Members of the Samoset Fish and Game Club were able to assist the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Palermo Fish Hatchery on Thursday, Nov. 3.
The members met the hatchery truck at the entrance to Ross Pond for the brook trout delivery. This is the second year the club assisted the brook trout release at Ross Pond. Ross Pond opened to ice fishing in 2021 and the fish are stocked prior to the season in order for them to acclimate to the pond.
IF&W Regional Biologist Jason Seiders proposed opening Ross Pond to year-round fishing to encourage more people to enjoy the sport and the Maine outdoors. IF&W changed the rules on Ross Pond in order to allow ice fishing and increase the brook trout stocking.
Other ponds and lakes outside Lincoln County were also opened to ice fishing in 2021 along with a fish stocking increase. The reports the club has received for the 2021 ice fishing season on Ross were favorable and fishermen enjoyed the ability to ice fish at a new location.
Seiders noted that IF&W started stocking Kalers Pond in Waldoboro a couple years ago with good numbers of brook trout in addition to brown trout. It has always been open to ice fishing.
The Thompson Ice House Pond in South Bristol was also stocked on Thursday, Nov. 3. Seiders and Kenneth Lincoln, president of The Thompson Ice House Harvesting Museum worked in coordination to make the Thompson Ice Pond available to fishermen of any age and gender. From Oct. 1 until May 31, Thompson Ice Pond is open to youth fishing only (16 and younger) and has a two ice trap limit. The pond is open to fishermen of any age and gender between June 1 and Sept. 30.
The hatchery truck can get close enough to Thompson Ice Pond to use their equipment for fish release.
Due to the distance of Ross Pond to the road the members of the fish and game club were asked to assist the hatchery with the brook trout release at Ross Pond. Ross Pond is located off of the Old County Road in Bristol. It is open year-round with general law length and bag limits, and people can use all legal forms of bait. Between fingerlings and fall yearlings, 500 brook trout were released.
Thompson Ice Pond is located off of Route 129 in South Bristol. Parking is on McFarland Cove Road. “Special Fishing Laws” apply and can be found by going to bit.ly/3TifwGf.
IF&W laws and rules overseeing Maine’s ponds and lakes can be found by going to bit.ly/2BHluv6.
