usually occur in September and October after 

 prolonged dry periods . Figure 2 shows the 

 seasonal trend for 1956. 



Temperatures 



Observed water temperatures of the 

 main river ranged from 62° F. to 75° F. dur- 

 ing the period of survey. "Diese observations 

 have been supplemented by a more extensive 

 series of thermal data recorded on a thermo- 

 graph. The daily water temperatures for part 

 of a single year are shown in figure 2 . Other 

 thermograph records have been made in var- 

 ious sections of the river at other times . 

 Temperatures seldom exceed 80° F. except in 

 the quiet sections of the river, particularly 

 the tidal portion. The highest recorded tem- 

 perature was 88° F., an extreme of only a few 

 hours' duration. 



Obstructions 



Table 3 presents a summary of past and 

 present obstructions to fish migration, their 

 location, description, possible effects, and 

 recommendations for treatment. There are 

 1 1 such sites on the main river, 4 on the West 

 Branch, and 9 on the other tributaries . Seven- 

 teen of the 24 obstructions to fish migration 

 were man-made. 



Diversions 



Hiere are no diversions that remove 

 water from the watershed . There have been 

 mills where the water has been bypassed 

 through turbines for power production only to 

 be returned to the river. At present the Pal- 

 ermo Hatchery withdraws some 2,000 g.p.m., 

 of cool water from below the surface of Sheep - 

 scot Pond. This water is returned to the river 

 after passing throu^ the hatchery. 



Pollution 



Sawdust was observed along the banks 

 at 9.1, 11.3, and 13.3 miles above the mouth: 

 that at 11.3 miles apparently was carried in 

 from Chases Mill on Clary Stream in past 

 years . 



Predators 



Garbage dumps were found along the 

 stream about 950 yards above Alna Bridge and 

 at Whitefield and Coopers Mill . Below Sprouls 

 Mill Dam on the West Branch some of the riffles 

 were cluttered with tin cans and other debris . 



The only salmon predators, other than 

 fish, observed in the watershed were American 

 mergansers . The Sheepscot serves not only as 

 a feeding area but as a breeding area of these 

 birds . 



Fish present 



The various species of fish seen during 

 the survey are shown in table 4, along with the 

 stream sections where they were observed. 

 Relatively few salmonoids or warm -water game 

 fish other than pickerel were seen. Chub, dace, 

 shiners, and minnows seemed pwrticularly 

 abundant in some areas . 



A few shad (Alosa sapidissima) , striped 

 bass (Roccus saxatilus ), and Atlantic salmon 

 are taken in sport or commercial fisheries in 

 the Sheepscot or its estuary. The reported 

 numbers vary from none to six or so for each 

 species per year. 



The earlier records indicate that the 

 Sheepscot was probably the best producer of 

 Atlantic salmon of the many small streams 

 found between the Kennebec and Penobscot 

 Rivers . The highest recorded catch before 

 1948 was that of 1872 when "12 to 15 salmon " 

 were caught. Since then the numbers on 

 record have varied from none to four per year . 

 Since 1948, the river has been stocked annually 

 with from 10 to 30 thousand young salmon . The 

 returns have been rather small and erratic; 

 although about 12 were caught on hook and line 

 in 1954 and at least as many more ascended the 

 river to spawn . Some of the latter were caught 

 the following spring as kelts . A counting weir 

 has recently been constructed by the U.S. 

 Fish and Wildlife Service to obtain information 

 on the migration and survival of salmon. 



