Posts Tagged ‘Penobscot Valley Fishing Report’
Posted on Thursday, September 4th, 2008 by Maine Sportsman
As we move into the early fall, the surface temperature of our lakes and ponds has begun to drop, and salmon and brook trout angling will pick-up substantially. Late season tactics of a shallow line and a quick retrieve will begin to produce again, as brook trout and salmon start their transformation from feeding to reproductive activity. Fall fishing can be the most rewarding of all seasons. Salmon and trout are in the best shape of any time of the year. Salmon are fat and bright, and nothing is as stunning as a brook trout all dressed up in its fall spawning colors! The scenery is hard to beat as the hardwood foliage starts to change from green to red, yellow and orange.
Next week we start our annual fall fin clipping operation here at Cobb Fish Hatchery. In years past we have marked up to 150,000 fish here at the Enfield, most of which are brook trout. This year we have made a concerted effort to reduce those numbers of fish to be marked to approximately 50,000. Demands on staff time and hatchery space as well as increasing fuel costs have forced us to reconsider marking as many fish as we have in years past.
The marking program has been a very helpful management tool evaluating our hatchery product. All salmonids, except lake trout, have a four-year rotation of fin clips. Lake trout have an 11-year fin clip rotation based upon their longevity. The presence of marked fish allows the fishery biologist to determine the age of any of our stocked salmonids as they encounter them in the field, without taking scales and reading them in the office at a later date. It also allows knowledgeable anglers the same ability to determine the age of any clipped hatchery fish that they catch.
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Tags: Penobscot Valley Fishing Report • Categories: General
Posted on Friday, July 25th, 2008 by Maine Sportsman
As the summer progresses we are getting more and more inquires from parents and grandparents looking for angling opportunities for young anglers. There are a number of obvious places throughout the region to go, including those waters open to “Special Opportunities for Kids” listed on page 6 in the Open Water Fishing Regulations Book.
Pickerel Pond, in T32, has as recently as last week given up brook trout from 10 to 18 inches in length. Other regional hot spots for kids include Rock Crusher Pond in Island Falls, Cold Stream between the hatchery and the lake in Enfield, Jerry Pond in Millinocket and Harris Pond in Milo. As always, the Penobscot River remains one of the premier locations to take kids for an enjoyable evening of bass fishing.
Regional staff will be heading to Baxter State Park this week to do some stream and pond surveys in the southern portion of the Park. Center Pond, Abol Pond, Lower Togue Pond and Draper Pond will al be checked for any changes in species composition and water quality. We will be conducting brook trout population assessments on all waters. Windy Pitch Pond will be surveyed for the first time, collecting physical, chemical and biological information. Based upon what we find, we will be exploring additional management opportunities at Windy Pitch.
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Tags: Penobscot Valley Fishing Report • Categories: General
Posted on Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 by Maine Sportsman
The summer field season has been in full swing for several weeks now for the fishery biologists in Region F. Staff has been busy conducting lake and pond surveys around the Penobscot Region to assess the condition of warm and coldwater fish populations as well as the condition of their habitat. Staff may visit 30-50 waters in a summer, along with keeping up with normal office paper work and other responsibilities of the job.
During a pond survey, we collect water quality information including a temperature and dissolved oxygen profile from the surface to the bottom of the lake (deepest point), as well as testing the pH, alkalinity, conductivity at the surface and bottom of the lake. A Secchi disk reading helps determine the clarity of the lake or pond, and biologists record the level of turbidity seen in the water at the same time. While this water quality “snap shot” can vary greatly depending on the weather conditions in the days prior to the survey, it gives us a general understanding of the basic physical and chemical properties of the lake. Since most of the lakes and ponds in Region F have been surveyed at least once (often more than once), biologists have prior readings to compare current results to. If anything were drastically out of the ordinary then further, more precise sampling would follow.
Fish samples, typically collected with traps or nets, can help fishery biologists determine if management strategies (stocking rates and regulations) are effective at producing desired growth rates of principal sport fish populations; mainly brook trout, salmon and lake trout. Usually we need a 15 to 30 fish sample across several age classes to determine the current condition of a population. Equipment such as traps and nets help us to quickly obtain a sample and are set from one hour to one day depending on the water body. Based on the results from our surveys we can then make recommendations for future management changes (if needed) to help maintain or enhance the sport fisheries in the region.
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Tags: Penobscot Valley Fishing Report • Categories: General
Posted on Tuesday, March 25th, 2008 by Maine Sportsman
The Penobscot Region is located in the east central part of the state. The eastern edge of the region borders on New Brunswick, Canada. As the name implies, the majority of the region lies within the Penobscot River drainage and a smaller but very important part is in the headwaters of the St. Croix River drainage. This region is probably the most diverse in the state in terms of both land terrain and fisheries from the high lands and trout ponds of Baxter State Park to the low lands and bass fisheries of the lower Penobscot River.
Penobscot River is considered one of the best smallmouth bass fisheries in the eastern United States. The area from Old Town to Medway offers approximately 60 miles of fast action for smallmouths in the 10 to 15 inch size, with bass up to 20 inches a possibility. The exciting aspect of the fishery is the fact that it always seems to produce good fishing right through the summer. In spite of the Penobscot River’s close proximity to a state highway, the opportunity to see bald eagles, ospreys, great blue herons, deer, otter, and other wildlife add another dimension to the trip. Float trips down the Penobscot are a way to relax, see the river and all its wildlife, and catch a bunch of scrappy smallmouth bass. There are public boat ramps and carry sites situated every few miles along its length.
West Branch Penobscot River supports a world class landlocked salmon fishery from Ripogenus Dam to Ambajejus Lake. The area below Sourdnahunk Deadwater is managed by this regional office, above the deadwater through the Greenville Regional Office. The West Branch is known for its large landlocked salmon, some fish weighing over five pounds. Because of the dynamic nature of the West Branch, there are different regulations suited to a particular section of river, but fishery regulations to enhance the size quality are the norm. There is a popular spring troll fishery commencing April 1 at the Sourdnahunk Deadwater for over wintering salmon. A private log haul road, the Golden Road, runs adjacent to much of the upper section of the river and provides access to the entire stretch, while the area below Abol Bridge is more remote and access is less available.
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Tags: Penobscot Valley Fishing Report • Categories: General
Posted on Thursday, March 6th, 2008 by Maine Sportsman
Region F biologists interviewed very few anglers this past weekend, not surprising considering Mother Nature’s most recent gift of 8-16 inches of snow in central Maine, depending on where you live. Those that did venture out caught a few trout, salmon and togue from the lakes we’ve been reporting on all season: Schoodic, Seboeis, Scraggly and Matagamon. We did get a report of an 8-pound togue caught at Cold Stream Pond last week. In the past, Cold Stream Pond has had the reputation for good fishing during the first week or two of the season, followed by long stretches (weeks at a time) of extremely slow fishing. So far this year Cold Stream has been one of our most consistent lakes, producing good action for salmon, togue and brook trout.
The Eastern Maine Snow Riders held its annual ice fishing derby at Molunkus Lake in Macwahoc this past weekend. The biggest fish entered in the derby was a pickerel tipping the scales at about 2 pounds. Prizes also were awarded for individual species including white perch and brook trout. We reported earlier this winter that Molunkus Lake was stocked last fall with 1,000 fall yearling brook trout. After a slow start in January, anglers are reporting that the hatchery trout have been biting quite well recently. The largest trout entered in last weekends derby weighed just shy of 1-pound.
Many winter derbies are held across the State of Maine each year for both cold and warm water species of fish. Often times the participants in these derbies include entire families that want a distraction from being cooped up inside during the long winter months. There is no doubt that most everyone enjoys eating a nice salmon, trout or togue every now and then, and nothing beats a feed of deep fried white perch fillets or a perch “chow-dah.” However we often hear folks asking what they should do with their pickerel after the derby is over. Pickerel are quite tasty, but they are notoriously boney and because they generally do not get much larger than 20 inches long from most Maine lakes, the dissection of Y-bones from fillets can be quite labor intensive. Here’s a technique for preparing pickerel fillets that is quick, easy, and virtually takes care of all the bones.
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Tags: Penobscot Valley Fishing Report • Categories: General
