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Taking Back the Waters and Reclaiming Brook Trout Fisheries

August 25, 2009 - ALBANY TOWNSHIP -- The people who venture to Crocker Pond or Broken Bridge Pond don't necessarily come for the fishing.

However, the chain of ponds in this corner of the White Mountain National Forest is part of a success story that makes this wilderness camping area a paradise for fishermen.

Certainly, that's why folks like Spencer Garrett of Portland came to cast a fly rod last weekend.

"The national forest Web site has a sweet search feature, where you pick the activity you want to do. I put in camping and fishing. Really, this was an easy choice," Garrett said. "We had one night to go camping; we left at 10 a.m. and were here by noon. You would never know you were two hours outside Portland."

On three ponds in Albany Township and two that are within the national forestland, the state reclaimed the fisheries in the past 10 years – and so far, so good.

The reclaimed waters are those where non-native fish had been introduced and a natural substance called rotenone was added to reduce the fishery to native fish, like brook trout.

Rotenone is produced in the stems and roots of certain tropical plants in the bean family, and it is an organic way to weed out undesirable fish and retain native game fish, said Francis Brautigam, a state fisheries biologist for southern Maine.

With the rise in illegal introductions in Maine due to bait fish and non-native species being dumped, biologists periodically attempt to reclaim brook trout ponds. It involves a lot of time, work and money – as much as $1,000 per pond just for the chemicals – but the payoff is huge, Brautigam said.

"We seek to restore and establish native fish communities and to re-establish communities more representative of natural lake ecosystems," Brautigam said.

In the past 10 years, Brautigam's staff in Gray has reclaimed five water bodies and seen the weight and length of brook trout in these waters increase. The brook trout are stocked, but are able to once again thrive.

"It is the most worthwhile thing state fisheries biologists do," Brautigam said. "Especially down here; we've had so many fish moved around into new waters."

In Norway's Big Speck Pond, for example, the reclamation meant meager brook trout that were competing for food against pickerel and golden shiners now do well. The story is similar around the southern edge of the western mountains, where brook trout in once-damaged ponds are now fat.

This is why some folks come to Albany Township to camp, lose the suburban noise and fish for Maine's prized game fish.

"I'm used to going to Aroostook County. Up in the north woods, if you set up a campsite, you're lucky if you see someone for a week," said A.J. Coach of Searsport.

The fisherman traveled more than four hours south to try the southern Maine section of the White Mountain National Forest last weekend. While seeing several tents around his campsite was a new experience (and he had yet to catch any trout), Coach said he would try the national forest area again.

"It's quiet down here," he said.

Garrett also has the northern Maine perspective, even though he works in Portland now. The lifelong fly fisherman grew up in Bangor, and has made trips to the wild ponds around Moosehead Lake. But there are reminders of that clean, open, remote lifestyle around Crocker and Broken Bridge ponds in Albany Township.

"Living up north, you get spoiled. Down here, you're making due. This here isn't really making due. This really is a little like western Maine," said Garrett, 29, as he stood by Crocker Pond in his waders.

For Mike Bowman and Sandy Taber of Sebago, who drove a mere hour to their favorite campsite in the national forest, these revitalized brook trout waters might as well be northern Maine.

"A moose nearly stepped into our canoe," Bowman said. "This is beautiful. I want to volunteer for the national forest. It's so quiet, which is hard to find."

While they caught just one 10-inch brook trout at the start of their trip, Bowman and Taber enjoyed silent paddles and their private pond-side campsite.

"Around the pond, it almost looks glacial. It's just so secluded and beautiful," Bowman said. "And what is fishing? Fifty percent fishing and 50 percent relaxation."

By DEIRDRE FLEMING, Staff Writer, Portland Press Herald, August 23, 2009


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Regions: Sebago


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