This ice fishing house has been up on the northwest end of Clary Lake for a few weeks. This morning the wind was really humming and it blew it a mile and a half down the lake to the State boat launch. There’s no name or number on it. If you know who it belongs to, let them know it’s not where they left it.
Category Archives: Recreation
25 December 2018: Ice Boating on Clary Lake
Cold! Very Cold! And fast! Very fast! I’d have taken more video but it was too cold! What great ice! There appears to be a solid 8″ to 10″ of ice.
05 December 2018: Let’s Go Skating!
Good Skating on Clary Lake but as usual, you should use caution, check the ice thickness where you’re planning to skate, and avoid areas where there is likely to be a current i.e., the inlet and outlet of the lake, and where streams are entering. There was a little open water in the middle of the lake yesterday but it’s frozen today and the rest of the lake has been frozen since Thanksgiving. I wouldn’t be driving your car on the ice just yet, but around the edges there is 4″ to 6″ of good ice, mostly smooth and really great skating. With the cold temperature expected this week, the ice will put on thickness quickly.
02 June 2018: Donations Continue
Please join me in thanking the Chickawaukee Ice Boat Club for their $500 donation to our campaign to raise money to buy and repair the Clary Lake dam! My friend Bill Bunting stopped by the other day to say the club would be donating to our fund, and this morning the check arrived. It is very gratifying to see this level of community support for our efforts to restore Clary Lake.
I enjoy ice boating, the picture at left is of me sailing on Clary 2 winters ago in a Lockley Skimmer. I’d like to get my hands on a nice little DN Class boat sometime. And a helmet.
And yes, we’re still accepting donations 🙂
15 December 2017: Clary Lake Freezes Over
Clary Lake was fully frozen over on the morning of Friday, December 15th. The sunrise picture at left is from Clary Cam 2, over at David Hodsdon’s place. As dates go, you can see from the Ice-In and Ice-Out Dates web page that this year it’s about average. As ice goes, it’s pretty good ice!
26 February 2017: Fire On Ice Winter Festival A Great Success!
February 2017 Fire on Ice Festival. This is about as close as I came to getting a group photo. A few people had already left, a few were yet to arrive.
The Winter “Fire on Ice” Festival put on by the CLA Momentum Committee last Saturday was a great success. The weather was good, the companionship was even better and the S’mores were perfect. By this time of the winter it seems like everyone is suffering from cabin fever to some extent, and it was wonderful to be able to get outside and enjoy the day without having to be all bundled up against the cold. All told about 2 dozen adults and 10 kids showed up for the event. Most were existing Clary Lake Association members but there were some new faces in the crowd including Stephanie Chamberlain and her partner Steve Berry, who recently bought a house in Coopers Mills. Over the course of the afternoon I took a lot of photographs which I’ve added to the Winter 2017 Photo Gallery (duplicated below). Continue reading
21 February 2017: Winter Festival Update
Road plowed across field in preparation for the February 2017 Winter Festival.
Just a quick reminder/update email about our upcoming “Winter Festival” event being put on by the CLA Momentum Committee this coming Saturday, February 25th, from 12pm-3pm on Clary Lake. “Winter Festival” might imply a bigger event than what is actually likely to happen: we’ll have a small fire burning and will provide the makings for S’mores. You are also welcome to bring your own beverages (no alcohol please) and food to eat. The event is rain or shine, so dress appropriately. Check the weather report so you’ll know what sort of conditions you’ll be facing. We’re not expecting a huge turn out but do hope some of you will be able to find the time to stop by and enjoy the afternoon, the fire, and the company.
The event will be held on the south side of the lake off Route 126. Parking will be available in the field belonging to the Fergusson family where people for years have parked and gone swimming which is located just west of the Whitefield/Jefferson town line, about 1.7 miles from the Whitefield Superette (here is a Google Location Map to help you find it). Today David Knight plowed out a road down to the lake (pictured above). The wind had already swept a good sized area clear of snow right on the lake so there’s parking available.
We had planned on making an ice-carousel but with 1′ to 2′ of snow on the lake, that plan didn’t get out of design phase. We’ll try that next year. We’ll put out some traffic cones and a sign out beside the road. Contact me if you have any questions.
Hope to see you Saturday!
Ice Boating on Clary Lake, February 2017
I’ve never ice boated on a snow-covered lake before. It was quite the experience. And fast. Very fast. And cold. Very cold. The boat actually belongs to my friend Brian who clocked one of his runs on the ice boat at 42.8 kph = 26.6 mph. Felt like we were flying! He was also trying out his homemade surf skier whatchamacallit, made from a pair of skis and a windsurfer sail. I didn’t try it.
16 January 2017: In the Cockpit of a Lockley Skimmer on Clary Lake
I’m not sure how fast I was going, but it sure felt like I was flying:
I’m guessing I hit 30+ mph on the final leg heading towards shore. Here’s a friend of mine going for a spin:
16 January 2017: Small Plane Over Clary Lake
It’s been a fun couple of days on Clary Lake what with good ice and better weather. Today a friend of mine flew up from southern Maine in his Canard aeroplane to check out the ice boats on Damariscotta lake. On his way back he buzzed Clary Lake and took this video. I expected him so I went out to watch. If you look closely you can actually see me standing out on the ice along with a green lawn chair:
He made several passes over the lake. On his second one I got this video of him:
26 December 2016: Ice Boating on Clary Lake
Not the greatest ice conditions, but I’ve seen (and sailed on) worse.
This video was taken from ClaryCam3.
11 December 2016: Clary Lake Fully Iced Over [UPDATED AGAIN]
UPDATED AGAIN: David Hodson emailed me this afternoon to say that the final patch of open water has finally frozen over making the official Ice-In date this year December 12. Honest!
UPDATED: Clary Lake NOT fully iced over. David Hodsdon and I conferred this morning and he told me his end was fully frozen over, but he failed to notice about 1/2 an acre of open water in the cove by Jack Holland’s house. I guess there were some geese swimming in it this afternoon. Oh well. Retraction time. Stay tuned!
Thanks to overnight temperatures around 0° Clary Lake was completely frozen over this morning. It remains to be seen if the ice cover can survive the rain, snow and warmer temperatures forecast over the next couple of days.
10 December 2016: Gate Status, Lake Status
From the “For What It’s Worth” department, the Clary Lake dam owner was seen at the dam this morning. It appears the purpose of the visit was to close the gate, at least partway; it now appears to be about 1/2 open though it’s still not closed enough to back up water (see picture at left). He opened the gate all the way last Saturday apparently in a knee-jerk reaction to an alleged trespass on the dam by some duck hunters, which he reported to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department- prompting a visit from an officer. I’ve not heard any more about that incident. The gate had been completely closed since early July until he opened it last weekend.
We see good skating on Clary Lake about 1 year out of 3 (if we’re lucky) and even when we do have good skating, it usually doesn’t last that long. This year is not looking like one of the good ones but it is early yet. The picture at left is a composite photo showing simultaneous views from all three Clary WebCams taken yesterday morning- it’s actually a screenshot from my tablet IP Cam Monitor app. From the lake-level views of Cams 1 and 3 (the top two images) it looks like the lake is entirely frozen over but in fact from my second-story office window I can see that the whole north half of the lake is still wide open. Also, as you can see in the bottom image, the entire east-end of the lake is open. I estimate only about 1/4 of the lake is iced over so far, and what ice we have isn’t looking very good.
28 August 2016: State Boat Launch Rock Cleanup Initiative Finished
The Boat Launch Rock Cleanup Crew
We had a great turn out for the Boat Launch Rock Cleanup event yesterday with 30 people showing up to move rocks or assist in other ways. A few people unable to move rocks fulfilled other important roles. Everyone contributed in one way or another. The rock moving itself, which was expected to take the better part of 4 hours, was pretty much finished before lunch, in about an hour and a half.
The folks in the group-photo are left to right, front row kneeling: Lucy Norman, Erin Grimshaw and her 3 sons Corey Dey Bishop, Jayden Dey Bishop, and Devon Dey Bishop, Colin Fergusson; Second row: Don Norman, Melissa Palmer-Karas, Alicia Fraser, Mary Gingrow-Shaw, Margaret Fergusson, George Fergusson (not smiling for some reason) Karen Nielsen and Sara Roy; Third row: Dee Ann Grazioso, Barbara Ahern, Bill Donovan, Osmand Karas, Nathan Williams, John Williams, Tom Vigue, Jeff French; Fourth row: Tim Harkins, David Knight, Jack Holland, Randy Wing. Not pictured are Ellis Percy and John Ahern who weren’t involved in the rock moving, and Thomas Gillette and Bruce MacDonald who showed up later when the work was finished.
The work got done, we had a blast, nobody got hurt, and nobody freaked out when a good sized water snake crawled out of the shrinking rock pile and swam off between people’s legs. I caught a brief glimpse of it but wasn’t quick enough with my camera to get a picture of it. Continue reading
State Boat Launch Cleanup Update: Saturday 27 August
We’re all set to go tomorrow morning to move rocks at the State boat launch. A good crowd of people have indicated they plan to come by to either help move rocks, or kibitz. In any case, all are welcome: it promises to be a fun time and the weather is looking to be about perfect.
The Momentum Committee will be showing up about 9 AM to get things set up with the work set to start about 10 AM. Hopefully we’ll be able to wrap up around 2 PM or shortly thereafter. Lunch will be served mid-way through the day. We’re providing hamburgers, hotdogs, potato chips, water, etc.
The water level hit -66″ below the top of the dam this morning (a little lower than the picture shows above, which was taken last summer) so it really is about as low as it can get. However, there’s still a good 6″ to 12″ of water where we’ll be working, so plan your wardrobe accordingly: rubber boots or sneakers are in order along with shorts and work gloves. Remember we’ll be handling wet slippery rocks so sandals or barefeet are NOT recommended. The bottom is generally pretty hard however, so you don’t have to worry about getting stuck in the mud!
Any last minute questions, feel free to call George Fergusson. Hope to see you there!
Clary Lake Association To Clear Rocks at State Boat Launch Saturday August 27th
The Clary Lake Association has received authorization from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife (IF&W) to clear some rocks away from the end of the State boat launch. These rocks constitute a boating hazard which over the years since the boat launch was built have claimed more than a few outboard props and lower units. After discussing this project with representatives of the IF&W, the Clary Lake Association requested IF&W file for a Permit By Rule with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection under the National Resource Protection Act’s Permit By Rule Standards. They did just that, and we received the go-ahead to do the work earlier this week.
The applicable rule is Chapter 305 Section 6 “Movement of Rocks & Vegetation” which provides for limited clearing of rocks and vegetation by hand from a 10′ wide area. Other requirements of the work to be done are that the rocks cannot be removed from the lake gut must be redistributed into small piles that fish fry can use to take refuge, rather than just randomly scattering them. Since this exercise is to remove a boating hazard, the rocks obviously shouldn’t be piled up in a fashion or location that will have them interfering with boat traffic in the future.
Obviously,  this work needs to be done while the water level is low. Once the fall rains start and the lake level starts to rise, it will be too late. The water level is currently a little over 65″ below the top of the dam, about 2″ lower than in the photograph above which was taken last summer in July. To that end we have tentatively scheduled a work session (I prefer to call it a party) from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM on Saturday August 27th to do the rock clearing and we’ll be looking for volunteers to help with the project. Many hands will make the work go quickly! In the next day or so we’re going to send an email mailing to Clary Lake Association members to drum up interest in helping with this project. There are a number of ways you can help with this project. If you’re interested in participating in the actual rock moving or just want to come by, enjoy the event, have fun, and support us in this endeavor, please contact George Fergusson or give me a call at 207-549-5991.
Since we’re going to be splashing around in 6″ to 12″ of water, we’ll be doing this work rain or shine unless there’s an absolute deluge that day in which case we’ll put the work off until the next day. People interested in helping should wear rubber boots or sneakers because you’ll be getting wet. We also recommend gloves. We’ll have a few crowbars available for those recalcitrant stuck-in-the-mud rocks.
There’ll be a cookout around lunch time, and contributions toward this are welcome. It promises to be a fun event. We look forward to your participation!
28 May 2016: Happy Memorial Day Weekend
Happy Memorial Day Weekend everyone, from the Clary Lake Association. Just one minor problem: with the lake level down 54″+ below the top of the dam, how are you going to get your boat onto the water?
Earlier today there was a jet ski out on the lake. Not sure where they put in, but they’re small enough you can horse them into the water about any place. The only boat I’ve seen on the lake beside my own in recent weeks put in at the private launch over on the Enos property.
05 May 2016: Black Crappies firmly established in Clary Lake
Black Crappie
Well, we knew that. We’ve known for a while now that Black Crappies were being caught in Clary Lake, and I’ve written about before (see: 28 May 2015: A Black Crappie caught in Clary Lake) but I had not actually caught one myself until yesterday when I hooked this 11″ specimen. Unlike the bass that I catch, I kept this one and had it for dinner last night. It was not bad.
Black Crappie are firmly established in most waterways in other parts of the country, especially down south (in Louisiana they’re called “Sac-a-Lait”) and they are generally considered to be an excellent pan fish, good eating with firm white flesh. However, here in Maine they are considered an invasive species and they are not native to Clary Lake (for that matter, neither are large and small mouth bass which were introduced in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s). Apparently sometime in the last 10-15 years someone introduced them into Clary to “improve” the fishery. It’s clear from the size of this one that we’ve got a firmly established breeding population of Black Crappie in Clary Lake.
I sent a picture of the fish I caught to Jason Seiders, a fisheries biologist with the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and he responded that his staff will be conducting surveys of the Sheepscot River drainage this summer, focused mainly on assessing bass populations and confirming the presence of black crappie. Black Crappie are a very prolific fish and they can pretty much take over a water body. It is believed that they will likely affect Clary’s small mouth bass population the most.
Jason Seider’s final advice: don’t be afraid to keep all the Crappie you catch. For what it’s worth, I caught this one on a 6″ rubber worm but I expect you’ll be able to catch them on about anything you throw in the water.
20 March 2016: IFW Commissioner Opens Fishing Season Two Weeks Early
From the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife webpage:
“Effective Thursday, March 17, the 2016 Open Water fishing season began, two weeks earlier than usual, per an amended rule by the Commissioner of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.”
“The amended regulation allows bodies of water that were closed to open water fishing until April 1, 2016 to become open to open water fishing effective March 17, 2016.”
“Anglers throughout the state may now get a chance to enjoy the early spring by fishing on their favorite waterway earlier than usual.”
The two men who hit Clary Lake last Friday (picture above) no doubt wish they’d waited for warmer weather! The wind coming down the lake was very strong and bitterly cold, causing them to quit fishing early. The waves were breaking over the back of the boat as they were trying to maneuver it onto the trailer. At least there was enough water for them to launch and retrieve their boat.
28 February 2016: Ice Boating on Clary Lake
A friend of mine loaned me his “Lockely Skimmer” ice boat to use. It has been quite a few years since I had an ice boat out on Clary Lake. I’d forgotten how much fun it can be. The conditions are near perfect.
And this one taken from the driver’s seat:
I’ve posted a few pictures in the Winter 2016 photo gallery. Had a minor glitch when the left rear runner dropped through a crack in the ice. That was fun.