February 1, 2018 at 3:46 pm
By IFW Fisheries Biologist Derrick Cote
[caption id="attachment_1760" align="alignright" width="225"]
A fish tote full of fallfish, suckers and brook trout.[/caption]
Managing a wild brook trout fishery can present its challenges. Angler use, catch rates, release rates, and regulations all can have an impact on the fishery. One of our jobs as fisheries biologists is to monitor the fish population and angler use, then adjust the regulations in order to protect a fishery but still provide a quality angling experience.
Certainly one of the most recognizable waters in our region is the Allagash Wildnerness Waterway. While many think of the waterway for canoeing, it is also quite popular as a brook trout fishery.
Over the past fifty years, the fisheries staff out of the Ashland office has spent considerable time working on the Allagash waterway. Recently, it has become apparent that use of the waterway is declining, not only for canoeing, but fishing as well.
In order to determine how the declining number of anglers was impacting the fishery, during the summers of 2016 and 2017 we trapped the fishway at Churchill Dam and handled close to one thousand brook trout. Lengths and weights were taken and these fish were released upstream of the dam. The average length of this sample was slightly more than 10 inches.
In the fall of 2016, Ashland staff trapnetted Churchill and Big Eagle Lakes. We handled over nine hundred brook trout from these two lakes using five net locations. Lengths and weights were taken from these fish and they were released in the center of the lake out from the net. The average length of these brook trout was around ten and one half inches.
In addition to the summer and fall work, last winter fisheries staff conducted an intensive winter creel survey, interviewing anglers about what they caught, how frequently they caught fish, what size they were, and taking biological data from the fish they kept. Surveying four days a week every other week, biologists interviewed anglers on both Churchill and Big Eagle Lakes. While angler use was down, comparable to the lows of the 1970s, brook trout catch rates were up, as were release rates.
With over fifty years of data to compare, it is readily apparent that the trout population today is very robust. After careful consideration and a thorough review, we have relaxed the regulations on brook trout on Churchill and Big Eagle Lake in order to address the declining angler use and the popularity of catch and release. Out is the two trout bag limit with twelve inch minimum and in its place is the general law five trout bag limit with six inch minimum. The only one trout exceeding fourteen inch stays the same. Lake trout and whitefish regulations did not change.
These regulations will provide more opportunity for anglers, continue to protect a wild trout fishery, and are designed to increase the size of the trout you catch on the waterway.
With these new regulations in place, we hope that you get out and enjoy your time fishing on the Allagash Waterway, one of Maine’s iconic waters. As they say, it’s worth the trip.
[caption id="attachment_1759" align="alignright" width="1024"]
A couple of brook trout and suckers are netted before being hoisted up to be measured.[/caption]
A fish tote full of fallfish, suckers and brook trout.[/caption]
Managing a wild brook trout fishery can present its challenges. Angler use, catch rates, release rates, and regulations all can have an impact on the fishery. One of our jobs as fisheries biologists is to monitor the fish population and angler use, then adjust the regulations in order to protect a fishery but still provide a quality angling experience.
Certainly one of the most recognizable waters in our region is the Allagash Wildnerness Waterway. While many think of the waterway for canoeing, it is also quite popular as a brook trout fishery.
Over the past fifty years, the fisheries staff out of the Ashland office has spent considerable time working on the Allagash waterway. Recently, it has become apparent that use of the waterway is declining, not only for canoeing, but fishing as well.
In order to determine how the declining number of anglers was impacting the fishery, during the summers of 2016 and 2017 we trapped the fishway at Churchill Dam and handled close to one thousand brook trout. Lengths and weights were taken and these fish were released upstream of the dam. The average length of this sample was slightly more than 10 inches.
In the fall of 2016, Ashland staff trapnetted Churchill and Big Eagle Lakes. We handled over nine hundred brook trout from these two lakes using five net locations. Lengths and weights were taken from these fish and they were released in the center of the lake out from the net. The average length of these brook trout was around ten and one half inches.
In addition to the summer and fall work, last winter fisheries staff conducted an intensive winter creel survey, interviewing anglers about what they caught, how frequently they caught fish, what size they were, and taking biological data from the fish they kept. Surveying four days a week every other week, biologists interviewed anglers on both Churchill and Big Eagle Lakes. While angler use was down, comparable to the lows of the 1970s, brook trout catch rates were up, as were release rates.
With over fifty years of data to compare, it is readily apparent that the trout population today is very robust. After careful consideration and a thorough review, we have relaxed the regulations on brook trout on Churchill and Big Eagle Lake in order to address the declining angler use and the popularity of catch and release. Out is the two trout bag limit with twelve inch minimum and in its place is the general law five trout bag limit with six inch minimum. The only one trout exceeding fourteen inch stays the same. Lake trout and whitefish regulations did not change.
These regulations will provide more opportunity for anglers, continue to protect a wild trout fishery, and are designed to increase the size of the trout you catch on the waterway.
With these new regulations in place, we hope that you get out and enjoy your time fishing on the Allagash Waterway, one of Maine’s iconic waters. As they say, it’s worth the trip.
[caption id="attachment_1759" align="alignright" width="1024"] A couple of brook trout and suckers are netted before being hoisted up to be measured.[/caption]Categories