RANGELEY – Trout fishermen worldwide come to Maine to enjoy the pristine beauty of the state’s lakes and streams and to revel in the challenge of fishing here. But the future of trout and salmon fishing in one of Maine’s prime spots is threatened.

Due to illegal stocking of smallmouth bass in Lake Umbagog in the early 1980s, brook trout and land-locked salmon, native to the lake and its tributaries, are threatened. The hardier non-native bass compete with natives for habitat and prey on their young.

Several sportsman’s and conservation groups along with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife teamed up Saturday to publicize the issue. DIFW pronounced open season on smallmouth bass in the 3.2-mile Rapid River and 512-acre Pond in the River, which is fed by the Rangeley Lakes and drains into Lake Umbagog, the source of the Androscoggin River.

About 40 licenses were issued to anglers who signed up to catch unlimited quantities of pesky bass in an effort to mitigate their effects on the trout fishery. Would-be bass nabbers came to participate from as far away as Kennebunk, Bar Harbor, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

The annual conclave also raised $7,000 at a barbecue, silent auction and raffle Saturday in Rangeley after the bass wars were waged.

According to Bill Pierce of DIFW, illegal fish stocking is becoming more prevalent and is a peril to one of Maine’s prime sources of tourist dollars. He estimates that Maine’s wildlife and the recreational opportunities that it affords have nearly a $1 billion annual impact on the state’s economy.

Biologists have identified more than 43 illegal introductions of non-native fish species in the state, according to Pierce, including Sebago Lake, which was discovered to have been invaded last year with northern pike. Pike, largemouth and smallmouth bass and black crappie are among the species known to have been introduced into several of Maine’s trout and salmon habitats.

It is almost like poaching, according to Pierce, who is sure that the incident numbers are climbing.

Not all of the non-native introductions are intentional, however. Like milfoil and other invasive plants, some fish incidentally end up in Maine’s fresh waters.

Black crappie, for example, was found in fish stocks of a bait dealer in Sidney in the 1980s, an example of an unintentional source of a harmful species.

There are laws, now, for dumping unused baitfish in a pond, river or stream. And even transporting live fish over roadways from one body of water to another can beget a fine of up to $10,000. Bucket biology, Pierce calls it.

Authorities say that baitfish should be left on the ice to die or saved for future use, if possible. If bait is left, as such, fishermen are encouraged to leave it on the shoreline to prevent the spread of diseases that could harm the native fish population. For the same reason, fishing with live bait is not permitted on certain restricted bodies of water.

“This issue should be considered on par with milfoil,” said Dave Boucher, a biologist for IFW who has been studying the bass and their effect on the local trout population. “This is forever.”

Though 85 bass were obliterated Saturday, they are “here to stay despite our best intentions,” he said. “They can never be completely eradicated.”

Boucher says they are going to try to manage the trout and salmon populations and are hopeful that they and the bass can coexist but not enough is known yet.

Though Boucher has conducted groundbreaking research on the Rapid River and surrounding waterways, says Pierce, more needs to be done. IFW has applied for corporate funding to do just that.

jhausen@sunjournal.com

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