Monthly Archives: April 2024

Fishing for landlocked Atlantic salmon on Crescent Lake in Raymond, Cumberland County, Maine (April 17, 2014)

Posted on by
Reply

 

The boat launch by Crescent Lake with view of the water beyond

 

Crescent Lake is a 716-acre body of water located in Raymond, Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 B2). The public access point is found at the southern tip of the lake by Route 85 (Webbs Mill Road). It consists of a hard-top boat launch with ample parking space available by the road shoulder. Keep in mind that this launch can get quite busy on weekends because it serves two lakes: not only Crescent but also Panther Pond which lacks a proper launch and is accessible via the shallow Tenny River that connects these two water bodies. The town of Raymond also maintains a small but popular public beach right next to the launch that attracts additional local folks and vehicles later in the open-water season.

 

Continue reading →

Lead core line: a highly-efficient way to troll!

Posted on by
Reply

 

My blog readers know that I spend a LOT of time trolling in the winter, spring, summer, and fall. This technique can be a bit boring but is a great way to target salmonids (click here and here for examples) and non-salmonids (click here and here for examples) by probing large areas of their habitat using multiple lures. I deploy two distinct sets of “tools” to support my trolling habits: lead core line and a portable downrigger. This blog discusses the former, and more specifically the setup that I have used for years, and which has worked well for me. For the record, I also troll for smallmouth bass using floating Rapalas, but that approach is fundamentally different from placing lures at depth and is therefore not discussed further.

 

Continue reading →

The portable downrigger: an efficient way to troll

Posted on by
4

 

My blog readers know that I spend a LOT of time trolling in the winter, spring, summer, and fall. This technique can be a bit boring but is a highly-efficient way to target salmonids (click here and here for examples) and non-salmonids (click here and here for examples) by probing large areas of their habitat using multiple lures. I deploy two different sets of “tools” to support my trolling addiction: lead core line and a portable downrigger. This blog discusses the latter, and more specifically the setup that I have used for years, and which has worked well for me. For the record, I also troll using floating Rapalas, but that approach is fundamentally different from placing lures at depth and is therefore not discussed further.

Continue reading →