Anglers who have not recently wet a line in Maine's Moosehead Lake are missing out on some great fishing. Don't plan an April 1 excursion, though. This big, northern lake is surrounded by cold mountain air, and ice-out doesn't generally arrive until May, although good fishing may be had earlier in many of Moosehead's tributaries.

RECENT HISTORY
At 40 miles long and 20 miles wide, Moosehead is the largest lake within one state's boundaries east of the Mississippi. In days gone by, Greenville and Rockwood, on the shores of Moosehead Lake, were the destinations of choice for big fish. The rich and famous traveled here by train, populating resorts and lodges around the big lake. Eventually, long vacations and rail travel became less popular, but traveling anglers continue to search out Moosehead, which is still famous for big salmon, wild brook trout and togue (lake trout).

According to Tim Obrey, a regional fisheries biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the fishing at Moosehead declined from phenomenal to just "really good" during the late 1980s, but has rebounded due to careful management.

"In the late 1980s, we documented a dramatic increase in the abundance of wild lake trout in Moosehead Lake," Obrey said. "There were several factors that contributed to changes in the fishery. One important factor was the stricter regulations adopted in the 1970s to protect lake trout until they had the opportunity to spawn. Reductions in bag limits and higher length limits were implemented to increase the number of lake trout in this big lake.

"Also, at about the same time, a new water management plan was adopted to improve winter survival of lake trout eggs," Obrey continued. "Lake trout lay their eggs in October in four to six feet of water around wind-exposed shoals and shoreline areas. Historically, there were many winters when the lake was drawn down to a level that exposed the eggs and reduced survival. The water management plan adopted in the 1970s reduced the winter drawdowns to levels that would protect the eggs until they hatched in April or May.

"These changes in management, combined with historic harvest rates of larger lake trout in the mid-1980s, resulted in an explosion in the number of small lake trout (less than 18 inches) on the lake," Obrey said.

SMELTS IN TROUBLE
Smelts are the primary food source for lake trout and salmon in Moosehead. Soon, swelling lake trout numbers had taxed the forage base and the smelt population took a dive.

"The growth rates of both lake trout and salmon suffered," Obrey recalled. "At the peak of the problem, salmon survival actually declined. There was just not enough food to sustain the coldwater fishery. The department reacted by liberalizing bag limits on lake trout and allowing harvest of smaller fish. We also severely reduced the salmon stocking rates."

The health of the Moosehead fishery fluctuated over the next 15 years.

"There were some signs of improvement in growth rates in recent years," Obrey said.

"However, we suffered another setback in 2006 when another wave of smaller lake trout entered the fishery and the smelt population again declined. In 2008, radical changes in length and bag limits were adopted. Right now, there is no size or bag limit on lake trout under 18 inches."