RANGELEY LAKES, MAINE: FISHES, ANGLING, AND FISH CULTURE. 583 



no check in its career. In other words, when favorable conditions preponderate over 

 the unfavorable. Numbers are reduced by subtraction. The process may be through 

 starvation, disease, natural enemies, etc. There is no evidence of there ever having 

 been a scarcity of food. There are only two records of any undue mortality from 

 unknown causes which might have been disease. One is a communication from J. G. 

 Rich to the American Angler, January 25, 1884, in which, under the heading of "Dead 

 Pickerel in Lake Umbagog," he wrote: 



In the spring of 1880, soon after the ice went out, there were floating on the surface of the water 

 and on the shores dead pickerel in immense numbers and of various sizes, from less than a pound weight 

 to 5 or 6 pounds, more, perhaps, of the large ones. This occurred more in the southern part of the lake, 

 where the water is shallow and the shores grassy, than in the northern and deeper parts, although dead 

 fish were over the whole surface more or less. Other fish exist in the lake besides pickerel, such as 

 chubs and suckers and some trout, yet no other fish were observed to be floating. If I mistake not, 

 the same year dead fish of an unknown kind were seen floating on the Atlantic Ocean in large schools, 

 to explain which various theories were put forth by learned naturalists, but no certain reason given. 

 Some persons here think the mortality among the pickerel was caused by their getting into shallow water 

 and the freezing of the ice to the bottom or a sudden fall of the lake dropping the ice on to them. But 

 if this were the case why did other fish escape? Certainly the pickerel are as active, if not more so, than 

 any other and could fall as rapidly back into deep water and safety. Who knows the cause of this 

 wholesale destruction? 



The other record was a statement by C. J. Craig, to the efifect that during the last of 

 May and first of June, 1912, the water of Umbagog Lake was higher than ever before 

 known. Dead pickerel were around the shores in large numbers all about the lake. 

 Most of them were good-sized fish. Nothing but smelt was found in their stomachs. 

 Bait was secured by opening pickerel. 



As has already been stated, the writer, in 1883, found pickerel abundant and many 

 of fairly large size in Umbagog Lake; therefore, the mortality mentioned by Mr. Rich 

 did not exterminate the pickerel or more than temporarily greatly reduce their numbers. 



Many natural enemies can be enumerated, such as birds, frogs, other fishes, and 

 even the pickerel itself. Among the birds, the merganser, grebe, loon, kingfisher, and 

 heron are the most destructive. But the birds have not been numerous enough in 

 many years to seriously reduce the numbers of pickerel. 



Bullfrogs are consumers of young pickerel, but their numbers are not sufficient 

 to make any very appreciable decrease in numbers of the fish. That other fish do eat 

 pickerel is well known, as the following incident indicates: On August 12, 1905, in the 

 large "logan" at the entrance to the Androscoggin River, some fish were seen pursuing 

 other smaller fish, which went skipping over the surface of the water. The larger 

 fish, which were at first supposed to be pickerel chasing cyprinids, proved to be chubs 

 after young pickerel. Several from one-third to one-half of a pound in weight were 

 caught on a small casting spoon and found to contain young pickerel from i]4 to 3 

 inches in length. That the pickerel is somewhat of a cannibal has been previously 

 shown. 



But all of the enemies were far more numerous at the time the pickerel were increas- 

 ing in numbers than they have been in recent years; therefore, there must be some more 

 potent cause of decrease. The reduced size of those now caught and observed can not 

 be due to the above-mentioned enemies, as they prey upon the smaller individuals and 

 the larger ones would be left to grow still bigger. The cause, then, must be something 

 that affects the larger fish. 



