If you’re like me, you probably can’t get enough of the history behind the places where you grew up and love to hunt and fish in. And as is often the case, recorded history of these areas can often be limited, if available at all. In my case, the history of fishing and hunting in northern Maine has always been intriguing. Such stories have been recorded in a number of publications over time, but many are difficult or near impossible to find. Still other stories are only available through word of mouth.

So imagine my surprise when I found a very old list of about 50 publications relating to the history of Maine, compiled by the late Lee W. Richards Jr., M.D. of Augusta, ME. I had the pleasure of working with a biologist who had often visited Dr. Richards at his camp in northern Maine, and had been given the list by Mr. Richards, who was an expert on the history of Maine.

I ran across the volume after searching through a number of papers while in the process of packing and moving for the third time in as many years. I read through the titles and decided that over the next few years, I’ll make it a personal goal of mine to find as many of those titles as possible.

One of the first publications I was able to track down actually came quite easily. It appears that some dedicated person or persons have taken the time to scan a number of old pubs and make them available online. The first, and possibly the most interesting of these, is a periodical titled “In The Maine Woods”.

“In The Maine Woods” was a publication produced by the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad from the late 1890’s to 1942. Back in those days, the railroad made a lot of money transporting passengers into the wilderness of northern Maine to pursue the bountiful fish and wildlife. Sports would come from all over the New England, particularly from Boston and other parts of Massachusetts, to get away from it all and experience real wilderness. This being the case, the B&A Railroad used “In The Maine Woods” to appeal to these types and convince them to explore the vast frontier, and try their luck pursuing trophy fish and game.

I’m currently reading through the 1904 publication of “In The Maine Woods”, and I’m really enjoying it. The issue, along with some others, is available at Google Books by following this link, or by conducting a google search of the book title.

Here are some things I’ve learned so far:

- A number of railroad stations, which no longer exist, were thought to have the potential to develop into important towns.

- Fish and game were extremely plentiful (although B&A may have exaggerated in some cases to lure more people to the north woods).

- Fish species composition has changed significantly in some waters, which have succumbed to human impacts. (Still, many northern Maine lakes are very similar now to what they once were)

- Landlocked salmon and rainbow smelt introductions have had significant impacts on native fish, particularly whitefish populations (The 1904 publication was printed just a few years after these fish were first introduced to many northern Maine waters).

- Apparently, a few northern lakes were reported to have three species of whitefish. Today, only two species are officially recognized. One of the species mentioned in 1904, the Stanley’s whitefish (Coregonus stanleyi) was believed to be endemic to the area. (I’d like to dig a bit deeper into this one)

- There is an incredible wealth of fishing and hunting history available in these publications, and I can’t wait to read more!

Did you know that they spear sturgeon in Wisconsin?  Seriously.  Thousands of fishermen flock to the 138,000 acre Lake Winnebago to spear the prehistoric-looking fish during a week or two in the winter.  They set up shacks on the ice over shallow areas, cut large holes in the ice and wait for a big sturgeon to swim by.  And in some cases, a fella gets lucky and spears a big one.  Pictured below is Darren Horness of Howards Grove, Wisconsin, with the 102 pound, 72 inch sturgeon he speared during this year’s season.

You can read more about Darren and his fish here.

Lake Winnebago is unique in that it boasts what is probably the healthiest sturgeon population in the country, which is why the opportunity to spear the giant fish still exists.  The main reason the sturgeon population is so robust here is the management effort and collaboration between the Wisconsin DNR and dedicated sturgeon fishermen who want to maintain a healthy fishery.  The DNR and other groups have committed extensive time and effort to managing the fishery.  In fact, fishermen have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to support the sturgeon program.

The 2008 sturgeon spearing season ended last week on Lake Winnebago, and turned out to be one of the best yet.  Spearer Ed Blatz caught the biggest sturgeon in years, weighing in at 172 pounds!

Thanks to dedicated fishermen and proper management, this unique form of fishing is alive and well in Wisconsin, and I think I speak for a lot of people when I say I’m glad it’s been a success……….and I’m a bit jealous too! 

Read a great article about the Winnebago sturgeon fishery here

If you’re in any way connected to the sports world, you’ve certainly heard about fantasy football, fantasy baseball, and fantasy basketball.  In fact, the popularity of fantasy sports, where an individual assembles a ’team’ of pro athletes and obtains points for his or her team based on those athletes’ performances, has grown tremendously over the past few years. 

Talking about fantasy sports is all fine and good, but you’re probably wondering what this has to do with a fishing blog.  Enter fantasy fishing. 

FLW Outdoors, a bass fishing tournament group, has launched its new site, FantasyFishing.com, where fans of the FLW tour can select their favorite fishermen and earn points based on their catches in upcoming tournaments.  And that’s not it.  In order to entice fans to sign up at the site, the organization is offering millions of dollars in prizes, including a guaranteed top prize of $1 million for the winner of the fantasy fishing competition. 

Signing up to compete at FantasyFishing.com is free, the only ‘catch’ being that detailed information about the anglers in the tournament will cost $39.95.  But even that doesn’t seem all too inconvenient…….the cost includes a $15 Wal Mart gift card and a subscription to FLW Outdoors magazine.

The FLW tour seems pretty serious about getting more people interested in the sport of bass fishing, even if it be via television and fantasy sports.  I for one am really curious about how this new fantasy fishing deal turns out.  I typically tend to lean toward the non-spiny finned fishes for my entertainment, but heck, this seems kinda cool.  I might even register myself!   

 For more information, go to FantasyFishing.com

While fishing off the south coast of Grand Cayman, an angler noticed something peculiar floating at the water’s surface.  What he found turned out to be an incredible scientific discovery. 

McPherson ‘Dorson’ Wright found a 7.5″ Great Swallower that had swallowed a 34″ snake mackerel!

Without the picture, I wouldn’t have believed it myself. 

Find more info here