RANGELEY — A public hearing will be held on Nov. 9 on more than 200 proposed changes to Maine’s current fishing regulations.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Rangeley Lakes Regional School at 43 Mendolia Road.

Comments from the public are urged at these hearings on any of the 226 proposed changes to open-water and ice fishing regulations, Edie Smith, department spokeswoman, stated Thursday in a report.

To view the 226-page document before the hearing, visit http://tinyurl.com/3h9zlp2.

Among the proposed changes for Rangeley bodies of water:

* Bemis Stream in Rangeley Plantation and Letter D Township — To apply a late-season closure to the lower reaches as a conservation measure to reduce hooking-related mortalities during the late season.

* Loon Lake in Rangeley and Dallas Plantation — To re-establish the general law length and bag limits that were inadvertently removed by clerical error during the last rulemaking.

* Saddleback Pond in Sandy River Plantation — To remove the extended season from Oct. 1 through Nov. 30 to protect wild brook trout during their spawning season. A recent re-survey indicated a robust wild brookie population, probably because angler use has declined. Brook trout stocking has been suspended because of wild production.

Among additional changes in Western Maine are:

* Abbott Pond in Sumner — To improve the size of stocked brook trout, limit anglers to two fish daily with a minimum of 10 inches long, but only one fish can be more than a foot long.

* Androscoggin River from Gilead to Brunswick — To clarify and denote open water and ice fishing sections and to create consistency in harvest and use of bait between open water and ice fishing. Additionally, endangered sea-run Atlantic salmon will be protected below the Livermore Falls Dam.

* Little Androscoggin River from Oxford to Auburn — To clarify general law fishing regulations and fishing from Aug. 16 through Sept. 30. Additionally, a daily bag limit of two trout for the entire river is proposed.

* Middle Range Pond in Poland — To attempt to control the growing togue population, anglers would be allowed to catch three togue daily with a minimum length of 14 inches, but only one can exceed 18 inches.

* Little Wilson Pond in Turner — Opening it up to ice fishing.

* Butler Pond in Kingfield and Lexington Township — To rescind the fall fishing season.

* North Branch of the Dead River in Jim Pond Township, etc. — To provide a new October fishing opportunity on the impoundment formed by Eustis Dam.

Other hearings at 6:30 p.m. include Nov. 8 in the Multi-Purpose Room at Brunswick High School, Nov. 1 in Presque Isle, Nov. 2 in Millinocket and Nov. 7 in Ellsworth.

Any accepted changes would be enacted for the 2012-13 fishing seasons, Smith said.

Anyone who cannot attend one of the five hearings can still comment on any proposed rule changes in writing by mailing comments to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, SHS 41, 284 State St., Augusta, ME 04330.

The deadline for receiving written comments is Nov. 21.

For more information on the proposed changes, or to view the complete list of proposed changes, visit www.maine.gov/ifw/laws_rules/rulemaking_proposals.htm.

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