Rob Levine of Falmouth shows off a small but feisty Sebago smallmouth taken while fishing with his son and Tom Roth. Tom Roth / For Lakes Region Weekly
As a Maine Guide, I love repeat clients. A repeat client means someone enjoyed the trip, the experience, the fishing and maybe even the Guide, enough that they want to come back and repeat it all. A few years back, I started guiding Rob Levine and his young son Trevor from Falmouth. They booked my standard morning half-day trip where we troll for lake trout and salmon. We caught lakers and salmon and Rob soon booked another trip. But he told me that Trevor enjoyed “regular fishing” better, so we switched gears and targeted bass. It was later in the season and we did catch a few small ones, but Trevor enjoyed the casting and active angling over the waiting that comes with trolling. When it’s early June and the bass are spawning, “regular fishing” for bass is very exciting – and it’s that time of year again.
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.
As shallow water warms, the bass get active on Sebago Lake and most of our other local lakes and ponds that hold bass. This is the time to be on the water if you want arm-tiring action.
Sebago Lake has both smallmouth and largemouth bass, but the smallies outnumber the bigmouths and, in my opinion, provide a better fight. Nothing rivals a decent smallmouth on the line except maybe a salmon, but that’s debatable by both sides.
This month, the males guard the nests after the females deposit eggs and will lash out at practically anything. Working parallel to shoreline and casting a small lure as close to the shore as you can is the best tactic for spawning bass. Be sure to release any caught fish close to where you hooked them so they can defend the nest and ensure the continued fishing action we all enjoy.
For spawning bass, you are looking for sandy and fine gravel beds. Most of the shoreline near any camp or home either always had a sandy stretch or property owners trucked sand in (when it was not against shoreline development laws). That being said, the natural creation of Sebago Lake by geological forces also created a large number of sandy stretches. Most of the western and northern shores are sandy. This includes the towns of Standish, Sebago and Naples. Similarly, the Raymond launch area is one big sandy stretch along that shoreline.
Human-made structures such as docks provide shade and are also preferred spawning spots. My dad loved to pitch a lure under a dock and get a hefty bass on the line, but he hated it when anglers fished under his dock. He also became perturbed when I got hooked on a dock or boat. He would always warn me “watch out for the dock,” and like a self-fulfilling prophecy, I would cast my lure right into it.
I like pitching fish-shaped lures like a Rapala or similar stick baits as they most closely resemble a fish coming in to feed off bass eggs. But wary bass strike at anything, so include spinner baits, spoons and even rubber worms. I hope you can spend some time on the water this month targeting our abundant bass and enjoy some great fishing action.
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