FISHING IN MAINE

Here's a picture of my fishing truck taken on April 2nd, 1999. It's all gassed and ready to go down any dirt road Maine can throw at it. Now all I need is for the mud roads to turn into dirt roads. I'm trying to get as much done on this site as I can before that happens. Hopefully we'll be landing some whoppers (if not we can always tell whoppers). It doesn't much matter it's just nice to get out and fish. By the way, the background fish is one of five I caught on the 2nd of May at Sebago Lake. It was 4 pounds and 21 inches in length.

This beautiful looking fish was caught in Hutchinson Pond near Albany, Maine the second year that I went there. I used to make it to Hutchinson Pond at least three or four times each fishing season. It was probably my most favorite place to fish in Maine because it did not have a boat ramp for larger boats, only carry ins. The water was always crystal clear and the fishing was great. My fishing philosophy since Alaska is to catch and release. I'll usually bring home just a couple fish every year.
I never once went to Hutchinson Pond that I didn't have an enjoyable time and catch fish until I went last year with two friends (Tim and Jim) with the intention of camping out overnight on a remote peninsula at the far side of the pond. We had two inflatable boats and ferried all of our provisions for the stay in two trips. We had tents all set up and were having a great time when a visitor came motoring across the pond. He told us that he was keeping an eye on the area for the out of state landowner and that the landowner did not want people staying overnight on his property. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE IF THIS POLICY HAD BEEN POSTED. I have always been very respectful of other people's property and always remove our trash and sometimes things left by others, but I am not a mind reader.I should have known that our trip was going to be a disaster when Jim got a really nice trout out of the water and was swinging it into the boat when the fish hit the side of the boat and got off the hook. I probably will never go back to Hutchinson. TOO BAD.

Another one of my favorite places for fishing in Maine is North Pond in Greenwood along Route 26. The reason I like North Pond so much is because there are so many fish in it and it's a good place to take the kids to have fun and catch some yellow perch or bluegills. Not many people like to eat them and we release them anyhow but they are a nice size, usually around 10 to 12 inches long and enjoyable to catch. I took my granddaughter Meagan there one day; just her and I and the inflatable boat. No sooner than I had it launched I heard "Grandpa, I have to go potty." So we motored over to the outhouse. No sooner than we were back in the boat I heard: "Grandpa, I'm thirsty." So I got a Coca Cola out of the cooler for her. While I was baiting the hooks I heard: "Grandpa, I'm hungry." So I got a sandwich out of the cooler. Finally everything was ready to wet the hooks and we were heading for a likely spot when I heard: "Grandpa, how come that other boat goes faster than us?" I only have a one and a half horse trolling motor. Just as Meagan got her first disappearing bobber I heard: "Grandpa, Is it time to go home, yet?" Meagan was only five years old at the time and it was an experience only a grandfather could relish forever.

My daughter Susan and I went to North Pond one day and when I decided it was time to leave I had caught one more fish than she had. The score was 89 to 88. So you can see what I mean about a lot of fish. Another fishing trip there with Sue was rather eerie. We had been fishing for a couple hours and were catching a bunch of perch when all of a sudden Sue's pole was almost jerked out of her hands. She finally succeeded in bringing the fish into the boat and it was a good sized catfish (we didn't measure it but I would guess about 15 inches) that had a rusty hook embedded in its lip. Sue took out her hook and tried to get the other hook out with out success and then released it. In all the times I had been to North Pond I had never caught a catfish there. We moved the boat about 15 yards away near a stump and wouldn't you know it Sue caught that same catfish again. (Same rusty hook in the mouth.) Before we called it a day she had caught that same critter 4 times and I caught it once. That occurred despite moving from one side of the pond to the other. When I caught it the sun was starting to set and I told Sue "Let's get out of here before that thing catches us."

I have very few photos on fish that I've caught in Maine primarily because the only camera I ever take along with me is the video camera. I'm going to start taking a digital camera along on outings this year so there will be some nice trout pictures on this site before the fishing season ends. As you can see from the background, the digital camera is pretty neat. Here is one of me holding another four pounder, It was the last catch of the day.