For Immediate Release
December 27, 2004
2005 Ice Fishing Preview

Region A- Southwestern Maine
The ice fishing forecast for southern Maine is once again excellent! Angler reports received this past open water fishing season, combined with the results of our fall field work indicate that many of the regions fisheries are in excellent condition. Furthermore, an additional 2,280 unscheduled, legal-size trout and salmon were stocked this past fall around the region; approximately 300 brood brook trout (3+ lbs), 600 brood brown trout (+/- 6 lbs), 300 brood salmon (+/- 3 lbs), 80 brood lake trout (+/- 7 lbs), 250 fall yearling brook trout (12-14”), 750 rainbows (13-15”).

The heaviest stocking of brood fish occurred in Mousam Lake (Acton), Little Ossipee Lake (Waterboro), Little Sebago (Windham), Norway Lake (Norway), Presumpscot River (Windham), and Songo Pond (Albany). For a complete list of unscheduled stockings check out the Department’s web site (www.mefishwildlife.com).

 
In the last 8 years we have created a number of new winter brook trout fisheries using a larger fall fingerling trout. Personnel at the Dry Mills Hatchery have successfully developed a rearing technique to produce legal size fingerling brook (8 -10 inches long) within one year. These advanced fingerlings are stocked in the fall to provide winter fisheries in waters where habitat is not suitable to sustain a year round trout fishery. Examples of very successful winter fisheries include Worthley Pond (Poland), Barker Pond (Lyman), Trafton Pond (Hiram), Littlefield Pond (Sanford), Deer Pond (Hollis), and Hobbs Pond (Norway). Over the last few years a number of new waters have been added under this program, including Knights Pond (S.Berwick), Little Clemmons (Hiram), Cold Rain (Naples), Halls Pond (Paris), Forrest Pond (Canton), Stanley (Hiram) and Sprague Pond (Phippsburg). These waters are fished hard the first few weeks of the season, but often offer good fishing throughout the entire winter season. Some brood and larger fall yearling trout are also usually stocked with the fingerlings to provide some size quality. This new management program was developed to provide expanded winter fishing opportunities for brook trout, while reducing angler pressure on some of the more popular area fisheries. Anglers are encouraged to try these new trout fisheries, which can boast unusually high catch rates, particularly early in the season.

Top picks for lake trout action include Great East Lake, Sebago Lake, and Thompson Lake. The first two waters support a robust fishery for lake trout and offer good catches of 16 to 22 inch fish on average, along with a few wall hangers. Sebago’s lakers are fatter and in improving condition, a positive indication of an improving fishery. Thompson Lake trout are not generally known for their large size and while an occasional 10 pounder is caught most landing do not exceed 19 inches long. However, Thompson does offer good catch rates for those that have mastered the jigging technique.

The best bet for trophy salmon is Trickey Pond (Naples) and Bryant Pond (Woodstock), but the fishing is generally very slow for salmon. South Pond (Greenwood) also offers relatively slow fishing for salmon up to 5 pounds.

Most other regional waters open to salmon fishing offer good to excellent fishing, including some of the less fished waters like Long Lake (Naples/Harrison), Panther Pond (Raymond), Crescent Lake (Casco), and Pleasant Lake (Casco).

 
Splake enthusiasts will find fast splake fishing, but heavy fishing pressure on Bryant Pond (Woodstock) and Trickey Pond (Naples). To avoid the crowds splake anglers should consider Stanley pond (Hiram), Keewaydin Lake, or Bear Pond, all of which also offer fishing opportunities for other species of stocked fish. By the way, Bear Pond, which is no longer stocked with lake trout, still harbors some extremely large lake trout, up to 16 pounds!

Brown trout anglers have many area waters to choose from. Over the years most have heard about the excellent good fishing on Sabbathday Lake (New Gloucester), Middle/Upper Range Ponds (Poland), Worthley Pond (Peru), and Hancock Pond (Denmark)...and the crowds can attest to the good fishing. But if you’re trying to avoid the crowds and are still searching for some good fishing consider some of the other regional waters like Long Lake (Naples/Harrison), Stearns Pond (Sweden), Lovewell Pond (Fryeburg), Square Pond (Shapleigh), and Bickford Pond (Porter).

 
For those that just refuse to put away the open water fishing tackle, we have created several relatively new year round river fishing opportunities in the region, which have been enhanced through beefed up fall stocking programs. These waters include the entire Presumpscot River, The Saco River (particularly Skelton Dam, Hiram Dam, Bonney Eagle, West Buxton), and the lower Royal River (below Elm Street). Additional open water trout fishing opportunities continue on some tidewater rivers, including the Mousam and the Ogunquit, and more recently the salmon Falls River (S. Berwick).

 Francis Brautigam, Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region B - Central Maine

For many sportsmen the New Year is the beginning of another ice fishing season, but many anglers have already been out on the frozen surface, fishing for warm water species. Reports from many anglers who have ventured forth on 6 to eight inches of ice before Christmas found pretty good action for perch, pickerel, and where available—pike. The rain and warmer temperatures on Christmas Eve opened up some thin ice areas, but colder air
since then ushered in some renewed freezing that will allow access to most areas, but as usual, caution should be exercised on all ice everywhere to determine it’s thickness.

Long Pond in Belgrade was noted as one of the best landlocked salmon lakes in the State of Maine, with many trophy salmon (5-7 pounds) caught every year. In more recent years, the salmon fishing has been on the decline in both size of fish and the number of salmon caught. One of the reasons for this decline may be attributed to the expanding northern pike population. We have documented in Long Pond that pike prey directly on salmon and feed heavily on smelt, the primary forage of salmon. This has resulted in a near complete collapse of the salmon fishery. In response to pike preying on newly stocked salmon the Department recently began stocking larger older salmon. Theorizing that because the salmon are larger and that they are stocked in the fall when pike are not as actively feeding, these salmon will have a better chance to escape.

 
Long Pond had been closed to ice fishing for nearly 30 years until last winter. The opening last winter attracted nearly 3500 anglers for the season and they angled approximately 500 pike. The primary reason Long Pond was opened to winter fishing is to reduce the pike population through sportfishing and to reduce the predation on the landlocked salmon.

 
After the 2006 ice fishing season, an evaluation as to the effectiveness of the experimental fishery will be made to determine if salmon benefit from this initiative, similar to historical, very productive levels. The season runs January 1 through March 31, all salmon, trout, and bass caught must be released without removing them from the water. The remaining species are opened under the general fishing laws (please refer to the ice fishingregulation booklet). Please be aware, opening Long Pond to ice fishing
wasvery controversial. Anglers need to remember to respect private property, be aware of litter laws, and respect the local shore front property owner’s rights.

Many anglers say the next state record pike will come from Long Pond and they believe it may be over 40 pounds. There may be a 40 pounder out there since we have live trapped pike over 30 pounds! The best winter pike fishing is typically near the end of the season, late March, when pike are moving into the shallow water to spawn. (Pike typically spawn just when ice goes out of the shallow coves). Typically, the late winter fishing in shallow weedy areas, such as the south end of the lake, will produce the largest fish of the season. Generally, pike anglers like to use a large hooks with large baits, many prefer smelt, fished in water less than 10 feet deep. Pike have sharp teeth so most people also use a short steel leader, although one gets more hook-ups without the steel leader, but of course they lose more fish.

Other waters that have recently been monitored in the Belgrade Region and have good chances of providing exciting catches are: Wassookeag Lake, St.
George Lake, and Parker Pond for salmon; Damariscotta Lake, Maranacook Lake, Pemaquid Lake, and China Lake for brown trout; Brook trout in this region were stocked in many waters to provide opportunity near you. Brook trout can be angled in fairly shallow water and provide some pretty fast fishing.

Hopefully, you’ll all have good fishing, remember to be safe, refer to the fishing regulations book before fishing an unfamiliar lake, and fishing is for fun so enjoy the season.
 Bill Woodward, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist


Region C - Downeast

Downeast anglers can look forward to some good fishing this winter for coldwater sportfish. A number of lakes should provide fast action for brook trout and togue. At other waters, while fishing will be much slower, the patient angler can anticipate hooking up with some 2 ½-3 ½ pound salmon and brown trout. Those planning to venture out on opening day or shortly thereafter need to be VERY CAREFUL as ice conditions, especially on the larger lakes, will be treacherous. Many such lakes had wide expanses of open water in late December.

Brook trout anglers should consider giving Bubble Pond, Echo Lake, Hopkins Pond, Lake Wood, or Tilden Pond a try in Hancock County. In Washington County, Goulding Lake, Indian Lake, Keene’s Lake, Montegail Pond, and Vining Lake should be productive. Also of note, our hatchery system stocked brood brook trout, averaging a little over 2 pounds each, in November. Amongst others, Walker Pond, Jones Pond, Flanders Pond, Craig Pond, Jacob Buck Pond, Indian Lake, and Keene’s Lake received some of these large fish.

We have a problem with an overabundance of wild togue in 4 or 5 of our lakes. There are too many togue for the available supply of forage fish, resulting in slow growth and poor condition of togue and, in several waters, stocked salmon. We continue to urge anglers to help out by keeping more, and releasing less, of the togue they catch. By doing this, they will help promote an improvement in the predator/prey ratio, thereby helping the lake return to a healthier condition sooner rather than later. The problem is most acute at Phillips Lake, Tunk Lake, and Beech Hill Pond. At Phillips and Tunk, the daily limit on togue is 3 fish with a minimum legal length limit of 14 inches. It would be especially helpful if anglers would keep their limit of smaller togue, i.e. 14-18 inches. Beech Hill has the same minimum legal length limit, but a 6-fish bag limit on togue, only one of which may exceed 23 inches. Other waters which would benefit from an increased harvest of wild togue include Jordan Pond, Toddy Pond, West Grand Lake, and West Musquash Lake. I have several excellent recipes for broiled/baked togue, and will gladly send them along to any who are interested. E-mail me at: ronald.brokaw@maine.gov, or through regular mail at: P. O. Box 220, Jonesboro, ME. 04648.

Salmon fishing for 15-18 inch fish should be good at Green Lake, Molasses Pond, Eagle Lake, Craig Pond, Donnell Pond, Gardner Lake, Mopang Lake, Pleasant River Lake, and West Grand Lake. For those anglers who prefer to put in their time hoping to land a 19-22 inch salmon, Alligator Lake, Tunk Lake, Long Pond, and Cathance Lake appear to be the best bets. Both Alligator and Tunk have mandatory release 16-20 inch slot limits, Long Pond has a one fish limit, and Cathance is general law. We sampled 8 salmon between 3 ¼ -4 ½ pounds in October while trapnetting at Cathance, so I expect some lucky anglers will leave the lake this winter with a smile.

A tip: try jigging a small Swedish pimple or a chartreuse (lime green)Weeping Willow 2-4 feet under the ice off and one during a relatively mild, calm day. It can pay dividends.
The following waters hold some good brown trout in the 2 ½ -4 pound class: Spring River Lake, Molasses Pond, Walker Pond, Rocky Lake in Whiting, Pennamaquan Lake, and Round Lake (Charlotte). Browns are often unpredictable when it comes to favored feeding depths...sometimes, they feed in very shallow 3-4 feet water, sometimes at mid-depths in 20-30 feet of water, and sometimes near bottom in 25-30 feet of water. Accordingly, it’s often best to set some traps at varying depths/locations. Best of Luck, and BE SAFE!
 Ron Brokaw, Regional Fishery Biologist

Region D - Western Mountains

It’s always tricky estimating ice thickness on opening day of ice fishing.
This year is especially difficult because of the rain-freeze cycles we’ve had. In general, there is nearly a foot of ice in some areas, while there is little or none in other areas. Please be careful and don’t assume that the ice is safe anywhere. We have ‘sweetened the pot’ in many of our lakes by stocking some large fish that were available from the hatcheries this past fall as ‘retired’ brood stock or, in a few cases, unscheduled fish.

These stockings are over and above the numbers stocked on a regular basis, and are as follows:
Clearwater Lake, Industry: 45 brook trout, weighing 5 pounds each.
Embden Lake, Embden: 300 brook trout, weighing 2 pounds each. Porter Lake, New Vineyard: 50 brook trout, weighing 3 pounds each and 38 lake trout weighing 7 pounds each.
Webb Lake, Weld: 50 brook trout, weighing 3 pounds each and 100 brown trout, weighing 4 pounds each.
Wesserunsett Lake, Madison: 90 brook trout, weighing 1.5 pounds each and 100 brown trout, weighing 4 pounds each.
Wilson Lake, Wilton: 45 brook trout, weighing 5 pounds each and 37 lake trout, weighing 7 pounds each.

We check ice fishermen on our lakes on a rotating basis to evaluate the fisheries. This winter is no exception, and you may be checked by Dave Boucher and/or Dave Howatt on Spencer and Wesserunsett Lakes this winter.

In addition, we’ll be helped out on Embden Lake and Hancock Pond by the staff at the Embden Rearing Station, who are available because their facilities are temporarily shut down while being upgraded to grow more fish.
 Forrest Bonney, Regional Fisheries Biologist


Region E - Moosehead Region

Conditions in December favored ice formation on lakes and ponds throughout the Moosehead Lake Region. Small ponds have been relatively safe for foot travel for a few weeks now, and those open to fishing for pickerel and perch “from the time the ice forms” have already been frequented by anglers itching to get back out on the ice. With little snow cover, and the cold weather predicted for the coming week, most waters that open to fishing for salmon, trout, and togue on January 1 should find plenty of safe ice to drill some holes and set a few tip ups. As always, we urge people to exercise caution in negotiating around tributaries, outlets, and thoroughfares. Large lakes like Moosehead, the deepest areas are often not safe for travel well into January, so early season anglers should plan on fishing and traveling near the shore.

In the southern part of the Moosehead Region there are fewer opportunities for trout fishing compared with the northern areas. Therefore, when we have the opportunity to stock retired brood fish, we like to include places like Dover-Foxcroft’s Branns Mill Pond and Sangerville’s Manhanock Pond on the list of waters to receive large fish. These are great waters to bring kids fishing, as the pickerel and perch usually will provide constant action for children and maintain a high level of interest throughout the day. An 18-inch brook trout can really add some excitement to that experience.

 
The length limit on brown trout at Center Pond in Sangerville has been reduced to 12 inches in 2005. A change in stocking to 12-inch fall yearlings in October, 2004 should insure a more productive season ahead for anglers there.

At Moosehead Lake, regulations will again allow anglers to keep 5 lake trout over 14 inches, including only one over 18 inches. During the ice fishing season lake trout are vulnerable to anglers from January through March in most areas around Maine’s largest lake. The winter months provide the best opportunity for anglers to target lake trout, take advantage of the liberal regulations, and harvest this abundant resource. Lake trout, especially those less than 18 inches, will continue to provide good fishing in 2005 for those who are looking for action through the ice. We encourage folks who want a productive day of fishing for lake trout to come to Moosehead. Moosehead remains closed to the taking of salmon until the middle of February. To minimize hooking mortality, all salmon caught must be released immediately without removing them from the water.

 
For anglers seeking salmon, Chesuncook Lake is the place to go this winter!
Due to the number of salmon available there, the fishing regulations have been liberalized for at least the next 2 years to allow anglers to keep 3 salmon under a 14-inch minimum length limit. Only one salmon in each limit may exceed 18 inches. Allowing anglers to harvest more 14 to 17 inch salmon will help to increase the amount of forage available and improve the growth and condition of all salmon in Chesuncook Lake.

Fishermen should not overlook the smaller waters around Moosehead lake that are open to ice fishing, including Mountain View Pond, Sawyer Pond, and Prong Pond. Some retired brood fish also made their way into these waters last fall. Anglers may be surprised by the results a day of fishing might produce on these waters this winter.

 
For anglers planning a trip to the Allagash Waterway in 2005, be advised that the daily bag limit on brook trout at Chamberlain Lake, Telos Lake, and Round Pond has been reduced to 1 fish. The minimum length limit on brook trout from these waters remains at 12 inches. In recent years trout fishing success at Chamberlain, Telos, and Round has not been up to anglers’ expectations. This change is designed to “hold the line” until studies now in the planning stage can determine the most effective means at restoring trout fishing to the way people would like to see it. Also note, a 16-inch length limit on lake whitefish is also new on these waters in 2005. The 3 fish daily bag limit on whitefish remains unchanged.

Jackman’s Big Wood Pond should be on any serious fisherman’s list of must places to visit in January. Last winter, ice fishing in Big Wood really improved as a result of our change to stocking 12-inch fall yearling splake.

We continued stocking fall yearling splake in 2004. Add to that a new spring yearling brook trout stocking program, throw in some retired brood fish, and we have a recipe for a Very Happy New Year on Big Wood Pond. We anticipate some real excitement in Jackman this winter!
Best wishes for Happy New Year, one full of Pleasing Piscatorial Pursuits!
 The Fisheries Staff in Greenville - Paul Johnson, Jeff Bagley, and Steve Seeback

Region F, Penobscot Region

Come January 1, Anglers looking for frozen water to try out their new ice traps that Santa left under the tree have an abundance of opportunities available throughout the Penobscot Region. Most all of our regional lakes have now frozen over, the exceptions being Schoodic Lake in the Lakeview/Brownville area and Cold Stream Pond in the Lincoln/Enfield area.
Both lakes are notorious for taking seemingly forever to freeze over, primarily because of the great depth, size and orientation of both lakes.

Chances are that anglers will at least be able to find sheltered coves that have a 2” to 4” covering of ice by opening day. Remember to check the ice as you go with an ice chisel and a lot of caution. The bottom line is that 2 inches of ice is minimum to support a person walking on the ice. Don’t even think about snosleds until you have 4 inches of good, clear ice. Also, ice thickness can vary dramatically from area to area ON THE SAME POND!

 
Around inlets, springs, thoroughfares and exposed boulders ice can be very much thinner than the ice in a sheltered cove. Be careful! A very useful WEB site for information about ice loads can be found at
http://www.mvp-wc.usace.army.mil/ice/ice_load.html .

This past fall, Fishery Biologists in the Penobscot Region used trapnets to check a variety of lakes and ponds throughout the region. Matagamon Lake in T6R8 WELS looks promising if you’re interested in pursuing wild landlocked salmon and brook trout, as well as a stocked population of togue (lake trout). All fish were in good shape and should provide excellent fishing for 16 to 20 inch salmon, 12 to 16 inch brook trout, and 20 to 24 inch togue.

Scraggly Lake in T7R8 WELS was also checked this past fall and held some impressive wild salmon and stocked brook trout. Salmon averaged 18 inches and 2.3 pounds, and very fat and healthy, as were the brook trout that ranged from 12 to 18 inches. There is an abundance of lodges and camps available in the Matagamon/Scraggly area (Matagamon Wilderness Camps, Shin Pond Village, Driftwood Lodge, and Conklin’s Lodge) if you are interested in staying for a few days of ice fishing.

Additionally, we also checked the size and condition of the stocked salmon and brook trout at Pleasant Pond in Island Falls. This lake is like no other in the region, providing excellent opportunities for large brook trout (2 to 4 pounds) and larger salmon (2 to 6 pounds). There is a 1 salmon limit in effect at Pleasant, and anglers should check their 2005 Fishing Law Books for regulations on Pleasant, as well as all bodies of water BEFORE they go.

Access is via I-95 to Old Exit 59 in Island Falls, and a short drive north on Rt. 2 to the lake. Lodging can be found at Birch Point Camps and Vacationland Estates, and bait and groceries are available at May Mountain Variety and the Island Falls IGA.

 
Two of our more popular togue lakes, Cold Stream Pond and Schoodic Lake, were also checked last fall for size and condition of wild lake trout populations. At Cold Stream, both the native togue and stocked salmon were in much better shape than in recent years. Togue averaged 18.6 inches and 2.1 pounds, while the salmon were an impressive 18.8 inches and 2.5 pounds!

We also caught a handful of brook trout, some of which were recently stocked fall yearlings, which averaged 13.5 inches and weighed 1.3 pounds. At Schoodic, all togue taken were fat and handsome at an average length and weight of 21.7 inches and 3.7 pounds! The hatchery brook trout were also impressive at 14.6 inches and 1.2 pounds.
East Grand Lake, on our eastern border with New Brunswick Canada, should also provide some excellent angling over the next few months. Smelt runs at East Grand have shown a marked increase in abundance in recent years at traditional spawning habitats. Size and condition have been on the upswing recently, with many anglers reporting salmon weights upwards of 4 to 5 pounds this past open water season.

Other landlocked salmon lakes in the Region, including Millinocket Lake, Upper JoMary Lake, West Lake, Seboeis Lake, Duck Lake, Pleasant Lake in Kossuth, Deering Lake, East Musquash Lake, Molunkus Lake, Spring Lake, Junior Lake, Pemadumcook Lake, Lower Sysladobsis Lake and Spednic Lake all hold promise for the adventurous angler this upcoming ice fishing season.

Any anglers interested in further information on any of our Regional waters, please feel free to call (732-4131) or e-mail Gordon.Kramer@maine.gov for more information.
We also stocked a wide variety of regional lakes and ponds this fall with retired brook trout brood fish (16” to 18”) from our hatchery at Enfield.

Again, please check your Law Book as some of these waters listed below have special regulations in effect.

Lake name Town # Stocked

Faulkner Lake Weston 50
Jerry Pond Millinocket 50
Middle Oxhead Pond T40 MD 50
Pickerel Pond T32 MD 50
Rock Crusher Pond Island Falls 43
Little Round Pond Lincoln 50
Trout Pond Lowell 50
Weir Pond Lee 50

Also stocked last fall were retired landlocked salmon brood (18” to 20”) from the Grand Lake Stream Fish Hatchery.

East Musquash Lake Topsfield 50
Molunkus Lake T1R5 WELS 50

 Nels Kramer, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist

Region G - Aroostook County

Weather has been cold and snowy in much of the region this December. Snowfall ranges from an inch or two in southern Aroostook County to twenty-four inches in northern Aroostook. The rain that fell last week settled the snow on the ice and, in some cases, absorbed the snow into a layer of snow ice on top of any blue ice that had formed. Extreme caution should be exercised in venturing on the ice New Year’s Day. Walk out and check the ice before roaring out on snowmobiles and tote sleds.

 
During the upcoming fishing season anglers will want to check out the splake fishing on Squa Pan Lake and Drew’s Lake, each received a stocking of 14-17 inch fish in October. Squa Pan also received 174 retired brook trout brood fish at 2-3 pounds each. A minimum length limit of 12 inches remains on salmon at St. Froid Lake; it has increased to 18 inches on togue. Two hundred 18-20 inch retired salmon brood fish were stocked in St. Froid Lake in November. Spaulding Lake in Oakfield is once again open to the taking of smelts by hook and line. Long, Cross, Square and Eagle Lakes are closed to fishing for salmon, trout and togue until January 15. At the headwaters of the Aroostook River, splake and salmon fishing should be fast at Millinocket Lake and togue and trout should be in good supply at Millimagassett Lake.

 
A number of different management programs have recently been adopted as part of the Department’s effort to restore lake whitefish populations. For instance, there will be a 16-inch length limit on whitefish in Clear Lake, Ross Lake and St. Froid Lake. Also, the following lakes are now closed to the taking of whitefish: 1st, 2nd and 3rd Musquacook Lakes, Spider Lake, Big Eagle Lake and Churchill Lake. Finally, eleven lake whitefish at Clear Lake have had a radio transmitter surgically implanted in the abdomen to trace their movement within the lake. Each transmitter is the size of a AAA battery and would not be visible until the fish was cleaned. Anglers who catch and kill any of these whitefish with transmitters are urged to contact biologists at the Ashland office.

 
We encourage all anglers to obtain and read a copy of the 2005 Ice Fishing Regulations for regulation changes prior to going fishing.

 
Biologists from the Ashland office will be surveying anglers Long Lake throughout the fishing season. Angler cooperation to assist us in collecting biological data will be greatly appreciated.
 Dave Basley, Regional Fishery Biologist


From the Maine Warden Service...The Colonel’s Outdoor Tip

Ice Safety - Maine’s inland waters can be beautiful and peaceful looking when covered with a new fallen snow but caution is necessary before walking out on to the ice. An inch or two of fresh snow can be deceiving—it may look like its safe on a newly frozen lake but often in the early winter, there is thin ice under that snow. Please check with local wardens, guides and residents before venturing out onto the ice.

Snowmobile Safety - While snowmobiling is a very safe sport overall, many of the snowmobile accidents happen on sharp curves in the snowmobile trails and these accidents are preventable. As a snowmobile operator, it is your legal responsibility to operate in a safe manner.

So, when snowmobiling this winter:
 Keep to the right on the trail.
 Operate at a safe and prudent speed.
 Wear a helmet.
 Don’t drink and drive.
 Let someone know where you are going, and when you are coming back.

Have fun in Maine’s winter outdoors and please be safe!
 Colonel Tom Santaguida, Chief of the Maine Warden Service