Large St. Froid Lake trout impresses biologists

Anglers around the state spend plenty of time pondering a single age-old question when it comes to their own favorite lake or pond: I wonder how big the biggest fish in here really is?

Of course, there’s no way to really tell, and even if we do hook onto a lunker, there’s no way to be sure there’s not another behemoth lurking below.

State fisheries biologists conducting a study on one Maine lake got quite a surprise last week, when they netted quite a lake trout.

According to Peter Bourque, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s director of fisheries program development, the surprise came at St. Froid Lake in the Aroostook County town of Winterville.

Bourque’s comments, taken from the DIF&W’s weekly fishing report, follow:

St. Froid Lake, Winterville, is one of the lakes in the Fish River Chain. Prior to the late 1800s the lake had wild fisheries for lake trout [togue, brook trout] and lake whitefish. Following the introduction of landlocked salmon and smelts over a century ago, the lake trout and lake whitefish population gradually declined until both species were nonexistent.

In an effort to restore the togue, a stocking program was initiated with a spring yearly stocking in 1969. All stockings were fin-clipped so survival and growth of various stockings could be monitored. I was present in the Fish River/Allagash region when the program began. At that time we monitored the success of these stockings through ice fishing censuses and gillnet samples.

For many years togue provided an exciting winter fishery with some fish growing at a rapid rate. Two of our earlier stockings moved around considerably – the 1969 and 1971. Some fin-clipped togue were taken 30 miles upstream and others more than 20 miles downstream. The 1971 stocking provided an excellent winter fishery in Eagle Lake with many fish reportedly caught off the drop-off at Brown’s point.

In the recent years the Department has liberalized the length and bag limits on togue at St. Froid Lake in an effort to improve the growth rates on both lake trout and landlocked salmon. They have continued to monitor the fishery through winter census and gill nettings.

Last week fishery biologists from Ashland conducted a netting and to everyone’s surprise, netted a togue with a right ventral [belly] fin and dorsal [back] fin clipped. They had neither a fish-measuring board nor a scale of large enough capacity to take the vital statistics for this fish.

They estimated the fish at 40-plus inches and 20-plus pounds – a real lunker! Believe it or not, this fish was stocked as a yearling in May of 1971, so it was 33 years old this spring.

Togue growth rates are highly variable. As a comparison, back in the winter of 1994 biologists in the Grand Lake Region checked a 1972-stocked togue at West Grand Lake. This fish was 23 years old and 23 inches long, weighing just 2 pounds, 13 ounces.

The sad news about the St. Froid Lake lunker is that no one had a camera aboard. The good news is that the fish was alive and well and swimming in the depths of St. Froid Lake, so togue anglers take note!

MYFGA plans events

Maine’s Youth Fish & Game Association is planning two events that local youths may find interesting.

For both programs, children are responsible for bringing their own lunch, and an adult must accompany them to the event.

On Aug. 16, the club will sponsor a map and compass orientation and GPS course at the clubhouse near Milford.

The course runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and youths will have a chance to use their new compass skills to find candy hidden in the woods.

On Sept. 21, the club will host a canine demonstration featuring search-and-rescue dogs and hunting dogs including Labs, beagles and pointing dogs. This event also runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

To get to the Maine Youth Fish & Game Association clubhouse, head out County Road in Milford. Turn right at the Stud Mill Road and proceed 21/2 miles. The clubhouse is on the left.

For more information, call Stan Gomm at 394-2174.