State biologists say lake trout abound in Moosehead

GREENVILLE – Sportsmen looking for a nice fat lake trout this year may want to concentrate their efforts on Moosehead Lake.

Biologists responsible for the management of Maine’s largest lake say that evidence from the 2000 open water season shows that the lake has a healthy lake trout population.

While the lake trout have rebounded from a low in the early 1990s, the salmon have not recovered as quickly, according to biologist Paul Johnson of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

“Overall, I think Moosehead Lake is on track, it’s recovered from the poor growth rate of the early 1990s,” Johnson said.

And counts of fishermen conducted this year from the air and on the lake indicate that more people are fishing the lake. About 28,000 people fished the lake during open water this year, compared to an average of 22,446 from 1995-1999.

If there’s a message from the open water season statistics, it’s that the fishery is progressing nicely and that lake trout fishing will provide some good interaction for anglers in the future, according to Johnson.

The biologist said Wednesday that the lake is more in balance, meaning that the predators are more in balance with their prey, which are smelts, but the relationship still is fragile.

“We do not have a surplus of salmon, not enough to satisfy what people want on a year-round basis,” Johnson said. If more salmon were allowed to be caught, it would compromise the salmon population in the lake, he predicted.

As to factors that influence fishing, Johnson said the summer of 2000 was much cooler than in 1999. The average lake temperature in July was 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit colder than July 1999. In August, the lake was 2.2 degrees colder than last year in the same month. And the flows and water levels were generally lower than the previous year, he said.

In addition to the information gathered this year by the biologists and clerks, the department was aided by about 50 anglers who volunteered their time to keep record books.

“They provided very valuable backup data,” Johnson said. He said the department was appreciated the work of these volunteers.

From monitoring of the lake, which includes interviews with fishermen on the lake, at campgrounds and sporting camps, it was determined that 70 percent of the legal-sized salmon that were caught by anglers were released alive, Johnson said.

“That’s a very high release rate,” the biologist said. Overall, the salmon catch rate per day was not up to the objectives set for the management of the lake. The catch rate per day would have been closer to the management objectives if people weren’t allowed to fish for salmon and handle them in the winter months.

But this summer was a good one for catching lake trout over 18 inches long, according to Johnson.

The amount of lake trout of all sizes caught was four times the amount of all sizes caught in 1970, he said. That, according to the biologist, is a result of the present management program and the fact that the amount of lake trout caught is at a level that allows for sustaining of the fish population.

Statistics show that 47 percent of the legal-sized lake trout also were released alive. The amount of lake trout of all sizes caught per day was 0.33 or one-third of a fish per day, according to records. The amount of 18-inch lake trout caught per day was twice the objective set for the lake’s management. The number of lake trout of all sizes caught during open water season was four times the amount of lake trout of all sizes caught in 1970, he noted.

Regarding the brook trout population, Johnson said that 63 percent of the 12-inch and larger fish were released by anglers this year. The amount caught per day exceeded the objectives, he said. Johnson said there is no explanation about why this species of fish has done so well over the last several years and why the numbers were so few in 1997.