556 BULLETIN OP THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



similar places elsewhere. In August, 1899, one angler of many years' residence at the 

 lakes stated that he had most remarkable luck taking fish from grounds that he had 

 never thought of before, and later in the same year said that there were more trout than 

 ever and that they were to be had by those who know where to go and how to take 

 them. 



Methods and time of fishing. — The methods of fishing in the Rangeley Lakes 

 may be classed under three general heads — trolling, fly fishing, and bait or still fishing, 

 locally known as "plug fishing." It is unnecessary to describe these methods. Under 

 bait fishing, however, it should be said that the ordinary fishing from shores or wharves 

 with bait is not classed as plug fishing, which is bait fishing in deep water. It is neces- 

 sary to note this distinction in the discussion of plug fishing. 



The fishing at these lakes begins with the disappearance of the ice in the spring. 

 Then it is mainly by trolling until well into June and sometimes later. Fly fishing is 

 variable in the time of its opening, but usually begins with the first real warm weather and 

 the presence of insects on and over the water. Fly fishing ceases with the warming of 

 the shore and surface water to such a degree that it is uncongenial to the trout. Then 

 the fish resort to cool waters, either at some depth or at the mouths of cold streams. 

 At this time some resort to plug fishing, which is the usual method during the warm 

 summer months. When the weather begins to cool, fly fishing is resumed and used to 

 be at its best during the month of September when the fish were congregating on shoals 

 and at mouths of streams preparatory to spawning. However, any one of these methods 

 may be successful, according to conditions and circumstances, at any time of year. 



There are those who visit the lakes for trolling only. When the fishing by that 

 method declines they leave. Others first fish by trolling and stay for fly fishing. Still 

 others would scorn any other method than by the fly at any time, but they are few. 

 It has been stated that the trolling season begins about the time the ice leaves and that 

 its duration is variable. It has elsewhere in this paper been noted that on several 

 occasions it lasted well into July. Regarding the size of the fish caught by this method, 

 there seems to be no limit either way, excepting in the size attained by the fish and in 

 ability to take the bait into its mouth. One six days' trolling record in June was 32 

 trout weighing 85 pounds, from i to 7 pounds each. Another one-day record, April 25, 

 1896, was thus stated: "Caught by trolling a bunch of worms at the end of 50-foot line, 

 one trout of 9 pounds flat and another gJ4. This spring hundreds were caught in this 

 way ranging from i to 5 pounds." 



A sportsmen's journal correspondent writing under date of June 9, 1882, in regard 

 to fine catches of large trout, stated that most of the trout had been taken with worms 

 and minnows. The previously mentioned alleged i2K-pound trout, afterwards decided 

 to have weighed not over 9^ pounds, was stated to have been caught with a minnow 

 bait in deep water. 



Regarding the method of trolling, while it is effective, it subtracts much from the 

 gameness of the fish, especially when sinker and gang hook are used, and the fisherman 

 loses much from the sport by the stiff trolUng rod usually employed. The method par 

 excellence, the praises of which have been sounded in song and story, is fly fishing, and 

 while from the time of the jig and spear there have been fly fishers they seem to be increas- 

 ing in number, and some who in the old days would not have hesitated to jig a trout that 

 could not be secured by other means now have abandoned all other methods and catch 



