwise it just looks like all the others as it’s hard to distinguish a light in the air vs a light on a trap in the dark.
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ill have to check the lights out
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The sell reflective rectangles at Home Depot for mailboxes number and letters. I buy the blank reflective rectangles and cut them into strips to put directly on the tips of my flags. I can poke my head out of the shack with a maglite and all our traps light up for about 100yrds like a Christmas tree. Also chicken liver on bottom brings a whole lotta stink and works fantastic
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The sell reflective rectangles at Home Depot for mailboxes number and letters. I buy the blank reflective rectangles and cut them into strips to put directly on the tips of my flags. I can poke my head out of the shack with a maglite and all our traps light up for about 100yrds like a Christmas tree. Also chicken liver on bottom brings a whole lotta stink and works fantastic
6 hrs today no luck not even with the chicken liver ;D
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i use the jingle bells on my traps and have made one of the portable battery packs that i found on here with a 10w flood lamp on it that covers a good distance. i tend to zig zag my taps in a generally straight line so i can see them in the beam all at once. same thing when i drive out on the ice and use the headlights.
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the bells are ok so long as I have some1 with me who can hear them I use to use them smelting but they drove every one nuts
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if thats an issue, then get the tip up lights that go on the flag, and put them on the flag with a bit of duct tape so that it van be seen at night.
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(https://s13.postimg.cc/vz2b5q96b/Cusk.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/vz2b5q96b/)
My granddaughter Hailey's first fish from Sebago had a fun time fishing last night.
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Wowzers great fish.
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What do you mark traps with for visibility
In NH ..we mark our holes ,by taking a Pine /Hemlock bow/branch ...and sticking it in the hole....so when you get any snow over night,you'll be able to find your holes in the morning. Dont know about Maine cusk laws ...
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I bought a whole mess of landscaping flags about 18" for $6 and put some reflective tape so you can see them at night. I was fishing saturday night and bam 10" of snow came along and I couldn't see anything. The next morning I could clearly see each of the flags and I watched a couple spend the entire day with a metal detector looking for theirs. (In NH so they could be left overnight). I also put reflective tape on the ends of my cusk traps.
Can you use regular tip-ups in Maine? I thought only cusk traps and jigging were legal (no free spooling devices) but maybe that's just in NH...I'd love to know what the elastic band trick is for regular tip ups it would be a lot more fun to see flags popping after dusk
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yes you can use tip-ups in maine but can not leave them out all night unless checked every hr. and your weight does not have to be 6 in from hook
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I think someone else mentioned it also. Combos can work good at times. Dead bait gives smell and acts as a weight while the live bait struggles and makes vibration. That being said they really eat everything so its more about finding a concentration of them
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What's the rubber band trick with the tip up? I had one tip up completley spooled when I went to check and assumed it went I to the rocks next to where i was fishing.
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What's the rubber band trick with the tip up? I had one tip up completley spooled when I went to check and assumed it went I to the rocks next to where i was fishing.
If you use a heavy band it won't break .
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Nice video showing the concept. For cusk on Sebago, I usually only allow about 5-6’ of line for the fish to take the bait before it hits the rubber band, and I also use a stronger rubber band so it will act as a shock absorber and not break while still keeping the fish out of the rocks.
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Got this 31inch nine pounder on Sunday. A couple others got us hung up in the rocks. Big suckers in shallow water near Frye Island.
(https://s13.postimg.cc/s20oegidv/633_D0_D05-1_A9_E-4_DF3-83_CA-3_A960_FE851_B0.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/s20oegidv/)
(https://s13.postimg.cc/th2936br7/95_B6_D49_E-_C6_FB-4_CE4-_B38_F-_F10_BB1184_FCE.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/th2936br7/)
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damn that's a nice fish! Good ice still?
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Got this 31inch nine pounder on Sunday. A couple others got us hung up in the rocks. Big suckers in shallow water near Frye Island.
(https://s13.postimg.cc/s20oegidv/633_D0_D05-1_A9_E-4_DF3-83_CA-3_A960_FE851_B0.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/s20oegidv/)
(https://s13.postimg.cc/th2936br7/95_B6_D49_E-_C6_FB-4_CE4-_B38_F-_F10_BB1184_FCE.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/th2936br7/)
nice fish
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Nice one! I was out there last night and the ice is still okay. Snow on Sunday bought us some time, but rain tomorrow will probably wash all of that away.
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Anyone been out on Sebago in the last day or two? It was still okay before the storm late last week where I was, but I’m wondering how much ice has been lost since.
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Anyone out on Sebago after this storm . Will be taking a very dangerous chance .None of the open holes will show covered with snow. and it will be playing Russian Rolette!!!!!!!!!