MyFishFinder.com Just like iceshanty but warmer
Thank you for the info clamfarmer! On another note what’s everyone’s thoughts on expanding regulations for panfish?
Commercial fishing in large lakes with nets are completely different than around maine with hook and line. Out in the salt water the shrimp, the smelts cod the laws all punish the rod and reel and not the seines set inside islands or draggers. The NH introduction of coho was doing great but seineing bait for the lobster industry killed that.
Screw bag limits etc. Let's stop the bucket bios first. White perch in the fish river chain now. Had plenty of yellows there already. Crappie spreading like the flu. Save the brook trout right? We are slowly becoming the south warm water fishery and the sacred heritage north brook trout waters
I agree 100 percent that panfish and green carp are getting out of hand, 50 years ago I didn't realize there were panfish in Maine lakes north of Augusta. About 12-15 years ago the SMB showed up at camp on the Pemadumcook chain, now they fight for a surface bait like blitzing bluefish. The bass are also getting a firm foothold in Moosehead now, last summer there were a nests around the dock. I spoke with guys two years ago who had a couple of 30 gallon barrels almost full of "fertilizer" bass they took from Prong Pond which feeds into Moosehead. God knows what those smallmouths will do to Moosehead eventually. It's already pretty well stocked with yellow perch, I've caught some nice ones and they have a pleasing iridescent color. What I don't know is whether the togue predate the YP, in some lakes in NY the YP is a preferred prey.I also agree the bait dumping is a problem, however, the fish spread naturally too. Supposedly fish roe will cling to waterfowl, or the vegetation on a waterfowls legs, and be spread as the bird pond hops. What I'm positive of is that eagles and ospreys do it as I've seen both species with fish in talons, (at least 3 times that I can recall) fly from a river, up over a dam and lose hold of the fish over a lake. I've also seen videos of them dropping fish so it must happen frequently. Stocking by raptor. It wouldn't be surprising if that's how the white perch got into the FRC. FWIW I caught a couple in the Aroostook River, and therefore they would have been in the St. John River, 40 years ago when I lived in Presque Isle. The white perch are a coastal saltwater species which can tolerate fresh water, maybe they came up from the ocean. Either way it's no good for the FRC, and more importantly I hope the dreaded stinklogs are kept out.
Thank you all for your input! It’s quite interesting to see a local perspective as I’m new to Maine. I was overall curious when I found no regulations in the rule books about them. From most people’s perspective it seems that this is due to the lack of fishing pressure and that the majority of the panfish are invasive.