Operational Plan for the Restoration of Diadromous Fishes to the ...

Piscataquis drainage will likely offer opportunities to identify specific road-stream
crossings for restricting pike passage into quality brook trout streams.
There is considerable niche overlap between northern pike and brook trout in
lacustrine habitat. Both prefer the littoral zone and both may seek cool water during
the warmest periods of the summer. In winter months, brook trout are almost
exclusively found in shallow areas of lakes and ponds. Radio telemetry data from
Pushaw Lake indicate that pike may be found in the deeper areas of the lake during
the winter months, yet most anglers fish for pike in depths less than 7m during the
ice fishing season. Direct predation is possible in situations where pike and brook
trout occupy the same areas, as well as competition for forage, such as minnow
species and rainbow smelts.
Most of the wild/native brook trout lakes in this drainage are already protected from
pike due to natural barriers. There are two wild/native brook trout ponds that are not
protected by such a barrier. Both of these ponds are small and relatively shallow.
Dow Pond is classified as a wild brook trout water. It has a principal fishery for brook
trout and has not been stocked in over 25 years. Greenleaf Pond in Abbot also
contains a principal fishery for brook trout and has never been stocked. The
stocking status was unclear at the time of the last IFW inventory update, but a
subsequent review of the historical stocking archives failed to produce any record of
stocking and a follow-up field survey is scheduled for 2009. This pond also contains
pickerel and, therefore, it is likely that pike would have access to this water if they
were able to reach the outlet that flows into the Piscataquis River in Abbot.
The outlet to Dow Pond is below the Brown’s Mill Dam and therefore, any pike
barrier on the mainstem of the Piscataquis River would not affect passage to this
wild trout pond. Currently there are no pickerel in Dow Pond, which suggests that a
culvert on the Rtes 6 and 16 crossing is effectively preventing pickerel from
accessing Dow Pond.
The outlet of Greenleaf Pond is above the Guilford Dam, therefore a barrier on the
mainstem below Guilford could eliminate the risk from the establishment of pike
through natural dispersal.
There are many waters in the Piscataquis Drainage that have coldwater fisheries
maintained through stocking. Many are upstream of natural barriers. There are
several stocked brook trout and splake waters in the Piscataquis Drainage not
protected by natural barriers including such as Cedar Lake and Endless Lake.
Impacts on these stocked fisheries are likely to be more severe at Endless Lake due
to the available pike habitat. Schoodic Lake and Seboeis Lake are both stocked with
brook trout and/or splake. There are no natural barriers to these waters, although
existing dams currently prohibit the movement of pike into these lakes.
The potential for northern pike to adversely impact landlocked salmon populations is
higher in lakes than in rivers and streams primarily because of the differing habitat
PRFP Page 229