Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-04-24
TO STUDY FISH.
Expert Of U. S. Fish Commission to
Come to Maine This Summer.
Dr.. Kendall, a Native of This State, i:
Preparing a Handbook on Maine
Fishes.

DR.. w. c. Kendall, q native of Free
port, Me-, and Il scientific assistant in
the United States Fish commission at
Washington, is planning to spend an
other summer in Maine, studying Diff
fercnt questions pertaining to the fish
es that frequent the lakes and rivers
there. The doctor was in Maine most
of last summer and went over many of
the inland waterways OF the northern
section of the State. one of these days
he will print sort of handbook of
Maine fishes for the information of
anglers and others.
In his office ait the fish commission,
there are numerous big jars with speci-
men fishes of Maine, preserved in al
cohol. He is devoting much time to the
study of these specimens. some of
which are monster salmon that fill
enormous glass jars. DR.. Kendall
found, what ne believes to be two new
species of the white fish in Maine last
summer. Some of them We're taken
from the Eagle lakes. At least one of
the new species, if such they prove to
be, make fine eating. His explorations
last summer were confined largely to
i Grand lake, Matagamon lake, Sebago
lake, Degsconeag lake, West Branch OF
the Penobscot, and Rainbow lake and
the Al,agash river. There is still a
great deal of work IN the same region
which DR.. Kendall would like to carry
out. He wanted to go to Portage and
| Ashland last year but was unable to dc
| so for want of time.
II he could have gotten away from
| the commission Dr.. Kendall would
| have gone to SebaSo lake this month
to further study the run of salmon
there. He did not coincide with the
! often accepted view that the salmon dc
not feed when they are running VI
fresh water rivers and streams and
wishes to investigate that subject
| thoroughly. III this Dr. Kendall adj
mits that he disagrees with an eminent
| Maine authority, G. b. Atkins of the
| Craig Brook station. Nevertheless he
insists that the salmon in fresh water
| during April are following generally
| schools of shrimp, smelts or other
small food fishes.
When later in the summer DR.. Ken
| dali does get to Maine, he intends to
pursue Investigations as to certain
small salmon found in Matagamon
| lake. The salmon that he took from
| there last summer were from five to ten
| inches long. Many of them We're
| caught with fly and were found to
| be marked with red spots, characteris-
| tic Of the parr. Dr. Kendall says he
wants to get some more of these sal
| mon and he hopes to be able to tag
some of them and turn them loose
again, that the rate of growth and the
wanderings of these salmon in the
course of two orIthree years may be
recorded.
The process of tagging the doctor
follows is to hitch a small aluminium
| tag around one of the fin bones. These
| tags are numbered and recorded in the
| fish commission here. Following that
and from time to time the fact of the
tagging is advertised among fishermen
| in the localities, where the salmon are
| likely to be. Then as the salmon are
caught, the fishermen are requested to
notify the fish commission, noting the
| place and time, the dimensions of the
| fish and other particulars. By COM
| pairing these data with the data al
ready in possession of the commission
some interesting facts regarding the
growth and habits of the fish can be
reliably stated.
DR.. Kendall spent much time during
| last September at Webster lake, and
| at Washington, and while there he
caught several four and five pound
trout. He investigated these fish very
carefully. For the benefit of fishermen
who go there for sport the doctor says
that he was successful in using the
Lester fly. The trout would take no
other fly and would not take grasshop-
pers.