Quote:
Originally Posted by bclaker
In the last 12 years, I don't remember any year when there was no ice on the opening day of salmon fishing April 1st on Alton Bay. One year we had to climb over waist high snow piles to get to the dock. Another year they shut off the bubblers the night before and the previously open water was glazed over. Fish and Game officers kicked off guys who were using various means to break up the ice. Fishing is only allowed on natural openings. Hope no one tells them that openings caused by bubblers are not natural. Some years we have fished with down jackets, vests and sweaters and others just a sweater. I don't anticipate any problems getting onto the dock or finding open water this year.
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Not last spring but the year before (2010) I think there was no ice in Alton bay for opening day. I went up to fish the Merrymeeting side of the stone bridge a few times in March (for rainbows) and the salmon were already in. Opening day that year was superb! I think I caught 12 off the docks at Downing's landing. I've been following those web cams daily and I note we have at least as much open water off the gas dock as we did on opening day last year (which was a snowstorm) and there's current. My buddy Trav actually braved the snow on April 1st last year, got there at first light and fished what he described as a "White-out Blizzard" for an hour in gale force winds. Then at one point he started toppling over for no apparent reason, only to discover that the driving wind had caused so much snow to build up on one side of his body that it tipped him over. He went home. The next day (April 2nd 2011) was sunny and clear but frigid and windy with very little open water. Out at the end of the dock I tried to cast into the wind (whipping straight off the lake) and the fly line would make it ten feet or so then the wind would catch it and trow it back around my ears.We still managed to find salmon and I got 9 that day.
Here's some video from that day:
I'm guessing opening day this year will be awesome. F&G has been stocking the heck out of the lake and also dropping salmon back into the Merrymeeting instead of along the shoreline. That's got lots more fish showing up in Alton the past few years.