Freeze-Up becomes fishermen’s thaw-out

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Some of us wait all winter for snow and ice. Others – like Kevin McKay – could do without such nonsense. In fact, McKay and his pals have made a habit of ignoring traditional winter activities in order to enjoy a pastime generally associated with the spring and summer.

McKay, a Maine guide who is the proprietor of a fly-fishing Web site called www.maineflyfish.com, can’t get enough of fly fishing … and each year, come January, he and a group of hardy fly-casters gather at a predetermined spot for an event they call the “Annual Freeze-Up.”

Maine’s tidal waters are open to fishing year-round, and several other streams and rivers never close, according to state inland fisheries regulations.

This year, McKay says with a chuckle, the freeze-up was more of a thaw-out.

And nobody was complaining.

In all, 22 fishermen showed up at the Mousam River in Kennebunk for the fourth annual event on Jan. 6.

Winter didn’t show up with them.

“I pulled into Kennebunk around 7:30 and it was 64 degrees and raining,” McKay said. “By 2 o’clock it was 70 degrees and sunny, and there were actually fish rising [to feed].”

That’s a far cry from past years. The first year of the Freeze-Up, McKay recalls, really tested the fortitude of the six anglers who showed up.

“I was just looking at the pictures from the first time. It was crazy,” McKay said. “The river was frozen over and it was 20 below.”

While the mercury has plummeted since, McKay was happy on Wednesday to remember this year’s excursion, and the fun all the anglers had.

The day isn’t just about fishing, you see: Everyone who shows up eats well, too.

“This year all the hunters brought meat. There were moose burgers, deer meat, duck,” McKay said.

Also on the menu were Alaskan king salmon, salmon dip and haddock stew.

McKay said he’ll be heading to a fly fishing show in Massachusetts this weekend – a perfect activity during the cold snap – but said other Freeze-up participants haven’t gotten their fill of winter fly fishing quite yet.

“They went back last weekend and caught more fish,” McKay said.

Fly-fishers head to Marlborough

While many outdoors enthusiasts rejoiced at Monday’s snow and Wednesday’s frigid temps, some are likely planning for warmer weather already.

If that’s the case, a perfect event is on tap this weekend in Marlborough, Mass.

Each year the Fly Fishing Show comes to Marlborough, where it’s staged at the Royal Plaza Trade Center.

A huge sporting show that focuses entirely on fly fishing, the show has generated rave reviews from those who attend each year.

This year’s show is taking place Friday through Sunday. An adult pass costs $14 for one day, $24 for two days and $32 for three days. Children under 12 pay just $2 per day. Plenty of fly tiers and fishing experts will be on hand to offer seminars, teach new tricks, and show you the latest in gear and garb.

The show will run from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Friday, from 9 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. on Saturday and from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.

A tip: If you’re interested in attending, but don’t want to travel by yourself, you may be able to find a few car-pool buddies on one of the state’s fly fishing Web sites.

A few to check: www.flyfishingonly.com, www.maineflyfish.com and www.flyfishinginmaine.com.

Among this year’s “celebrity” fishers and tiers at The Fly Fishing Show in Marlborough: Barry and Cathy Beck, Alan Caolo, Joe Cordeiro, Simon Gawesworth, Ed Mitchell, Wendell “Ozzie” Ozefovich and Tim Rajeff.

Cappy’s deer an old one

In November I told you the story of David “Cappy” Wardwell, an avid outdoorsman from Penobscot who had recently collected his winnings in an epic big buck contest.

The deal, made with his brothers and others, was that each hunter would ante up a specific sum of money each year, and the first man who shot a 200-pounder would earn the cash.

For 27 years, the Wardwell boys tromped through the Maine woods … and nobody bagged the big one.

Until this year.

While hunting north of Chamberlain Lake in Maine’s big north woods, Wardwell shot and tagged a 13-pointer that weighed 258 pounds, field dressed. His winnings, after 27 years of dues: $1,075.

Wardwell contacted a state biologist and told him he’d be interested in learning how old the deer was, after a sample tooth was studied.

He recently found out, and passed the information along to me.

It turned out that the wily buck had been thwarting plenty of hunters over his life span: Biologists determined that the deer died at the ripe old age of 71/2.

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