RANGELEY LAKES, MAINE: FISHES, ANGLING, AND FISH CULTURE. 519 



and south to the Gulf of Mexico and West Indies. It ascends, as young fish, all rivers 

 within its range, often to the very sources, from whence, to breed, it descends to the sea. 

 It does not seem to be very common in the Rangeley region, which is fortunate, 

 as it is rather destructive to other fishes. It was not observed by the United States 

 Bureau of Fisheries' party in 1905. The only records appear to be those of the State 

 Fish Commission Report for 1878, which is here quoted: "Three eels which had forced 

 themselves through a leak in the gate of the Upper Dam were killed by the weight of 

 water driving them between the logs of which the aprons of the dam are built. These 

 eels were weighed by Thomas McLeod, a strictly reliable man. Their weights were, 

 respectively, 8X, nK. and 13^ pounds." In American Angler, April 14, 1883, J. G. 

 Rich wrote : " Large eels have been picked up on this dam measuring 4 or 5 feet, yet we 

 never have caught one in the lake above. " In Forest and Stream, November 24, 1900, 

 J. Parker Whitney said that large, lusty, white and yellow bellied eels were found in the 

 lakes, but not very plentifully, and that he had never known them to be caught with 

 bait. He said that he had seen a few weighing from 10 to 12 pounds that were caught 

 fast in the narrow space between the logs of the apron below Upper Dam during the 



Fig. II.— Eel (An^iUa rostrata) , 



night passage from the lake above. Both of these statements doubtless refer to the same 

 record mentioned in the State Fish Commission Report. 



WHITEKISH (Coregonus clupeaformis) . 



This whitefish is one of the numerous species constituting a subfamily of the Sal- 

 monidae, widely distributed in the northern waters of both hemispheres. 



In appearance the whitefishes are distinguished from the rest of the salmon family 

 by having a comparatively small mouth, feeble dentition, and comparatively large 

 scales. They are inhabitants of many of the larger and deeper lakes throughout their 

 geographical range. Some species attain to a weight of over 10 pounds while others to 

 only a few ounces. The different species have somewhat different feeding habits, but, 

 as a rule, nearly all subsist upon the smaller lacustrine animal life, including fishes and 

 in some instances insects that fall upon the water. 



Some forms breed on the shoals of lakes, to which place they sometimes migrate 

 considerable distances in the fall of the year; others ascend streams for the purpose of 

 spawning. 



All are excellent food fishes, and the present form is highly esteemed. 



While there are three species common in many Maine lakes, especially north and 

 east, not one of these is indigenous to the Rangeley Lakes. The native Maine form 



