This fishing season has apparently gotten off to a slow start

From what I’ve gathered, there aren’t any drags being burned out of reels on the spring fishing grounds. Warden Alan Gillis reported a few trout being taken at Debec Pond in Amherst, but salmon fishing was slow on local lakes such as Phillips, Brewer and Green. Slow also is the word from fishermen who endured cold, rainy and windy weather at Branch and Beech Hill ponds last weekend.

Warden John Ready of Bucksport says a few days of sun on the water should lift the lid on a spell of fast fishing. “The water hasn’t warmed much,” said the warden, “and the wind has made bobbing around in a boat uncomfortable. But I think we’ve got some good spring fishing straight ahead of us.”

Ready also reported smelting activity seems to be decreasing in his area. He attributes the lack of interest to two factors: the amount of brooks closed to smelting, which creates congestion at open waters, and the changing times.

“Smelting used to be a spring tradition,” he said. “Years ago, everyone would grab a net and a bucket and head for a brook when word went out that the smelts were running. But a lot of those people have passed on now or have gotten too old to go thrashing around in the cold and the dark. Younger people just don’t seem to have the interest.” I’ll say amen to that.

Speaking of smelts, Marine Patrol Warden Kurt Soneson of Orrington says runs of sea smelts have been sporadic in brooks spilling into the Penobscot River and in the river itself. “They ran a few nights in Frankfort and Prospect but then shut off. It seems the fish don’t run as steady as they used to. They start and stop. One night you can dip a couple of quarts in no time, but for the next three nights, nothing.”

Soneson reminds smelters that the limit is two quarts per person. Also, keep in mind that each smelter must have his own container. A smelter carrying his and his partner’s limit in a bucket is asking for trouble.

Regional fisheries biologist Dennis McNeish of Sidney’s Region B headquarters also cited cold water temperatures and windy weather as the reasons for slow fishing. He reported many fishermen and few fish at Long Pond but allowed that several small trout ponds typically produced fish early. As for the Kennebec River, McNeish said the water was extremely low but rainbow and brown trout were beginning to put bends in rods and smiles on anglers’ faces. “Some big browns have been caught in the Augusta area by fishermen using Rapalas,” the biologist reported.

To make a longer cast, at Fisheries Region A headquarters in Gray, assistant regional biologist Dick Arsenault reported Sebago Lake fishermen are rinsing fish scales from their landing nets. “The togue fishing has been good and some heavy fish have been taken,” said Arsenault. Word is a 24-pounder was derricked from Sebago’s depths last week. If you haven’t heard, the daily limit on togue at Sebago is now three fish, regardless of weight. Because of the lake’s abundant togue population, the 7 1/2-pound daily weight limit was removed to reduce the species’ numbers.

Arsenault also reported the reels of salmon fishermen were running on the deep, sprawling Cumberland County lake: “They’re trolling streamers mostly, right in on the rocks, and they’re catching fish between 16 and 19 inches.”

That wouldn’t be too hard to deal with this early in the season, now would it?

I was sorry to hear that Cam Sargent of Sorrento was hospitalized recently after striking a snag in the trail. Unfortunately, the trail hasn’t smoothed out as quickly as expected for the well-known sportsman and guide who at one time knew the name and whereabouts of every woodcock in Hancock County. What Cam didn’t know about bird hunting, waterfowl hunting and dogs that pointed and fetched wasn’t worth knowing.

Dr. Frank Gilley, a longtime friend and hunting partner of Cam’s, once told me, “When it came to hunting birds or waterfowl, Cam was a taskmaster, pure and simple.” Take a minute and drop the ol’ guide a card and wish him well. He’ll appreciate it. Right now he’s denned in Room 406 at Eastern Maine Medical Center, 489 State St. Bangor 04401.

Now that the Kenduskeag Canoe Race has run its course for another year, you might want to think about the Canoe Poling Clinic and Maine Canoe Poling Championships that will be held on the stream May 6.

Beginning at 9 a.m., off Valley Avenue, expert polers Harry Rock, Chip Cochrane – Rock is a 10-time national champion, Cochrane is the 1993-94-95 national champion – Warren Cochrane, Linda Koski, Erik Cochrane and Lani Love will provide instructions in the art of poling a canoe. If you think it isn’t an art, you are in for a rude and probably wet awakening. To most people, simply standing in a canoe is an art.

For a $5 registration fee, you’ll learn there’s more than what meets the eye to setting and snubbing a canoe upstream or down. For further information contact Warren Cochrane, P.O. Box 713, Greenville 04441. Phone: 695-3668 or 695-2220.

Fresh Tracks: Warden Lt. Dan Tourtelotte of Division D headquarters in Greenville has been named deputy chief warden of the Maine Warden Service. A native of Guilford, Tourtelotte became a game warden in 1978.