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Fishing for Lake
Trout & Salmon
New England's Spring Fishing Tips
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Cleaning out your tackle box and shopping for fishing equipment is an annual tradition here in northern New England. The time of year when the weather fluctuations and temperature changes are signaling the arrival of spring. Spring means fishing! Early Spring, before the waters warm is the best time of the year to fish for Lake Trout and Landlocked Salmon. The silvery salmon are quite active and are feeding near the surface in early spring.
How to Catch Them
The bait of choice, depends largely upon the fishing style of who you ask. The favorite food of salmon is smelt, so using streamers like "the Grey Ghost", is a good choice.
Spinfisherman should try a Rapala minnow, or Rebel minnow. Both these lures imitate the action of a real live minnow, or smelt.
Baitcasters prefer the real thing - live smelt, trolled or fished from a stationery boat have produced results.
Where to Find Them
Landlocked Salmon are only available in a few deep, cold-water, New England lakes. Some of the better landlocked salmon lakes include: Lake Winnippisauki, Squam Lake, Newfound Lake, and First Connecticut Lake, Second Connecticut Lake, Third Connecticut Lake, and Lake Francis in Pittsburg, New Hampshire. Vermont lakes include; Seymour Lake, Caspian Lake, Averill Lake, Crystal Lake, Lake Memphremagog, Lake Champlain, and Lake Willoughby.
Warmer Weather Fishing
When the water temperature rises, the colder water seeking fish like Salmon and Lake Trout go deep. Lake Trout in particular enjoy cold water and are often found in the deepest section of the lake. Getting your bait down to them is a challenge. Trolling flys or lures usually requires either a downrigger or lead-core line. Bait fishermen anchor and drop their bait several hundred feet down towards the lake bottom. Patience can pay off with large fish. Both Lakers (Lake Trout) and Salmon are robust fighters and can be 24 - 36 inches in length and weigh more than 10 pounds. Taken on light tackle they put up quite a struggle. The deep-water seeking Lake Trout will often head down with your bait, while the Salmon is more likely to break the water and attempt to spit out your lure, streamer, or live bait.
Enjoying the Scenery
The water quality of most lakes in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine is improving and with that improvement comes an increase in not only fish but associated species like loons, bait fish, and other wildlife. Nesting loons are now being seen for the first time in years at several Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine Waterways.
For more information about freshwater fishing in New England visit the links below. Add your comments about this article by emailing us.
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