A man who caught a 38-inch 18.69-pound lake trout nearly three years ago just hooked a native Sebago salmon that bested his own record for that fish.
Early season open water fishing can be tricky, Gary Theriault of Naples said Friday. The water is cold everywhere in the lake so the cold-water fish like salmon and trout can be anywhere in the water column.
But when Theriault started fishing deeper, he began pulling in bigger salmon.
On Wednesday, Theriault went out to fish Sebago after a wind and rain storm. He saw some splashing on the water’s surface near a favorite fishing spot. He sewed his bait smelt on his line and trolled for about half an hour before suddenly a fish hit hard.
The fish tugged so hard, Theriault thought it was probably a big lake trout, but when it surfaced momentarily, it was clear it was a big salmon.
The salmon dove deep and maneuvered, trying to get away. Meanwhile, Theriault, who was alone in his Tracker fishing boat on autopilot, continued to troll and got out his net.
The fish didn’t want to come near the boat and fought him hard.
“It took me four or five tries before I could scoop him up,” Theriault said. “It’s hard to do when you’re alone.”
He couldn’t believe how big the fish was. He took it to Jordan’s store for an official weigh-in. The fish weighed 6.9 pounds and was 27½ inches long, beating his personal best of 25 inches for salmon.
He will get the fish mounted through Squaretail Taxidermy in Ellsworth and expects to have it back by winter of 2027. His big lake trout was mounted by another taxidermist.
Both fish are in The Maine Sportsman’s One That Didn’t Get Away Club.
The salmon fishing has been especially good on Sebago, Maine’s second largest lake, this year, with several good-sized fish being caught. Part of the credit goes to plentiful smelt.
“But no one has seen a big one like that this year,” he said.