McClory: Lake fishing can yield rewards this month

Fishing pressure and boat traffic will soon decrease on the larger lakes as most of the summer people close their vacation homes and put their pleasure boats away for the season. Persistent anglers know that some of the biggest fish of the year will be caught during the next few weeks. Surface fishing during low light conditions early on a crisp September morning is a truly rewarding experience. As the day progresses, look for active fish in the deeper water. Recently on Sebago Lake, we found togue and salmon in more shallow water than we normally have for this time of the year. We attribute this to the early ice out that occurred this spring and the extended hot summer weather. Most of the togue we landed were caught while fishing in over 50 feet of water, with 8 colors of lead core line or downriggers set at 40 feet, using copper Mooselick and Flash King Juniors, and Super Smelts. We also caught landlock salmon at the same depth. This is very unusual for this time of year. We usually fish in deep water, 150 plus feet, and run downriggers set at 60 and 90 feet to catch togue.Kittery Trading Post, a well-known New England outdoor sports specialty retailer, will celebrate its 36th Annual Septemberfest at the store’s Route One location in Kittery, Maine. Starting yesterday (Labor Day) there will be one full week of excitement, entertainment and extraordinary prices on products throughout the store. This event features educational hunting seminars featuring Hal Blood and Shane Benoit, equipment demonstrations and entertaining activities of special interest to sportsmen and women. And for the kids, pony rides, climbing walls, archery and pellet gun range and much more. Over $15,000 in free merchandise prizes will be given away throughout the week! Enter for a chance to spin the Septemberfest Prize Wheel for FREE KTP gift cards, clothing, footwear, fishing, shooting sports, winter and water sports merchandise, valued at $20 to $500. Drawings will be held daily. There is no purchase necessary to enter, and you need not be present to win. All events are free and open to the public.Get primed for fall outdoor adventure at a series of free Wednesday evening talks being offered at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, 11 Hazen Drive, Concord, N.H. The talks begin at 7 p.m. Admission is free. No pre-registration is required. The first seminar, “Whitetail Calls and Scents,” is on Sept. 12. In this seminar you will learn how to use calls and scent to bring deer to you this fall. Dean Vanier of North Woods Hunting Products has more than 35 years of experience pursuing whitetails in the New England woodlands. His unique perspective on understanding the whitetail’s superior defense mechanisms and using them to your advantage will increase your odds of success. Vanier goes over scouting techniques and explains how to use your observations effectively during the three phases of the rut.The early Canada goose hunting season dates are Sept. 4-25, with hunters allowed a bag limit of 7 birds per day. The early season provides goose hunters with ample hunting and gives more time to landowners to allow hunters to reduce the size of nuisance flocks of resident geese. State and federal waterfowl stamps are required for hunting waterfowl, and hunting hours begin one half hour before sunrise and end at sunset. As in the past, hunters planning to hunt woodcock, snipe, ducks and geese must register with the Harvest Information Program (HIP) by taking a HIP survey. To see if you are registered, log on to the MassFishHunt website and check your customer inventory. If you don’t see “Waterfowl Stamp” or “HIP Survey Completed”, you can purchase the state waterfowl stamp or complete the HIP survey through your home computer or at a local license vendor. Hunters obtaining a state waterfowl stamp automatically complete the HIP survey during the stamp purchase process. The Harvest Information Program gathers data from migratory game bird hunters for game bird