Ice outs are occurring at a feverish pace here in western Maine, including the big lakes in the Rangeley Chain. Warden Reggie Hammond reports Rangeley Lake was largely ice free on May 5, so that means Mooselookmeguntic and Richardson lakes also are ready for fishing. Frank Braley predicts a mid-week ice out (May 6 or 7) for Spring Lake north of Flagstaff Lake and Pierce Pond and its tributary ponds can’t be far behind. Trout ponds in the region’s highest elevations still may be a week or so away.

Prior to receiving the latest slug of rain, we received several reports of great spring fishing in the Dead River at Big Eddy, the Kennebec below Wyman Dam and Williams Dam, the Magalloway River, the Carrabassett River in Kingfield, and the Rapid River. Flows now are receding quickly and, barring an additional deluge, conditions should be prime for some great spring/early summer stream fishing.

Speaking of the Rapid River, we recently completed a three-year study that examined the effectiveness of using “burst flows” to disrupt smallmouth bass spawning. The idea was to exploit the vulnerability of bass during this critical period in their life history; dramatic changes in flow rate and water levels, even for short periods, can cause adult bass to abandon their nests and displace very young bass fry. We found that 50 percent or more of bass nests in the Rapid River could be negatively impacted in this way. We noted a decline in the recruitment of young bass while the study was occurring, and numbers of young trout increased slightly during the final year. While there are many factors that determine year-to-year variations in bass and trout numbers (most of which we can't control), we were nonetheless encouraged by the results. We’ve designed a “bass flow regime” for the Rapid river that FPL Energy, the owners of Middle Dam, will implement voluntarily when water conditions permit. The proposed flow regime calls for increasing flows to 1,200 cfs for 10 to 12 hours, every third day, from about June 27 to July 6. The pulsed flows only will occur at night to minimize conflicts with anglers. We’ve designed a long-term monitoring plan that will allow us to fully evaluate the new flows over the next several years. Check the Department’s web site www.maine.gov/ifw/fishing/reports for specifics, including several updated documents pertaining to the Rapid River project.

Many good people contributed to our work on the Rapid - too many to list here. Particular thanks are due to members of the Rapid River Coalition and the Orvis Corp. both which contributed significant financial resources to this project. Brandon Kulik, a very fine biologist with Kleinschmidt Associates in Pittsfield, was the project leader.

- David Boucher, Fisheries Biologist, Rangeley Lakes