MAINE DEPARTMENT OF INLAND FISHERIES AND GAME Fish Survey Report No.3 A Biological Survey of the Rangeley Lakes, with Special Reference to the Trout and Salmon BY GERALD P. COOPER A.~8istant Professor of Zoology, Univm'sity of Maine TO MAIN],; DEPARTMENT OF INLAND FISHERIES AND GAME George .J. Stobie, Commissioner Archer L. Grover, Deputy Commissioner Published by The Augusta Press, Augusta November 7, 1940 ANNOUNCEMENT This is the third of a proposed series of reports on biological sur• veys of fresh ,vaters of Maine. These surveys are being conducted by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Game in cooper• ation with the Zoology Department of the University of Maine. The first two reports, published in 1939, dealt with streams, ponds . and lakes in the extreme southwestern part of the state, in York County and parts of Cumberland and Oxford counties. The present report deals with a survey of the six large lakes of the Rangeley region collectively known as the Rangeley Lakes. Umbagog Lake, about two-thirds of which is in New Hampshire, is not included. These six large Jakes in the Rangeley chain in western Maine together with numerous smaller ponds make up the headwaters of the Andro• scoggin River drainage. This river leaves Maine through Umbagog Lake on the border, l<iops southward through New Hampshire and again enters Maine near Rumford. Tlw l)l'('sent survey was made during the summer of 1939. In the annO\lIl(~ement in the second report of the present series (Fish S\II'vey ]teport No.2) it was stated that plans for the 1939 s\ll'vey were to begin the study of the Androscoggin River system at its lower ()nd and to continue on northward. It seemed advisable, how• ever, to begin the study of the Androscoggin system with the Range• ley Jakes tJwmselv()s. The 1\l40 survey will be carried on in the lower and c(mtral parts of the Andros(~oggin and Kennebec river drainages. The two previous reports on lake and stream surveys in Maine were as follows: Fish Survey Report No.1, "A Biological Survey of the Waters of York County and the Southern Part of Cumberland County, Maine," 1!l39; and Fish Survey Report No.2, "A Biologi• cal Survey of Thirty-one Lakes and Ponds of the Upper Saco River and Sebago Lake Drainage Systems in Maine," August, 1939. COURTESY OF TilE PORTLAND PRESS HERAl.D Aerial view of Village of Rangeley, with C'ity Cove of Rangeley Lake 'in the foreground and Haley and Gull ]!01id8 'in the background The lower end of l\ilooselookmegunt'ie Lake from the southeast, looking toward Toothaker and Students' 'islands }hy Palls on the C IljJsllI,[ic /liner A fishing scene typical of the Rangeley Lalces TABLE OF CONTENTS 1'1110(0 Introduction n General Chameteristics of Lakes 12 Requirements of Trout, Salmon, and Smelt 18 General Description of the Rangeley Lakes 20 Suitability of the Water in the Rangeley Lakes for Trout and Salmon 26 MapH of the Rangeley Lakes 39 Plankton of the Ranl!;eley Lakes . 40 Bottom Soil and Bottom Fauna of the Rangeley Lakes , .. 54 Bottom Soil 54 Bottom Fauna . ·········· 00 Fishes of the lliLngeley Lakc~s 66 Methods of Collection 66 Fish Fauna 71 Food I fnbits of Trout and Salmon 81 Stomach Contents of Brook Trout 84 I-ltolllaeh Contents of Land-locked Salmon 102 Age and Growth of Salmon and Trout 107 Al!;e and Growth of Land-locked Salmon 108 Al!;e and Growth of Brook Trout 126 Tributaries of the Rangeley Lakes li)7 The Fish Populations and Fishinl!; TntenHity in the Rangeley Lakes 140 Early Fishing 140 History of the I-lmelt 143 lIistory of the Blueback Trout 145 History of the Brook Trout 14G History of the Land-locked Salmon 150 Present Fishinl!; Returns from the Ranl!;cley Lakes 153 Smelt Dipping 158 I!.(~centPlantings of Trout and Salmon 159 Conclusions and Recommendations 164 Conclusions 164 Recommendations 173 Ht.o(:king Policy for the Rangeley Lakes and Their Tributaries 174 Appendix A - Observations on Horseshoe Pond in West Bowdoin College Grant 179 PILle" LIST OF FIGURES Page Table VIII. Volumes and numbers of eaeh type of organism in 236 bot• tom samples taken from the Rangeley Lakes during 1939 with Figure 9.2.8.3.4.7.I.5.6. Relation between elevation and the date on which the ice "went an Ekman Dredge (9" x 9") J arranged according to lake and out" in the spring of 1940 for some lakes and ponds in Maine .... 24 depth of water 58 Table IX. The average volumes in cubic centimeters and numbers (in Figure:Figure Figure II.12. Lower and Upper Richardson lakes. Soundings in feet, and suit- ability of the water for trout and salmon - Insert ' 40a parentheses) of bottom organisms per 9-inch by 9-inch sam• ple for the six Rangeley lakes combined, arranged oraccding Figure 10. Mooselookmeguntic Lake (including Cupsuptic). Soundings in to depth and type of bottom soil, and based on a total of 236 feet, and suitability of the water for trout and salmon .. .40b samples 60 Rangeley Lake. Soundings in feet, and suitability of the wnter for Table XXVIII.XXVII.XXIII.XXIV.XVIII.XXVI.XXII.XXV.XVII.XIII.XXI.XIX.XIV.XVI.XII.XX.XV.XI.X. Total volumes and numbers of each type of organism in the trout and salmon ' 41 236 bottom samples, for each of the Rangeley lakes 61 TableTableTableTableTableTable Calculated volume of each type of bottom organism per 100 Kennebago Lake. Soundings in feet, and suitability of the wnter for TabloTableTableTablo trout and salmon 42 TableTableTnblo sq1lal'efeet for each of the Rangeley lakes " 62 , Table Calculated volumes and numbers of all bottom organisms Aziscoos Lake. Soundings in feet, and suitability of the water for pel' square foot in the Rangeley lakes according to lake and trout and salmon - Insert 42a depth of water 63 Average summer vertical distribution of volume of plankton in the Comparative data on volumes and numbers of bottom or• six Rangeley lakes based on 19:~!)survey collections 4\) ganisms in twelve lakes and ponds in Maine, bascd on bot- The ranges in depth of water at gill nnt sets in the Rangeley lakes tom samples 64 during the 1939 survey 70 Frequencies of total lengths in inches of Land-locked Salmon and Brook Trout taken by gill nets from all six Rangeley A comparison of thn per eent hy volume of each type of bottom food lakes during the summer of 1\)39 68 or!!:anism to all bo1,tolll organisms in Brook Trout stomaehs with tho pel' eent by volUllIn of ('lwh typo of organism in the bottom Fishes taken by gill nets from the Rangeley lakes during the fauna, for tl1n,(' ponds in Maine 101 present surv(w, and the relative abundance of the different species as indieated by the cateh pel' unit of fishing effort .. 74 Age-length curves for Land-]o(,ked Salmon (Salmo sebago) from The distribution of different species of fishes in the Rangeley seven lakes and ponds in Maine ' 128 lakes and their tributaries, as determined from seine eollec- Age-length curves for Brook Trout (Salvelinus f. fontinalis) from tho tions made by the present survey 75 six Rangeley lakes and three other ponds in Maine 129 Stomach eontents of Brook Trout (Salvelinu8 f. fontinalis) Numbers of trout recorded from the Rangeley lakes in 13 year-poriods collected from the Rangeley lakes during the summer of 1939 86 of 6 years each, overlapping 3 years · 14\l Stomach contents of Brook Trout (SalveI1;'rmsf. font'inalis) from six ponds in Maine 91 Summary of stomach analyses on !ill Brook Trout (Salvelinus LIST OF TABLES f. fontinalis) from fifteen lakes and ponds in Maine 94 I'IL!!:e A comparison of the kinds and amounts of available bottom food organisms with the relative amounts of the different Tablo VII.III.VI.IV.II.V.I. Data on the physical features of the six Ran!!:eley lakes ... 21 types found in stomachs of Brook Trout, in three ponds in Maine 100 Table Water analyses. Vertical distributioIl of temperature, oxy• gen, and pH in tho six Rangeley lakes, from analyses made Stomaeh contents of Land-locked Salmon (Salmo sebago) Tablo during the summer of 1939 ;)0 eollected from the Ran/!;eley lakes during the summer of 1939 104 TableTableTable An evaluation of the six Rangeley lakes with respect to the Stomach contents of Land-Ioeked Salmon (Salmo sebago) suitability of temperaturo and of oxygen content of the water from four Maine lakes 106 for trout and salmon durin/!; the most eritieal, latc summer Summary of stomach analyses on Land-locked Salmon (Salmo poriod, in August 38 sebago) from seven lakes in Maine 107 The average numbers of different typos of planktonts, and the avel'l1ge volume of all plankton, pOl' cubic foot of lake Len/!;ths, weight, sex, age, and growth history of individual water within different lake strata and at different dates, as Land-locked Salmon (Salmo sebago) from the Rangeley lakes 112 calculated from survey colleetions 44 Lengths, weight, sex, age, and growth history of individual Land-locked Salmon (Salrno sebago) from Sebago and Kezar The average numbers of different types of planktonts, and lakes in Maine 115 the average volume of all plankton, per cubic foot of lake water within differont depth strata during the summer of Average lengths and weight (in part) according to sex and 1939 48 age of Land-loeked Salmon for those age groups from each The average numbers of different types of planktonts, and loeality in which a total of five or more fish are represented.