Conditions favorable for possible Kenduskeag race record

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Nat Birdsall and Mark Nome stood on the bridge at Six Mile Falls on Friday morning, looking at the roiling, muddy water and discussing their plans for the day.

Birdsall, from Penobscot, and Nome, who splits his time between Maine and Durham, N.C., had headed to Kenduskeag Stream hoping to do a little paddling.

That, they said, would happen.

“We were thinking about putting in in Kenduskeag and taking out here today, just to try it out and get a little exercise,” Birdsall said.

But what about racing on Saturday, however, as hundreds of paddlers head downstream in the 41st edition of the Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race?

As of late morning, the two-man jury was still out on that matter.

The avid paddlers love being on the water, but were going to make a decision on racing after taking a tour of the river.

Just being out there – not racing -is the key, they said.

“If you can’t paddle here, someplace else is just your speed,” Nome said. “There’s a safe place to go and have a whole bunch of fun if this is a little too hard. We’re thinking the same thing. We’re not necessarily going down through.”

Birdsall said there’s a difference between enjoying the whitewater and putting oneself in jeopardy.

“We want to have fun,” he said. “We don’t want to get hurt.”

While hundreds of paddlers are sure to take part in today’s race, and race organizers take special care to make safety a priority, avid paddlers like Birdsall and Nome were respectful of the raging Kenduskeag.

“This is serious water,” Nome said.

That, it is. If you take part in the race today, be careful. And if you just want to watch, here are a few things you might want to know.

. Speed demon. With high water on the stream, there’s a chance for a record. The time to beat: 1 hour, 50 minutes, 8 seconds. That mark was set by race legend Robert Lang of Renforth, New Brunswick, back in 1997.

. Eat, eat, eat. Even if you’re not paddling, you’re invited to head to the starting line for a hearty breakfast.

The Mystic Tie Grange will serve breakfast from 5:30 a.m. until 9 a.m.

Then head outside to watch the boats leave town. Five craft will start every minute from 8:30 a.m. until about 10.

. Traffic warnings. If you’ve witnessed a few of these races, you realize that traffic tie-ups are common.

Here’s what you’ve got to know: Valley Avenue, 14th Street, Finson Road and outer Broadway provide great spots to watch the race. You also may find yourself stuck in traffic in those areas.

Detours may also be in place.

Race organizers encourage motorists to use McCarty Road to get to Ohio Street.

WLBZ to offer video streaming

Did you dump at Six Mile Falls … or make it through without a soggy moment?

Either way, you’ll probably want to relive the experience.

Thanks to WLBZ-TV, with some help from Epic Sports, you’ll get that chance today: The station will be streaming live video of the race on its Web site from 10 a.m. until noon, and then re-run the video later in the day.

WLBZ will end its live video streaming at noon, then take the two hours of video and break it into 15-minute segments that will also be available on the Web site – http://www.WLBZ2.com.

“We figured that after the race, participants and interested viewers would love the opportunity to see themselves or someone they know going over the falls,” WLBZ president and general manager Judy Horan said in a news release.

Moosehead region thawing out

Every so often, I receive an e-mail dispatch from one of my favorite Maine sporting towns. In these periodic messages, Dan Legere, the amiable guide who owns Maine Guide Fly Shop, shares a report on his region’s fishing prospects.

On Thursday I received one such report that, along with the recent warming trend, should get us all thinking about spring.

Here’s some of what Legere had to say:

“The news around here isn’t quite as bleak as about everywhere else,” he wrote. “We got both snow and rain and with the beautiful day today (over 60 in the sun) we have lost at least the new snow we received from the storm.

“There is still a surplus of snow in the woods and ice on the water. The good news is Moosehead Lake is still down over two feet from the annual winter draw-down to make room for spring runoff.

“Since everywhere downstream has more water that the banks can hold, the water people shut off the faucet at East Outlet to minimum flow of just over 500 [cubic feet per second],” Legere wrote. “There are fish from the [Route] 6 and 15 bridge to the dam and the river is as low as you’ll ever see it. What fish there are are pooled up. They have no choice. If you are thinking about venturing downstream, you may want to bring snowshoes, although when the river is this low one-third of the river bed goes above water.

“The Moose [River] also has fish around the dam and has a flow of 1,400 cfs. Consider that too high to do any wading.

“Through it all, there are a couple of areas to fish around here,” Legere continued. “With the beautiful weather predicted you can at least find out if the waders still repel water, try out the new rod, and maybe bump into a few other cabin fever sufferers getting some clean spring air.

“Who knows? You may hook your first trout or salmon of the season. That makes everyone’s day.”

Legere also passed along a cautionary tip.

“Just remember, the water is deadly cold. I always echo the cold-water rule: ‘Never over the knees,'” he wrote. “Enjoy the nice weather, it’s only going to get better.”

Libby Camps get national award

More good news arrived in the e-mail hopper this week in the form of a press release announcing a landmark award for a longtime Maine business.

Libby Camps on Millinocket Lake, which is in northern Piscataquis County, was named the 2006 Orvis-Endorsed Fly Fishing Lodge of the Year.

Proprietors Matt and Ellen Libby received the award at an Orvis Company Rendezvous on April 4.

The award honors the most outstanding Orvis-endorsed property in North America. Libby Camps is the first northeastern lodge to earn the honor, which has been awarded each year since 1989.

Libby Camps was founded in 1890 by Matt Libby’s great-grandfather, grandfather and great uncle. Located above the northeast corner of Baxter State Park, Libby Camps offers fly-in service to some of the state’s best native fishing waters.

Congratulations to all the Libbys for a well-deserved honor.

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