Fishing has simple look, but easily can get expensive

Every sport has its price tag, and fishing is no exception. The purchase of a new fishing vessel can wreak havoc on the pocket book, and the aftermath of such an act can be devastating, especially when the monthly consequences start arriving from the bank.

Newcomers to fishing may choose a conservative approach to the game and invest in an inexpensive fly rod, and address those rivers and streams until such time as the piggy bank harbors adequate funds to support that new fishing boat.

While this idea looks good on the surface, I’d recommend anyone carrying around such a thought to proceed with caution.

It starts out so innocently, then all at once it happens. You tie onto a scrappy landlocked salmon that starts stripping line off your reel like there’s no tomorrow. It’s a moment time can never erase.

As the swift current detours around your waders, you sense the fish’s every movement through the handle of a fly rod, while your possible trophy plays out his fate. Up until this point, it’s still a relatively inexpensive game, but a fatal mistake is in the making. A quick trip to the local tackle shop is needed to purchase a few extra fly patterns, just in case tomorrow’s fish are expecting something different on their plate.

After all, a few extra flies are far from a big-ticket item, but you just had to handle one of those name-brand fly rods during the course of your stop. Its workmanship is second to none, and the words of the store owner infiltrate your very being as he explains how much more of the stream you can reach with this superior casting stick your handling. Yes, it holds a price tag that could wake up the dead, but that’s no longer the issue. The mere presence of this fine piece of craftsmanship resting in your palm puts you back on the water.

Then your ears are pierced by the sounds from a well-machined fly reel being set into motion by the owner. You can buy one without the other, he suggests. This reel has a drag system that can turn a tide, he adds. At this point the only thing you can envision is ownership of this superior equipment, and price is no longer an issue.

Well, congratulations. This sport has just embedded its claws in you, and soon you’ll realize there are a whole lot more items that accompany this new pastime than a rod and reel. But it’s like I mentioned earlier: Every sport has its price. It’s simply up to the individual how much he wants to indulge.

Rainbrow bright

Fishing at Rainbow Lake in Rainbow township delivered a few rewards earlier in the week for Bangor resident Tim Farren and a group of some 10 other anglers.

Over two days of fishing, Farren boated some six brook trout, with the largest covering nearly 15 inches of the measuring tape. He added, though, that the majority of fish he caught measured in the neighborhood of 10 inches, as did most the trout the rest of the fishing party boated. However, a week or so prior to their trip to Rainbow, a fisherman boated a 19-inch brook trout which carried some excess weight, according to Farren. The most of there fish were taken in depths of 25 feet.

Peavey pursues salmon

Millinocket Lake, northwest of Millinocket, released a few of its landlocked salmon last week according to George Peavey of Bangor. Peavey, accompanied by a couple of anglers, hooked onto half a dozen fish over the course of the morning’s fishing. The action took place in depths between 20 and 40 feet, said Peavey, who added the majority of the catch measured 19-20 inches.

That same week Peavey addressed the waters of Pleasant Lake, southwest of Route 6 between Springfield and Topsfield. He and a longtime fishing partner latched onto a few landlocked salmon. Their offerings were directed to depths of 15-30 feet, said Peavey, explaining the day’s catch of salmon averaged about 18 inches.

Large laker, big bass

To the south, Sebago Lake released another one of it’s oversized lake trout, according to fisheries biologist John Boland. It tipped the scales at 18 pounds, 8 ounces.

Tournaments on both China and Cobbossee lakes over the weekend showed some of Maine’s bass are packing on the pounds. According to fisheries biologist Jim Stahlnecker, Cobbossee Lake released a smallmouth bass that pushed the scales well past 4 pounds, and then turned around and rewarded a sport with a 7-pound largemouth bass.

Question of the week

True or false? Largemouth bass in Maine don’t grow as large as those in some states in the far south.

Answer to last week’s question: Do landlocked salmon caught soon after ice-out sometimes have a yellowish hue? Yes.

Terry Farren’s Outdoor report is published each Friday. He can be reached at 990-8067 or by email at outdoor report@bangordailynews.net