02-01-2007, 12:12 PM
[font "Times New Roman"]It is time for Moosehead Lake Region anglers to gear up for the season opener this week at Lobster Lake and Allagash Lake. Many anglers this winter are still pretty upset that they were unable to get out on the ice to wet a line on the season opener in their favorite fishing holes, since many of the lakes and ponds in the Moosehead Lake Region were still ice free on January 1st. The recent cold weather that swept through the region this past week should make it certain that anglers will not be disappointed for the second time this winter. Moosehead Lake anglers will have another chance to get out and hopefully enjoy some nice weather on opening day. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]On February 1st, both Lobster Lake and Allagash Lake open to ice fishing for the month of February only. At Lobster Lake and Allagash Lake the use or possession of live bait is prohibited, you are restricted to two lines per person, and they are open to the taking of cusk in the nighttime with five lines. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Lobster Lake regulations allow a 1 fish daily limit on salmon, trout, and togue in the aggregate. The minimum length limit on salmon is 20 inches. The minimum length limit on togue is 23 inches. Brook trout fall under the general law length limit of 6 inches. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]At Allagash Lake the use of motorized equipment is prohibited. The daily bag limit on trout is 2 fish with a minimum length limit of 12 inches, and only 1 may exceed 14 inches. Lake trout and lake whitefish fall under the general length and a bag limit, which allows the taking of 2 lake trout with a minimum length limit of 18 inches and you can harvest 3 lake whitefish, with no size restriction. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]The Moosehead Lake Regional staff will be interviewing anglers on Lobster Lake this winter. We will be collecting angler trip data and length and weight information from angler harvested lake trout and salmon. If my duties on Chamberlain Lake are not going to be compromised, I plan to get into Allagash Lake for a few days during my tours in February. Our visit to Lobster Lake this winter is well overdue, voluntary records and anecdotal information from anglers suggest that we may be seeing an increase in smaller salmon. The problems we are seeing down river in Chesuncook Lake, with an abundance of salmon 14 - 16 inches, may be showing signs up river in Lobster Lake. Since, both Lobster Lake and Chesuncook Lake are separated by only 11 miles of the West Branch of the Penobscot River, with no impasses, little is known about the interaction of salmon between these two bodies of water. We may conduct a radio tag study between these two lakes in the near future to document landlocked salmon movements.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Last winter during our creel census survey on Chesuncook Lake we collected length, weight, and scale samples on 93 salmon. The salmon ranged in sizes from 14 -20 inches. Fifty- five percent of the salmon were larger than 16 inches. Eighteen percent of the salmon were greater than 18 inches and only 3 salmon were greater than 20 inches. We are still encouraging anglers to harvest salmon in the 14 – 16 inch range.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]This last week of fishing in the Moosehead Lake Region resulted in anglers catching some nice brook trout. Lake whitefish and lake trout catches are also increasing. This can be contributed to the fact that anglers are finding good thick black ice around the 12 inch mark on many of our larger lakes and ponds. This is enabling anglers to get over deeper water and target these species in water depths greater than 30 feet. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]-Stephen Seeback, Fishery Biology Specialist[/font]
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[font "Times New Roman"]On February 1st, both Lobster Lake and Allagash Lake open to ice fishing for the month of February only. At Lobster Lake and Allagash Lake the use or possession of live bait is prohibited, you are restricted to two lines per person, and they are open to the taking of cusk in the nighttime with five lines. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Lobster Lake regulations allow a 1 fish daily limit on salmon, trout, and togue in the aggregate. The minimum length limit on salmon is 20 inches. The minimum length limit on togue is 23 inches. Brook trout fall under the general law length limit of 6 inches. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]At Allagash Lake the use of motorized equipment is prohibited. The daily bag limit on trout is 2 fish with a minimum length limit of 12 inches, and only 1 may exceed 14 inches. Lake trout and lake whitefish fall under the general length and a bag limit, which allows the taking of 2 lake trout with a minimum length limit of 18 inches and you can harvest 3 lake whitefish, with no size restriction. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]The Moosehead Lake Regional staff will be interviewing anglers on Lobster Lake this winter. We will be collecting angler trip data and length and weight information from angler harvested lake trout and salmon. If my duties on Chamberlain Lake are not going to be compromised, I plan to get into Allagash Lake for a few days during my tours in February. Our visit to Lobster Lake this winter is well overdue, voluntary records and anecdotal information from anglers suggest that we may be seeing an increase in smaller salmon. The problems we are seeing down river in Chesuncook Lake, with an abundance of salmon 14 - 16 inches, may be showing signs up river in Lobster Lake. Since, both Lobster Lake and Chesuncook Lake are separated by only 11 miles of the West Branch of the Penobscot River, with no impasses, little is known about the interaction of salmon between these two bodies of water. We may conduct a radio tag study between these two lakes in the near future to document landlocked salmon movements.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]Last winter during our creel census survey on Chesuncook Lake we collected length, weight, and scale samples on 93 salmon. The salmon ranged in sizes from 14 -20 inches. Fifty- five percent of the salmon were larger than 16 inches. Eighteen percent of the salmon were greater than 18 inches and only 3 salmon were greater than 20 inches. We are still encouraging anglers to harvest salmon in the 14 – 16 inch range.[/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]This last week of fishing in the Moosehead Lake Region resulted in anglers catching some nice brook trout. Lake whitefish and lake trout catches are also increasing. This can be contributed to the fact that anglers are finding good thick black ice around the 12 inch mark on many of our larger lakes and ponds. This is enabling anglers to get over deeper water and target these species in water depths greater than 30 feet. [/font]
[font "Times New Roman"]-Stephen Seeback, Fishery Biology Specialist[/font]
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