By Ken Bailey
MIDCOAST (): The weather improved dramatically this week after the spring floods started to diminish.
You could tell the weather was improving because fishermen were getting out, the first flowers of spring had pushed up through the cold ground and bugs were splattered on the windshield of my truck.
While out and about this past week, I came across an interesting sight at the south end of Megunticook Lake. I was walking along the shoreline and spotted an animal on a large ice flow about 100 yards up the shore. As I crept closer, I could see a large river otter lounging in the late-afternoon sun.
I crawled closer (and my wife wonders why my clothes are always muddy) and could see the otter was having a meal of a freshly caught fish. I was able to sneak to within 10 yards of the animal and take a couple of pictures before it realized someone was watching it eat lunch.
At this close range I could see the otter was eating a trout and enjoying every bite. The river otter, prized for its pelt and enjoyed for its waterside antics, is a large animal that can weigh up to 30 pounds. It is 18 to 32 inches long with a tail that can add up to 20 inches more to its overall length.
The otter can live in a lake, river or large stream, and dines on fish, minnows, frogs, mussels, snakes, crayfish and turtles. It mates in March or April, has a gestation period of around 60 days and gives birth to tiny pups that weigh only about five ounces. The number of pups can range from one to as many as five.
At two months of age, the young start to venture from their dens. They continue to nurse for four months, but at six months Ma and Pa send them on their way to live on their own.
According to "Critters of Maine," published by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the otter's torpedo-shaped body allows it to glide easily through the water and swim on its front, back and sides. This amazing creature can hold its breath for up to eight minutes and dive to depths of 50 feet.
Once this particular otter realized I was in the neighborhood, it grabbed the trout in its strong jaws, slipped effortlessly into the water and disappeared.
You won't often see an otter, but if you do it's fun to sit back and watch its antics.
It's finally here
The water levels are going down and the water temperatures are going up -- two key ingredients needed for spring fishing to improve.
The first week of the open-water fishing season was anything but fantastic. Reports from the usual spring fishing hotspots have all been about the same -- anglers are out there giving it their best, but the fish are not cooperating.
Hang in there; all that is about to change.
Once the ice leaves the lakes water temperatures will start to creep out of the deep freeze. This increase in temperature triggers a number of aquatic happenings that put fish in a feeding mood.
One of the first things that happens when the ice leaves is that the wind whips up the water, mixing in oxygen, a life-giving necessity that has been diminishing since ice-in over three months ago. Many lakes and ponds face severe oxygen depletion by the time ice-out takes place, a condition that not only slows down fish activity, but in some extreme cases will also cause a massive die-off of oxygen-starved fish.
This oxygen mixing is one of the reasons salmon and other cold-water species are caught near the surface soon after ice-out, as they come topside to enjoy the freshwater and water that has a few more degrees of warmth because of the heat from the sun.
This increase in water temperatures also causes insect activity to increase, which allows trout and salmon to feed at or near the surface. This warming trend brings small bait fish into the even warmer shallows, which in turn attracts big predator fish looking for an easy meal and spring-spawning fish like pickerel, perch and bass. The spawning fish often feed heavily in preparation for the rigors involved with the spawn.
Stocking reports tell a story
The 2005 fish-stocking season is under way and the recently released 2004 stocking report is now available in print and online. Taking a look at where and when fish were placed last season will give you a fairly accurate picture of what to expect this year.
Many Knox and Waldo county lakes and ponds received trout and salmon, some received larger than average fish, and others were stocked more than once.
The St. George River, with an April stocking of 3,000 brown trout, received the single largest input of fish. This improving river also received a second charge of larger browns in October along with a spring infusion of brook trout. The river also benefits from the trout stocked in Sennebec Pond and Seven Tree Pond, as they are part of the river's system.
Alford Lake had 800, 10- to 12-inch brook trout stocked last spring along with more browns and brookies in the fall. That water may surprise some anglers because the state also placed 20 brook trout in the 14- to 16-inch range in its clear waters. If any survived the ice fishing season they should be in great shape this spring and early summer.
Megunticook Lake remains in the state's experimental rainbow trout program, getting 600 browns and 600 rainbows last fall. Norton's Pond, which drains into Megunticook, was also stocked with both trout species. The bad news from these waters is that apparently someone stocked black crappie, a fish that will eventually have a negative impact on these waters' game species.
Anglers in Camden may experience some improved fishing -- if they can find water access -- since the state placed 400 brook trout, some up to 12 inches long, in the Megunticook River that runs all the way to Camden Harbor.
Chickawaukie Pond, which may have all its ice gone by the time this article hits the streets, will greet early season anglers with both brook and brown trout. Chickie usually receives a spring and fall infusion of these colorful fish.
In Waldo County look to Lake St. George and Swan Lake to provide some early action and good-sized fish in the net.
St. George, which receives both spring and fall stockings, was stocked with more than 3,000 brook trout and 1,000 salmon last year. This number includes some brookies that stretched the tape at 16 inches.
Swan Lake's native togue population continues to produce some action, while the state is helping anglers out again with more than 3,000 brook trout and some salmon. The stocked salmon are all small and will take a year or two to reach legal size -- if they survive that long.
Other Waldo County waters sporting trout populations include Bowler, Dutton Halfmoon, Moody, Unity and Levenseller ponds.
This month's issue of the Maine Sportsman has the entire stocking list printed. Look carefully at the number of fish stocked and the dates these waters were stocked. Last year's records will give a good indication of what's to come this year. You can also find the stocking list online at mefishwildlife.com. Once on the site, click on "fishing" and look for the 2004 stocking report.
If you are getting ready to head out fishing for the first time this spring, remember to check for the following: fishing license, boat registration, milfoil sticker, life jackets, and new line or leaders on fishing rods.
The season is here; let's all get out and enjoy it.
Have a safe week in your part of the great outdoors.
Village Soup
MIDCOAST (): The weather improved dramatically this week after the spring floods started to diminish.
You could tell the weather was improving because fishermen were getting out, the first flowers of spring had pushed up through the cold ground and bugs were splattered on the windshield of my truck.
While out and about this past week, I came across an interesting sight at the south end of Megunticook Lake. I was walking along the shoreline and spotted an animal on a large ice flow about 100 yards up the shore. As I crept closer, I could see a large river otter lounging in the late-afternoon sun.
I crawled closer (and my wife wonders why my clothes are always muddy) and could see the otter was having a meal of a freshly caught fish. I was able to sneak to within 10 yards of the animal and take a couple of pictures before it realized someone was watching it eat lunch.
At this close range I could see the otter was eating a trout and enjoying every bite. The river otter, prized for its pelt and enjoyed for its waterside antics, is a large animal that can weigh up to 30 pounds. It is 18 to 32 inches long with a tail that can add up to 20 inches more to its overall length.
The otter can live in a lake, river or large stream, and dines on fish, minnows, frogs, mussels, snakes, crayfish and turtles. It mates in March or April, has a gestation period of around 60 days and gives birth to tiny pups that weigh only about five ounces. The number of pups can range from one to as many as five.
At two months of age, the young start to venture from their dens. They continue to nurse for four months, but at six months Ma and Pa send them on their way to live on their own.
According to "Critters of Maine," published by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the otter's torpedo-shaped body allows it to glide easily through the water and swim on its front, back and sides. This amazing creature can hold its breath for up to eight minutes and dive to depths of 50 feet.
Once this particular otter realized I was in the neighborhood, it grabbed the trout in its strong jaws, slipped effortlessly into the water and disappeared.
You won't often see an otter, but if you do it's fun to sit back and watch its antics.
It's finally here
The water levels are going down and the water temperatures are going up -- two key ingredients needed for spring fishing to improve.
The first week of the open-water fishing season was anything but fantastic. Reports from the usual spring fishing hotspots have all been about the same -- anglers are out there giving it their best, but the fish are not cooperating.
Hang in there; all that is about to change.
Once the ice leaves the lakes water temperatures will start to creep out of the deep freeze. This increase in temperature triggers a number of aquatic happenings that put fish in a feeding mood.
One of the first things that happens when the ice leaves is that the wind whips up the water, mixing in oxygen, a life-giving necessity that has been diminishing since ice-in over three months ago. Many lakes and ponds face severe oxygen depletion by the time ice-out takes place, a condition that not only slows down fish activity, but in some extreme cases will also cause a massive die-off of oxygen-starved fish.
This oxygen mixing is one of the reasons salmon and other cold-water species are caught near the surface soon after ice-out, as they come topside to enjoy the freshwater and water that has a few more degrees of warmth because of the heat from the sun.
This increase in water temperatures also causes insect activity to increase, which allows trout and salmon to feed at or near the surface. This warming trend brings small bait fish into the even warmer shallows, which in turn attracts big predator fish looking for an easy meal and spring-spawning fish like pickerel, perch and bass. The spawning fish often feed heavily in preparation for the rigors involved with the spawn.
Stocking reports tell a story
The 2005 fish-stocking season is under way and the recently released 2004 stocking report is now available in print and online. Taking a look at where and when fish were placed last season will give you a fairly accurate picture of what to expect this year.
Many Knox and Waldo county lakes and ponds received trout and salmon, some received larger than average fish, and others were stocked more than once.
The St. George River, with an April stocking of 3,000 brown trout, received the single largest input of fish. This improving river also received a second charge of larger browns in October along with a spring infusion of brook trout. The river also benefits from the trout stocked in Sennebec Pond and Seven Tree Pond, as they are part of the river's system.
Alford Lake had 800, 10- to 12-inch brook trout stocked last spring along with more browns and brookies in the fall. That water may surprise some anglers because the state also placed 20 brook trout in the 14- to 16-inch range in its clear waters. If any survived the ice fishing season they should be in great shape this spring and early summer.
Megunticook Lake remains in the state's experimental rainbow trout program, getting 600 browns and 600 rainbows last fall. Norton's Pond, which drains into Megunticook, was also stocked with both trout species. The bad news from these waters is that apparently someone stocked black crappie, a fish that will eventually have a negative impact on these waters' game species.
Anglers in Camden may experience some improved fishing -- if they can find water access -- since the state placed 400 brook trout, some up to 12 inches long, in the Megunticook River that runs all the way to Camden Harbor.
Chickawaukie Pond, which may have all its ice gone by the time this article hits the streets, will greet early season anglers with both brook and brown trout. Chickie usually receives a spring and fall infusion of these colorful fish.
In Waldo County look to Lake St. George and Swan Lake to provide some early action and good-sized fish in the net.
St. George, which receives both spring and fall stockings, was stocked with more than 3,000 brook trout and 1,000 salmon last year. This number includes some brookies that stretched the tape at 16 inches.
Swan Lake's native togue population continues to produce some action, while the state is helping anglers out again with more than 3,000 brook trout and some salmon. The stocked salmon are all small and will take a year or two to reach legal size -- if they survive that long.
Other Waldo County waters sporting trout populations include Bowler, Dutton Halfmoon, Moody, Unity and Levenseller ponds.
This month's issue of the Maine Sportsman has the entire stocking list printed. Look carefully at the number of fish stocked and the dates these waters were stocked. Last year's records will give a good indication of what's to come this year. You can also find the stocking list online at mefishwildlife.com. Once on the site, click on "fishing" and look for the 2004 stocking report.
If you are getting ready to head out fishing for the first time this spring, remember to check for the following: fishing license, boat registration, milfoil sticker, life jackets, and new line or leaders on fishing rods.
The season is here; let's all get out and enjoy it.
Have a safe week in your part of the great outdoors.
Village Soup