and a strong cup of coffee

Good enough to host Major League Fishing ’s Summit Cup twice in the past five years. “The fishing was just phenomenal. Outside of Florida or Minnesota, the sheer amount and access to water is incredible.” said Mike “Ike” Iaconelli, who finished 3rd the last time that the Summit Cup was held in Central Maine. In his fishing career, Mike is the only angler to have won the Bassmaster Classic, Bassmaster Angler of the Year and B.A.S.S. Nation Championship. “We fish all over the U.S and for me, I fish all over the world and the quality of fish in Maine is incredible. It almost seems like the fish have never been caught before. The number of fish and lack of fishing pressure helps to highlight that this is amazing world-class fishing” Iaconelli commented. Major League Fishing worked with Mid-Maine Bass Fishing to keep the event quiet while the anglers were competing. “It was so much fun to have these professional anglers here,” said Mike Guarino, Maine Guide and owner of Maine Wilderness ...

I have no idea what Staci said after the words "water snake" came out of her mouth. I went into panic mode wondering if I was going to snag one with my fishing pole or if every bubble that came up from under the canoe was a snake below us. But, the plan was to catch bass and we climbed into the canoe and paddled off to do just that. We started off with frog lures and within the first two casts, I had a bump on my line but nothing hooked. After a few more casts, Staci was landing bass on a regular basis. One of about 15 bass that Staci caught She was out fishing me almost 10 to one and I knew that I needed to hook something.  I cast into the shallows under one of the fallen down trees and boom! had a bite.  The fish hit and dove.  I could see the bass' light colored belly as it turned and went under the canoe.  Then, all of the tension was gone and so was my lure.  The fish grabbed everything and completely straightened my swivel. I quickly got a ...

When I woke up, I had gotten two and a half hours of sleep in the past 24 hours.  With the time change, I knew that I had to trick my mind into thinking that it was like any other morning and that with copious amounts of coffee, I would be able to function.  I had to; I was going fishing! It was just me and the guys, heading to the Russian river to try our hand at salmon fishing.  Some had fished before and knew the Alaskan river well.  Some of us planned to just do what we were told.  We loaded up the waders, some lunch and fishing poles and drove two hours south. It was a beautiful day! Warm but not too hot and no bugs.  We were using regular fishing poles with a hook but instead of a fancy lure or a fly, we tied pieces of bright yarn to the line. I was told that the goal was not to appear to be lunch but to annoy the fish enough that it bites. The water was only a couple of feet deep and more often than not, never rose above my knees. That wo...

We need choppy water Steve told me when we had first started fishing together last year. The breeze off of the lake wasnt as bad as we had thought but it was enough to get a little chop going and keep the temperatures cool.  We were the only ones at the boat landing that morning. I was ready to redeem myself after last year's trip resulted in a salmon throwing the hook and swimming away. We set up the three streamer lines and headed to the honeyhole to see if we could get a bite.  We didn't spend too much time trolling before Steve yelled, "fish on!' and I jumped up to grab the rod and started reeling the line in, making sure to keep the line tight and the tip up. The water was cold  but I was surprised by the lack of fight that I had expected and remembered from last year.  Maybe it's the fact that I routinely lift a 30+lb toddler.  As the line changed and the leader ran through the first eye hole, I could see the fish coming to the surface.  For a...

The above average temps and lack of snow this winter had resulted in the fishing season kicking off two weeks ahead of schedule so Robin and I scoped out the stream the day before we were set to go fishing to see how high the water was and how many fellow fishermen were there. We went back to her house where Taylor joined us and got our fly rods ready with leaders and new flies. The next morning, the three of us ate a delicious breakfast (duck eggs and bear sausage!) and headed to the stream.  Our second year being in the stream on April 1.  I looked like I knew what I was doing which was a vast improvement from  last year.   It was also 30 degrees warmer that it had been so the extra layers were not needed. We had an idea of where we wanted to be and made our way across the dam.  Being outdoor bloggers, we needed to get a picture of us (my idea, not Robin's).  I asked the one person out of the water, a guy who clearly knew what he was doing, to take o...

As I was reeling in the first bass that I would keep, Don started the GoPro to document the actual catch.  Hmm... I may need to get one of those! Come here please. Gotcha! Bringing him into the boat   YUM A big thanks to Don at Maine Outdoors for sending these along.

A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to catch Don Kleiner of Maine Outdoors with some free time on his hands and convinced him to take me fishing.  We could not have picked a more perfect day to be away from the world and on the water. We set off to catch Smallmouth Bass.  Having caught my first fish with Robin, I was hopeful that I could at least catch something besides grass.  Don was brave enough to attempt to teach me how to fish a few years ago and I hoped, as I stepped into the boat, that I had improved my skills a little bit since then. Our first spot was a fairly shallow spot near some overhanging trees.  Don taught me that fish do not have eyelids so when it is sunny out, they usually hid in the shade so that they can keep watch over any predators that may be around - like eagles, osprey or us.  My first cast was horrible but I kept reminding myself that I did just fine with Robin and needed to not over think it.  The next few casts we...

My friend Staci is a fisherwoman.  She had the gear, knows her stuff and has years of experience.  Somehow, someway, I convinced her to take me fishing. We were watching the water height and strength online and it looked promising so that is where we headed.  An hour later we arrived to this:  the water had been released from the dam above and was raging.  I snapped a couple of pictures and we headed to a different spot to try out luck. Staci said this was a little high compared to what it was a few days before when she was there with her husband but it seemed doable and we wanted to be able to cast a few times just to say that we did it.  I had received two pairs of waders from a retiring coworker so I was eager to try them out and hoped that they would hold up. The bridge swung a little as we drove over it We geared up, Staci put some ties on both of our fly rods (I watched her and tried to adjust the waders).  And we headed into ...

Finally, after the cold winter it is time to be back in the woods.   I am eager to shake off the winter and get back into the sunshine, nicer temperatures and even play in the mud a little bit. This year spring means turkey hunting, fishing and looking for some sheds on the hunting property.    This will be my third turkey hunting season and I am hoping that the third time is the charm.   The first year, we called one tom and three jakes in but didn’t bring any meat home.   Last year, I went out with a guide and blew my shot by sitting in a spot that prevented me from shooting to my right.   I did get to see the tom drumming and strutting right towards me but I couldn’t finish the job.   This year will be different; I have all of my camo ready including gloves that I purchased this year, a ThermaCELL ready to go and a few different places and people that I will be going out with in hopes of bringing home one (or maybe two if I am really lucky) turk...

There is something about fishing that creates a community on the water.  I don't really fish - I am learning, but I would not consider myself a fisherman, yet.  I am planning on going fishing again this spring at GLS but it's been a while since I took to the ice to try and pull a fish out of the hard water. Recently though, I tried smelt fishing with my friend Jen. The rows of shacks. Open water not very far away The wind was blowing hard but the heat in the shack was so hot that we had to rig the door to stay slightly open.  We even went for a walk down on the ice. As the tide was coming in, we could watch the ice shifting and rising just 20 feet away from where we stood. As the sun set and the tide changed, we got our lines baited with blood worms and dropped into the water. Then we waited. The tide came in and a we continued to wait.  There was one man in a nearby shack who kept making the rounds to see if anyone had caught anything and how big....

I am afraid that I could really get addicted to fishing.  The only thing that is really stopping me are those images of fishing hooks embedded in fingers, thumbs, hands etc. and realizing that that could be me.  I shutter! But when Al took me out fishing on the Big Lake, I could see myself really getting into fishing.  The weather was perfect and I was eager to see if I could really land a fish.  I had struck out turkey hunting so I was hopeful that my luck would change. One of the streams leading into the lake.  Al and I met up at 8:30 and headed out.  It was perfect weather, sun and a little wind.  As we motored around, I was surprised by the lack of other boats on the water.  We talked about fishing, getting women outdoors, the status of every huntable animal around and the camps themselves.  People from all around the world fly in to stay in Grand Lake Stream and fish these waters. We had two spin casters set up and I held on...