ICEOUT on Moosehead (Greenville, Phillips, Allagash: real estate, buy, to live)

[Maineac]

No, not yet, but anyone want to get in on the pool? I'm gonna say May 12th at 8:15 AM. My trout fishing Downeast is going to run about 1 month behind last year by my 45 years of experience and guesstimations. Last year was strange, low, cold cold water. But limits were had on every trip. Creatures of habit, and I've been feeding them for decades.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

I figure May 25 for Moosehead. We had the coldest March ever in Maine. West Grand is only about 200 feet above sea level and there is 36 inches of Ice. I figure May 10 for West Grand. Rangely had 50 inches of ice. I have no idea when Rangely will go out. I said back in early February that West Grand would go out on May 10. I based that on the 90 day forecast on The Farm Report which plays at 5 AM every Sunday Morning in Maine. They said back then that the next 90 days would be colder than normal. So far they have been right.

[Maineac]

Ye Gods. They won't be bustin' sod in the St. John Valley until June some time at that rate. Going to be a late potato harvest. Rough winter. The back roads are exploding with frost heaves and my driveway is doing things I've never seen before. Like walking on a mattress.

[namder1]

Where about do you fish Maineac? In general.....I used to live downeast and was just curious!

[mainebrokerman]

ill guess may 5th

if it remains windy, we may be surprised..

[Maineac]

I fish various and sundry places out the Airline early. Way out. I like big streams and no people. The thing is, I can have someone standing next to me that can't buy a fish, and I limit out. I know every rock, every hole, and they've always produced since circa 1967. Then the trout all disappear for the summer - literally GONE - and we head up toward the Allagash region. Which makes some people think there's no trout in my hotspots. Water levels and environmental conditions have to be just right. Last year proved me wrong on water temp. It as COLD and we still slayed 'em.

Alamoosook and Lucerne (Phillips Lake) iced out. There was some wind.

By the way, while we get trout up to 18" or so (well, we HAVE, but nothing over 15.5" last couple of years), on both nymphs and garden hackle (only nightcrawlers seem to work versus worms - no idea why), over the last decade I've talked everyone into tossing pretty much everything over 11" back. You can't efficiently fry a 16" brookie and have it taste anywhere near as good as a nice brace of 8-10" fish. Only time I keep the big 'uns any more is if it's the end of the day and the creel echoes.

[Maineac]

I went Downeast yesterday. All iced out, but we're 2-3 weeks from trout fishing rivers and streams. Some of the ponds are producing. Cold, rainy, but I had some bad, bad nightcrawlers that needed to be drowned. Nary a nibble, and a lot of fast, dangerous water.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Back in the 1970s we used to run the Narraguagus from the Stud Mill Road to the Airline every Mother's Day. It was strictly a canoe trip, not a fishing trip. We had dry clothes for whoever got dunked. On one trip we found a Grumman 15 foot canoe in the woods full to the gunwales with water and frozen solid. It had been there all winter. It took six of us to flip it over because it was still frozen to the ground. It's a statement to Grumman ruggedness that the canoe had not split in half.

(Grumman built rugged airplanes too.) Northern Maine Land Man, former Naval Aviator.

[Maineac]

By the bye: Moosehead iced out on the 10th according to Bill Higgins at Higgins Real Estate in Greenville.