March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Fishermen, frolickers mark Maine’s `last day’ of summer> Anglers, landlubbers lament abuse of personal watercraft

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Dave and John left the marina early Monday morning in an old, red skiff that had plowed more than its share of water on Sebec Lake.

It was the unofficial “last day of summer,” and the boys in the battered boat were setting out once again to match wits with the lake’s smallmouth bass and landlocked salmon.

Some days, the fish are smarter. But not often, and not today. A few hours later, Dave and John are back at Greeley’s Landing and two more fish have fallen for the siren songs of Killer 1 and Killer 2.

“It was kind of a slow day,” says Dave Leighton. “We got one salmon and one bass.”

The Dover anglers have spent hundreds of hours on the lake. They know every cove, every inlet. They’ve got their favorite spots, their favorite lures, their favorite fishing hats.

Don’t bother to ask about the best places to fish. The lures are Rapalas — jointed pieces of balsa wood shaped like minnows and painted silver-black or fluorescent orange. If you believe Leighton and John Foss, the lures pull fish out of the lake like magnets. So effective, they have pet names, Killer 1 and Killer 2. There’s even a Killer 2 1/2, but that’s another story.

“There’s not as many salmon this year, but the bass are biting pretty good,” says Leighton. “Just a few weeks ago, we caught 35 smallmouths in one day.”

Caught and released, Leighton hastens to add. “It’s too much fun to catch them. If you killed them all, forget it. There’d be no fishing.”

Foss steps quickly out of the way as Leighton holds the lures up for the camera. Foss wants no part of the picture.

The two anglers chuckle about out-of-state anglers who fail to catch fish at Sebec. They worry about the impact of ice fishing on the salmon. Foss laments the growing popularity of personal watercraft.

“When we’re out fishing early in the morning, we see the people of the lake waking up to the whines of the Jet Skis,” says Foss. “It’s the young kids, and the lack of supervision. They’re going too fast and too close to shore.”

“It’s just like snowmobiles,” adds Leighton. “It was OK when they were 12 or 15 horsepower. Now, you’ve got to have 700 horsepower and go 140 miles per hour and cost $8,000.”

At the almost-deserted Dover town beach, Tony Church also is thinking about personal watercraft. It’s his last day as a lifeguard; he’s returning to the University of Maine to study biology and zoology.

“Jet Skis are one of my sore points,” says Church. “They are often too close to shore. They like to exceed the maximum headway speed. They play around near the floats

“It’s just scary when you think about one of them coming over the line. That happened a couple of times last year. A little kid can pop up any minute.”

The lifeguard says most personal watercraft owners are older, more responsible people. “It’s the people who borrow them that cause the problems, and the renters.”

Ronette Hesseltine of Milford, who is relaxing with her family and her personal watercraft at the beach, acknowledges the problem.

“You gotta go by the rules,” says Hesseltine. “We watched the safety video when we bought it, and we always wear our life jackets. You can do 55 mph on one, but not me. I’ve never gone over 25.”

Hesseltine blames the younger folks. She supports the law that prevents kids under 16 from operating personal watercraft. She’d like to see everyone required to take a safety course.

At the nearby Peaks-Kenny State Park, the crowd is very light. A sign at the empty tollbooth warns visitors to beware of wasps and hornets. Cool temperatures and a light breeze keep most of the insects away.

The family of Irvin and Marguerite Moore of Carmel appear to be the only folks using a grill. Typical Mainers, they’re generous in sharing their meal: hot dogs and beans, potato and fruit salads, deviled eggs and chocolate chip cookies.

Farther up the beach, 6-year-old Tyler Dufour of Old Town struggles to catch a blue-and-green Nerf football. Jamie Dufour, his father, tries to soften the passes.

The balls remain elusive, but the elder Dufour only has praise for his son. “Good try, Tyler, good try.”

It’s a fitting refrain for the final days of a glorious summer.


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