Illegal pike in Pushaw troubling

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If you’re like me, you probably don’t wake up in the morning looking to digest the kind of news that will make you spit out your Cheerios.

Unfortunately, you may do just that after hearing what I’ve got to say this morning.

State fisheries biologists and wardens are investigating a report that northern pike have been illegally introduced into Pushaw Lake.

Sickening, isn’t it?

Pushaw, if you’ve never visited it, is in Glenburn, Orono, Old Town, and Hudson.

The shallow, warm-water lake has turned into a bit of a “bedroom community” for Bangor and the University of Maine community over the years, and plenty of year-round dwellings dot the shoreline on a lake about seven miles long.

It is popular with bass fishermen, kayakers, and the party-boat crowd, and it covers 5,056 acres. According to the map folks at Delorme, the lake is only 28 feet deep at its deepest, and supports populations of smallmouth bass, pickerel, and white perch.

Now, according to Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife fisheries biologist Nels Kramer, there are northern pike in Pushaw.

Kramer says an angler hooked and landed a northern pike there earlier in the summer and took photos of it. Kramer has seen the photos, and he recognized the site where the photos were taken.

His conclusions: “It was definitely a northern pike. And the picture was taken at Pushaw.”

Kramer says the Maine Warden Service is following up leads, and the person who introduced the nonnative species into Pushaw is being aggressively sought.

In the meantime, Kramer and his crew are spending time on Pushaw in a boat specially designed for fish surveys.

The biologists have already “electrofished” the lake, and plan more excursions in the coming weeks in order to see if they can find other northern pike and remove them from the lake.

Electrofishing involves putting electrical current into the water with a specially designed boat. The fish that swim within the electrical field are temporarily stunned, rise to the surface, and are able to be netted by fisheries personnel.

In past months, reports of the illegal introduction of pike into Sebago Lake in southern Maine have made headlines, in part because of the lake’s reputation as a top-notch cold-water fishery that supports landlocked salmon and lake trout.

State wildlife officials have recognized the growing problem of “bucket stocking” and legislators recently passed a law that would punish offenders more severely.

The problem, of course, is catching those offenders. Some wardens will tell you doing so is rare. Others opt to use the words “virtually impossible.”

Northern pike don’t tend to be as nomadic as some other voracious feeders like muskellunge, Kramer says. They may never move beyond Pushaw.

“But they could,” he cautions. “You never know.”

Pushaw empties into Stillwater Stream … which dumps into the Stillwater River … which is connected with the Penobscot.

Where pike choose to migrate is anybody’s guess.

Once again, a selfish individual or group has chosen to do what it pleases, regardless of its effects.

Hopefully, somebody out there knows something about the case and is willing to say – finally – enough is enough.

Call 1-800-ALERT-US if you can help.

If you’re an outdoors nut, chances are you’ve heard a lot about Ducks Unlimited over the years.

Well, it’s that time of year again: Time to tell you about the Downeast Chapter of DU … and its upcoming banquet … and to give you a little background.

Ducks Unlimited is a group of conservation-minded folks who are dedicated to raising funds for the preservation of North American waterfowl habitat.

There are 13 chapters in Maine, including the Downeast Chapter, which has raised more than $250,000 since its founding in 1971.

Downeast Chapter committee member Ernie Boynton recalls that first banquet, when former NEWS executive sports editor Bud Leavitt served as the master of ceremonies and when sportscaster Curt Gowdy was the guest speaker.

“Obviously that evening put our Bangor Chapter on the map, so to speak,” Boynton said in a recent e-mail. “We packed the Pilots Grill for a profitable net return of, I believe, about $16,000 that evening.”

This year’s banquet – the 32nd annual – will be held on Sept. 18 at the Bangor Banquet and Conference Center on Hogan Road.

Tickets are available for $45 for an individual and $60 for a couple, but must be paid for in advance. An auction and raffle are planned.

For more information, contact Boynton at ehbducout@aol.com.

I’ve already got the event penciled into my date book … and I hope to see you there.

The state calls it an “any-deer permit lottery,” but if you’ve spent a few years tromping around the woods of Maine, you likely know call it “the doe-permit drawing.”

Whatever you call it, many of you have been wondering when you’ll find out if you’re one of the lucky hunters this year.

Your answer (you may want to grab a pen and write this down, so you’ll know when you can uncross your fingers): Sept. 24. That’s when the DIFW will conduct its lottery. Later that day, the department will post the results on its Internet Web site (check out www.mefishwildlife.com).

Or, if you want to wait until the following day (a Thursday), you can check these pages and get the same information.

The any-deer permit system is entering its 18th year. Simply put, Mainers using regular firearms or muzzleloaders have to hunt for male deer with antlers 3 inches long (or longer) most of the time. If, however, they have a “doe permit,” they can harvest a deer of either sex.

Any-deer permits are valid only for a specific wildlife management district, which the hunter specifies when making application for the permit.

You know how it works, of course. When you don’t have a doe permit, you end up seeing nothing but doe after doe walk in front of your tree stand.

And according to the law, no doe permit? No doe. It’s that simple … almost.

Among the wrinkles in the law is this: Any person whose number is drawn in the lottery can transfer their any-deer permit to a junior hunter, or to a hunter older than 65.

A new twist this season: Permits can also be transferred to hunters who don’t fit into the previously listed age groups, but who is suffering from the loss of, or the permanent loss of the use of, both lower extremities.

One thing to remember: Resident doe permits can only be transferred to other residents, and nonresident permits can only be transferred to nonresidents.

Transfers can be done on line at the DIF&W Web site until 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 31.

And until the drawing … keep your fingers crossed.

John Holyoke can be reached at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net or by calling 990-8214 or 1-800-310-8600.