April 8, 1966 Maine Division of Information and Education
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Inland Fisheries and Wildlife News Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
4-8-1966 Field Notes - April 8, 1966 Maine Division of Information and Education
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Game
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Recommended Citation Maine Division of Information and Education and Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Game, "Field Notes - April 8, 1966" (1966). Inland Fisheries and Wildlife News. 180. https://digitalmaine.com/ifw_news/180
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* F 1 E L 0 ApR I L 8 ' I 966
FROM WARDEN SUPERV I SOR ARTHUR ROGERS, 0 l_\L B . WATER\{ I LLE fv'~RCH 19: WARDEN CHAR LES TuTTLE, RICHMOND: AsouT ONE-THOUSAND GEESE CAME INTO THE KENNEBEC RIVER AT GARDINER ON MARCH 18. THIS WAS THE FIRST DAY OF ANY LARGE AMOUNT. THE ICE LEFT THE KENNEBEC RIVER BETWEEN RICHMOND AND SWAN ISLAND ON MARCH 20, WHICH IS AVERAGE FOR ICE-OUT. HEARD A NUMBER OF WOODCOCK SINGING THE PAST TWO EVENINGS. WARDEN ORAL o. PAGE, BELGRADE: ON MARCH 15, DOGS CHASED A DEER INTO THE KENNEBEC RIVER IN fAIRFIELD. THE DEER ELUDED THE DOGS BY SWIMMING TO AN ISLAND IN THE RIVER. A BUNCH OF DOGS WAS MILLING AROUND IN THE ROAD NEAR THE CLAUSON MEMORIAL BRIDGE. I COUNTED 16 DOGS IN THE PACK. WARDEN OLIN JACKSON, SouTH CHINA: THE SNOW ts GOING VERY FAST IN THIS AREA. MOST OF THE BROOKS AND STREAMS ARE OPEN, WITH HIGH WATER. fEW DOG COMPLAINTS THIS WEEK. ICE FISHERMEN PICKING UP FEW BROWN TROUT AT WE~BER PoND, THREE MILE PoND, AND CHINA LAKE. MosT oF THE ICE FISHING SHACKS BEING MOVED FROM THE LAKE NOW. STILL PLENTY OF GOOD ICE LEFT -- DON 1T LOOK FOR ICE-OUT BEFORE APRIL 21 OR LATER. WARDEN WALTER HARRIS, AUGUSTA: No INTEREST IN ICE FISHING THIS PAST WEEK EXCEPT FOR ANNABESSACOOK LAKE. IT HAS BEEN THE POOREST YEAR THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN. ONE WINTHROP FISHERMAN REPORTS CATCHING 23 BASS IN THREE DAYS OF FISHING AT MARANACOOK LAKE, BUT NO SALMON. ONLY ONE DOG COMPLAINT THE PAST TWO WEEKS. THERE IS WATER ALONG THE SHORES OF THE LAKES AND PONDS NOW, AND IT IS DIFFICULT TO GET OUT ONTO THE LAKES.
FROM WARDEN SUPERVISOR JOHN SHAW. DIV. E. WILTON MARCH 29: WARDEN ALDEN KENNETT, BETHEL: WARM WEATHER AND SOFTENING SNOW ARE MAKING IT HARD FOR THE DEER IN THIS AREA. THEY ARE SINKING INTO THE SNOW, AND TIRE EASILY. HAD A SMALL OUTBREAK OF DOG TROUBLE THIS WEEK. WARDEN BRYCE CLAYTON, EusTIS: ON MARCH 27, I CHECKED A CANADA LYNX AT CoBURN GoRE TAKEN BY TRAPPER GEoRGE NICOLAS. THIS 1s ONE OF A PAIR THAT HAVE BEEN IN THE AREA THIS WINTER. WARDEN MARTIN SAVAGE, OQuossoc: I SAW Two WILD GEESE AT MAGALLOWAY ON MARCH 20. WARDEN GRAY MORRISON, KINGFIELD! REPORTS OF WOODCOCK IN THE DISTRICT. WooD DUCKS HAVE RETURNED TO GILMAN STREAM. A WOODCHUCK WAS OUT THIS WEEK AT KINGFIELD. ICE CLEARED FROM THE CARRABASSETT RIVER ON MARCH 26. WARDEN BRYCE CLAYTON, EuSTIS: A FEW LOCAL FISHERMEN ARE HAVING GOOD LUCK CATCHING LARGE PICKEREL ON FLAGSTAFF lAKE, NEAR THE OLD FLAGSTAFF VILLAGE SITE. IT IS SURPRISING THAT MORE PEOPLE HAVEN'T DISCOVERED THIS EXCEPTIONAL PICKEREL FISHING~QRE FIELD NOTES/ADD I £ROM WARDEN SUPERVISOR C. F. CO~~ER) DIV. I, STOCKHOLM: MARCH 26: ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING OBSERVATIONS WHICH I MADE DURING THE RECENT AERIAL MOOSE SURVEY WAS THE GREAT NUMBER OF DEER SEEN. I LOST ALL TRACK OF NUMBERS, BUT I WOULD GUESS I MUST HAVE OBSERVED OVER 200. ANOTHER OBSERVATION WAS THE ABUNDANCE OF HARE AS WE FLEW CLOSER TO THE WESTERN BOUNDARY OF THE STATE. THIS SEEMED TO PREVAIL FROM ESTCOURT IN THE NORTH TO ST. AURELIE ON THE SOUTHERNMOST LINE. IN ONLY ONE INSTANCE DID I SEE WHERE A BEAR HAD BEEN WANDERING AROUND IN OPEN GROWTH. A FEW PEOPLE ARE BEGINNING TO DRIVE ON THE ICE AT LONG LAKE AGAIN, BUT UNTIL THE ICE RISES IT WILL BE PRETTY SLOPPY GOING. FROM AERIAL OBSERVATIONS, IT LOOKS AS IF MOST OF THE LUMBER CAMPS HAVE CLOSED IN THIS DIVISION, WITH A FEW JOBBERS STILL CUTTING CEDAR POLES. WfARDENTERENCE A. GLATT, CLAYTON lAKE: DEER YARD CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN EXCELLENT THROUGHOUT THE WINTER AND ESPECIALLY SO THE LAST TWO WEEKS. SNOW HAS HAD A GOOD CRUST, AND DEER HAVE TRAVELED AT WILL. THE LAST THREE DAYS, HOWEVER, THE SNOW HAS MELTED AND THE CRUST HAS GONE; THIS CAUSES THE DEER TO SINK ENOUGH TO SEND THEM BACK TO THE YARDS. HAVE SEEN NO CARCASSES THIS WINTER ALTHOUGH THERE ARE SURE TO HAVE BEEN A FEW THROUGHOUT THE AREA. ICE FISHING HAS BEEN SPOTTY THIS SEASON, ACCORDING TO RETURNING SPORTSMEN WHO HAVE ENJOYED OUTSTANDING FISHING FOR THE PREVIOUS TWO YEARS. WARDEN CHARLES E. DAVIS, T.l I, R.l7: Ross LAKE IS PRODUCING VERY sLow FISHING THIS YEAR, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF WHITEFISH. I HAVE CHECKED ONLY EIGHT TOGUE SO FAR THIS SEASON. FISHERMEN SEEM TO BE ABLE TO CATCH ALL THE WHITEFISH THEY WANT, WEIGHING UP TO THREE POUNDS. WARDEN CHARLES MERRILL, ALLAGASH: SNOWSLED OPERATORS CAN CAUSE UNTOLD HARM TO DEER THIS TIME OF YEAR BY SPEEDING UP TO GET A BETTER LOOK WHEN THEY APPEAR BEFORE THEM. FLEW WITH WARDEN PILOT RICHARD VARNEY ON MARCH 18, AND COUNTED 86 DEER ON THE LITTLE 8ACK RIVER. ON ONE POINT OF LAND THAT MAKES OUT IN THE RIVER, WE COUNTED )2 DEER LYING DOWN. FROM WARDEN SUPERVISOR DAVID PRIEST. DIV. G. LINCOLN CENTER. MARCH 26: WARDEN RoBERT SMITH, LINCOLN: MosT BROOKS IN THIS DISTRICT ARE HIGH AND ARE STARTING TO BREAK UP AND THE LAKES ARE BECOMING TREACHEROUS ALONG THE SHORES IN PLACES. HUNDREDS OF GOLDENEYES CAN BE SEEN IN THE PENOBSCOT RIVER NEARLY EVERY DAY AS THEY MOVE NORTH. * * * FROM WARDEN SUPERVISOR VIRGIL GRANT. DIV. H. HOULTON MARCH 22: WARDEN RoBERT TRIBou, PoRTAGE PoND: ON MARCH 18, AS I WAS CHECKING TWO ICE FISHERMEN AT SPIDER LAKE IN T.9, R.l I, A FRUSTRATING CIRCUMSTANCE FOR ONE OF THEM OCCURRED. HIS NAME IS MICHAEL GoVEN OF 49 MAPLE ST., PRESQUE ISLE, HE IS 51 YEARS OLD, HAS BEEN FISHING ALL HIS LIFE AND HAD NEVER CAUGHT A TOGUE BEFORE. HE PROCEEDED TO TAKE ME TO HIS CAMPFIRE WHERE HE HAD BURIED HIS FIRST TOGUE IN THE SNOW. As WE GOT TO THE SPOT, HE EXCLAIMED THAT HIS FISH WAS GONE. UPON INVESTIGATING, J FOUND A THREE-INCH TUNNEL WITH BLOOD STAINS ABOUT FOUR FEET UNDER THE SNOW. INTENT ON FINDING OUT THE IDENTITY OF THE THIEF, I STARTED DIGGING. AFTER FOLLOWING THE TUNNEL ABOUT 15 FEET, GAVE UP, ADMITTING THE ANIMAL WAS A MUCH BETTER TUNNELER THAN I. MORE FIELD NOTES/ADD 2 1 BELIEVE THE MYSTERIOUS THIEF WAS ~ITHER A MINK OR A WEASEL. MR. GOVEN THEN STATED IT HAD TAKEN HIM 51 YEARS TO FINALLY CATCH A TOGUE, AND HE STILL DIDN 1T HAVE ONE TO PROVE IT! HOWEVER, THIS STORY HAS A HAPPY AND PERHAPS RIGHTEOUS ENDING, AS ABOUT 4 P.M. THAT DAY MR. GOVEN LANDED THE SECOND TOGUE OF HIS FISHING CAREER. ON MARCH 19, WHILE CHECKING ICE FISHERMEN AT SPIDER LAKE, I CHECKED A MR. AND MRs. JAMES CoLLINS FROM MANCHESTER, ME. THEY HAD THREE TOGUE WHICH THEY HAD ALREADY CLEANED. I WAS PLEASED TO NOTE THAT THE DRESSED WEIGHT OF THESE FISH WAS 5 LBS., 5~ LBS., AND 6 LBS. THEIR RESPECTIVE LENGTHS WERE 25, 26~, AND 27 INCHES. DURING THE LAST YEAR, I HAVE CHECKED APPROXIMATELY 100 TOGUE FROM SPIDER LAKE. UNTIL THIS DATE, THE LARGEST ONE I HAD CHECKED WAS 4~ LBS., AND THIS WAS LIVE WEIGHT AS OPPOSED TO THE COLLINS 1 CATCH WHICH WAS DRESSED WEIGHT. WARDEN M~AYNARD PELLETIER, CARIBOU: DEER ARE NOW COMING TO THE FIELDS ALONG ROUTE 161 IN STOCKHOLM. MOTORISTS ARE REPORTED SEEING FOUR DEER
THERE AT SOME TIME NEARLY EVERY DAY. J WAS CALLED TO ASSIST ON A MILITARY PLANE CRASH LAST THURSDAY, MARCH 17, THE PLANE, A JET T-106, CRASHED ABOUT THREE MILES NORTHEAST oF LoRING AIR FoRcE BAsE. THE LARGEST PIECE FOUND WAS ONLY THREE FEET SQUARE. THE IMPACT MADE A HOLE IN THE GROUND 20 FEET DEEP. WARDEN MAURICE GORDON OF MASARDIS: ICE ,.FISHING ACTIVITY HAS BEEN LIGHTER THIS YEAR THAN LAST. ICE CONDITIONS ARE POOR, AS SLUSH IS BUILDING UP RAPIDLY. DEER ARE MOVING MORE FREELY NOW.
FROM SUPERVISOR GRANT, MARCH )0: WARDEN INSPECTOR LEONARD RtTCHIE, PRESQUE ISLE: SAW THE FIRST WOODCOCK OF THE SEASON SUNDAY, MARCH 20. THE ROADS IN THE BACK COUNTRY ARE STARTING TO BREAK UP BADLY. SNOW HAS GONE A LOT IN THE FIELDS, BUT THERE IS STILL PLENTY IN THE WOODS. THE BROOKS HAVE ALL COME UP A LOT, MAKING SNOWMOBILE TRAVEL HAZARDOUS. WARDEN MAURICE GORDON, MASARDIS: FISHING HAS BEEN FAIR THIS WINTER AT MILLAMAGASSETT lAKE. SMELTS HAVE BEEN TAKEN ALL WINTER, ALONG WITH A FEW TROUT AND SALMON. ICE ON THE LAKES IS WHITE, INTERLACED WITH SLUSH AND WATER. WARDEN IVAN PORTER, ASHLAND: LAKES IN THIS DISTRICT HAVE A LIGHT CRUST OF SNOW, ABOUT 10 INCHES OF SLUSH, AND 14 INCHES OF POOR SNOW ICE AT THIS TIME, MARCH 20. 0EER HAVING A VERY HARD TIME TRAVELING, DUE TO WARM WEATHER, SINKING VERY DEEP. -30-