Flyfish writes:

Well my latest Orvis newsletter came in yesterday with a "nice" little
article pimping for restoration money that claims "the best brook trout
fishery" is the rapid.

That will go a long way to lowering the pressure. Idiots.

This week-end is the great bass tournament at Pond in the River. The fish and
game folks told me there would be 40 people fishing the Pond in hopes of
getting rid of some of the bass. They will be lucky if they catch 40 bass
total. The best way to rid the river of bass is to turn it into a cold water
fishery instead of the warm water one it now is. FPL's total mismanagement of
the water flow is part of the problem. The bass have been in Umbagog since
1984 and have only recently become a problem. The Richardsons were overflowing
with water in early winter, but instead of bleeding it off normally, they
opened uf the dam and lowered the lake by 7 feet. It is about 5 feet low right
now and the 390 cfs remains. If you call TU and speak to the Maine bigwigs,
you will think you are talking to FPL's CEO.

Also, if the flow is 390 cfs (like it has been since May 14), the river is easy
to fish and the locals flock in. Put the flow at 900 and the fishing pressure
is lowered because the "catching" is harder. Harry (the dam keeper and local
poll taker for fish and game) counted 51 people on the river on Memorial Day,
from Cedar Stump all the way to Upper Dam. Sounds like alot of pressure, but
it was easy to find a place to fish.

I've heard from a number of people that the Lower Dam structure will be removed
this August. The state fears that if it collapses into the river below the
dam, it will be a negative impact on the brookie spawning beds. So, if you do
not have some pictures of it, best to take a few now before it becomes history.
Too bad, really. They will leave the wooden shoots and rock structures.

Also, the condo prolem is dead - or so I've heard. They can't find a way to
get the people in except by boat. However, two cabins *will* be built on Rifle
Point between the cove and the dam. Even more pressure, but not as bad as it
would have been with twelve condos.
Dave

http://hometown.aol.com/davplac/myhomepage/index.html