Fish of Maine |
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Scientific Name:
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Salvelinus fontinalis
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Average Life Span:
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Average Size:
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16 - 20 inches
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Average Weight:
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3 - 5 pounds
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Spawning Period:
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September through December; eggs usually hatch after 90 days when water temperature is 40°F.
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Eggs Laid:
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Habitat:
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Ponds and small stream, with ideal water temperatures of 50° - 65°F.
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Food Source(s):
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Immature stages of aquatic insects and invertebrates, small fish, frogs
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Young are Called:
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Nickname(s):
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Squaretail
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Physical Characteristics:
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Caudal and dorsal fins are covered with dark-colored spots.
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Other Data:
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Brook trout are truly cold water fish.
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Scientific Name:
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Salmo Trutta
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Average Life Span:
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Average Size:
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40 inches
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Average Weight:
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Spawning Period:
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October through February; eggs hatch with water temperatures of 55° - 57°F.
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Eggs Laid:
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Habitat:
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Rivers and high gradient streams
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Food Source(s):
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Insects and other minute animal life, crayfish and small fish
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Young are Called:
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Nickname(s):
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Loch Leven Trout, Scotch Sea Trout, Sea Run Brown Trout and Swiss Lake Trout
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Physical Characteristics:
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Other Data:
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Introduced into Maine waters at Branch Leake (Ellsworth) in 1885.
Brown Trout can withstand higher water temperatures than Brook Trout.
Recorded weights have reached 33 pounds 10 ounces.
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Scientific Name:
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Esox niger
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Average Life Span:
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Average Size:
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Average Weight:
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Spawning Period:
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Springtime, once the ice has melted; eggs hatch after a 1-2 week incubation period.
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Eggs Laid:
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No nest is prepared; eggs clings to the bottom.
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Habitat:
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Food Source(s):
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Ducklings, Yellow & White Perch, Minnows, Frogs, Mice, Snakes and Muskrats.
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Young are Called:
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Nickname(s):
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Physical Characteristics:
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Other Data:
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These fush have a well deserved reputation as predaceous.
Adults lie in wait of their prey and capture it in one swift lunge.
Chain Pickerel represents one of the four most abundant, warm-water game fish in Maine.
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Scientific Name:
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Salvelinus namayacush
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Average Life Span:
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Estimated at 20-40 years.
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Average Size:
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Average Weight:
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Spawning Period:
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Mid October through mid November; eggs hatch within 140-166 days when water temperature is 37°F.
Males spawn every year while females reproduce alternate years.
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Eggs Laid:
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Habitat:
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Food Source(s):
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Young are Called:
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Nickname(s):
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Togue
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Physical Characteristics:
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Other Data:
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These fish have been taken at water depths exceeding 300 feet.
Lake Trout is the second largest member of the Salmon & Trout family; there have been recorded catches where these Trout have
weighed more than 100 pounds.
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Scientific Name:
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Average Life Span:
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Average Size:
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Average Weight:
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Spawning Period:
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Mid October through November; eggs usually hatch after six months when water temperature is 32° - 35°F.
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Eggs Laid:
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Habitat:
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Food Source(s):
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Minnows, Yellow Perch, Smelts, Sticklebacks and immature Alewives.
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Young are Called:
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Parr
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Nickname(s):
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Racers
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Physical Characteristics:
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Other Data:
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Maine maintains its reputation of possessing the largest sport fishery of Land Locked Salmon.
Seventy percent (70%) of each spawning run is comprised of Salmon reproducing for the first time.
Most Salmon caught by Maine fishermen are 3-6 years; maximum recorded age is 13 years.
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Scientific Name:
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Salmo gaidneri
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Average Life Span:
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Average Size:
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Average Weight:
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Spawning Period:
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Eggs Laid:
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Habitat:
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Food Source(s):
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Young are Called:
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Nickname(s):
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Physical Characteristics:
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Other Data:
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Scientific Name:
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Micropterus salmoides
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Average Life Span:
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Average Size:
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Average Weight:
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Spawning Period:
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Nesting activities usually occur during the late Spring through early Summer, when water temperatures reach 63°F.
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Eggs Laid:
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2,000 - 7,000 eggs per pound of body weight.
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Habitat:
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These Bass thrive in shallow warm, weedy, mud-bottom ponds and slow current streams.
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Food Source(s):
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Crayfish, Frogs and other small fish.
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Young are Called:
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Nickname(s):
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Physical Characteristics:
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Other Data:
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Historians estimate that Large Mouth Bass was introduced to Maine waters during the early 1900's.
Large Mouth Bass prefer to feed in schools of other Large Mouths.
Female Bass often share a nest when spawning; the nest is constructed and protected by the Male Bass.
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Scientific Name:
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Micropterus dolomieui
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Average Life Span:
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Average Size:
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Average Weight:
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Spawning Period:
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June is the peak time, when water temperatures are 59° - 65°F.
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Eggs Laid:
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8,000 eggs per pound of body weight.
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Habitat:
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Food Source(s):
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Crayfish and Smaller Fish.
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Young are Called:
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Nickname(s):
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Black Bass
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Physical Characteristics:
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Other Data:
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Records indicate that Maine waters were first stocked in 1869, after the Civil War.
The younger Small Mouths prefer to feed alone.
This fish species is technically not a Bass; it is a member of the Sunfish family.
Males build the nest, protect the eggs and watch over their young.
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Scientific Name:
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Average Life Span:
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Average Size:
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15 - 24 inches
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Average Weight:
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2 - 10 pounds
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Spawning Period:
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Eggs Laid:
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Habitat:
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Food Source(s):
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Young are Called:
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Nickname(s):
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Physical Characteristics:
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Long, slender body; similar to Lake Trout.
Caudal fin is slightly forked.
Has yellow spots, but lacks the worm-like markings of the Brook Trout's back.
Dorsal and Caudal fins are covered with light-colored spots.
Head and mouth are smaller than that of Lake Trout.
Head and mouth are larger than that of Brook Trout.
The best way to distinguish Splake from Brook Trout is to make counts of certain internal organs around the stomach.
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Other Data:
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Has a more rapid growth than Lake and Brook Trouts; known as "Hybrid Vigor".
Splake is a hybrid fish, resulting from the fertilization of Lake Trout eggs with Brook Trout sperm.
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Scientific Name:
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Morone americana
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Average Life Span:
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Average Size:
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Average Weight:
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Spawning Period:
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Eggs Laid:
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150,000 by a one pound female, when the water temperature is 60°F; each egg has an adhesive disk, that it uses to affix itself to debris,
grass and rocks. A 4-5 drop in water can kill all of the deposited eggs.
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Habitat:
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Flowages, lakes and ponds having shallow, warm water.
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Food Source(s):
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Young are Called:
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Nickname(s):
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Physical Characteristics:
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Other Data:
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White perch are very tasty and rank among the top ten fresh water game fish. They are closely related to striped bass.
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Scientific Name:
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Perca flavescens
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Average Life Span:
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Average Size:
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Average Weight:
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Spawning Period:
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Eggs Laid:
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Habitat:
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Food Source(s):
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Young are Called:
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Nickname(s):
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Physical Characteristics:
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Other Data:
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Fish of Maine |