The tools of the trade for a Sebago Lake ice angler. Courtesy Tom Roth
The lake finally caught and made ice, although not as much or as fast as last year. Anglers are flocking to the lake as word of solid ice gets out. Anglers still need to exercise caution, so check the ice often as you venture out if you are going where no one has walked or snowmobiled out first. Anglers were fishing off Raymond Beach in the past two weeks with only about 2-3 inches of ice. Certainly enough to support a few anglers, but not enough for this guy.
Tom Roth is a freelance outdoor writer who lives in Raymond on the shore of Sebago Lake. He has been fishing and hunting in this region for more than 30 years and is a Registered Maine Guide.
Fishing tactics on Sebago Lake vary among anglers, but a few common techniques emerge. If I surveyed all of the successful anglers on the lake, I would hazard to guess that jigging accounts for two-thirds of all the togue caught through the ice. That fraction may also be higher. In my experience fishing the lake for more than 30 years, Sebago Lakers like the action that a jig imparts. I always set traps and occasionally have a flag or catch a fish, but hands down, most of my fish, and certainly my largest, come from my jig pole.
Jig lure choice is as individual as all anglers are, but a few common lures get mentioned all the time in online fishing reports. The Swedish pimple and airplane jig top the chart. My standby is a nickel-plated Swedish pimple sweetened up with a bit of sucker belly or a half a shiner. I have dredged more lake trout onto the ice of the big lake with this combo than anything else. I don’t use an airplane jig all that often, but I know many anglers who do. In the past few years, I’ve been reporting very good success with a lead head and tube jig. Tube jigs with their flowing tails seem to entice the togue into biting. I sweeten the pot by squirting a dab of liquid smelt goo up into the tube.
I always set four traps because it feels like the right thing to do. I bait my traps with extra-large shiners or small to medium suckers. I numb the suckers by clipping off their fins so they don’t trip the flag. My angling partner often uses dead saltwater smelt on the bottom for togue. This draws the occasional cusk, an added bonus in the bag.
This year, the slot size on Sebago has changed. Now, anglers can keep any fish under 26 inches and may keep one that is over 26 inches. Anglers are urged to kill all legal lake trout they catch in an effort to aid in the restoration of salmon. I’m not one to kill a fish if I’m not going to eat it, but I want to help out the salmon. To put me and other like-minded anglers at ease, the folks at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife partnered with Jordan’s Store in East Sebago and Dag’s Bait Shop in Auburn. During store hours, you can drop off your unwanted togue from Sebago Lake. Just bag them and label them with the angler’s name and the date they were caught. These fish will be used as food at wildlife rehabilitation locations. A win-win!
Tom Roth is a freelance outdoor writer who lives in Raymond on the shore of Sebago Lake. He has been fishing and hunting in this region for more than 30 years and is a Registered Maine Guide.
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