Goin' Fishin'

It has been a long summer. Usually summers go by in a heartbeat and next thing you know the lawn furniture has a dusting of snow because I didn't put it away in time. This year was a little different and I sure could use some R & R.

My buds and I are going fishing one last time for this season in a beautiful place, almost Eden-like, on Moosehead Lake. We travel to the wilds of North-Central Maine, then get on a dirt road for 8 miles then turn off onto a lesser dirt road, sometimes washed out, for another 3 miles - dodging moose, deer and rabbits along the way. We arrive in the middle of a Game Preserve where there are cabins for rent. The animals who live around the site have lost their total fear of humans and will tentatively stop by your cabin to see if you are an OK person and have apples, carrots, nuts or other goodies to pass around. They are not tame, still wild but not hunted for over 100 years. On any given day you will see deer, geese, ducks, raccoons, moose, squirrels, chipmunks and more within walking distance of camp and sometimes right on the front porch.

The fishing is outstanding with Salmon, Lake Trout and Brookies in abundance. I have been going there for over 25 years. I learned of this place from my fishing mentors, "Old Timers" who taught me how fish with lead line, tie flies, sew on a smelt, dip my lure in sardine juice before trolling and so very much more. To me this is more like heaven than any evangelical could ever imagine.

Here is a short slideshow vid of the greendaykids and the greendaymom at Tomhegan way back when - with a Taj Mahal accompaniment - probably 2002, but some pics may be earlier.

I had to take the family on off weeks because the "old timers" and their sons and sons of sons wouldn't think about allowing women and kids into camp. We are just too nasty and crazy when we get together. Fact.

I have recently turned my conservative friends on to this haven and tried to pass on the respect for the area and skills that were taught to me. Sometimes a challenge, more often they are overwhelmed by the beauty and the experience.