Big Wadleigh Pond is a fisheries success story

By V. Paul Reynolds

Big Wadleigh Pond is a 157-acre trout pond located in northwest Piscataquis County. It is a popular destination for trout fishermen, and one of only a dozen Maine waters that are home to the native Arctic charr. Maine is the only state in the lower 48 that still has the Arctic charr.

Fisheries biologists say that these native charr are very sensitive to any “aberrations in the ecosystem.” According to Greenville regional fisheries biologist, Tim Obrey, an illegal introduction of rainbow smelt posed a serious threat to the survival of the native charr. Obrey reports that IF&W took “extraordinary steps” to preserve, not just the charr, but also the wild brook trout in Big Wadleigh Pond.

The only way to rid the pond of the bucket-stocked rainbow smelt was through a reclamation, a major undertaking in the annals of wild fish management. Before reclamation, of course, the fish to be protected had to be tagged and trapped and then moved to a “holding” location.

In the fall of 2012, according to Obrey, 100 charr and 300 native brook trout were captured and moved to Mountain Springs Trout Farm in Frenchville. Once the smelts were eliminated from Big Wadleigh Pond and the captured species were successfully raised and spawned by the Frenchville hatchery, they were systematically restocked back into the reclaimed pond.

That took place about a decade ago. At that time fishing was permitted on a catch and release basis to give the restocking a chance to “take.”

Obrey and his team returned to the pond last summer, 11 years after the reclamation, and were pleased to find “multiple age classes” of both Arctic charr and brook trout. Fishermen are finding excellent fishing and abundant populations of both species.

As the saying goes, you can’t argue with success. This is fisheries management news that is about as good as it gets. A number of years ago, Obrey and his crew performed a similar undertaking at Thissell Pond, a trout pond in which rainbow smelts also had been introduced by bucket stockers. This pond has since  “risen from the ashes” after its reclamation a number of years ago, and now supports an excellent brook trout fishery.

Obrey and his employer, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, have earned the appreciation of all Mainers, and others, who value the intrinsic worth of the state’s precious and fabled wild trout and Arctic charr fishery.

The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide and host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network. He has authored three books. Online purchase information is available at www.sportingjournal.com, Outdoor Books.