Maine Game Warden Maj. Gregg Sanborn remembers the day he decided he wanted to pursue a job in the warden service.

“I was checked by a game warden when I was hunting with my dad – it might not have been my first year hunting, it might have been my second – and we talked with him for 15 or 20 minutes,” Sanborn recalled. “I said, ‘Wow, that would be a cool job.'”

Now Sanborn and the Maine Warden Service are looking for a few more men and women to follow in their footsteps.

Sanborn said an open application process for prospective wardens will begin Monday.

“We’re looking for someone who would like to have the great outdoors as their office,” Sanborn said.

The Maine Warden Service doesn’t hire new wardens every year, waiting instead until there are enough openings to support a school for applicants.

“We hired last year. We would have hired as many as six last year, but we had two successful applicants [out of a field of about 70],” Sanborn said. “We’re looking to hire as many as seven this year.”

Interested applicants can go to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife’s Web site to find more information beginning Monday. The address for that site: www.mefishwildlife.com.

Sanborn said there are a few requirements for prospective applicants:

. Applicants must have a high school diploma or equivalent.

. They must be at least 21 yeas old by Dec. 12, 2008, or at least 20 years old by the same date if they have completed an associate’s degree program or have accumulated 60 credit hours of postsecondary education.

. All applicants must get in touch with the Maine Criminal Justice Academy and schedule an ALERT examination, which serves as a basic competency exam.

. They also must perform a physical assessment test, also through the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.

. All applicants must have or be able to obtain a Maine Class C motor vehicle operator’s license.

. Applicants must be willing to relocate anywhere in the state of Maine.

Sanborn said successful applicants will begin an 18-week course at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in mid-January. Upon completion of that course, they’ll go to an advanced warden academy that will run for 12 to 14 weeks.

Sanborn said that in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the DIF&W was flooded with 1,500 to 2,000 applications when wardens were hired.

Now, the number is much lower.

“All law enforcement’s having trouble getting applications,” Sanborn said. “It’s more [a case of] the public expects more out of their law enforcement professionals. There’s more time training. There’s higher entry-level requirements. And I remember when I got hired, my first paycheck as a game warden [19 years ago] was $2 more than my last paycheck as a teacher. It’s a job you can live comfortably with, but you’re not going to get rich. So you’d better enjoy it.”

Still, Sanborn said the job is perfect for certain people, and he hopes plenty of good applicants decide to learn more about a career in the warden service.

“If you want to be a Maine Game Warden, this is an excellent time to start thinking about going through the process,” Sanborn said.

Saltwater angling popular

On Friday I told you about a proposal that would require Mainers (and residents of other coastal states) to become part of a federal saltwater angler registry in the near future.

Even before that story ran, however, I was getting questions from friends and acquaintances who were interested in saltwater fishing.

In particular, people wanted to know exactly how popular the sport is.

In a state where many folks enjoy fishing in saltwater, but many others spend all of their fishing time on streams, rivers and lakes, the question is an interesting one.

If you live far from the coast, or in places where the freshwater fishing is particularly good, there’s a good chance you’ve spent very little time trying to catch mackerel, striped bass or other saltwater species.

Late Friday, got the answer many people wanted … almost. While the press release from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration didn’t say exactly how many people were fishing in saltwater, it did pass along some valuable information.

It turns out NOAA has determined recreational marine anglers caught more than 468 million fish in 2007 in coastal waters across the U.S.

That number represents a slight decrease from the historic high of 475 million, set in 2006.

Interestingly, recreational anglers have continued to embrace the catch-and-release ethic, and 272 million fish – 58 percent of the catch – were released.

NOAA says the percentage of fish released each year continues to rise steadily. Fifteen years ago, only 51 percent of the annual catch was released.

Here’s your trivia question of the day: What species of fish was caught most often in 2007?

If you guessed striped bass, you’d be showing your New England bias. Stripers did dominate the catch in the North Atlantic region, but top honors went to the spotted sea trout, which can be caught in the Gulf of Mexico and the south Atlantic regions.

Those regions, NOAA points out, also have the highest combined concentration of saltwater anglers in the nation.

Reeling in a big one

And you thought you had a good day of fishing?

You may have … but there’s still no way you’re going to top the outing Bob Greene had Thursday.

According to an Associated Press story, the Hallowell man was preparing to fish the Kennebec River on Thursday morning – drinking a cup of coffee and reading a newspaper while waiting for sunrise – when he realized a man was bobbing down the river.

Greene called 911, then performed a river rescue true anglers will surely appreciate.

Greene nearly jumped in the chilly water, but the 911 dispatcher told him to throw something to the man instead, according to the AP account.

Greene cast a lure at the man, hooked his shirt, and reeled him to shore. An unidentified four-inch-long lure with a treble hook did the trick.

Greene told the Kennebec Journal he used his fishing experience to avoid snapping the 25-pound test line while reeling the man 35 yards to safety.

“It was a struggle to get him out of the current so I could reel him in,” Greene told the paper.

According to the AP, the man had jumped off the 114-foot high Cushnoc Bridge in Augusta and floated about a half-mile down the river before he reached Greene.

Many of us have fish stories we love to share with others. On separate occasions I’ve reeled in a beer can, dozens of branches and chunks of wood, fishing line (with a lure attached), and (believe it or not) a rock. Yes, a rock.

Greene’s story tops any I can tell, no doubt about it.

Congratulations to the quick-thinking angler for a job well done.

Mea culpa …

On Tuesday, I told you about the efforts of the Forest Protection Division of the Maine Forest Service, and shared a few ways you might make your future fires more safe.

Kent Nelson, the fire prevention specialist I spoke with, checked in after the column wrote with a gentle correction.

In a paragraph talking about the potential costs that may be accrued by those whose fires become uncontrollable, I used the wrong word.

I quoted Nelson as saying that the costs of “repression” of the fire could be recovered in some cases.

Apparently, I spent too many of my teen years watching Monty Python movies (“I’m being repressed! I’m being repressed!”)

Nelson actually said “suppression,” which, of course, makes a lot more sense.

jholyoke@bangordailynews.net

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