James McCourt of Massachusetts shows off a nice Sebago Lake salmon he caught while fishing with Tom Roth. Tom Roth / For Lakes Region Weekly

As we put up a new calendar, I look out at Sebago Lake and hope she freezes this year. I’m longing to get out on the hard water after two years of no ice. I also reflect on the past year with a grin, as it was a spectacular year in the woods and on the waters of this region.

To begin with, we had what is arguably the best salmon fishing that Sebago Lake has seen in decades. We started catching big, healthy salmon in the spring and the fishing continued all summer long. The biologists point to several factors that made it such a banner season. First, lake trout numbers were down 30% based on a spin net survey. Less lake trout equals less competition for smelt and other bait fish that salmon need to thrive. Second, the smelt numbers were up, along with alewife. The big swarms of bait balls that we saw on our fish finders all season long were likely alewife and helped to concentrate the salmon and tip us off where they were feeding. Find the bait balls and you found the fish. I dragged lures all season long and I often remarked that it didn’t matter what pattern or color you used, you were going to catch salmon. We did well on lake trout, too, but many days the salmon outnumbered the lakers. Many of my fellow guide buddies remarked that on some days they had to work extra hard to put clients on lake trout. I’m optimistically looking forward to another good salmon year this year.

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.

I had another banner bird season this year, although I did some driving to do so. Bird hunting in Southern Maine is limited, but the mountains around the Rangeley Lake region draw me every year for the abundant and cagey ruffed grouse. They provide some of the finest wingshooting you can get and I enjoyed many splendid crisp fall days in her woods.

I was lucky for the third time to draw a moose permit, but I did not take a bull home. I hunted above Greenville and saw cows all week. It wasn’t for a lack of trying. We drove, hiked and called, but to no avail. They aren’t cutting timber where we hunted and that directly impacts the moose population. Still, it was great to hunt with my old college roommate and his brother-in-law and rekindle some good old friendships.

Deer season was a banner year for many area hunters. 2024 will go down in the books as the second-highest deer harvest in Maine. 2022 saw 43,787 deer harvested and this year the unofficial harvest is 42,252. The third highest harvest year was 1959 with 41,735 deer taken. Much of the harvest is attributed to multiple antlerless deer permits being issued. I had two antlerless permits and could still shoot a buck. For the first time ever, I took two deer. It was fun to be able to continue to hunt after tagging one.

As the New Year begins, I look forward to getting on the ice and doing some fishing. Hopefully the coastal rivers freeze and we can do some good old-fashioned smelt jigging, too. Enjoy the New Year and spend as much time afield as you can.