Do Mainers really understand fishing?
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
Growing up in central Maine during the mid-1960s and -'70s, I can remember people flocking to lakes and ponds that produced big brook trout, huge salmon, or excellent white-perch fishing. The outstanding fishing action for many lakes and ponds was a guarded secret. Only by word of mouth to other loyal fishermen was anyone told of how good the fishing really was. This code of silence still exists today.
Today, the rest of the part-time fishing community experiences mediocre fishing at best. Most of these folks believe that there are few big fish left in any particular body of water and catching a trophy would be a miracle. Most lakes can hold so many large fish before the bait-fish forage base crashes. Most bragging-size fish are generally caught soon after ice-out or the first couple of weeks in January.
The void then leaves room for the next age class to grow. History tells us this cycle continues until one or both of the following occurs. The water quality deteriorates or forage base declines. For example, a crash in bait fish, mainly smelt, produced a major slump in game-fish production in Moosehead Lake during the 1980s. A drop in water quality in China Lake during the 1970s seriously depleted the once fine salmon and togue fishery there.
Every angler wants better fishing. Some Maine folk want more artificial lures only and catch and release waters. Fortunately, that is not the answer. Fishing should be enjoyed by everyone, young and old, and not be restricted to only one or two elitist methods of catching fish. The Rangeley Lakes region is one of the best examples of great fishing with the best regulations to sustain that fishery. Presently, Rangeley Lake has a strict "no live fish as bait" rule. The NLFAB ruling ensures great salmon and brook trout fishing year after year.
Many outdoor articles have been written about the successes of former Inland Fisheries & Wildlife Commissioner Ray "Bucky" Owen and the Department's special retrictions on brook trout. When Owen first proposed his initiative fishing proposals in 1995, they also included regulating some salmon waters. That proposal was soundly defeated at several public hearings. Soon after, the DIF&W enacted special size and bag limits and fishing methods on a number of remote trout ponds. Early biological results on these waters show that brook trout are a little larger, but at what cost?
The rules and regulations prevented bait fishermen from fishing, replacing them with catch & release anglers. Also, some biology reports on catch-and-release brook trout waters reveal some lakes and ponds now have stunted brook trout, because of overcrowding. So, before we start patting each other on the backs and making more waters ALO and catch and release, let's listen to our knowledgeable biologists who are currently managing some of our best salmon waters. Currently, there are a dozen waters producing 6-to 8-pound landlocked salmon, and Maine currently has some of the finest fishing available. I hope it stays that way.
Dennis C. Bolduc is an avid fisherman and devoted bait fishing advocate from Oakland.