Don’t get alarmed … yet. But it hasn’t started out that way.

As of Thursday, just 35 salmon had returned to the Penobscot River and been counted, according to biologist Mitch Simpson of the Maine Department of Marine Resources’ Bureau of Sea-Run Fisheries and Habitat.

Attempts to reach Simpson on Friday to see if the biologist had any explanation for the low number of fish that have returned thus far were not immediately successful.

There are two ways to look at the numbers.

First, the pessimistic: Last year was a bad one, overall, for salmon returns, but by the same date a year ago 141 fish — 22.6 percent of the total yearly run — had already returned to the Penobscot.

And last year’s total of 624 fish was the second-lowest since the Veazie Dam fish trap was installed in 1978, and followed a stellar 2011 season during which 3,121 fish returned to the river.

Second, the optimistic: Comparing last year to this one is like … well … comparing Atlantic salmon to sunfish. The reason: Last year the state enjoyed an unseasonably warm spring, and everything seemed to happen earlier than normal. We mowed our lawns earlier. We got sunburned earlier. And the salmon might have come earlier, too, due to warm water temperatures in the river.

The salmon aren’t talking, so it’s tough to know for sure.

And (as they say in political elections) early returns don’t determine a thing.

Consider: By May 23, 1986, just 14 Atlantic salmon had returned to the Veazie Dam.

Why look at 1986, you ask? Because that was the year the modern record for salmon returns — 4,134 — was set.

All of which might mean that we’re in for another off year for salmon returns … or that we’ve got a potential record-setter (in a good way) in front of us.

Time will tell.

And while we’re left with more questions than answers when it comes to salmon, the news is far better when it comes to river herring, or “alewives.”

As you might recall, reestablishing alewife runs in the Penobscot has been a key component of the ongoing Penobscot River Restoration Project, and the folks that staff the fish trap in Veazie have been counting those schools of fish as they head upstream.

The numbers are staggering, and bode well for the future.

First, let’s step back a few years.

According the Simpson’s most recent report, a total of 848 river herring were trapped on the Penobscot during the 2009 season. In 2010, that number dropped to 182. The catch over the subsequent two years was even lower — 84 in 2011 and 19 in 2012.

Care to guess the total this year, as of Thursday?

Try 9,194.

The folks who have spearheaded the Penobscot project have long maintained that the ambitious undertaking is not a salmon-recovery effort. Instead, opening 1,000 miles of stream and river habitat to sea-going fish will benefit the entire watershed, they’ve said.

It seems the alewives agree.

And that’s a good thing.

Editor’s note: Bangor Daily News Publisher Richard J. Warren is co-chairman of the Penobscot River Restoration Trust’s capital campaign.

]]> http://outthere.bangordailynews.com/2013/05/24/fishing/salmon-returns-on-penobscot-slow/feed/ 0 http://outthere.bangordailynews.com/2013/05/22/fishing/options-abound-for-kids-only-fishing/ http://outthere.bangordailynews.com/2013/05/22/fishing/options-abound-for-kids-only-fishing/#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 15:45:07 +0000 John Holyoke http://outthere.bangordailynews.com/?p=1334 Continue reading →]]> It seems like only yesterday when we were covered in snow, stuck in a drift, or bundling up to protect us from the Maine winter.

Come to think of it, the weather’s been pretty chilly lately … and that last sentence isn’t quite as far-fetched as it should be.

But let’s celebrate! Memorial Day is nearly upon us! It’s the unofficial beginning of our summer(ish) season! It’s time to grill hamburgers and hot dogs!

It’s time to go fishing!

(OK. Enough of the overly enthusiastic exclamation points. I rarely use them, and had a few leftovers that I had to put to good use before their use-by date expires.)

Seriously, though: It is time to go fishing. Especially, I would say, if you’ve got kids or grandkids or nephews or nieces that would enjoy spending a day near the water.

There’s nothing like watching a youngster catch their first fish … unless it’s watching them get just excited when they catch their 50th. Add in some hot dogs or a sandwich, a cold soda or juice (don’t forget the bug dope) and you’ve got the makings of a trip your child will remember forever.

A couple more things you might want to take along: A second pair of sneakers and a dry pair of socks. When kids start focusing on catching fish, they sometimes end up in the mud … or taking a step too close to the water when they’re trying to land that lunker. With that thought in mind (and since you won’t be able to legally fish on any of the waters I’m going to describe), keep a close eye on your young angler. Some ponds are deeper than you might think, even a step or two offshore.

Thanks to the work of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and plenty of volunteers, the state has nearly 50 sites set aside for children under age 16.

You can find a complete list here, or on page 13 of the latest edition of the state’s open water and ice fishing rule book. Be sure to check the rule book for bag limits at any water your kids are planning to fish.

Many of the kids-only waters have been landscaped or designed to make them accessible to kids who want to fish from shore.

Some suggestions: Kids might enjoy a ride to Dover-Foxcroft, where they’ll find Dunham Brook and Kiwanis Park Pond. The state stocked Dunham Brook with 400 healthy 10-inch brook trout on May 16, and those fish will be available to any young anglers that want to cast a lure or dangle a worm.

Kiwanis Park is a pretty spot, perfect for a picnic lunch.

Up in Aroostook County, young anglers have a number of options. Daigle Pond in Madawaska recently received 250 brook trout, Hannington Pond in Reed Plantation received 300, and Rock Crusher Pond in Island Falls is teeming with 500 new brookies, while Brown Pond in Houlton, Mantle Lake in Presque Isle, Stewart Pond in Hodgdon and a portion of Pearce Brook in Houlton are also kids-only fisheries.

In Penobscot County, kids have a dozen different options, including the convenient Penobscot County Conservation Club pond in Brewer, where 150 new trout are swimming around, waiting to be caught. Jerry Pond in Millinocket was also recently stocked with 300 trout while Rocky Brook in Lincoln has also been stocked with 300 brookies.

One of the state’s premiere youth-only fisheries is in Hancock County, and is worth the trip.

Maine’s Youth Fish and Game Association has a clubhouse on Pickerel Pond, in T32 MD, which is on the Stud Mill Road. This is more of a wilderness experience than many; you can fish from shore, but might want to car-top a canoe (don’t forget your life jackets) so you can access more of the pond.

Down in Washington County, North Meyers Pond (150 trout)  and South Meyers Pond (100 trout), have recently been stocked. Both ponds are in Columbia.

Other Down East options: parts of the Middle River in Marshfield and Foxhole Pond in Deblois are both youth-only fisheries.

This is one such occasion.

I received word this morning that John Ford Sr., the author of “Suddenly the Cider Didn’t Taste So Good,” has written another book, and it’ll be available later this month.

Called “This Cider Still Tastes Funny!” Ford’s second book will include more tales gathered during a career as a Maine game warden and sheriff.

Ford, who lives in Brooks, kept a diary during his days as a warden and willingly shares those stories, even though many of which poke fun at the author himself.

Ford spent much of 2012 promoting his book, and recently appeared at the inaugural BDN Maine Outdoors Expo, where he entertained the crowd as one of our featured speakers.

The press release said Ford “spent two decades carving out a reputation as a Maine version of TV’s Sheriff Andy Taylor — a principled man of the law, but not a rigid, by-the-book enforcer.”

That’s surely true. But so is this: Ford is world-class, snort-milk-through-your-nose funny.

That’s what makes this the best news of all: Ford would love to meet readers and well-wishers at an event to be held in Belfast later this month. And I’ll bet he’ll make you laugh.

Ford will celebrate the release of “This Cider Still Tastes Funny” at the Waldo County YMCA, May 29 from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. Ford will be on hand to sign copies of the book and will tell some stories. The event is free and open to the public. Drinks and desserts will be available.

Ten percent of book sales from the event will be donated to the YMCA to support its programs.

Both of Ford’s books were published by Islandport Press in Yarmouth.

After all, there’s no Atlantic salmon season on the Penobscot River any longer, and the ramp allows access to a fairly short section of the river — often from the rapids at the former Bangor Dam site upriver to the Veazie Dam.

The reason for the recent activity: Elvers.

On Friday I stopped by and chatted with a couple of fishermen who were returning to the ramp after checking large fyke nets that you’ll also see up and down the river. Nets are also anchored along the tidal sections of Kenduskeag Stream.

One man told me that he and fellow fishermen have essentially been following the elvers north since the season began, and will be fishing the Penobscot until June 1, when the season closes.

Elvers, or glass eels, aren’t available in the Penobscot during the beginning of the season, but eventually show up in substantial numbers. The fisherman I spoke with said he and others — including men from as far away as Kennebunk and Lubec — began fishing the river last week.

This fisherman admitted only that he’d caught  ”a handful” of elvers during his time on the water Friday. The elvers are now selling for about $1,800 a pound, he said.

Yes, folks, it’s that time again: Moose are out and about. And if you’re smart, you’ll take heed of the state’s warning, no matter how many times you’ve heard it.

Having had more than a few close encounters of the moose kind in my years driving Maine’s rural highways (and dirt roads), state officials don’t have to tell me twice: I’m a believer).

A moose stops by for a closer look in Rangeley, June 2012. (BDN photo by John Holyoke)

The DIF&W, along with the Maine Department of Transportation, are pointing out that May and June are the months when motorists are most apt to run into a moose.

According to a DIF&W press release, there are a few reasons for that, including the timing of calving, warmer weather, and the presence of a winter’s worth of road salt on some roads.

The DIF&W says that cow moose give birth during May, and will consequently drive off the yearlings that were born the previous May, leaving those moose to their own devices for the first time.

Picture a group of college freshmen trying to figure out the world without mom and dad, and you’ll start to get the point.

“People should be careful all year, but May and June are definitely the high points for car-moose collisions,” Lee Kantar, the state’s moose biologist, said in the press release. “This is when you see immature moose wandering around, unsure of themselves. It’s not hard for them to get in trouble.”

Again … sounds like some college freshmen I’ve known … like me, years ago.

The DIF&W said almost 90 percent of car-moose crashes occur between dusk and dawn, when the moose are more apt to be moving around (and when they’re much tougher to spot.

The Maine DOT is telling motorists who see moose on the roadway to stop, stay in their cars, and give the moose time to amble away.

Among other suggestions: Reduce your speed. use high beams whenever possible. Wear a seat belt.

And if you don’t enter … your chances of going on a hunt of a lifetime aren’t that good.

Yeah, I suppose you could tag along with your buddies. Or I imagine one of those buddies might have listed you as their sub-permittee on their application.

But it just won’t be the same. And you know you want to hear your own name drawn when the lottery is held in Greenville on June 15.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is giving you until 11:59 p.m. on May 14 to apply via online — the deadline for paper applications is already past.

Maine residents will pay $15 for their one chance in the lottery — gone are the days when Mainers could purchase multiple “draws” — and those who’ve been loyal (but unsuccessful) participants will have a better shot at winning than those who are making their moose lottery debuts.

And due to a multiplier, the more years you’ve been participating, the more valuable those years become.

Figure: You get one extra chance in the lottery for each of the first five years that your name hasn’t popped out of the cyber-hopper, so long as you don’t opt out and stop entering. For the next five years (years six through 10), you receive two chances per year. For those who’ve been unsuccessful for even longer stretches, the multiplier awards three chances per year for year 11 through 15.

Simply put, an absolute newbie Maine resident will have just one chance in the lottery. An unsuccessful hunter who has been participating in the lottery for five years gets six chances (one they purchased, plus five for playing each year). Those with 10 consecutive years worth of tales of woe will have 16 chances in the drawing, and those who’ve bee playing for 15 years will have 31 chances.

Alas, that’s as far as the multiplier goes … for now: The state’s only counting back as far as 1998 when determining “bonus points.”

Next year, however, those who’ve been participating since 1998 and who have never had their names drawn will start earning 10 bonus points per year (for those years in excess of 15).

To enter this year’s lottery, click here.

Maine Audubon teamed up with Trout Unlimited and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in that effort, during which anglers trekked into previously unsurveyed ponds, trying to determine if brook trout lived in those waters.

Well, it’s that time of year again: Folks are starting to fish, and Maine Audubon and its partners are again looking for help from avid anglers in the third year of the Brook Trout Pond Survey project.

This year’s efforts will concentrate on ponds in western and northern Maine, with a goal of surveying many of the 307 ponds that stretch from Rangeley to Caribou.

In 2012, the second year of the study, 66 anglers contributed almost 1,200 volunteer hours while surveying 66 ponds off an original list of 372 waters, according to a Maine Audubon press release.

“Identifying the lakes and ponds with native brook trout will greatly assist [the DIF&W] in planning our conservation management strategies over the next several decades,” Merry Gallagher of the DIF&W said in the release. “The success of this project entirely dependent on the data collected by volunteer anglers,”

If you’re interested in taking part in this year’s project, surveys can be completed any time before Sept. 30. One of the project partners will provide volunteers with maps, data sheets and instructions on how the surveys should be conducted. To sign up, contact Emily Bastian at 781-6180, extension 207, or email her at ebastian@maineaudbon.org

Some of the wardens that have been featured on North Woods Law: Jonathan Parker (left), Kim Bates, Sgt. Tim Spahr, Kristopher MacCabe and Josh Bubier. BDN photo by John Holyoke.

Though most of the folks I’ve talked with about the show enjoy watching it, there have been a few complaints. The farther north a person lives (or grew up), the more apt you are to hear them point out that the term “North Woods” means something special to them … and watching wardens chase bears in Portland doesn’t come close to illuminating life in that special place.

Drive a couple hundred miles north of the state’s largest city, and you’re getting closer. Head another hundred above that, and you might be onto something.

Well, it seems the people who produce “North Woods Law” have been listening … and they want to hear more.

Last week Engel Entertainment posted a query on the “North Woods Law” Facebook page that might be of interest.

Here’s what they said:

“CALLING ALL MAINERS! CALLING ALL MAINERS!

“What are the most unique people, places, and activities in the Pine Tree State that you have yet to see on North Woods Law?! Inbox us on Facebook, or write to info@engelentertainment.com with your fun Maine suggestions, and if you’re lucky, hey, you just might see it on the show!”

Engel Entertainment has already gotten an earful, as more than 200 people have responded to that Facebook post as of Thursday.

Among the suggestions: Go to Kokadjo. Go to Allagash. Go to the St. John Valley. Go anywhere north of Bangor.

If you’ve got an opinion, share it with them. Who knows? Your favorite Maine place might end up on a future episode.

Well, today’s your lucky day: I’m in the market for some good hunting stories, and I’m sure BDN readers would love to hear about your time afield.

So, what exactly are we looking for?

BDN file photo by Gabor Degre

That’s a bit difficult to pinpoint. I like to tell people to think of it like this: If you were to walk up to a stranger at a bus stop or a bar, start showing them your turkey photos, and begin to tell your tale, what would that stranger’s reaction be?

If you think the stranger would want to hear more, or would say, “No way! I can’t believe that happened,” then you’re certainly sitting on a story that we’d like to share. If that same stranger would be more likely to say, “Back off, turkey boy. That’s not too interesting,” your story might need some work.

More generalizations: Kids shooting their first birds are more interesting than 48-year-olds who bag their 10th turkey. Grampy taking the kids afield, where the young hunters learn valuable lessons that they’ll remember forever, are interesting. Big birds are cool. Hunting misadventures are well-read. If odd things happened to you on the hunt, we’re interested in hearing more. If you had interesting or funny wildlife interactions, we’re all ears.

In short, you know what you like to read. You know what kind of stories make you perk up and take notice.

If you’ve got a story like that, we hope you pass it along. And as always, stories that include great photographs are more apt to find their way into print, or onto our website.

Send your tales and photos to jholyoke@bangordailynews.com

So get hunting. Get writing. I look forward to sharing a few of your tales here in the coming days.

Allen, the bird group leader for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, said last week that in order to understand what’s happening today, you have to think back to conditions that existed two years ago.

“I think it will be an excellent season … because 2011 was a really good production year, and that means there are a lot of 2-year-old males out there. There are a lot of longbeards,” he said.

Younger male turkeys, called “jakes,” as well as mature “longbeards” can be legally shot by hunters during the season.

Allen said all reports he heard before the season began led him to believe that there are plenty of birds available.

“[There is] an excellent number of birds everywhere,” Allen said. “Everyone’s telling us there are too many, but from a hunter’s standpoint, I think it’s just right. It’ll be a great season.”

Allen explained that the weather during the nesting season, when turkeys are sitting on eggs, plays a big role in turkey population growth. In 2011, he suspects the weather was particularly favorable.

“Although wild turkeys are classified as big game animals in Maine, they’re just a big ground-nesting bird that has a lot of eggs,” Allen said. “Most of the birds with that life history strategy rely on good nesting conditions. That’s typically average moisture to a little drier than normal. I can’t remember what the weather was like in 2011, but I’d bet it was slightly drier than normal, which would have led to [population growth].”

Allen said turkeys fare much better during dry nesting seasons for a couple of important reasons.

“One of the interesting aspects of weather in spring, is it’s easy to think eggs chilling, baby birds getting cold and hypothermic [during a cold, wet year],” Allen said.

“But if you dig a little deeper into those conditions you find that a turkey has to sit on the ground, protecting those eggs, for weeks,” he said. “And if you have a really moist April and early May, it creates really good scenting conditions for nest predators. When it’s wet, the foxes, bobcats, coyotes have an advantage of being able to find the hens, and you get hens killed on nests.”

In dry years, that threat is reduced, and the turkeys flourish.

And two years later, lucky hunters like us get to enjoy the results.