Large spring and fall stockings with fingerlings, 75 percent of which are brookies, occur in remote areas. Maine’s landmass, large in comparison to the other New England states, means that fish in back country areas are best stocked from the air. On larger lakes, pontoon planes land and release fish from special holding tanks.

On smaller lakes where airplanes cannot land or take off safely, the fish are dropped from 100 to 200 feet above the water’s surface. Slow air speed and the height ensure that the trout fall into the water unharmed.

Brown trout stocking targets marginal waters because browns are hardier. They are also stocked in fall with ice-fishing in mind. Larger brood-stock trout are also stocked intermittently, offering anglers more opportunities for bigger fish.

Splake are hybrid trout, bred from male brook trout and female lake trout. These non-reproducing fish, which look like brook trout, are stocked in 50 waters across the state and provide more quality angling in more places than any other stocked trout. Not only do splake grow faster than do typical trout, but they also survive at a higher rate than stocked fish. Splake in lake environments also help control perch populations and offer additional ice-fishing opportunities.

Bourque noted that Maine is the last stronghold for wild brook trout in the East. The EBTJV has documented large native brook trout populations in 305 waters statewide. Some of these are lakes and ponds that have never been stocked. Most of these wild trout areas lie in the northern part of the state.

For more information, contact the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife at (207) 287-8000, or you can visit the agency’s Web site at www.MeFishWildLife.com.

MASSACHUSETTS
Up to 450,000 pounds of trout, or about 600,000 fish will be distributed in Massachusetts’ five wildlife management areas, according to Ken Simmons, MassWildlife’s chief fish culturist. The breakdown is about 60 percent rainbows, 18 percent brook trout and 20 percent browns.

The remainder consists of tiger trout -- a sterile cross between a brookie and a brown. You’ll know a tiger by the wavy stripes that cover most of its entire body. Tigers don’t have red or orange spots like brookies and browns. Typically, they measure 14 to 15 inches. Tigers are part of the Bay State’s put-and-take program, impacting some 500 bodies of water across state, Simmons noted.

Like his New England colleagues, Simmons said that last year’s fairly wet, cold spring helped the trout population over the season, although a few warmwater issues arose when a heat wave hit the state. Simmons strongly anticipates a great trout season for 2007.

Each district manager decides which water body to stock and when to release fish. On a weekly basis, the state’s Web site lists stocking areas and days in March, October, and late December. Anglers can also expect about 2,000 Atlantic salmon in select waters.

As for wild fish, Simmons said that Massachusetts has many wild brook and wild brown waters that stretch from Worcester County west to the New York State border. Wild fish range in length from 6 to 9 inches.

Todd Richards, a MassWildlife fisheries biologist, participates in the EBTJV, working to establish goals and assess threats. Richards said the EBTJV has a good grasp on the data for all the participating states and is one of largest such efforts ever attempted in the East.