May 22, 2006 Fishing Report
Region A- Southwestern Maine
Over the last two weeks we have received numerous reports of dead smelts from anglers and shorefront property owners located along the northwest shore of Sebago Lake. The following information is offered regarding this observation.
Sebago's smelt-spawning run started April 26th and developed into the best run we've seen in the last decade. Smelts ran up the Crooked River as far as the Route 302 Bridge. According to former IFW Advisory Council member Carroll Cutting, "you know you have a lot of smelts in the lake when smelts run up river that far.' Lower, stable flows in the spawning tributaries were very favorable for migrating adult smelts, as evidenced by the extent of movement upstream in the Crooked River. In addition, large schools of spawning smelts were observed off Quimby's beach and anglers reported large clouds of smelts off the Songo River. Smelts even ran in many of the brooks historically used along the western shore including Bachelder Brook, Burnell Brook, and Nason Brook. Wardens Jason Luce and Chris Cloutier collected smelt during the spawning run and the smelt were observed to be fat and in excellent physical condition.
Immediately upon completion of the run, which lasted just over a week, lake anglers and shorefront property owners began reporting dead smelts floating in the lake and washing up along the northwest shoreline of Sebago's "Big Bay". The stress of spawning is a common source of smelt mortality following spawning. The unusually large run observed this spring resulted in a proportionally larger number of dead smelts.
The stress of spawning is especially taxing when you consider the brief life span of a smelt. Smelts commonly spawn at age 1 or 2, and while some may live upward of 6 years, most only live to age 2 or 3. Many/most smelts may not spawn more than once and at the ripe age of 2 or 3 are considered "old timers".
Smelts that have been dead for several days are not suitable for laboratory testing by our pathologist, Russ Danner. To be safe a sample of live smelt was recently collected for testing and full results will be available in about 2 weeks. Initial examination revealed the presence of Glochidia, which is a parasitic larvae stage of a freshwater clam. Heavy infestations can cause mortality, but this parasite is not believed to be a significant source of mortality observed on the lake.
Anglers continue to report lots of live smelts present in the lake as seen on their fish finders. This September we plan to measure the abundance of smelt in Sebago, as we have done for the last several using our hydroaccoustics survey equipment.
We have not received any recent reports suggesting ongoing smelt mortality, and we do not consider this loss to be significant relative to the sizable population that is present. However, we would like to hear from anyone (call the Fisheries Division at the Gray Regional Headquarters at 657-2345) who might observe any dying smelts or smelts that have just perished.
-Francis Brautigam, Regional Fisheries Biologist
Region B - Central Maine
You may remember reading a fishing report from a few weeks back regarding the selfish act of a few bucket biologists who introduced Northern Pike into Mosher Pond in the town of Fayette. It has been confirmed that an illegal stocking of Northern Pike did occur in the pond. Mosher Pond will not be the only water affected by this illegal introduction. A very large watershed is in jeopardy, including the Sandy River drainage and the Kennebec River from Madison south. We do not know what this egregious act will hold for the future of the great salmonid tail-water fishery that currently thrives below Madison, Skowhegan and Shawmut dams on the Kennebec River. One way or another, the situation is cause for extreme concern.
In mid-March the Fisheries staff from both Regions B and D responded to this act by placing three trap nets into Mosher Pond, and two trap nets into its down stream neighbor, Norcross Pond.
We were successful in capturing and destroying seven Northern Pike from Mosher pond and unsuccessful in capturing any pike from Norcross Pond. Ice anglers removed seven additional pike from Mosher Pond. It is very difficult to believe that we can account for all of the pike that were originally introduced, given that six different age classes have been identified. It is possible that pike have successfully spawned in Mosher Pond. We will continue to monitor this situation, and to encourage lethal removal by anglers of this voracious predator.
The results from opening Long Pond to ice fishing for pike for a three- year period are complete. The reason Long Pond was opened to ice fishing was to harvest as many pike as possible and to decrease population size. Ultimately, it is an attempt to bring back the once famed landlocked salmon fishery of Long Pond. Some of the findings are as follows:
Long Pond anglers where successful in harvesting larger Pike for the first year of the study, (this did not surprise us, It would make sense that their should be a good number of larger fish caught in the early stages of the study and those numbers would decrease as the study continued).
2. The average size of the catch decreased as the three years continued. (This is one of the results we will be following up on. The question now will be: "Will we see more salmon in better condition in our fall trap netting"?
3. As the study continued, it took less time for anglers to catch a pike. (Anglers were becoming more adaptable in targeting their catch)
4. Total angler effort decreased as the study increased in time. (The ice conditions played a huge roll in angler effort. It was not surprising to see a huge influx of anglers the first year and watch the numbers decline over time.
Some of these findings from Long Pond could be interpreted many ways. We do think that it is important to note that by harvesting all of these larger pike, we could be making more room for smaller pike to take the place of the larger fish. Think of it like this, if a body of water had the potential to hold a total of 100 pounds of northern pike and we take out four fish that weight 25lbs apiece, could we be making room for 100 -1 lb fish? A good example of this is the pike fishery in Sabattus Pond, where smaller pike in the 2-4 pound range dominate the fishery. This is why it is so important that both summer and winter anglers lethally remove all pike (regardless of size) if we are to see any possible recovery of the landlocked salmon fishery in Long Pond. So get out those wire leaders!
-Scott Davis, Fisheries Biologist Specialist
Region C - Downeast
Primetime May fishing is here! This is the time when your favorite gamefish is feeding heavily and biting well, so now is the time to visit your favorite lake, river, or stream to enjoy the fishing.
Now that stream water temperatures have reached and are remaining in the mid-50's, mayflies and caddis flies are hatching daily, sending brook trout into all-day feeding binges. Maine has the distinction of being labeled the last stronghold for healthy populations of wild brook trout in the eastern United States. Trout hold a special place in Maine's angling traditions. And what brook trout angler doesn't pause while unhooking each fish to take a long, lingering look and a mental picture of the trout's green flanks, orange and white belly, tricolored orange-black-and white fins, and red spots with blue halos? Do your part to keep our trout populations healthy for the future - practice catch and release.
Spring trolling for landlocked salmon and togue still produces good action on eastern Maine lakes. Fish are still "on top" on many days, while getting down with a few colors of lead line or a downrigger may produce better action, especially on sunny or flat calm days.
Bass action started much earlier than normal, as expected, on this unusually early spring. Eastern Maine bass anglers have been observing and catching bass off nests in some shallower lakes for almost 2 weeks now. It won't be long before bass fishing gets red-hot. Early bets for good bass fishing are Big Lake, Woodland Flowage, Pocomoonshine Lake, Crawford Lake, Gardner Lake, Eddington and Holbrook Ponds.
The long Memorial Day weekend is coming up. Take a friend and a youngster, pack a big lunch, and spend some time on the water this week.
-Rick Jordan, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist
Region D - Western Mountains
Its situations like these that make fishery biologists wring our hands. Salmon growth at Rangeley Lake has been excellent for many years now, with lots of trophy-size fish caught. We sample fish annually by live trapping in the fall, and if growth rates start to slip, we cut back on the stocking rate a little bit to maintain a good growth rate.
That was the situation last fall; the fish were a little bit less robust, so we trimmed the salmon stocking rate this spring. We were encouraged by a good smelt run, which means lots of forage for the salmon. However, along with reports of fast fishing after iceout, we began getting reports of thin fish. But we also got reports of fat fish. Some anglers said that salmon were gorged with smelts; some reported that they had empty stomachs.
So which is it? We're aware that post-spawning salmon are often racy through the winter, and don't really fill out again until the next summer. Fortunately, our clerk Ethan Tracey has been checking Rangeley anglers and their catch this spring. His verdict? He's seen a few slinky fish, but most of the salmon look fat and healthy. We'll continue to monitor the fishery, but the trend has been excellent growth, with an increasing complement of wild salmon in the fishery since the one-salmon limit was imposed. Brook trout also continue to contribute to the fishery with 14-inch fish the most commonly size caught this year. I might mention that we've also had reports of excellent fishing in the Rapid River, Aziscohos Lake, and Mooselookmeguntic Lake.
Here are some of the waters that have been stocked with spring yearling brook trout (with a tip of the hat to Embden Rearing Station Manager Gene Arsenault for providing the information): The Kennebec, Androscoggin, Sandy, and Webb Rivers have been stocked with brown trout, along with Wilson Stream. Many of our lakes and ponds have been stocked with spring yearling brook trout (as mentioned in a previous report), as well as the North and South Branches of the Dead River. Now if it would only stop raining for a while so that stream levels will drop.
-Forrest Bonney, Regional Fisheries Biologist
Region E - Moosehead Region
If you take the time to read these weekly fishing reports then it is likely that you have seen the recently released Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture report. This study was a cooperative effort between State and Federal agencies, Virginia Tech, James Madison University, and several non-governmental conservation organizations. While the report found that wild brook trout populations were severely depleted in most eastern states, Maine was the exception. In fact, wild trout in Maine can be found in most of their original subwatersheds. You can check out the report at www.brookie.org or a nice article by Kevin Miller of the Bangor Daily News at www.bangordailynews.com/news/templates/?a=133472
It has been the mission of the Fisheries Division for nearly 50 years to protect and enhance the fisheries in the State of Maine. We would like to think that this report exemplifies the success of past and present practices. Increasing development and changes in habitat including illegal fish introductions are presently the leading concerns, but in the past, poor land management practices and over-harvest from angling were the main threats. In most cases fisheries biologists would utilize fishing rules to protect brook trout from excessive removal.
The Moosehead Lake Region had 156 trout ponds categorized as native and never stocked as of 1996. We updated that list in 2005 by adding 18 waters, which were the result of surveying some remote ponds that had never been inventoried by our staff. We also removed 31 ponds from the 1995 list.
Initially, you might be startled at the thought that 31 waters in the region are no longer considered native trout ponds. But of those waters removed, fifteen had actually been stocked around the turn of the century. We recently located many years of archived federal stocking records that weren't available in 1996. In fact, we still have many years of records that have not been fully evaluated. What we found was that if a pond is located within a few miles of the railroad, then it was probably stocked and since record keeping in those years was inconsistent, it is hard to verify.
Fourteen waters were removed from this region's native list because immigration from other stocked waters was a possibility. In all of these cases, the waters from which immigration could have originated were all stocked prior to 1996. So, these waters were removed due to a more thorough review of existing data and not new stocking programs.
One pond was removed because it was not a principal fishery for trout and should not have been on the 1996 list. The last pond removed, Bear Pd near Chesuncook Lake, was stocked in 1994, but was still included on the 1996 native trout list. Bear Pond was stocked after we received complaints from area anglers that they were not catching trout. We netted the pond and found few trout but large numbers of yellow perch and suckers. Clearly, fishing was not the limiting factor but instead the large number of competing species in this shallow pond. It is likely that the fishing was never very good in this pond and considering it a principal fishery in the past may have been a stretch. Reclamation was examined but due to its relatively remote location and difficulty in creating a permanent fish barrier, the decision was made to stock the pond with wild strain fish. Post-stocking results were poor and the stocking was discontinued. So, over the past 10 years we still have our native ponds intact in this region.
Protecting and enhancing wild brook trout fisheries has always been and always will be one of our highest priorities in the Moosehead Lake Region. We will continue to protect our known native and wild ponds with proper regulations such as gear/bait restrictions, bag limits, and size limits.
We will work with other agencies such as LURC and DEP to ensure that land use regulations are sufficient to protect habitat from the increasing threats associated with development. We will conduct new lake inventories on some of the hundreds of waters that we have not yet surveyed.
Hopefully, we will have an opportunity to thoroughly review the list of LURC Remote Ponds in the near future and perhaps make some additions. We also plan to conduct research to help us understand the wild brook trout populations in our lakes, ponds, and rivers. In fact, we will be conducting wild brook trout research on the Chamberlain Lake system this fall/winter with the cooperation of Flyfishing in Maine (FFIM). This study will include estimating the brook trout population in the lake and the winter harvest in 2007. We will also utilize newly purchased radio telemetry equipment to monitor brook trout movement to locate critical spawning habitat and over-winter refuge areas. We want to thank FFIM for sharing the commitment and dedication to conservation of our coldwater gamefish resources. Please check out their webpage at www.flyfishinginmaine.com and consider supporting this worthy mission.
-Tim Obrey, Regional Fisheries Biologist
Region F, Penobscot Region
Rainfall in this area of the State has been nowhere as heavy as that in southern Maine this past week; however, it was about 2" above normal and did lead to some dramatic increases in water levels and flows.
The Penobscot River went from record low flows in early May to a present flow of 38,000 cfs, which is double the normal flow of 19,000 cfs for this time of year. Almost all flowing waters, rivers, streams, and brooks, had flows that were too high for effective fishing. High flows have kept water temperatures down and early season conditions should last well into June.
It is too early to tell what effect, if any, water temperature and flow conditions have had on bass spawning in the Penobscot River. Early season anglers on the Penobscot River have reported highly variable angling success. Bass spawning has started in lakes in the southern part of the region and should progress northward if weather conditions return to normal.
Sudden drops in water temperature can cause bass to stop spawning activity which will resume when the temperature increases. In years when spring bass spawning conditions have been especially bad bass have been observed spawning in the month of August. It is very unlikely that young bass hatched this late in the season would grow large enough to survive the following winter.
There have been no reports of white perch spawning activity yet this season. With surface water temperatures remaining low on lakes and ponds, salmon and trout has been quite good. On cloudy days, or in early morning and evening, there is still some good activity at or near the surface with fish moving into deeper water during brighter days. Brook trout fishing in ponds has been very good with some exceptional catches reported in the northern part of the region. As of last Friday, according to warden reports, the Baxter State Park perimeter road was not open all the way through the park, although most of the trout ponds in the southern part of the park were accessible. The best trout fishing in the park will not begin until the green drake hatches begin in June.
-Mike Smith, Regional Fisheries Biologist
Region G - Aroostook County
After a very rainy week, we continue to get showers this week with a very unsettled forecast for the next few days. The precipitation was needed as we were approaching summer low flows in many of the smaller waterways. However, rivers, brooks and streams are now near or at bankfull stage. Unless you are using a larger watercraft in the larger rivers, there will be little fishing opportunity until water flows subside.
Prior to the rain, the Aroostook River in Caribou was excellent for brook trout. Trout up to 16 inches were being caught with many in the 10-14 inch size range. One party left the landing in Caribou but never got out of sight as there were many trout feeding heavily in the first riffles. In two hours more than 25 trout were landed and released. As the water recedes toward the end of May and into June, fishing should be excellent in the special regulation section that begins at the WPS dam in Caribou and extends downstream to the international boundary in Fort Fairfield.
Smelt runs have finally finished across the State; spawning runs in the far north are the latest to occur. Long Lake, well-known for its landlocked salmon fishing, had another excellent smelt spawning run this spring. Smelt are the primary forage for salmon and the strong population of smelt at Long Lake helps to maintain the high quality sport fishery. Smelt that we observed this year were significantly smaller than in previous years; the average size this year was 5.2 inches compared to 6.5 inches in 2005. The egg deposition in the brooks was one of the best in many years and bodes well for future fishing at Long.
As smelt begin to wind down their spawning activity all of the stress of the spawning season oftentimes results in significant die offs. This is a common occurence in lakes that support large smelt populations. We routinely get calls about the large number of smelt floating on the water and that wash up on the beaches of lake side residences. This post spawning mortality is normal and although it appears to be wasteful, it is part of the life cycle of this small fish. Many species of wildlife, including trout and salmon, feast on this readily available food supply.
-Frank Frost, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist
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