AUGUSTA – Weather forecasters are predicting a nice weekend, and what better way to spend it than to go fishing – or take your children fishing!

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is promoting Family Free Fishing Days this Saturday and Sunday, May 30-31 to encourage people to get out and experience Maine’s waterways.

This free fishing event is open to any person except those whose license has been revoked or suspended. All fishing regulations apply. For a complete list of fishing regulations, including limits and sizes, visit www.mefishwildlife.com and click on “fishing.”

Fishing, whether on open water or on ice, is one of the most popular activities in Maine, drawing thousands upon thousands of residents and out-of-state visitors to the state’s nearly 6,000 lakes and ponds and almost 32,000 miles of rivers and streams.

Approximately 286,000 people annually purchase fishing licenses in Maine, and the sport has a $300 million impact on the state’s economy.

This weekend is the last of two free fishing weekends offered this year.

“Parents and grandparents, it seems, always are looking for ways to introduce youngsters to Maine’s outdoors, and Family Free Fishing Days is the perfect opportunity to do that. Why cast a line on a video game system when you can do the real thing this weekend? The anticipation of catching a fish, and the experience of seeing one at the end of a line, are experiences that will stay with you and your young ones.”

Want to continue the fishing experience throughout the year? Fishing licenses are available for purchase on IF&W’s Web site, www.mefishwildlife.com, at any of the more than 285 MOSES licensing agents statewide, or at town offices and other locations.

They also are available at our main office at 284 State St., Augusta.

As part of National River Cleanup, members of the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance and students from the Telstar Challenge Course at Telstar High School in Bethel, Maine took part in the clean-up of a section of the Androscoggin River from West Bethel to Bethel on Wednesday, May 20, 2009.

In speaking with Wende Gray, a representative of the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance, she said the rafts were loaded with debris.

They found at least 1,000 lbs including car bumper, culvert, oil tank, bedspring, tires, car seat, paint cans, lamp post, electrical conduit, baby carriage and 1950’s record player.

Below are pictures of some of the participants and a good representation of some of the debris that got hauled away.

Tom Remington

Fresh Maine Brook Trout from a lake high in the mountains of the North Maine Wilderness. Fried in an old frying pan with Salt Pork Slices. Trout rolled in a mix of flour, corn meal , salt and pepper. Cook over an open fire until crispy on the outside. FINGER LICKING GOOD “FIT FOR A KING” – Milt

Milt Inman Photo

Milt Inman

AUGUSTA – The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection have partnered with Fly Fishing in Maine (FFIM), a group dedicated to protecting Maine’s fisheries, to place three washing stations at popular Maine fisheries in an attempt to prevent the spreading of “didymo” — an invasive species of algae — to Maine’s rivers.

Two of the sites are on the Rapid River in western Maine, and the third is at the Route 35 bridge in Windham on the Presumpscot River.

“Perhaps the most serious threat to Maine’s fragile aquatic natural resources is the introduction of invasive fish, plants or other organisms. It’s imperative that we make every effort to prevent these intoductions from occurring,” says John Boland, Fisheries Division Director for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. “Fly Fishing in Maine deserves credit for facilitating this effort.”

“Didymo” – Didymosphenia geminata and commonly called “rock snot” – is a type of algae known as a diatom. The single-celled organism can “bloom” or spread, creating mats of brown material on rocks or riverbeds that could interfere with the life cycles of insects and fish. Presently, didymo has not been found in Maine, but it was confirmed in New York and Quebec in 2006, and in New Hampshire and Vermont in 2007. Didymo is native to far northern and mountainous reaches of the globe, but is expanding its range, commonly to waters frequented by anglers.

“There is no one answer to solving the problem but between a public education awareness program and the first of what we hope to be many public washing stations, there is a chance that we can limit the spread of this stuff,” said Ken Beaulieu of Fly Fishing in Maine.

This program is made possible by a generous grant from L.L. Bean. The grant will cover the costs of building the pilot washing stations, signage and the washing solution. Other partners in this effort include landowners, the Maine Department of Transportation (Presumpcot River site), Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust (Rapid River-Lower Dam), and Nextera Energy (formerly Florida Power and Light) (Rapid River-Middle Dam).

The stations will be maintained by volunteer “station keepers” who will monitor the stations and refresh them with a 5% salt-based solution. To be effective, anglers will need to remove plant and other debris from boots and then soak their boots, nets and other gear for 3 minutes before proceeding into and when exiting the water, according to John McPhedran, a land and water quality biologist at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Anglers also are asked to clean equipment again at home and then dry completely, ideally for 48 hours.

“This is a reasonable start to ensuring that anglers are not contributing to the spread of didymo into Maine’s waters,” Boland said.

For more information on Fly Fishing in Maine, visit its website at www.flyfishinginmaine.org.

Posted by Tom Remington

By Captain Jim Hirt

Let’s continue with ways to land more of the fish you have on the line. We covered quality hooks and correct setting of the drags on your reels. They probably rank as the top two in importance, although there are many other ways to get the fish to stick.

To me there is nothing more vital to my success on the lake and satisfaction of my customers than a high ratio fish on to fish in. I am sure there are some that will disagree with a procedure I use to allow a greater numbers at the end of the day.

I pull my lines and stop the boat on all of the fish over ten pounds or at least that’s my goal. Occasionally, in the heat of the battle, a larger fish will end up close to the boat before we can clear lines. Then I will take the boat down as slow as we can to avoid getting the fish around my other lines. The longer you drag the fish around the more time they have to get off.

Over the years I have found that the harder you pull on the fish the harder they fight and more likely they will come off. This also allows me to run smaller terminal tackle and lighter lines both of which improve presentation. I know pulling lines is a lot of work but I would rather do that than disappoint a customer and friend.

I have the pleasure of a new group of fishermen twice a day with a wide variety of experience. Most of who have never caught a fish before. My youngest this year was three and oldest was eighty-seven. We managed to boat over 80% of the fish we had on.

There will be more on this subject in the next article. Good Luck!!

Jim charters out of Milwaukee, WI. with Blue Max Charters. He can be reached at 414… or visit his web site at http://www.bluemaxcharters.com

Copyright© 2009, James J. Hirt, All Rights Reserved

Posted by Tom Remington

As part of National River Cleanup, members of the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance and students from the Telstar Challenge Course at Telstar High School in Bethel, Maine will clean up a section of the Androscoggin River from West Bethel to Bethel on Wednesday, May 20. Students, ages 16-18, will float down the river in rafts armed with garbage bags and towing garbage scow rafts to collect debris along the riverbanks. The clean-up flotilla will launch at 9 am from Newt’s Landing in West Bethel and take out at Davis Park in Bethel. Community members are welcome to help clean-up other stretches of the river. The town of Bethel will provide trash collection at Newt’s Landing and Davis Park and deliver to the town’s solid waste facility.

Magic Falls Rafting Company of West Forks, Maine will provide rafts and garbage scows. American Rivers and NRC sponsor Tom’s of Maine are supplying trash bags. Immediately following the clean-up, Pleasant River Campground in West Bethel is hosting a barbecue for the participants.

Rivers and watersheds have been used as dumps for old appliances, shopping carts and other refuse. Litter, such as foam cups, plastic bottles and food wrappers float into waterways, build up along the shoreline and stay there for years. With landfill space at a premium, recycling efforts stymied by a lack of plant capacity and toxic waste expensive to control, a grassroots effort can help maintain a constituency for preserving and protecting waterways. In 2008, 600 tons of trash and debris was collected and 7,453 miles of rivers cleaned across the nation. Last year the Upper Andro yielded over a ton of debris including bed springs, tires and tire rims and a discarded outboard motor.

The Upper Andro Anglers Alliance is co-ordinating the local clean up. Says UAAA director Scott Stone “There’s been a decades long effort to improve the water quality and fishery. Now we need to improve the shore land zone and access to this wonderful river.”

National River Cleanup was founded in 1992 by America Outdoors, the largest association of America’s outfitters and guides, to assist local groups in keeping waterways clean. In 2007 American Rivers assumed administration of the river clean up. American Rivers, founded in 1973, is the nation’s leading river advocacy organization. NRC Information is published on line at www.nationalrivercleanup.org.