06/17/2007          Fathers Day Fishing....

- I took off for an Sunday trip for fishing, hitting some old favorites but also adding some new locations to the list.  First sop was for smallmouths in my backyard in Dixfield.  Further upriver was an opportunity to fish in Mexico.  I headed away from the Androscoggin to try my luck on the Webb River in Carthage as well as giving the Sandy River a shot in Avon.  All in all it was a pleasant Fathers Day!

06/03/2007          New Home, Slacking on the Adventures....

- As some folks know we moved to the western mountains last fall and bought a house this spring.  We've been so busy taking care of settling in that the adventuring slowed down.  Today I packed up the canoe for some fishing on Little Jim Pond in Jim Pond Twp.  Paddling to the far shore of the pond also puts you in King and Bartlett Twp.  Heading back to the south I stopped along Flagstaff in Eustis.  Last stop was a small brook in New Vineyard.  Come back often for updates, we are settled into our new home and living in a beautiful part of Maine, many more adventures are on the way.

11/19/2006          And Back West....

- The return trip was less eventful as it started to drizzle but we did find a break in the weather and stopped in T22 MD near Lead Mountain.  This is one of the first places I ever hunted partridge and it was nostalgic to be on these woods roads again.

11/18/2006          Due East, Don't Hurry....

- Nancy and I had started suffering a bit from cabin fever.  We've been staying close to home since I started my new job at Franklin Memorial and it's been about two months since I quit smoking cigarettes.  We decided to take an adventure and take our time going due east, stopping where ever the mood struck us until it got dark.  First stop was to admire the Kennebec River in Skowhegan, the waters were running high and this spot, known as Big Eddy is popular for brown trout in the summer.  Next along our route was a hike in Palmyra, there are still standing corn fields even in November.  As we approached the coast we stopped in Dedham to stroll along Philips Lake.  At the coast in our eastward journey we stopped at a small park in Hancock to admire Sullivan Falls, a fast moving tidal fall.  Further on down the road we stopped in Sullivan where we found this flock of mallards.  The weather was fair for this time of year and we enjoyed a hike in Winter Harbor at Schoodic Point.  Later in the day we strolled another beach in Gouldsboro.  Jonesboro is in the heart of blueberry country but these fields of bright red rose hips were worth admiring.  We still had plenty of day light left when we came to Roque Bluffs and hiked another beach.  Lastly, before we called it a day we stopped in Machias and strolled along the Machias River.

10/21/2006          Parading Pick-up Trucks....

- It is an October ritual that you can find on just about any Saturday on a dirt road this month, pick-up trucks carrying partridge hunters slowly rolling along the roads looking for a bird.  Many of these hunters are traveling to a selected area to pursue the birds, some are "heater hunters" preferring the warmth of the cab and satisfied to find their quarry in the road at which time they get out of the cab, load their shotgun and let a shot fly at the bird.  I took today to walk some of the back-roads.  Starting in Carrying Place Twp a walked the roads.  It was windy and it had rained the night before so after a while I got in my truck, joined the parade and drove north to Bowtown Twp.  After stalking my prey along the shores of North Otter Pond, I headed southwest to Carrying Place Town Twp.  It is not a typo, the two townships have similar names and between them hold the Carry Ponds.  Lastly, I headed south in Highland Plt for one last hike with my shotgun before heading back home for lunch.

10/08/2006          Morning Mist and October Fishing....

- There is still fishing to be had this time of year and sometimes the moment can bring surprises.  I went to Madison to try for some brown trout.  The occasional trout would rise to the surface but the real pleasure this morning were the four deer that were wandering along the opposite shore.

10/07/2006          Dirt roads and Grouse....

- Fall has set in and today was the first day of bird season.  Spent the morning in Embden walking logging roads in search of my quarry.  Crisp morning temperatures, low humidity and wonderful foliage make these adventures some of the best.

08/19/2006          Gem of an Adventure....

- We were invited to spend the day at a closed quarry in Rumford called Black Mountain quarry.  The site is a lithium rich pegmatite where we found lepidolite, pink tourmaline and rose quartz.  The lithium gives the minerals in this location colors of pink, red and purple.  Here is a close up of some lepidolite (purple mica).

07/01/2006          Brook Trout Bonanza....

- Nancy and I headed north with our truck tent for the holiday weekend and spent a couple of days camping on the Greenlaw Stream in T11 R7 WELS.  We fished the stream for hours between downpours and thunderstorms and the brook trout were certainly accommodating.  None of the fish had much size, the largest being only 10 inches but there certainly were enough to keep both of us busy.

06/10/2006          Rainy Rendezvous....

- For about twenty years now I've managed to fish with two friends.  This year we headed to meet at the Magalloway River.  I had a good jump start on them and drove north in pouring rain.  I stopped for a bit in Hebron to hike around during a slower drizzle.  A little bit later I stopped in Woodstock to try fishing North Pond.  After a great day of fishing the Magalloway River we headed back to camp.  I took a quick trip down the road to try the Carrabassett River while it was raging.  The water was much more fishable in Kingfield.

06/04/2006          Meandering for Moose....

- Instead of building an Arc to combat all the rain we've had, Nancy and I decided to get out and look for moose.  We stopped at Smalls Falls and on a hiking trail in Madrid we found these white lady slippers.  We meandered up through the country and hit some paper company roads, sighting three moose along the way.  We did stop for lunch and some fishing on the Upper Kennebago River in Stetsontown TWP before heading back home.

04/02/2006          Headin' Home the Long Way....

- After a wonderful weekend with my best friend (who is also my wife) we headed back traveling along Route 11.  We stopped on this windy day for a small hike in T4 R9 NWP.  Further down the road we decided to stretch our legs one more time on this woods road in Charleston.  What a great weekend to start our open water fishing season.

04/01/2006          Opening Day on the West Branch....

- Nancy and I headed out early to fish the West Branch Penobscot River.  We had a wonderful morning, Nancy broke her fly twice and we didn't land any keepers but still had a wonderful morning.  While the skies dropped rain on us we decided to head down the Golden Road.  We got a nice collection of dried flowers and seed pods along a marsh in T3 R12 WELS.  Further down the road we stopped in T2 R12 WELS and found even more.  The skies opened up so we went back for more fishing.  In the afternoon we stopped in T1 R9 WELS for another hike, this time along a bog where we saw these mallards.  We headed back to the hotel for the evening, I highly recommend the Katahdin Inn for anyone staying in the area.

03/31/2006          Pre-scouting for Opening Day....

- I took Friday off to head north with Nancy for opening day (tomorrow).  We had high hopes for fishing the West Branch Penobscot.  We checked into our hotel room and with day light to spare we headed out to look for our destination.  We were hoping to fish the dead water in T2 R9 WELS.  We hiked down to the river, about fifteen minutes, only to find it locked solid with ice.  Not a total loss when you consider the view we had of Mount Katahdin :-)

03/05/2006          Trying to Hurry Spring....

- Today is one of those warm sunny days you sometimes get in early March that give you just a hint of spring in the air.  I went out this morning to see if I could find some Pussy Willows for Nancy.  As the picture shows I was successful in finding what I consider Maine's first flower of spring.  All it took was hiking along some wet areas that get plenty of sun shine.  For today, I was lucky enough to find some in Bowdoin.

03/04/2006          Eight Months is Too Long....

- Nancy and I agreed that 8 months was far too long since our last adventure.  Between real-life work, a new grandson and Nancy's recent adventures in Alaska we certainly fell behind in our local travels.  We decided to make up for it with some down-east hiking along the shore.  Our first stop was in Camden.  Even in the winter it is a beautiful harbor to walk along.  From there we left route 1 and traveled to Penobscot.  Winter still had a grip, even on the frozen salt water along the shore.  Further on down the road we came to Blue Hill where we saw this flock of Cedar Waxwings along the shore.  After a stop for lunch we traveled into Acadia National Park and stopped for another hike in Mount Desert.  Our last stop was in Bar Harbor where we hiked along Cadillac Mountain.  We are certainly blessed to have these kinds of opportunities all around us within a day's trip.

07/04/2005          Take the Long Way Home....

- We reluctantly broke camp and started the ride back home.  Since we weren't ready to call it quits yet we decided to meander home instead of taking a beeline back.  Our first stop was in Long Pond Twp where we hiked in the woods checking out the early summer wild flowers.  A little while later we came on a nice stretch of the Kennebec River in The Forks Plt.  We spent some time there having a shoreside lunch and giving our fly rods some exercise before we headed back to home.  All in all I'd say it was a good trip and look forward to the next one.

07/03/2005          It Could Only Happen to Me....

- I left the campsite to check out other fishing spots and to look for moose since we were all the way up here.  What are the odds of puncturing two tires?  I was driving through Plymouth Twp when I hit a bump and punctured both rear tires.  One was losing air fast so I put on the spare, the other was losing air slowly.  I went back to the campsite to tell Nancy and then headed back to civilization, all the while watching for air pumps to keep the tire full.  Four hours later the tire was repaired and I was back in the woods with my wife.  That kind of adventure I don't need :-)  At least Nancy was there to help me laugh it all off.

07/02/2005          Head North Young Man....

- A three day weekend and time for a new adventure.  Nancy and I went camping into the North Maine Woods, a giant expanse of timberlands in the northern part of the state.  After a long drive and leaving civilization behind, we stopped in Tomhegan Twp to hike a bit and stretch our legs.  Then we traveled through the 20 Mile Checkpoint and found the North Branch campsite (called the Honeymoon site by the gatekeeper) and we camped in Pittston Academy Grant.  It gave us a chance to try out the truck tent Nancy gave me for Father's Day.  It was a wonderful day and a peaceful night with just the sound of owls and coyotes through the evening.

05/31/2005          Mixing Business and Pleasure....

- I was supposed to have today off, trying to extend the long Memorial Day weekend one more day.  Unfortunately I needed to attend a meeting for the State and decided to keep the day as a vacation day and fish my way to the meeting.  I started out in Richmond and fished Upper Pleasant Pond.  All the rain has kept the water levels high but it didn't seem to bother the bass any.  From there I headed to the Cobbosseecontee Stream in Litchfield.  Bass and browns here, the river and the lake where it originates is well known for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and hefty brown trout.  As the time was nearing for the business meeting I made one more stop and fished the Cobbosseecontee again in Manchester at the outlet from the lake.  Not a bad morning considering I spent the rest of the day in meetings.

05/29/2005          Sunday's Slight Respite....

- A little bit warmer and many more breaks between showers on this day as we drove back south.  We drove down the Fish River Trail and stopped in T14 R6 WELS and caught up with this big fellow.  Later on, Nancy and I decided to pull into a woods road in T7 R5 WELS for some sight seeing, hiking and general leg stretching.  More rain followed so we continued to drove south, we finally stopped for lunch along the shore of the East Branch Penobscot in Grindstone Twp.  Later on in our travels we stopped in Long A Twp for more hiking.  We had some bonuses on this trip like this Lady Slipper getting ready to bloom, this Painted Trillium (they were everywhere) and lastly this snake that surprised Nancy.  He looks to be about 18 inches long.  Our last stop before getting back on the highway was in the town of Alton where my brother-in-law used to be first selectman.

05/28/2005          Soggy Saturday....

- By my reckoning it has rained for seven straight weekends.  Nancy and I just couldn't take it and decided to go far, far away.  We drove to the end of Interstate 95 and then drove north, staying in Maine and driving close to the New Brunswick border.  We stopped at yard sales and flea markets all along the way.  We had a brief break in the rain and stopped for lunch and a hike in Hamlin along the St. John River.  We finally decided to settle in for the night at the Overlook Motel and Cabins in Eagle Lake.  Eagle Lake has some of the fattest salmon and a healthy smelt population.  It was nice to settle in for the evening with the view from our cabin and listening to the loons.

05/13/2005          Turkey Hunting....

- I received my turkey permit this year, unfortunately I don't have many days to hunt this season.  I was fortunate to get permission to hunt a large woodlot in Freeport.  It was a sunny and cool morning and I could hear gobbles in the distance but never had any birds get near my decoy.

05/01/2005          May Day....

- Seems like we've had rain every weekend when we have had free time lately but we just needed to get out.  We took a day trip to make sure all was well at camp and stopped in Paris to check out a small quarry with rose quartz.  From there we checked out the road into our camp and then headed to Andover to check out the water levels and see if the fiddlehead crop was in.  We hiked along the Ellis River and the water was still filling the banks. It was much too early for the fiddleheads.  Oh well, we got out of the house and adventured a little.

04/01/2005          Show Time....

- Opening day of fishing season and the first day of the Maine Sportsman's Show.  It was a cloudy and rainy day so I tried my hand on the Kennebec before the show started down near the former Edwards Dam site in Augusta.  No fish to be had this day and I did OK dodging the ice flows in the river.  This is where I caught my first Atlantic salmon, the last year there was a season for them in Maine.

02/05/2005          Time for a Shrimp Run....

- It's shrimp season so Nancy and I decided to take an adventure and go up the coast looking for fresh shrimp off the boat.  We went all the way down the eastern shore of the Penobscot River and went to Stonington.  The temperature was in the teens but with no wind it was pleasant to hike along the shore.  From there we went to Deer Isle for more hiking.  We did pick up 10 pounds of shrimp from a local fisherman and I smoked half of them for Super Bowl Sunday.

01/01/2005          New Year, New Adventure....

- Well, it has been a dry spell what with selling our house (finally after 8 years) and then the holidays but I returned to Adventuring today and hit the hard water for opening day of ice fishing.  Today's trip found me in the north since there is still quite a bit of open water around.  I went to Wyman Lake in Pleasant Ridge Plt with two dozen smelt.  Not a bad day, I landed a splake and 6 brook trout, the biggest was fifteen inches (here) as well as a fat yellow perch.

10/18/2004          Central Maine Grouse....

- I needed to tend to business in Central Maine so I managed to take a few hours and get in some bird hunting in a woodlot in Albion.  It was good to cover this territory, the air was clear and crisp.  I only flushed one bird, seems most of the nut crop is down this year, no acorns or beechnuts.  I did manage to see one nice buck while hunting but he was gone before I could get the camera out.  Not surprising since this part of the state holds the largest herds of deer around.

09/04/2004          Labor Day Scouting Trip....

- I spent the weekend with plans to fly fish and scout out partridge territory.  Leaving early in the morning from camp I headed up toward the Rangeley Lakes region.  First stop was in Roxbury along the Swift River where I saw this large flock of 16 wild turkeys.  After this stop I headed towards Height of Land and scouted along Moll Stream in Township E.  I passed through Rangeley and decided to try for some salmon in the lower Kennebago River.  Then it was time to hit some back roads looking for grouse territory.  I hiked down the Mud Pond Road in Adamstown Twp and saw some nice bird cover there.  Then I found my way into Magalloway Plt to Little Beaver Pond.  I wish I had brought my float tube, it was very difficult to cast from shore here.  I drove from there and headed into the western woods on the Parmachenee Road.  I scouted the grouse cover and flushed a bird in Parkertown Twp.  From there I tried my hand fishing for brook trout on the Little Magalloway River in Lynchtown Twp. Last stop was one last search for birds where the road ran out in Parmachenee Twp.  Once again I found some good bird cover and managed to flush another partridge.  Not a bad scouting day.

08/29/2004          Back to Basics with Bass Bugs....

- A hot and humid day, Nancy had plans for the day so I headed out to beat the weather with some bass fishing.  I took all my favorite bass flies and the fly rod and headed out in search of another adventure.  Before I started fishing though I took in the Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary in Lewiston.  It was early in the morning and the warblers were making music.  There are about five miles of hiking trails here and it is a year round park.  There is some good information about the park and it's marked trails at the head of the trail.

- I had read a story recently about Sabattus Pond.  It seems that the pond had a very bad algae problem back in the 1980's.  Terrible algae blooms would appear and take over the pond in July and August.  In addition, the white perch population seemed to have exploded.  Well someone illegally stocked northern pike into the pond.  Seems the pike ate the perch which in turn allowed zooplankton to recover.  Zooplankton are the grazers of the pond's algae.  With less perch, the zooplankton grew in population and they ate more algae.  One heck of a way to eliminate an algae problem!  Well, I wanted to see the pond after reading that and thought I would try some bass fishing at the same time.  First stop was in Sabattus.  The fish cooperated some and then I headed along the eastern shore in Wales, hiking down through some lovely hay fields.  Lastly, I went to Greene, fishing Hooper Brook, an inlet to Sabattus Pond.

- Now it was time to find some new water.  I headed through enormous corn fields in the town of Leeds to try my hand fishing Dead River.  No luck, so I headed into Livermore Falls at the recreation park in downtown.  Still no luck.  Now it is over the river and try some wooly buggers in the Androscoggin River in Jay at the Pine Island Recreation Area.  This was better, well oxygenated water seemed to hold the smallmouth bass.

- One more stretch of area to try, I headed to Wilton to try Wilson Pond.  This town is slowly recovering from the loss of a major employer just like so many other working Maine towns.  I headed from there into Washington Twp to try Wilson Stream.  No luck but a very pretty spot.  Lastly, I went to try fishing Hills Pond in Perkins Twp.  It was very picturesque here with a resident pair of loons swimming around the pond.

08/28/2004          Fossils and Fly Fishing Redux....

- OK, we had another location to travel to that could give us both an opportunity for fun, Ripogenus Dam has both a plethora of fossils as well as some cold water fly fishing.  We left early in the morning with a destination in mind on a hot and humid August day.  It was well into the seventies by 8:00 am as we traveled up the highway.  By late morning with the Interstate behind us we caught the Golden Road outside Millinocket and headed into the North Maine Woods.  We made a stop to hike a woods road in T2 R10 WELS.  We were able to also get one last picking off the wild raspberry bushes.  Then it was onto our destination at Ripogenus Dam and Ripogenus Gorge in T3 R11 WELS.  The rocks around the gorge are a very hard sedimentary rock with many fossils like this: (picture).  While Nancy cracked rocks around the dam, I went into the gorge to catch salmon and brook trout on dry flies.  There just are not too many places you can do that in late August.

07/11/2004          Flagstaff Fossils and Fly Fishing the Falls....

- We are closing in on the end of the first year of the Great Adventure.  Today was a day trip for Nancy and I.  Our destination was Grand Falls on the Dead River to give Nancy some more fly casting experience.  We stopped first at a little place I had discovered bird hunting about ten years ago in Flagstaff Twp, I call this Fossil Rock as this huge rock is a sandstone rock that is covered with fossils, you can carefully peel away layers and expose fossils like this one (picture).  After exploring around this locale we continued on our way, finally reaching the falls in T3R4 BKP WKR.  This is just one of the most beautiful locations in the state.  We cast to salmon in these waters but unfortunately the water was fairly warm, close to 70 degrees.  As we left for the day, we passed through Lexington Twp.  There is an abandoned apple orchard here as well as a hidden beaver bog so we bushwhacked and explored the area before heading home for the evening.

07/06/2004          Falmouth by Sea....

- I had a chance to go fishing with Cap'n Bob this morning.  We fished the mouth of the Presumpscot River in Casco Bay and fished up close to Mackworth Island in Falmouth.  It was a splendid morning, all fogged in and not a ripple on the water except for the busting bait fish.  We fished the falling tide and managed to tag a few striped bass.  Here's a schoolie I brought to hand (picture) and here's a boil when Cap'n Bob hooked one on a clouser (picture).  All of this fun and I was still in my office for a 9am meeting, what a life!

06/27/2004          Sunday Morning, Sunday River....

- I headed up to camp for an overnight trip.  It was still pretty early in the day and I wanted to go fishing so I sought the headwaters of Sunday River to try for brook trout.  First stop was in the Mahoosuc range on Goose Eye Brook in Riley Twp, a feeder stream for Sunday River.  After fishing pools and listening to this brook babble along, I headed down to the covered bridge in Newry on Sunday River.  A nice cool and shady spot to wet a fly on the water.  I ended my meanderings, heading back to camp and I found this spot on the Androscoggin River in Hanover where the evening fly fishing should be good.  I plan to take Nancy back there.

06/26/2004          Rain, Stripers and Baked Beans, Mmm Mmm Good....

- This day found me going to Portland to visit my mother in the hospital.  After I left her I decided to catch the falling tide and fish for stripers along the East End.  There's a good spot near the water treatment plant where Back Bay drains back to Casco Bay and often you can find the stripers going with the tide.  The other unique aspect is that you can do all this in view of the B&M Baked Beans factory :-)

06/19/2004          How Do You Pronounce That?....

- Nancy was ready to pick up a fly rod again so we headed out between rain showers to find new water.  We found our selves on the Cupsuptic River in Lower Cupsuptic Twp.  Very pleasant trip on woods roads and then this meandering water in such a quiet setting.  This is what Maine is all about!

06/18/2004          Close to Home, Waiting For a Weekend at Camp....

- I needed to take care of some things for work today so I stayed close to home.  I fished the Androscoggin River below the dam in Lisbon Falls, a small community that appreciates the finer things in life with their fishing park :-)  After spending some time catching smallmouths I journeyed over the bridge to the opposite shore in Durham.  Here's a bonus picture of one of the smallmouth bass I caught on a wooly bugger.  Now it's time to get things packed so we can head to camp this weekend....

06/15/2004          Huston, We Have a Problem....

- My friend Wally and I decided to revisit one of our favorite waters, Huston Brook Pond.  We have been fishing the pond for many, many years.  It's a fly fishing only water in the Bigelow Preserve.  The last few years, the tote road to get to it has been closed so we thought we would face a three mile hike.  Well, we had a happy surprise to find that we could drive about two of those miles before we came to a washed out bridge.  We found our way into the pond, this place has one of the steepest trails I've ever climbed.  But there we were in Dead River Twp.  The pond is hit or miss for fishing, this time we actually had white caps and a terrible wind that blew straight down the pond.  Wally and I fished a few hours, struggling to keep the canoe in one place.  The rises were few and far between and hard to spot in the waves.

06/05/2004          No Surplus of Fish....

- This was a day for the Rapid River.  Clear blue skies and 70 degree temps.  Whenever I drive to the Rapid I pass along the West Branch of the Ellis River and always thought it looked like the Carrabassett River one of my favorite brook trout rivers.  I stopped along the East B Hill Rd in Andover West Surplus to float a dry fly down through the pools.  While I fished every fishy looking pool I could find apparently there were not any trout populating them.  Oh well the Rapid River didn't let me down later in the day.

04/25/2004          Not So Gray Day....

- Nancy and I wanted to get a good hike in today so we headed to Bradbury State Park in Pownal.  Wonderful hikes all around this small mountain and some great views from the summit.  Clear skies today and no humidity allowed us to see all the way to the blue ocean waters.  Since we were already enjoying State of Maine properties we went over to the State's Wildlife Park in Gray.  These are a couple of the bears they are rehabilitating.  The park was great I could have spent the day there viewing all the wildlife.  You can learn more about the park at this link.

04/11/2004          Why Not Minot?....

- This is a great time of year for rock hounds the weather is cool and there aren't any bugs.  Plus the crowds are non-existent.  So after a trip back to Mt. Apatite in Auburn we headed over to the Pitts-Tenney quarry in Minot.  The rock here is very hard but you can find some nice cinnamon colored grossular garnets if you look around.  Sitting in a quarry can cramp your legs so afterwards we headed over to Range Ponds State Park in Poland.  The gate was closed so we hiked in and went all the way to the beach.  Lots of exercise and we saw the beach before it gets really crowded.

04/10/2004          Time for Some Noyes....

- We wanted to get some rock hunting in today but it turned colder than we thought.  The temperature was in the high 30's and the wind was blowing strong.  We ended up in Greenwood at the Waisanen Quarry and the Tamminen Quarry on Noyes Mountain.  It took us a while but we did find some color specifically a couple of nice chunks of lepidolite (purple mica for the uninitiated).  We also grabbed some small pieces of quartz for the tumbler.  Here's to waiting for warmer weather.

04/03/2004          Acadia Bound....

- Nancy picked the location today so we headed to Acadia National Park to a red granite location we were interested in finding.  On the trip up she spotted the Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery and Salmon Museum.  We just had to stop.  It is located in Orland.  This picture is inside a display in the museum if you look close you should be able to see at least three baby salmon.  We kept going up Route One after that stop and found ourselves in Southwest Harbor hiking the Ship Harbor Nature Trails and collecting a bag full of red granite that will be seeing a few months in our rock tumblers.  Nice day as usual despite the 30 degree temps and overcast skies.

04/02/2004          Another Rainy Day of Fishing Must be Maine....

- I spent the morning dodging raindrops around the Belgrade Lakes region.  Let's just say there were no fish to be had in the open waters of Long Pond in Belgrade or feeder streams in Rome or Smithfield.

04/01/2004          Opening Day or April Fools Day to me (as usual)....

- It is opening day of fishing season so it must be raining.  Regardless it is a holiday that demands attention and I was up for the event.  I started the morning at Panther Run in Raymond casting a Black Ghost fly for the non-existent salmon.  Then I moved along to Casco and thought I would try  Pleasant Lake.  Like so much of my day many waters were still frozen shut.  I drove north to Otisfield to find the same situation on Thompson Lake.  OK looks like running water may be the way to go so I stopped at Angel Falls on the Little Androscoggin River in West Paris.  No fish but at least I could cast :-)  I tried a couple more locations stopping in Wayne at Berry Pond and then one last stop in Readfield at Maranacook Lake before calling it day.  It is a typical opening day and I have gotten it out of the way.  OK fish watch out now 'cause it just gets better after this!

03/28/2004          We Just Might Have Found Spring After All....

- Today found us departing on a cold cloudy morning for the southern coast.  We arrived in York and walked along the beach at Short Sands.  It was pretty breezy but refreshing.  Then we went up the coast a little to explore Perkins Cove in Ogunquit.  It was nice but it was still cold and windy.  We gave it one more try stopping in Wells but the wind kept things pretty raw.  OK enough of this let's go inland a ways.  Sure enough as we drove into Sanford the sun came out and the temperature warmed so we walked around a little park and got the picture of early geese arriving  on the Mousam River.  Now we were in the spirit of spring we found ourselves in Limerick and even though this pond was frozen over it was really nice out for a walk.  Next stop along the way found us walking along the shore of the Saco River in Steep Falls Standish.  The river was moving at a good clip and had me in the spirit for opening day of fishing season.  One more stop and that was in Naples to check out the possibilities for fishing Sebago Lakes shoreline.  Clearly we found some open water.  Check back in a few days to find out where I decided to spend my first day of fishing in April.

03/27/2004          Is It Spring Yet????

- Nancy and I went searching for evidence in the north country that spring did indeed arrive last weekend.  Unfortunately it is hard to find proof north of Lewiston.  We drove all the way to Chain Of Ponds Twp.  Lower Pond was still covered in ice (of course).  Narrows Pond had a troop of ice fishermen getting in the last weekend of hard water fishing.  We traveled south from there and made a stop at the Wire Bridge in New Portland.  The Carrabassett River was showing signs of experiencing the run-off from melting snow.  For this neck of the woods it looks like spring is progressing normally and luckily we don't think there will be any big surprises like flooding this year.

03/20/2004          Oh Deer....

- It is the first day of spring and opening day of open water fishing is only twelve days away.  We took a ride to the headwaters of the Kennebec to check out the water conditions.  First stop along the way was Abbot.  The Piscataquis  River was still frozen over hard.  We headed up the western shore of Moosehead Lake and stopped at East Outlet of the Kennebec in Big Moose Twp.  We saw deer tracks everywhere and Nancy had one run in front of her on the trail we were walking.  We then headed up the road a little further for West Outlet in Taunton & Raynham Academy Grant.  More deer sign everywhere we walked.  Lastly we headed up to the Moose River in Rockwood Strip T1 R1.  There we came across this small herd moving across a field.  All the way back we continued to see deer heading out of the woods quite a trip.

03/14/2004          Apatite for Adventure....

- We drove to camp again just to see how the snow pack is doing.  I'm still hoping to stay at camp for opening day of fishing season but it doesn't look promising.  Anyway that was our morning.  We planned things so that the afternoon would be warmer and we would visit the quarries at Mt. Apatite in Auburn.  We weren't disappointed.  It had been many years since we had been there.  You can't drive in anymore you need to hike in from the National Guard Armory.  Either way it's a nice hike and nice to have a place like that preserved for mineral collection.

03/13/2004          Seeking Signs of Spring....

- We spent the late morning today searching for signs of spring.  We ended up in Alna along  the shores of the Sheepscott River searching for pussywillows (which we did find thank you very much).  Still a little cool and still frost in the ground and ice in the river but winter is finally losing its grip.

03/07/2004          Almost Spring Time to Check the Topsham Quarries....

- Nancy and I hiked into our favorite local quarry Square Pit in Topsham.  We kept our eyes out for antler sheds and other wildlife sign.  Mostly we observed ATV tracks along with a few deer tracks.  All in all it was a great pre-spring hike.  Not a lot of snow 40 degree temperatures and plenty of fresh air.  Can it be long before the pussy willows are out?

02/29/2004          Reporting from Route 16....

- Nancy and I continued the adventure this weekend.  We actually started our day in Millinocket but without any adventure to log.  We drove across the state to visit the camp in Bethel and stopped for a little adventure along the way specifically along Route 16.  First was a stop in Moscow.  This was along an active woods road with much logging activity as well as snowmobilers.  A little later we stopped on the shores of Lily Pond to watch a small flock of Turkeys in Concord TWP.  Lastly we thought to stop and check on a friends camp in Carrabassett Valley.  While there we both watched an Ermine scurry around.  Unfortunately you will have to trust us about the sighting.  Every time I had the camera pointed at him he jumped under the snow when the camera was out of range we would scurry around and parade his shiny white fur and black tipped tail.  Oh well guess he won't be immortalized on our web page :-)

01/07/2004          We're Back....

- It's been a bad couple of months.  More than a couple of funerals and I tore a muscle on my ribs.  Wasn't sure when the Great Adventure would continue but I had my chance today.  Cold weather has started to set in and I managed to go smelt fishing in Bowdoinham.  Here's a bonus picture of the success... (Pic).

11/27/2003          Working off the Thanksgiving Feast...

- We decided to get out and get some fresh air this afternoon.  Quick trip to Lands End on Bailey's Island in Harpswell and we were in the fresh ocean air at high tide.  Usually this time of year you can see eiders swimming near shore but not today.

11/02/2003          Don't give up...

- We haven't added to the Great Adventure for a few weeks but that doesn't mean we've lost our ambition.  Real life work and closing the camp have dominated our last few weekends but we are planning our next trip as I write.  If you have suggestions for any fall/winter excursions please drop a note on our message boards we'd love to hear from you.

10/12/2003          Moose Cave Gorge...

- Nancy and I wanted to take in the foliage one more time before the leaves dropped.  We went to Grafton Twp and hiked around Grafton Notch State Park.  The foliage did not disappoint us and the trails were wonderful.  Moose Cave Gorge is a very easy hike if you are interested.

10/11/2003          C is for Coyotes...

- This was a glorious day for bird hunting so I headed over to C Surplus A little triangle in the middle of nowhere on the map.  I had hiked down this trail for twenty minutes or so when I heard a cacophony of coyote cries.  It was a pack of them about a mile or two away howling for ten minutes.  What an incredible sound!  I managed to flush four birds this day.

10/05/2003          Peak Foliage near Rangeley...

- Nancy and I headed home from camp the long way.  Since the sun was now shining (and Maine still has blue laws about Sunday hunting) we decided to take in the foliage near Rangeley Lake.  First stop was at Coos Canyon in Byron.  There is an area just upriver in the Swift River that is popular for gold panning.

We passed Height of the Land a scenic outlook and came to Rangeley Plt.  One of our favorite past times for hiking is to take in out of the way logging roads.  We weren't disappointed on this little jaunt with the wondrous colors of fall.

10/04/2003          Grousin'...

- Bird season has officially started and I had high hopes all week.  The weatherman said it wouldn't start raining until 2PM so I headed out early.  First stop was in Andover North Surplus.  Of course it started drizzling hours before it was supposed to start...  Oh well I headed up the road to another set of logging roads in Township C.  I hiked about fifteen minutes from the truck when a wall of water came down and kept pouring.  Typical bird hunting weather for me :-)  We'll see if next weekend is better for the grouse.

09/28/2003          A Coastal Crawl...

- Last weekend we had the remnants of Hurricane Isabelle this weekend we have Hurricane Juan passing to our east on its way to Nova Scotia.  Nancy and I heard that between the storm swell and an astronomical tide the surf should be impressive.  We decided to crawl up the coast in the fog and drizzle to get some exercise.  First stop as we waited for the tides to rise was Edgecomb.  A pretty little town along the shores of the Sheepscot River.  

From there we worked our way over to Newcastle and stopped at Sherman Lake.  Still foggy out but it made for a nice respite as we soaked in some fall drizzle and fall colors.

The tide was getting higher so we headed for a loop around Pemequid Point.  We stopped in South Bristol to catch some of the local color.  This is a very pretty little fishing village on the coast.  Unfortunately no big waves yet.  Then onto Pemequid Point in Bristol.  The area around Fort William Henry is very pretty and a lot of historical points to observe but still none of the killer waves we wanted to see.  We continued through to Bremen to see the Audobon Society's Todd Wildlife Sanctuary.  We weren't there very long before the rain started coming down in sheets.  We finally ended up visiting a previous site Reid State Park to see this and this to finish the trip with a splash :-)

09/21/2003          Early Fall Foliage...

- After touring the coast we spent the night on the St. Croix River in Calais.  The skies were clearing and we knew that there was plenty of early fall foliage just waiting for us to view.  

We decided to take the Airline Road (Route 9).  Our next stop was along the blueberry barrens in Crawford.  Beautiful panoramic views and early fall colors surrounded us.  

A little later we found a woods road for a hike into T26 ED BPP.  Maine has some interesting naming conventions for some of the unorganized territories ED means "Eastern Division" and BPP means "Bingham's Penobscot Purchase".  There was quite a bit of animal sign along this road coyotes fox moose and bear had all traveled before us.  

We continued our trip into the heart of the state and traveled along "The Whaleback" in Aurora.  This is a very unique glacial esker that looks over the East Branch Union River; peat bogs abound below your feet.  

We found ourselves entering civilization a little later and stopped to walk along the Penobscot River in Eddington.  This spot holds special memories for me it was the first place I ever fished for Atlantic Salmon.  While I didn't catch any that day I was awed by the ones that others had hooked and released in the famous Eddington Pool.  

Last stop for us on our meander home was in Montville at the Frye Mountain State Game Management Area.  Everywhere we walked we found old apple trees and deer sign.  A glorious end to a great weekend adventure.

09/20/2003          Downeast Downpours...

- Hurricane Isabelle hit Virginia earlier in the week and we were scheduled to get dumped with rain as part of her aftermath.  Not to let that spoil our weekend we headed up the coast to visit some of our favorite beaches on the coast.  First stop was Lincolnville on the Ducktrap River.  Until the Atlantic Salmon was declared endangered this was one of my favorite spots to fish.  

We continued wandering up the coast visiting a few "junkatiques" along the way.  Eventually we hit our next destination in Machiasport Jasper Beach.  The beach is littered with a volcanic rock that resembles jasper.  The state has a nice article about the location here.  We hadn't been here in almost ten years so it was nice to return even in the fog and drizzle.  We left when the skies opened up (again) and dumped some major rain.  

Speaking of rain our next stop was wet as usual Quoddy Head State Park in Lubec.  Every time we come here it rains.  We'll probably keep trying though the trails along the cliffs have breathtaking views.

09/14/2003          White Mountains Wild River...

- Nancy and I spent a back-breaking day at camp on Saturday so we decided to take some leisure time on Sunday.  We had thoughts of exploring the Wild River to see if it would be worthy of a fishing trip next spring.  First stop was Gilead and a hike down the Wild River to the point where it joins the Upper Androscoggin.  Grape vines grow everywhere along this stretch and we also saw Jack-in-the-pulpit plants.  After that we drove up into the White Mountain National Forest into Batchelders Grant Township to follow the Wild River upstream.  We found some very deep pocket water and some small trout sipping along the surface.  The river reminds me of the Carrabasset and I think I'll give it a try next May or June.

09/11/2003          More Fall Fishing...

- I had to run an errand to Bethel so I took an opportunity to fish the Little Androscoggin River in Mechanic Falls.  The day was almost like a fine June day with temperatures in the seventies and no humidity.  I fished the stretch of river all by my self with only an Osprey sharing the water with me.

09/06/2003          Rapid River...

- Another legendary fishing location this time in Upton at Lower Dam on the Rapid River.  The fishing was good with a few salmon brought to net and the native brook trout were stacked up like cord wood in full spawning colors getting ready to breed a new generation.  This spot is truly in the middle of God's country and with no humidity and cool air you can see for miles.  Until the people hatch occurred towards late afternoon we felt like we were the only people around for miles.

08/31/2003          Legendary Fishing Locales...

- Who else but me could manage to get skunked at two different legendary fishing spots.  First I headed over to Lincoln Plt to fish the storied Magalloway.  I never thought to check about high water releases.  I still fished the pool but I had to keep clear of all the white water kayakers.

Then it was time to try a new spot.  Off to Richardsontown Twp to fish Upper Dam.  The water was still pretty warm coming out of Mooselookmeguntic.  I did see someone catch a small salmon at the dam and had a few lazy fish follow my fly but I was unable to catch anything this trip.  Oh well next time...

08/23/2003          Bethel Hike...

- Those who know us also know about our little cabin in the woods in Bethel.  This was a sunny Saturday and the hot and humid weather of summer had broken.  We took a long hike in the woods around the camp.  Among the many sites we took in was a large ant nest that had been rooted by a bear.  We also saw a small fox run across the logging road in front of us.

08/09/2003          Benton Bass then Back to Bath...

- One of the nice things about this adventure is that I get to revisit some places I haven't been to in a long time.  I lived in the Waterville area for over ten years and I have some good memories of fishing there.  Today I needed to go to Benton for business and took the opportunity to fish at Benton Falls.  I have spent many hours there catching Smallmouths and even with the extremely warm and humid conditions I managed to find a 14" smally in the river below the dam.  In the past I've caught some browns there as well as white perch.  With the swallows darting around you and the resident eagle looking down from the tree top it is a very peaceful location.  Alas I had to return home for the afternoon.

08/03/2003           Where are the Mackerel?...

- A cloudy Sunday afternoon and I need some fish for my bear bait site.  First stop is Back River in Arrowsic.  This water runs with a very fast current between the Kennebec and Sheepscot Rivers.  It is a good striper area but I was hoping for mackerel today.  Nothing was hitting so I continued on to Reid State Park in Georgetown.  Had a great afternoon there fishing a Sabiki rig in the surf.  I ended up catching 30 harbor pollock and only two mackerel.  I could only keep six of the pollock for bait so now I have eight fish to contribute to the bait site.  Except I donated a pollock and a mackerel to a couple of guys that needed striper bait on my way out. so I guess six fish will have to do.....

07/26/2003           Raiders of the Lost Pegmatite...

- Nancy and I searched for the Beemis Prospect a pegmatite in the woods of Township D.  The hike in is fairly short but very strenuous.  Starting at the logging road that goes from Houghton to Beemis we followed the stream downstream until it formed a deep gorge.  At the end of the gorge we found the prospect high up the bank to the right.  Poking through the tailings we managed to find some dark green tourmaline.

07/19/2003           Of Striper Fishing and Berry Picking...

- I figured if I was going to start this adventure let's start it close to home.  So I started with a striper jaunt right in Bath where I'm living.  Bath has centuries of history as a shipbuilding town.  On the banks of the Kennebec River situated below Merrymeeting Bay is a deep water channel.  One of my "Out of the Way" fishing locations is behind Stimson's a seafood processing plant.  For obvious reasons the stripers hang out here.  The place doesn't get too crowded and even on a busy day it is a quiet place to go very relaxing.

Next stop along the adventure was West Bath right next door.  A nice little hike in Sabino along the eastern shore of the New Meadows River.  Blueberries were ripe and they were a nice refreshment for the hike.

Following that hike it was on to Phippsburg.  OK Phippsburg means Popham right?  Not this day.  It was a very sunny Saturday in July and there is no possible hope of parking at Popham Beach.  But if you know your way around Fiddler's Reach on the Kennebec River is a great area for striped bass fishing.  Bait fish hold up in this large bend in the river and if Popham is crowded this is the second best place to try.  Unfortunately no fish for me on this day but catching fish is only a bonus.

Last stop for this Saturday was a hike along the Nequassett River in Woolwich.  There is a small dam with a very impressive alewives harvesting operation here.  The river runs shallow and wide below the dam and is very quiet and peaceful even though you are only yards away from Route 1 with all its bumper-to-bumper traffic.  The hike was pleasant and I got to see a kingfisher as well as pick some raspberries.