Fish & Wildlife news

The following is an excerpt from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Ice Fishing Report from Feb. 20. For more information or to view the complete report visit their Web site at www.mefishwildlife.com.
 Region G – Aroostook County
The snowstorm last week may have added snow to the trails allowing groomers to get out and smooth them up, but on the lakes, it made for slow travel.
The wind following the storm created “whitecaps” on lakes that caused sea sickness among some snowmobilers. The drifts caused gear beings hauled behind snowsleds to get pounded and, on some lakes, slush is becoming a factor with all of the snow. It would be great to get a little snow without a following wind to smooth up the lakes.
The free fishing weekend added increased use to some lakes while others saw very little use.
Square Lake was one of the hot spots in the region over the weekend. Salmon and trout were coming good with most parties catching fish. Long Lake has entered its winter doldrums with most anglers having long waits in the chance of catching a big salmon. Madawaska Lake opened on Feb. 15 and the fishery for the FY brook trout this weekend was pretty decent.
Sledders should use caution when traveling around the lake where there has been fishing activity as slush has been observed in these areas.
Hopefully, with longer and warmer days ahead of us, the best fishing is yet to come.
-Dave Basley, regional fishery biologist