[caption id="attachment_164" align="alignright" width="300"] MDIF&W fisheries biologists and certified piscicide applicators apply Rotenone to Wadleigh Pond.[/caption]
On Tuesday, N
It’s December, and most hard-water anglers are thinking the same thing: “when is it going to get cold enough to freeze the ponds?” Each year as a sheer, fragile coating begins to inhibit fog from rising off the water’s surface, anglers become jittery. Fingers start itching to be on the auger throttle, ice traps are pulled from summer storage and re-lined, or at least checked, and where in the world are those wool socks, thick gloves, and hat all hiding? Every evening that the mercury dips well below 32 degrees elicits a happy “making ice” dance.
[caption id="attachment_435" align="alignright" width="300"] An invasive rainbow smelt washes in when a pond is reclaimed[/caption]
The story begins with arctic char, also known as blueback trout. Maine is the only state in the lower 48 that has native