Smallmouth Bass, Bear, Moose, ATVs and Saltwater Fishing – What a Great Month to Be in Maine!
July is a busy outdoor month in Maine, and the latest issue of The Maine Sportsman reflects the wide range of options available to residents and visitors alike. We kick things off with a great cover photo of Greg MacDougal, taken by Joel Charron, of Greg and a hefty smallmouth taken from a lake in the JoMary region, west of Greenville. Now THAT’S a happy angler!
Regular contributor Lou Zambello continues the theme starting on page 70, with his “Six Tips to Catch More Topwater Smallies.” Lou reveals when, how and where to cast small poppers with your fly-fishing rod to maximize exciting smallmouth action. And for our readers farther north, Bill Graves in his Aroostook County column describes fishing for bronzebacks with surface poppers and a 5-weight rod, along a stretch of the Penobscot River in Medway.
Didja get your moose permit? Then now’s the time to start scouting – and in his contribution titled “Pre-Season Scouting Pays Big Dividends,” Maine Sportsman reader Ryan Gould of Fayette provides a first-person account of a successful hunt, beginning in page 17.
What’s even better than a bear hunt? Read the feature piece by Robert Kröger (“In the Company of Giants,” pages 24 – 25) about a veteran-owned outfitter, Grove Hill in Brownville, which hosted a hunt involving current and former combat veterans. “Marines whose make-up had been forged in the heart of war,” writes Kröger, “were all smiles lit up by the headlamps of others” as they hunted black bear together and helped each other on the hunt.
The trails are alive this month with the sounds of ATVs, and in a thoughtful piece (“Law Enforcement, Clubs and Riders Work Together to Maintain Access to Private Property,” pages 21 – 23), J.P. Falzone reminds us that Maine is 94% privately-owned, and that riders and clubs need to continue developing and sustaining positive relationships with landowners to keep Maine’s extensive trail network in place.
Rust never sleeps, especially when accelerated by saltwater coursing around and through the hulls and propulsion systems of boats used by ocean anglers. Benny Holloway, who has seen first-hand the results of both good and bad maintenance in his work at his family’s boatyard, offers up a special section titled “Prepping Your Boat, and Yourself, for Saltwater Fishing.” From tips on waxing the decks and rails, to remembering to check the bilge plug and the tide schedules, Benny’s advice will ensure positive, productive trips out on the briny, time after time.
And Barry Gibson, our Saltwater Fishing columnist, supplements Benny’s contribution this month with his “Blue Sharks Shine on Light Tackle.” These fish average 100 pounds, says Capt. Gibson, and rather than winching them in with 130-pound test line, he recommends loading your spool with 20- to 50-pound test line, saving the heavier stuff just for the leader and swivel.
All this and great letters to the editor, news from Augusta, the tale of Zachary Fowler’s reed boat (and its final plunge into the whitewater of the Passagassawakeag and around a boulder), great photos, great recipes, and even a few good cartoons and jokes to share around the campfire.
Find a cool place in the shade and settle down with the July issue – as always, we hope you will enjoy reading it as much as our writers and editorial staff enjoyed assembling it. If you’ve got something to say, write us a short letter to the editor (providing photos, if you’ve got them), and email everything to Will@MaineSportsman.com.
Give us a call at 207-622-4242 – talk with Linda or Victoria in the office. Subscribe or renew your subscription, either on the phone or using the “Subscribe” link at our website,www.MaineSportsman.com. Keep in touch as a Facebook friend.
And thanks once again this month to our informed readers, to our many distribution outlets and to our loyal advertisers.
Will Lund, editor
Augusta, Maine
