Fish close to home

Bill Graves, Special to The County
12 years ago

    Regardless of where sportsmen live in Aroostook County, there’s a great spot to fish or hunt within 30 minutes of home, often even closer. Winter fishing locations diminish markedly compared to open water sites, there are 59 lakes and ponds available to ice anglers by my count. Still, a goodly number of top rate ice-covered waterways offer short close-to-home outings for area hard water anglers.
In my opinion, nothing beats a warm, comfy smelt shanty for ice fishing. For one thing you can fish at night for an hour or two after work, or during the day a sport can enjoy a coffee or sandwich out of the wind while watching for tip-up flags through a window. Even portable shanties offer a lot of cover and comfort on nasty days when you might otherwise stay home.
Fishing huts, short outings and nearby lakes are three very important criteria when introducing youngsters and novices to the often inhospitable sport of winter angling. Even veteran ice drillers appreciate a short outing during a busy weekend schedule, whereas if there weren’t a neighborhood pond they just wouldn’t have time to get out at all.
For Presque Isle residents, Arnold Brook Lake offers the perfect example of a nearby, easy to reach waterway. It’s stocked regularly with hefty, healthy brook trout, simple to fish and seldom crowded. I’ve even seen local sportsmen visit during their lunch hour, drill a couple of holes and set out tip-ups near shore and then watch from the warmth of their truck while eating a sandwich.
Arnold Brook has plenty of space to park vehicles, but often when snow cover is minimal, anglers drive onto the ice and park. The truck is close if youngsters need to warm up and there’s no need for a snowmobile or pack sled to haul gear. There’s a two trout per day limit, but catch and release allows for a bit more action if you’re going to fish for 3-4 hours.
Mars Hill and Bridgewater residents need only venture a mile or so out the Snow Road to reach Portland Lake. It’s about a 20-minute snowshoe walk or five-minute snowmobile ride from the road to this small, secluded pond. Nine out of 10 outings, you’ll never see another fisherman.
Trout fishing remains steady all winter with brookies averaging 8- to 12- inches, but there are pound-size fish taken every once in awhile. Although results are more sporadic, smelt jigging for large 6- to 10-inch jack smelt can be fast and furious. I’ve found the best fishing for both species to be from an hour or so before dusk to two hours after dark. Portland Lake is a perfect location for a portable ice shanty and a great spot to introduce kids to ice fishing.
Between Caribou and Fort Kent, the masses beat a path to the ever popular Fish River Chain of Lakes, and not without good reason as Square, Cross, Long, St. Froid and Eagle yield big specimens and numerous species year after year. There is another often overlooked alternative that’s closer to the main road, easy to fish and gets much less pressure: Madawaska Lake.
Many folks overlook Madawaska Lake, or don’t even realize it’s now open to ice fishing. In an attempt to offer more options, the biologists of the Ashland fisheries department began stocking large numbers and good-sized brook trout three or four years ago. Due to shallow depths and warm water the summer fishing is slow, but ice drillers can now enjoy steady strikes. Madawaska and Little Madawaska are only open to ice fishing from Feb. 15 to March 31, a short season but well worth the effort.
When you only have a couple of hours before work or want a short outing to fit in among weekend commitments, there are more nearby fishing spots than you might think. Take a youngster along or introduce a newbie to winter angling, there’s a neighborhood lake to fit into your plans.