There’s a worthy saying that goes like this: “Bad things happen when good men do nothing.” The Veazie Salmon Club, to its credit, is not sitting on its collective hands when it comes to the following issue: the federal government’s insistence that the declining Atlantic salmon that returns to the Penobscot River must be …
It can vary by days, but in Maine the middle of April always ushers in the annual smelt runs from coldwater lakes up nearby brooks and streams. As every salmon angler knows, these small rainbow smelts are the key food source for landlocked salmon. Rule of thumb: no smelt, no salmon. Back in the …
American veterans who served their country richly deserve our appreciation, no matter where, when or how they served. If they wore a U.S. military uniform, they were in the freedom preservation business. Next to those who made the ultimate sacrifice stands another very special American serviceman or woman – the disabled vet. With all of …
The first story, by Northwoods Sporting Journal writer Jess Libby, recounts her memorable winter snowsledding northern Maine on trail conditions that have never been better. She writes: “My best day of riding that weekend started off with below zero temps and warmed up into the 20s. There’s something to be said for bright blue skies, …
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIF&W) has had a landowner relations arm since the mid-1990s. Back then, Game Warden Dave Peppard, with whom I worked, was freed up from most of his law enforcement duties to troubleshoot landowner relations issues and spread the word that posted land hurts the cause of Maine …
Nothing gets an angler’s heart pumping faster than the sight of an airborne Atlantic salmon dancing atop the water on a flyline. As a slack-jawed kid, I watched these goings-on at the legendary Bangor Salmon Pool. Later, as an adult, the late Tom Hennessey helped me land my first silver warrior at the Pipeline Pool …
A fisherman I have always been; and a fisherman I will always be, until I join my late fishing friend Wiggie Robinson, who no doubt is up there paddling the Silver Canoe. What about you? If you have been known to wet a line, what do you call yourself, a fisherman or a fisher? A …
If you are a fly fisherman whose passion is casting a line over landlocked salmon across moving water, Grand Lake Stream (GLS) is the next thing to paradise. And, since 1875, the state fish hatchery on the stream has been part of the GLS scene, and the source of salmon that populate the stream and …
Let’s face it, snowsledding through the Maine wilderness is not everyone’s cup of tea. The machines are noisy. And, according to snowmobile writer Rod Fraser, “a two-stroke driven snowmobile emits more pollution than a car.” Technologically, though, modern gas-powered snow machines have a come a long way since my first SkiDoo, a smoke-puffing, rattling 12-horsepower …
Historically, hunting has always had its ceremonial aspects. The deer hunting club that I have enjoyed for almost 50 years has its unique rituals, mostly all-in-good-fun practices that, we like to think, set us apart from other deer camps from the mountains of Oregon and the Dismal Swamp of Virginia to the fir thickets of …
