FFIM

I heard through the grapevine that this passed... anyone know?

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"Fishermen...spending their lives in the fields and woods...are often in a more favorable mood for observing her, in the intervals of their pursuits, than philosophers or poets even, who approach her with expectation." - Thoreau

I was over at the hearing along with a few other Maine hill people (opposite of flatlanders?). It was possibly the most poorly organized public hearing I have ever attended. The hearing officer didn't set any ground rules, and the hearing quickly devolved into back and forth between members of the public. At one point a NH Conservation Officer stepped in, and things got a little better after that.

Pretty big turnout--maybe 40-50? Of the people who spoke--if you counted them each once, as opposed to by how many comments they made--I'd say the comments were something like 2:1 opposed to the proposal, including the three folks from Maine who spoke.

I would have been very surprised if the hearing and the written comments that came in by December 8th made any difference, and they didn't. The 2018 Rules are now up on the NH Fish and Game website: http://www.eregulations.com/wp-content/ ... HFW_LR.pdf

For the Magalloway, it's barbless artificials, C+R for trout, downstream from the Maine border to the mouth of Sturtevant Stream. Same on the section from there downstream to Umbagog Lake from Jan 1 to May 31, and from the day after Labor Day to September 30. From June 1 to Labor Day, here is how it reads:

Quote:

Single hook artificial lures/flies, only a single hook point shall be used with bait, all hooks shall be barbless
or have barbs pinched, use or possession of live fish for bait shall be
prohibited. Catch and release for trout. No limits on black bass.

It's a little confusing but I think that makes bait other than live fish legal, so long as its used on single point, barbless hooks, and all trout are released.

So, dead fish as bait is legal? Treble hooks are legal, as long as your not using more than one on a lure, or using bait?

Effectively- does this read as "Barbless single-hooked ALO, with an exception to use dead fish as bait and worms- provided bait is only used with single-pointed hooks"?

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"You never miss the water until the well runs dry" - traditional blues

I guess it could be worse, I don’t have data, but I see that water as a thoroughfare more than holding water, and the migration should be spring and fall. Policing that will be a nightmare.

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"Fishermen...spending their lives in the fields and woods...are often in a more favorable mood for observing her, in the intervals of their pursuits, than philosophers or poets even, who approach her with expectation." - Thoreau

The reality is that NHFG has no idea whether this is just a thoroughfare or whether there are resident brook trout in this section. They admitted to never doing a habitat study or assessment of fish species/populations on this section of river and have never so much as conducted a creel survey. Those in attendance at the Errol meeting will recall there are certainly some anglers that have targeted brook trout in this stretch in the past and hoped to do so in the future.

"Policing". That's a good joke right there. NHFG has been woefully understaffed statewide and while there is a conservation officer who lives in Errol, he has very limited time to enforce fishing regulations given the demands placed on him by ATV enforcement, hiker rescues, etc. He now has a new K-9 partner in training and will be at Basic Canine Patrol School in VT for much of the summer; from the press release: "The school is 544 hours and runs from July until November".

There you have it - clear as mud. I respect you two as pretty astute when it comes to matters like this. If you two are a bit confused, the rest of the public????? Enforcement is a whole other can of worms - so to speak.

I can't comment on the policing question. I've never been checked by a NH warden, but I haven't fished over there much, either. --I've rarely been checked by a Maine warden while fishing, though I see them more often--maybe once a season--while duck hunting. I hunt a lot fewer days than I fish, but a lot more of those days are south of Augusta where I think patrols are more frequent.

FWIW I had need to contact a Maine Game Warden while out duck hunting a couple of weeks ago and called the general contact number on the website. I was on the phone with a warden within 5 minutes, and he was on site in 15. I think I lucked out that he was in my end of his district when I called, but I was pretty impressed. Nice guy, too.

Vermonter is spot on about the lack of information or study of this section of the river, which many of us commented on.