Trout in Piscataquis worth stop

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Every so often, Paul Johnson speaks on the phone with anglers who want to head to Greenville to do a little fishing.

And every so often, Johnson – a longtime fisheries biologist with the state’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife – suggests a brief pit stop to the inquisitive fishermen.

His advice: Why not try the Piscataquis River on your way to town?

For those in search of wild, native trout caught in a remote pond, the Piscataquis isn’t really an option: These trout are hatchery-raised fish.

But for the open-minded angler who just wants to get his feet wet for an hour … or to float along in a canoe for a day, there may not be a more convenient spot in the region.

From Greenville north, Johnson points out, there are plenty of places to fish for trout.

But down around Dover-Foxcroft and Guilford, the options are more limited, especially for those who prefer rivers.

“Now, here’s the opportunity to fish … and catch … trout this close to your home, seven days a week, until it gets too warm,” Johnson said. “I think that’s exciting.”

And the fish will be there. Johnson guarantees it.

“We’ve been stocking the Piscataquis [this year] since April 28. About 10,000 fish have come from [the hatchery in] Enfield, and a little more than 4,000 have come from Dry Mills [in Gray],” Johnson said.

The result: about 14 miles of river, from Guilford to East Dover, that’s full of fish.

The catch: They won’t last. Mother Nature won’t let them.

“This is a put-and-take fishery,” Johnson said earlier this week, after another productive stocking session. “We put them in in the spring, and if every one is caught by the middle of July, that would be the highest and best use.”

Some years, it rains, water levels stay high, and river temperatures stay low. Most years, the river temps get too high for the brookies, which get stressed and die when the water is above 74 to 76 degrees, Johnson said.

The key word in the Piscataquis stocking effort, Johnson said, is opportunity.

The river is beautiful. You can wade it. You can float it. You can access it in a number of different places (usually the same places the hatchery truck parks when fish are stocked).

And once in the water, there’s enough public land and friendly landowners that an angler can range up and down the river nearly at will.

“It’s almost a river for everybody for every purpose, except adults can’t use worms on this section,” Johnson said.

Kids can, though. And many do.

The daily bag limit on fish is two trout per person per day.

And (another of Johnson’s favorite things to point out): “This river is open to open-water fishing year-round, and you can keep trout from this river year-round,” he said.

Many anglers stop at the scenic Low’s Bridge in Guilford and fish. Others swear by Salmon Stream. Still others fish near the green bridge in Sangerville, or behind the high school baseball field in Guilford.

All are good spots … but all are just starting spots for the adventurous angler.

Twenty years ago, the Piscataquis was an ugly, polluted mess, Johnson points out. Then Guilford and Dover-Foxcroft put their sewage treatment plants on line, and in a year, the river began a miraculous recovery.

Now, it’s heavily used by anglers … but there’s plenty of room for more.

“There’s always somebody [at the popular spots] now,” Johnson said. “It gives me a great deal of pleasure to know that the people in Guilford and Dover paid the long price to get the river cleaned up, and [the DIF&W] played a part in bringing life and fishing opportunity back to the river.”

The work of Johnson and the Greenville region staff obviously doesn’t end with the Piscataquis River.

Among the popular events that DIF&W staffers take part in each year are youth fishing derbies that give kids the chance to catch (and keep) a trout.

On Saturday, the Greenville Recreation Department will host its derby, with help from Johnson and the DIF&W.

“We provide the scales and the moral support,” Johnson said. “But they do all the legwork, they get the donations, the hot dogs, the hamburgers.”

Registration for the derby begins at 7:30 a.m., with fishing to start at 8 at the town’s Gravel Pit Pond.

The event runs until 11 a.m., and Johnson said there are plenty of fish to be caught.

“We’ve got 700 trout going in there in anticipation of the event,” he said.

Last weekend’s Sheriff’s Department derby in Dover-Foxcroft was also popular, according to Johnson … though he admitted the trout proved a bit hook-shy.

Prize-winners: First fish caught, boy: Kyle Emerson of Guilford; girl: Abigail Levensalor of Dover-Foxcroft; largest fish, boy: Isaac Wakefield, Fryeburg, 111/2 inches, 101/4 ounces; girl: Allyson Dow, Guilford, 121/4 inches, 12 ounces; youngest angler to catch a fish, boy: Daniel McKusick, Guilford, 2; girl: Abigail Levensalor, Dover-Foxcroft, 5.

In the state’s weekly fishing report, DIF&W Down East fisheries biologist Greg Burr encouraged anglers to consider fishing for splake.

The brook trout-lake trout hybrid, he points out, are aggressive … and not too picky about what they eat.

Troll. Cast a fly. Use a smelt or a shiner or a minnow or a lure. All seem to work … at times.

Burr’s recommendations for, as he puts it, “unique and exciting splake waters:” Peaked Mountain Pond in Centerville, Coleback Lake in Charlotte, Long Lake in Marion, Hosea Pug Lake in T26 ED, Second and Third Old Stream lakes in T37 MD, Burntland Lake in T35 MD, Heart Pond in Orland, and Mopang Lake in T29 MD.

It’s been my experience that any time a lake or pond is located in a place that begins with a capital “T” that is followed by a number, you’re not likely to find a line of boats at the ramp.

Take advantage of that fact and consider enjoying a quiet day on the water this weekend.

And if it rains? Well, then you’re even more apt to have the lake to yourself.

So, you entered the moose permit lottery last year. You paid your money … took your chance.

And you didn’t get a permit … again.

Well, as they say in these parts (at least when we’re talking about the moose lottery and the Red Sox), this is your year.

If you’ve entered the lottery and just can’t wait until the names are published online (and in this paper), you’ll want to know that the particulars for this year’s lottery have been determined.

The date: June 16.

The place: The Northeastland Hotel in Presque Isle.

The time: 6 p.m.

The moose permit lottery is always a boisterous time, and watching the reaction when one of the lucky winners is actually in the room is a highlight.

This year, 2,895 names will be drawn for the split moose hunting season (Sept. 27-Oct. 2 in the northern and eastern areas of the state, and Oct. 11-16 in the northern two-thirds of Maine).

Of the total permits, 929 are issued for the first season and 1,966 for the second.

Good luck. Happy hunting.

Just leave one permit for me.

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