Kennebago Falls Dam, located approximately one mile below Kennebago Lake, acts as a barrier to the upstream migration of yellow perch and¡is now being renovated to produce hydroelectric power.
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ELLOW PERCH became established in the lower Kennebago River in the 1950s, and spread from there into John's Pond. The salmon present in this pond exhibit slow growth due to unfavorable habitat and lack of forage fish. Of the remaining surveyed ponds, Kamankeag and Flatiron ponds provide excellent brook trout fisheries. None of the Kennebago waters are stocked, due to natural spawning areas available throughout the drainage, and due to limited public access. A gate near Little Kennebago Lake restricts vehicular traffic from the northern half of the drainage, including Seven Ponds. Today one of the main access roads to Kennebago Lake is built on 12
an old railroad bed. For many years, the Maine Central Railroad ran train and Pullman service to Kennebago Lake. After this service was discontinued during the Depression, mail service was continued for several winters by dog sled before more conventional means were used to serve the few people who wintered at the tiny village. Today, as in the past, there are few year-round residents of the drainage, but the summer population swells as camp owners, guests, and club members congregate to fish for the brook trout and salmon of Kennebago's waters.
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HE KENNEBAGO RIVER drainage has been fished for more than a century now, and the quality of the fishery remains surprisingly good, in spite of introductions of new species, increased fishing pressure, and commercial forest cutting. While fishing regulations at Big and Little Kennebago lakes should be relaxed somewhat to increase the harvest and reduce stunting of salmon, the drainage in general is sensibly regulated. This, combined wit h strict enforcement of land and water use laws, will insure good fishing in an aesthetic environment for many years to come.
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REFERENCES Cooper, Gerald P. A Biological Survey of the Rangeley Lakes, with Special Reference to the Trout and Salmon. Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Game, 1940. Kendall, William Converse. The Range ley Lakes, Maine; with Special Reference to the Habits of the Fishes, Fish Culture, and Angling. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Fisheries, 1918. Nile, LeRoy. Kennebago Summer. Farmington, Maine: Th e Knowlton & McLeary Co., 1947.
Maine Fish and Wildlife-Spring 1983