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For More Information, Please Contact: Mark Latti For Immediate Release August 20, 2007 August 20, 2007 Fishing Report Region A- Southwestern Maine Each summer regional staff electrofish two streams as part of a statewide brook trout monitoring program. These streams are different from our regular summer stream sampling in that they are intensively electrofished in such a way as a population estimate can later be calculated. That is, we can determine roughly how many brook trout there are in our chosen stretch of stream. We choose the best trout streams we can manage for this task so it is always exciting to observe the abundance of wild trout we still find in southern Maine streams. This kind of work also allows us to become very familiar with a stream in fairly short order. With electrofishing there is no guesswork. You never have to wonder of you spooked the fish, if they weren’t biting, or if there weren’t fish in that hole. I won’t pretend that I net every single fish the electrofisher shows us but we do catch the vast majority and it becomes a real eye-opener. Last week, the day before we sampled one of our brook trout monitoring streams I took a few hours in the morning and went worming for brook trout at a few likely spots. Water was low and I was fishing small streams so legal fish were few and far between, few enough so I released all I caught along with plenty of 4-5 inch pretenders. Since our brook trout monitoring stream was right on the way to work I stopped to dunk a worm in a couple of pools that have historically held a decent number of legal brook trout. As usually occurs, disaster struck right when I was about to begin fishing the best/first pool on the stream. First cast I felt a nibble so I set the hook on nothing but air and water, the line flew out of the water and wrapped itself around a “flimsy” piece of grass. Rather than expose myself to the pool I flicked the rod up and broke the handle off my cheapo bargain rod sending rod and reel splashing into the pool. Despite having hopelessly spooked the trout I plunged doggedly on, and held the reel to the rod for my next cast with which I buried my only hook into a nice meaty log. The next day we electrofished that pool in the course of obtaining our annual sample and I netted 12 legal trout, all of which were released still wearing that smug grin on their pointy little faces from foiling the fishery biologist the previous morning. So, take a morning off, sneak up to your favorite pool (or explore up a new favorite), throw some hardware or flies at our still abundant wild brook trout and show them who’s boss. Obviously they know I’m not boss. Region B - Central Maine Last month a few articles regarding salmonid consumption of soft plastic baits hit the press. Since these articles were released many anglers have asked the fisheries staff at Inland Fisheries and Wildlife many questions about the issue. To understand the significance of some of the study’s findings, one should consider the following about soft baits. Soft plastic baits do litter the bottom of many bodies of water, particularly where both bass and trout provide the principle fisheries. If you spend any amount of time snorkeling in the shallows it does not take long to find many of these discarded baits. All salmonids are susceptible to the consumption of plastic baits. We routinely collect biological data from many different waters by gill netting, creel census, trap netting and electro fishing. It is common to see discarded plastic baits in the stomachs of salmonid, particularly brook trout and lake trout. Although, we often see many brown trout that have ingested rubber bait, brook trout and lake trout appear to be the most susceptible. Brook trout seem to be the most susceptible to lost plastic baits, particularly in Central Maine. There are several reasons that explain brook trout susceptibility. Region B stocks brook trout in more waters than other stocked salmonids. Large fall yearling brook trout are stocked in many waters that also have very popular bass fisheries. Fall stocked brook trout will inhabit the shallows where many of the lost or discarded baits end up from the previous fishing season. Fish seem to eat just about anything from natural forage to plastic baits or even cigarette butts. The complaint that most anglers have is that it very displeasing to find soft plastic bait in any fish that they are about to eat. The bottom line is that while there are legitimate concerns that have been raised about the use of soft plastic baits, the evidence to date does not suggest that plastic baits should be prohibited. The angler should adjust their fishing practices to minimize the amount of soft plastic they leave behind. Perhaps the industry will eventually adjust their manufacturing process to create a biodegradable soft plastic. If the anglers demand it, the market will respond. --Scott Davis, Fisheries Biology Specialist Region C – Downeast The staff in the Downeast office has been busy in the field lately. We have been conducting numerous stream, lake, and pond surveys. We have been successful at finding brook trout in many of the brooks and streams we have been surveying. Recently we have been sampling on Mount Desert Island, Otis, Surry, Grand Lake Stream, Calais, and the northern part of the region in the Topsfield area. These surveys are providing us with a great deal of information. We electrofish a section of the stream, perform water quality analysis, record observations about habitat, and complete an assessment of any road crossings near the survey section. This information is vital for us to effectively manage fish populations in our region. Recently we have surveyed fish populations at lakes and ponds in Calais, Lamoine, and Deblois. We surveyed Nash’s Lake in Calais to evaluate the landlocked salmon that we stock there annually. We sampled 25 salmon ranging from fish just over 1 year old, that were stocked in the spring, to fish that were just over 3 years old, and also one wild salmon that was just over 4 years old. The fish were all in good shape with the largest salmon being about 18.5 inches. About 75% of the fish sampled had good numbers of small smelts in their stomachs. We were pleased to see good smelt numbers since this spring’s smelt run at Nash’s Lake was somewhat poor as a result of fluctuating water levels in Interval Brook. I would like to thank Phil and David Hill for assisting us in our sampling efforts and also to Earl Boyd for providing us with some of his fishing experiences at Nash’s over last few decades as well as a detailed depth map that he created. Last week, we surveyed Blunts Pond in Lamoine. This is a water that we knew nothing about and had never surveyed before. We created a depth map and performed water quality analysis. The maximum depth found was about 6 or 7 feet. The water was very clear and the bottom was hard and gravely in most places. We found pickerel and a large number of small yellow perch as well as crayfish. At the end of last week we sampled a small “Kids Only” water in Deblois. We stock Foxhole Pond with ample numbers of brook trout each fall to provide some fun and exciting fishing for persons under 16 year old. We sampled the pond to see if we had any fish holding over throughout the warm summer months. We set nets for only a few hours and sampled 6 brook trout between 9.5 and 11 inches. We were pleased to see that water conditions allowed for some trout to survive through the summer. I would like to thank Warden Scott Osgood for assisting us in our sampling and with helping numerous kids get hooked on fishing by loaning out fishing gear to be used at Foxhole Pond. He showed me lots of great pictures of kids catching their first brook trout ever from this winter and spring fishing at Foxhole. This is a great time of year to take a kid fishing. There are no bugs, plenty of sunshine, and some good action for warm water fish species. I can remember, when I was 12 or 13, this is the time of year that my cousins and I would get up bright and early to catch a few bass and perch before spending the day in my grandfather’s blueberry field, only to return to the pond that evening for a swim and another shot at that little rush of adrenaline as we landing another fish worthy of bragging about the next day. -Joe Overlock, Fisheries Biologist Specialist Region D - Western Mountains Regional staff have been very busy in the field during the past month. Our primary focus in July and August has been on evaluating small trout ponds, which the western Maine highlands have plenty of. This effort usually entails a detailed water chemistry analysis, collection of fish samples of all species including minnows, an assessment of tributary and outlet condition, and a check on current access and signs of angler use. If warranted, we'll even "re-sound" the pond if earlier depth surveys appear inaccurate or if water levels changed significantly since the original survey. Taken together, this information helps us evaluate fishery responses to new fishing regulations or stocking programs, and sometimes shows us a need for slight tweaking of either or both. Much of the work we've completed this summer focused on wild brook trout ponds in the King and Bartlett and Seven Ponds Townships. We've also re-surveyed several togue waters, including Lincoln Pond in Parkertown TWP, Varnum Pond in Wilton, King and Bartlett and Little King Lakes in King and Bartlett TWP, and Richardson Lake in Richardsontown. For the latter, I received assistance from Biologist Frank Frost, who works out of our Fish River Lakes Region in Ashland. Frank's visit was part of our "biologist exchange program" whereby regional staff are required to work in outlying regions. This is an excellent way for us to stay in touch and experience a broader range of fishery issues. I'm sure Frank enjoyed his brief visit and we appreciated the help. Soon we'll gear up to begin routine electrofishing surveys to assess stream trout populations. This year we plan to estimate the size of trout and salmon populations in Alder Brook in Perkins, Abbott Brook in Wilsons Mills and Mass Bog Stream in Coburn Gore. -David Boucher, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist Region E - Moosehead Region In 2005, the Natural Resource Education Center (NREC) received a federal grant to provide natural resource based programs for students from kindergarten through grade 12. The Maine Woods Explorers initiative was established with this grant, and Selena Tardif was hired to be the Director of Education to develop and supervise the project. A rich variety of programming and partnerships serving young children through teenagers throughout Piscataquis County operates from the Maine Woods Explorers base in downtown Greenville. The Greenville staff had an opportunity to spend last Friday morning with the Selena Tardif, Cindy Noyes, and 11 of their Maine Woods Explorers at Gravel Pit Pond in Little Moose Twp. The group was made up of kids ranging from 5 to 11, and they traveled from near and far to participate in last weeks program. Two individuals Brooke and Matthew Tardif ventured north from Biddeford, as did Morganne Lanier who trekked from Guilford. Rounding out this group of explorers were Keegan and Law Hinkley, Alec Moore, Pete Shelton, John and Tommy Watt, Nick Foley, and Evan Sullivan all from Greenville. On Friday this group of explorers had a chance to see some of the gear that we as fisheries biologists use to help manage the fisheries resources throughout the state. They saw the different types of nets we use, minnow traps, water quality gear, and watercraft. Prior to meeting with the group, we had collected some minnows and crayfish for the kids to look at. One activity we did with the kids was a hi-tech game of hide-and-seek. The group had a chance to use our radio telemetry gear to locate some tags that we had placed around the pond. They had to listen carefully to determine which direction the loudest beep was coming from as we closed in on the location of the tag. After locating our tags it was onto bigger and more exciting things, “ snack time”. After some needed refreshment we moved onto the next phase of the day. As we all know there is no substitute for some hands on, getting wet, and really into your work experience. So the kids were given some nets and buckets and 30 minutes to collect anything and everything from the pond that would fit in their nets and at the end of 30 minutes we took time out to review and talk about what they had collected. There was a large assortment of aquatic critters, which included a variety of minnows, aquatic insects, frogs, tadpoles, and freshwater mussels. At the end of the morning we talked about other types of animals that might live in a pond such a Gravel Pit Pond but were not collected. These explorers came up with some very good answers including, snails, turtles, and “blood suckers”. -Jeff Bagley, Assistant Regional
Fisheries Biologist Fishing remains good through out the region. Reports are far and few but the information is good. Most of the reports are from bass anglers. East Grand Lake continues to produce some nice salmon for the lucky or accomplished angler. Other lakes that the salmon angler might try are, Schoodic, Cold Stream Pond, Lower Sysladobsis, Pemadumcook, Millinocket and West Lakes. Schoodic Lake is also producing some nice lake trout. Over the weekend an angler caught 2 fish in the 5 lb range. Some other lakes that also hold some nice lake trout are Millinocket, East Musquash, Cold Stream Pond, Pemadumcook, and East Grand. Seboeis, Cedar, Lower Togue and Endless Lakes are waters in Region F that are stocked with splake. Over the summer we have had reports from all 4 that the fish are doing well. -Brian Campbell, Fisheries Biology Specialist Region G – Aroostook County The most common fisheries question we receive this time of year in northern Maine is one that involves the restrictions on rivers, brooks and streams. Without a doubt many anglers fishing in northern and western Maine are convinced that these "flowing waters" are closed after mid-August. In reality, rivers, brooks, and streams are open to fishing until September 30 but under more restrictions because of the onset of spawning behavior in brook trout and landlocked salmon. Restrictions involve the use of artificial lures only (ALO) and a daily bag limit of 1 for salmon, trout, and togue. The regulations are intended to still allow for fishing opportunity but with added protection to the resource by limiting harvest of fish (daily bag limit) and minimizing hooking mortality (ALO). This time of year we notice that brook trout in streams begin to leave their summer-time habitat as water temperatures cool. These fish become more aggressive as they approach spawning time and some great fishing can be found on many of our regional streams and rivers. Currently, stream temperatures are dropping to normal levels with cooler weather; to date, Monday, August 20th, fall rains have not occurred so water levels remain low from summer. -Frank O. Frost, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist
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