When Deb Henderson spent some time at home over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, she wasn’t planning to embark on a whirlwind process that could change the way some Maine landowners sell their holdings.

A simple TV commercial changed all that.

“I was watching the Great American Country channel … at my dining room table, looking out at the lake, doing paperwork, and I saw this Cabelas ad on TV,” Henderson said. “It said they might be looking for participating [real estate] brokers in your area.”

That ad, pitching Cabelas Trophy Properties LLC, made sense to Henderson, who has more than 20 years of experience in land acquisition. She knew it would appeal to her boss at Bangor’s RE/MAX Advantage Realty Group, Carolyn Fish, who had carved out a niche as a waterfront property specialist. And she knew it would be right up the alley of their co-worker, Pete Norris, a former sporting camp owner.

An e-mail, some phone calls back and forth from Cabela’s headquarters in Sidney, Neb., and the RE/MAX gang was headed west to try to sell themselves to the wholly owned subsidiary of the outdoor retailing giant.

They succeeded and returned to Maine two weeks ago as the exclusive agents in Maine for Cabela’s Trophy Properties.

“I think Maine is going to be a real foot-stomper,” Henderson said. “I mean, we’ve got the woods, we’ve got the ocean, we’ve got the lakes, we’ve got the ponds, rivers, streams, mountains.”

All of which is exactly what you’ll find on the Cabela’s Web site: Recreational property, much of it high-value property, across the U.S. and around the world.

Fish said Cabela’s did extensive research into the trio, as well as RE/MAX Advantage Realty. Personal interviews preceded their actual trip to Nebraska.

Fish said a problem with selling recreational property, including sporting camps, is that most buyers aren’t interested, and are shopping for something else.

“I think a good analogy would be with these kinds of properties it was like being stuck on a one-lane, one-way street,” Fish said. “Having [this] marketing tool is like having an eight-lane expressway. Now we finally have an awesome marketing avenue for these kinds of properties.”

Though many of the properties on Cabela’s Trophy Properties Web site are pricey – three options on the site’s main page on Friday were listed at prices ranging from $725,000 to $11 million – that’s not the only thing buyers will find on the site, Fish said.

“The person who heads the division, Dave Nelson, made it very clear that they’re hoping to have a wider inventory [they take a consumer’s desire seriously] whether it’s a $10,000 or $20,000 camp or a $2 million waterfront property.”

Anyone who has spent time afield in Maine realizes that property ownership trends are changing. Norris said ignoring those changes isn’t an option.

“I had my hard times [as a sporting camp owner], so I understand that the only time I ever thought I was going to make any money in that kind of business was when [I] sold,” Norris said.

And he said that as a real estate agent, his responsibility is to do the best for a client that he can.

Listing properties on an international Web site visited by outdoors enthusiasts will help him do that, Norris said.

Now that their self-marketing is done, all three agree that there’s no time to rest, even though they may need a bit of a break.

“We have to perform,” Norris said. “If you say you can do something, you’ve got to go out and do it.”

45th Schoodic derby looms

Each year there are a few ice fishing derbies that draw a bit more attention than the others. Perhaps a large prize pool causes the buzz. Perhaps it’s the chance to catch a large fish. Or maybe a rich tradition dictates that you participate.

All three factors surely apply for one upcoming event: The 45th annual Schoodic Lake Ice Fishing Derby is on tap for Feb. 17-18.

The derby, sponsored by the Milo Fire Department, is traditionally among the most popular of the state’s ice fishing tournaments as anglers flock to Schoodic, Ebeemee, and Seboeis lakes.

This year’s edition of the Maine classic promises to be no different as anglers compete for plenty of cash and a bountiful supply of shore prizes.

In all, $9,200 worth of shore prizes will be handed out, including a 2007 Arctic Cat Z370 snowmobile.

A $5 ticket book includes the derby entry fee and six shore prize tickets.

According to Gordon “Nels” Kramer, the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife fisheries biologist for the Milo region, the derby is the oldest in the state and always proves helpful to him and his staff.

“The Milo Fire Department has always assisted us in providing excellent catch statistics of all fish registered and they have always cooperated with us in modifying their derby rules to benefit the fisheries management of Schoodic Lake,” Kramer said in an e-mail.

And Kramer said prederby indications are that anglers could land some nice fish again this year.

“We have been hearing some encouraging reports from some of the regulars,” Kramer wrote. “Togue in the four- to six-pound range seem common, and we’ve heard tales of some larger ones as well.”

Anglers are also reporting catches of fall yearling brook trout ranging from 14 to 18 inches long.

And if you need any more encouragement to make weekend plans, consider this: Schoodic also gave up the current world record landlocked salmon in the ice-fishing-with-tip-ups category, a whopper that weighed 13 pounds, 3 ounces.

Jim Albert of Glenburn caught that record-setting fish on Feb. 15, 2002.

For more information about the derby, check out the Web site at www.trcmaine.org or call 943-2303.

Salmon spawning run planned

I received word last week from Lou Horvath, a longtime crusader in local Atlantic salmon restoration efforts, that a fledgling event is being planned to draw attention to the area’s rich salmon tradition.

Horvath sent along a flier for the event being planned by the Penobscot Unified Salmon Clubs, which is being called the “15K Atlantic Salmon Spawning Run.”

The 9.3-mile footrace will take place on April 29 and will cover a course from the Veazie Salmon Club into Bangor and out Route 9 in Brewer, where runners will pass the Penobscot Salmon Club before finishing at the Eddington Salmon Club.

The entry fee is $100, but organizers suggest that runners collect donations to defray that cost. Doing so will help runners spread the word about the importance of the migratory event the run serves to illustrate.

Proceeds will be donated to the Penobscot River Restoration Trust to help in efforts to remove dams in Veazie and Great Works and to alter the flow at a dam in Howland.

For more information about the run, call Horvath at 989-5370 or e-mail him at asboth1@aol.com.

Hot off the presses …

On Friday afternoon I received an urgent e-mail from Jon Speed of the Princeton Rod & Gun Club, who had great news for youths considering attending the winter conservation camp planned for Greenland Point Center on Feb. 16-18.

Thanks to some late donations, there are now six $100 scholarships available for interested youths.

“Please help us get out the word so a few children who might not have been able to afford the full cost can now attend,” Speed wrote.

His advice: Contact Greenland Point Center immediately, as the opening day of camp is just a week away.

If you want more information, contact Speed at 796-5186, 796-0881, or 461-9145.

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