View Full Version : Fishing in Maine
I'm currently thru-hiking the trail (almost in NJ) and I'm definitely playing with the idea of bringing a lightweight rod through Maine. I've searched the forums on the topic and couldn't find much, so I figured I would ask people who have done it what the experience was like. I don't mind the extra pack weight and I have plenty of time, so my question is what were your favorite spots? I also read in some lakes there are canoes left there for people to use, is this true? and the last thing is, what did you use to fry up those suckers up? recipes welcome...
- Dead Set
The Kisco Kid
05-31-2016, 11:51
Many many places to fish in Maine along the trail.
Shakespeare 4' telescoping rod (http://www.amazon.com/Shakespeare-Travel-Mate-4-Feet-6-Inch/dp/B001KWIC52?ie=UTF8&keywords=shakespeare%20rod&qid=1464709034&ref_=sr_1_6&sr=8-6) is the way to go. 2.6 ounces. $15. Folds downs to 12 inches. What's not to love?
Bass Pro Shop microlite elite spinning reel recommended.
Whole trout recipe:
1. Gut fish.
1. Coat outside with olive oil. Salt outside and inside.
2. Stuff fish with fresh lemon slices.
3. Wrap in tin foil.
4. Cook on hot coals 3/4 minutes a side.
Tasty!
illabelle
05-31-2016, 11:53
On a section hike through central Pennsylvania we ran across this poor guy who was badly overloaded with gear, including a bow and arrow. He had just gotten on the trail the day before and said he considered bringing his fishing gear. He asked us about fishing opportunities over the territory we had just covered. About all I could think of was the river at Duncannon (the Susquehanna?) and a smaller one further north (maybe near Rausch Gap Shelter). We convinced him to go home and rethink his plans.
Maine is a very different place. I wish you great success.
Not a direct response to your questions, I know. Sorry.
JohnHuth
05-31-2016, 12:05
During a hike of the 100 Mile Wilderness, I brought a fly rod. I did see some fish rising in the lakes, but never did catch any.
Best times are just before sunrise and after sunset in the lakes when the bugs are active. I don't know much about spinning rod fishing, though - I just went with my fly rod.
Many many places to fish in Maine along the trail.
Shakespeare 4' telescoping rod (http://www.amazon.com/Shakespeare-Travel-Mate-4-Feet-6-Inch/dp/B001KWIC52?ie=UTF8&keywords=shakespeare%20rod&qid=1464709034&ref_=sr_1_6&sr=8-6) is the way to go. 2.6 ounces. $15. Folds downs to 12 inches. What's not to love?
Bass Pro Shop microlite elite spinning reel recommended.
Whole trout recipe:
1. Gut fish.
1. Coat outside with olive oil. Salt outside and inside.
2. Stuff fish with fresh lemon slices.
3. Wrap in tin foil.
4. Cook on hot coals 3/4 minutes a side.
Tasty!
thanks Marcovee! that's actually the exact rod I was looking at. that or the diawa minispin, but I think I'm going to go with the Shakespeare. I will definitely be saving that recipe too for up north, sounds pretty good.
ScottishLass
05-31-2016, 14:28
I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure you need a license. Go to the Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife web site.
Have fun.
saltysack
05-31-2016, 14:32
Try tenkara fly fishing.
+1...next time on jmt will def bring!!
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coach lou
05-31-2016, 14:55
Many many places to fish in Maine along the trail.
Shakespeare 4' telescoping rod (http://www.amazon.com/Shakespeare-Travel-Mate-4-Feet-6-Inch/dp/B001KWIC52?ie=UTF8&keywords=shakespeare%20rod&qid=1464709034&ref_=sr_1_6&sr=8-6) is the way to go. 2.6 ounces. $15. Folds downs to 12 inches. What's not to love?
Bass Pro Shop microlite elite spinning reel recommended.
Whole trout recipe:
1. Gut fish.
1. Coat outside with olive oil. Salt outside and inside.
2. Stuff fish with fresh lemon slices.
3. Wrap in tin foil.
4. Cook on hot coals 3/4 minutes a side.
Tasty!
Dust with 'Good Seasons' Eyetalian dressing before you throw it on the coals!
Old Grouse
05-31-2016, 15:16
Thank goodness for all the convenient lemon groves along the AT in Maine!
Almost any meat or vegetable will taste great if you give it a light coating of oil plus a good sprinkling of salt before you cook it. Pan fry fish like this and you will love it.
peakbagger
05-31-2016, 17:21
You definitely need a license as most of the waterbodies are accessible from public and private roads so wardens may stop by to visit. The western part of the AT in Maine mostly is on the ridge line but drops down into a couple of notches where there are headwaters for streams that run both north and south you also walk by B pond. The campsites are mostly on top of the ridges so the streams in the notches are not very handy unless you stop for lunch. Once you get past RT 17 there are several ponds right off the trail prior to Saddleback. You then go back to ridgelines hikes until Flagstaff lake and then you cross the three Carry Ponds and Pierce Pond prior to the Kennebec. From the Kennebec to Monson you pass a few ponds and one nice section where you hike for quite a distance along a stream. The 100 MW has several nice fishing spots but in few areas the trail was intentionally rerouted well upslope from the actual frontage.
A few years back while doing a day hike up to Old Speck we met a couple of guys who had fly rods strapped to their packs. I asked them if they had been catching anything and ended up speaking with them for about half an hour as they told wonderful stories of fishing the ponds between Gorham and Old Speck. These guys were fishermen who hiked because they loved to try their luck at remote locations. Apparently, they had good fishing at Old Speck Pond, and a few other ponds they did not know the names of. It was early July and apparently the hit a lot of fish with terrestrials like bees.
Hangfire
05-31-2016, 18:21
I found a thread on here before I left on my thru that delved into fishing on the trail. The best advice I got was that if you are an avid fisherman and you bring gear to do so on the trail you will probably never finish. I thought of this often as I passed some great looking fishing spots along the way but I needed every bit of 6 months plus to finish my hike so sadly I never got a line wet for the entire length of the trail.
Now as I look back there was one good looking spot that I will never forget, it was my first day into the 100 mile wilderness and it was about an hour before dark and a fellow thru hiker had set up camp at the Little Wilson falls and had made a large cane pole (a Tenkara would have killed it) and was catching small brook trout in the pools bellow the falls...it was such a heavenly sight for a fisherman with the fall colors, gosh I wanted to stay and fish but I had to keep my damn schedule and make the Wilson Valley lean-to by dark or in my case in the dark.
So remember that one for me, on your fist day in the hundred mile wilderness you will find the falls, you will know what I'm talking about and catch a fish for old Walter White.
peakbagger
05-31-2016, 18:42
We camped along Nahmakanta Stream one night, we must have caught a hatch as the water was just boiling with trout striking the surface.
Thanks everyone for your responses, especially peakbagger, scrum and hangfire...Im marking those places in the guide book as we speak. and I'll definitely be getting a permit...not worth the hassle if you get caught. Also the tenkara looks amazing! I might have to switch it up to something like that. I'll try to keep you guys posted on how it goes and hopefully I'll be able to add a few of my own spots to the list. I really appreciate all the responses.
Dead Set
I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure you need a license. Go to the Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife web site.
You absolutely need a license. No matter how far into the middle of nowhere you think you might be, a Maine warden can sense your presence, so don't even think about it!
I am so tired at the end of the day I question how much time I would really spend fishing, then if I get lucky and land a fish, clean it, fire, clean up
Forgetaboutit............SPAM single serving works for me.
Shutterbug
05-31-2016, 21:38
I'm currently thru-hiking the trail (almost in NJ) and I'm definitely playing with the idea of bringing a lightweight rod through Maine. I've searched the forums on the topic and couldn't find much, so I figured I would ask people who have done it what the experience was like. I don't mind the extra pack weight and I have plenty of time, so my question is what were your favorite spots? I also read in some lakes there are canoes left there for people to use, is this true? and the last thing is, what did you use to fry up those suckers up? recipes welcome...
- Dead Set
I borrowed fishing gear from White House Landing (no longer open). There were a variety of fish. I grew up in the south, so I didn't recognize most of them. Because I was eating at White House Landing, I released the ones I caught.
Based on my experience, it would be realistic to think you could catch plenty of fish.
I was told that a license is legally required; however, the wardens have better things to do than check on AT hikers.
I borrowed fishing gear from White House Landing (no longer open). There were a variety of fish. I grew up in the south, so I didn't recognize most of them. Because I was eating at White House Landing, I released the ones I caught.
Based on my experience, it would be realistic to think you could catch plenty of fish.
I was told that a license is legally required; however, the wardens have better things to do than check on AT hikers.
There is also an open and closed season to fishing. Some species are closed to fishing about the time through hiker bubble passes through. Wardens have nothing better to do than sit in a boat, watching fishermen with binoculars. It's kinda what they are paid to do. Sometimes they will sit there and record you sticking little bits of worm to your fly on a fly-fishing or atificial lure only body of water. Sometimes they will only take your fish. Sometimes they will write you a ticket. Like any law enforcement officer, they have their good days and bad days. So many bodies of water in Maine and each can, and do, have their own specific fishing regulations. It's up to you to figure out which bodies of water you wan to fish and which laws pertain to that fishery.
http://www.maine.gov/ifw/fishing/
peakbagger
06-01-2016, 05:12
FYI - Speck Pond on Old Speck freezes solid in the winter, its stocked by plane or helicopter. Many of the remote ponds and streams don't need to be stocked as there is plenty of natural regeneration.
orthofingers
06-01-2016, 15:44
FYI, there was a Tenkara rod on Massdrop not too long ago. I don't know if it is still open.
15 day is $47
Seven days/ (non resident) is $43
3 day is $23