Kenduskeag Canoe Race crew still has high hopes

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For the past week or so, Tracy Willette has been hearing the rumors flying around the Queen City.

With two canoe races canceled due to low water, the Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race must be in trouble. Right?

Not so fast, says Willette, Bangor’s supervisor of recreation and the race director of the spring classic.

According to Willette, race officials are busily preparing for April 15th’s 40th running of the Kenduskeag, and expect the race to go on.

“I suspect with the cancellation of some of the earlier races, of course that’s going to fuel the speculation on the other races here in the area,” Willette said. “We’re moving forward. It’s business as usual.”

Willette said that the race committee meets regularly and will reassess matters in the days leading up to the race. But he said even before the rain and snow the area received in recent days, committee members were prepared to stage the race.

“We felt it was passable last weekend,” Willettte said. “It certainly would have been a challenge for a lot of folks, especially, I think, recreational and beginner paddlers. And probably more so for canoeists than kayakers. But it certainly was passable from top to bottom.”

Willette said those challenges would exist because the lower the water is, the fewer the options available to racers.

“It does cut down the number of chutes that people can use, both [closer to town] as well as up at Six Mile Falls,” he said. “It may require a little more patience with paddlers to wait their turn, if you will, for those chutes to open up.”

Willette said there is one major change to this year’s race, which will directly affect those who tend to register on the day of the race.

“We’ve cut [race-day registration] to an hour, 6:30 to 7:30 [a.m.],” Willette said. “We want to make sure folks know about that. If they plan to hold out until the last minute and [register] on race day, they need to get there at 6:30, because we’ll close those doors at 7:30 sharp.”

Willette admitted that conditions on the Kenduskeag can change drastically from day to day or week to week, but he said he has grown accustomed to dealing with various situations and challenges.

“Mother Nature certainly has presented us with some challenges recently, with the ice over the years and now the low water,” Willette said. “The one thing I would remind folks is, yes, the race is still on. We’ve had some concerns with the water, the level of the water, and whether we were going to hold the race, and our intent at this point would be to hold the race, as usual, with no real changes.”

The Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race will begin at 8:30 a.m. on April 15.

New smelt rules in effect

While Maine anglers spend a lot of time sitting in boats hoping for “the big one” to finally bite, spring fishing in the state isn’t all about the quest for Moby Trout.

I’d assert, in fact, that the fish that truly inspires many Maine anglers is the tiny smelt.

The smelt? You bet.

After all, when Mainers decide to trudge through the mud in the middle of the night, to trip over rocks, fall into streams, and otherwise do things they’d never do during daylight, they’re typically doing so for one of two reasons: They want to dip a feed of smelts … or they want to dip some live bait for themselves or to sell to others.

If you’re a smelt dipper, it’s important to realize that the state has enacted a new set of regulations on smelting. Some of those rules took effect last winter, while others are new for this spring.

Either way, it’s important that you realize what the new rules are so that when the men (and women) in green jump out from behind that tree, you’ll be on the right side of the law.

According to Jim Pellerin, a state fisheries biologist, the state wanted to build more of a conservation component into the existing smelt-management program and to address conflict areas among those who harvest smelts.

According to Pellerin, these are the changes:

. Recreational and commercial anglers are now restricted to a 24-inch diameter dip net when dipping in or within 100 feet of the mouth of a tributary. Larger nets can still be used in the lake.

. Recreational and commercial anglers are no longer allowed to dip smelts after 2 a.m.

. Recreational anglers are only allowed to keep five dozen smelts alive for personal bait needs, and the remainder of their daily bag limit must be killed. Commercial bait dealers can keep their entire two-quart limit alive for resale.

. Commercial smelt dealers are only allowed to dip two quarts of smelts during the spring dipping season. The old eight-quart dipping limit is no longer allowed during the spring.

. Commercial dealers are only allowed to use artificial light to attract smelts. The use of food particles is no longer allowed.

. Commercial smelt dealers must use a commercially manufactured grader. Check with the state for specifications.

. Commercial smelt dealers are now required to report their fish and catch information to the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife.

In the state’s weekly fisheries report, Pellerin also said that there has been a bit of confusion among some anglers on when an angler can legally dip smelts. Some think it’s ice-out, others say it’s April 1.

Pellerin said the confusion seems to have been caused by a minor wording change in this year’s law book, which he says will be corrected next season.

Pellerin says there has been no change from past years, however: Anglers can dip smelts in waters that are open to the activity as long as the water is naturally free of ice.

Presque Isle show on tap

Outdoors enthusiasts in The County will flock to Presque Isle this weekend as the Presque Isle Fish & Game Club moves its popular sportsman’s show into a new building.

The show, which runs today and Sunday, will be held in the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s new Gentile Building.

I’m heading north today and plan on stopping by the show before heading to the Atlantic Salmon for Northern Maine spring banquet tonight.

Hope to see many of you at one or both events.

L.L. Bean comes through again

Over the years, I’ve learned to put a lot of trust in one of Maine’s fabled retail institutions.

And a week ago, L.L. Bean came through … again.

As I may have mentioned more than once, I have a habit of breaking things. Fortunately, L.L. Bean has a habit of fixing things … or replacing them.

Last summer, the casualty of a trip to Quebec was my favorite fly rod, a Double-L Classic 5-weight that I’ve come to love casting.

As spring approached, I remembered that my four-piece rod was now a five-piece rod, and decided to do something about it.

Expecting the worst, I sent it along to L.L. Bean’s repairs department 10 days before the opening day of fishing season with a note in which I expressed hope that they could do something …anything … before April 1.

Subsequently, an L.L. Bean call center employee told me that I’d better keep my fingers crossed: Turnaround time on rod repairs or replacements, she told me, is usually three to four weeks.

But when I returned home from work last Friday afternoon – the day before opening day – I was pleasantly surprised to find a familiarly shaped package sitting on my porch.

The new rod, I’m happy to say, casts just fine. Now its owner just has figure out how to offer the fish what they want.

There are plenty of reasons we Mainers (and those who want to be Mainers) have trusted the company for generations. Here’s just one more, for your consideration.

John Holyoke can be reached at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net or by calling 990-8214 or 1-800-310-8600.