Muskies, bass may threaten lake chain

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Ever since muskellunge were introduced into Quebec’s Lac Frontiere and began showing up in the St. John River and its tributaries, Aroostook County anglers have dealt with a nagging question.

“What if?”

Last week, I received an e-mail from Diane Michaud of St. Agatha, and she asked a variation of the same question I’ve been hearing for years.

Her question, however, was a bit more pressing, considering the spring weather endured by those in extreme northern Maine.

“With the recent flooding in Fort Kent, some people have said that the Fish River Falls was no longer a fall,” Michaud wrote. “If there was no falls, what are the chances of the muskie being able to continue to the Fish River Chain of Lakes?” she asked.

That, folks, is the big “what if” people have been worrying about for quite some time.

The Fish River flows into the St. John in Fort Kent. The river is perhaps best known because of the string of lakes – the Fish River Chain of Lakes – that are connected by thoroughfares.

Beginning at Long Lake in St. Agatha, the chain includes Mud, Cross, Square and Eagle lakes. After Eagle Lake, the Fish River flows north to Fort Kent.

Along the way is Fish River Falls, which has long been viewed as the last barrier – and a tenuous one at that – to the passage of muskies into one of the state’s premier landlocked salmon and brook trout watersheds.

If voracious top-end feeders like the muskellunge make it into that chain, most believe it would have tragic impacts on the brook trout and salmon fisheries.

I took Michaud’s question to the man who knows the Fish River Chain of Lakes better than most, Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife regional fisheries biologist Dave Basley, who pointed out that muskies are only one piece of a potential problem.

Smallmouth bass, too, have been found in the St. John, and Fish River Falls serves as a barrier to those fish as well.

“The water this year was probably as high as it has ever been,” Basley said. “Even under normal [spring] conditions, it’s just a sheet flow across there, and why fish haven’t gotten up through there yet, I don’t know.”

Basley explained that during June, the drop at Fish River Falls might be about six feet. During high-water events in the spring, the falls are essentially nonexistent, but this spring’s flow was so high that it probably gave fish their best shot yet at getting into the Fish River watershed.

“This would be a very opportunistic spring for them to move if they were going to move,” Basley said.

What if, indeed.

Another question lingers, however: Did the fish really want to move up the river after all?

Basley explained that he and co-worker Derrick Cote spent time in September electro-fishing an area just above the falls, looking for evidence that bass had breached the barrier.

They found none above the falls, but in a short jaunt downstream, below the falls, found three.

“So the bass are indeed right below the falls,” Basley said. “In the springtime, perhaps there’s too much flow and it’s too cold for them to move. That may be what prevents them from going upstream.”

And those cold and turbulent conditions may also be a natural barrier to the larger muskellunge, Basley said.

Both fish are a concern to Basley and the DIF&W fisheries management team, for similar reasons.

“I think the muskies would have an effect on the salmon fisheries, similar to the northern pike on Long Pond in the Belgrades,” Basley said. “The bass probably would have a bigger impact on the brook trout.”

Basley said fisheries staffers have been paying particular attention to the Soldier Pond Bridge over the Fish River, because the conditions there are similar to those found at another Aroostook County spot where muskies can often be seen resting in the shade.

None have been seen at Soldier Pond, and Basley said that’s a good thing … for now.

“Knock on wood, to date we’ve had nobody tell us that they’ve caught any bass above the falls, and we haven’t verified muskellunge above the falls,” Basley summed up.

Togue derby winners announced

Anglers were treated to perfect trolling weather over the weekend during the Moosehead Lake Togue Only Fishing Derby.

The temperatures were mild, and the wind virtually non-existent, making it a perfect day to troll slowly and dredge bottom with lures and bait.

Organizers say 84 tickets were sold for the derby, which was a cooperative effort of the Moosehead Lake Fisheries Coalition and the Moosehead Lake Region Chamber of Commerce.

In all, 258 lake trout were taken to official weigh stations and entered in the derby.

Don Brodeur of Corinna took home the top prize of $600 with a 6.39-pounder that was 261/4 inches long. Matchell Guerrette of Winthrop took second place and won $400 with a 3.12-pound togue that was 23 inches long, while Malcom Batchelder earned the $250 third prize with a 3.04-pound, 21-inch fish.

Walt Guerrette of Winthrop had the guts to register what turned out to be the smallest togue in the derby – 7 1/8 inches – and took home $250 to soften the blow of the ribbing he likely took from fishing pals.

John Myatt of Rockwood took home the grand door prize, an Old Town Predator 160 canoe that was donated by Indian Hill Trading Post.

jholyoke@bangordailynews.net

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