List of Upcoming Events for the Upper Andro Area

2009 Upper Andro Anglers Alliance Two-Fly Contest and Drift Boat Championship

All Events Below Are For the Year 2008

Float Stocking-This method of fish stocking helps decrease the stress on the fish and prevent mortality. The fish are loaded into floating pens attached to canoes and drift boats; then floated downstream and released into likely hiding places and feeding habitats. The ideal river temperature for stocking usually occurs in May but may be as early as April.

National River Clean Up-Founded in 1992 by America Outdoors and now under the auspices of American Rivers, NRCW assists local groups in keeping waterways clean. Rivers and watersheds have been used as dumps for old appliances, tires and other refuse. Litter, such as foam cups, plastic bottles and food wrappers float into waterways, build up along the shoreline and stay there for years. Local students along with UAAA guides are floating the Androscoggin from Gilead to Bethel to help preserve and protect the river. Information on NRCW is available at www.nationalrivercleanup.org.

Family Fishing Festival – A free family fishing festival is scheduled for Saturday, May 31 from 9 am to 2 pm at the Grand Summit Hotel Pond at Sunday River Ski Resort. Instruction in spin and fly-casting and fly tying continues throughout the day. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s “Hooked on Fishing” program will supply rods and reels. Children can practice their newly learned skills in the stocked pond. Youngsters are welcome to take home their hand tied flies and any fish caught that day. May 31 is a free fishing day in Maine. Resident and non-resident licenses are not required. Outdoor barbecue and lots of door prizes.<<read more here>>

Upper Andro Two Fly Contest – June 12 and 13, UAAA will host a two fly contest for drift boat anglers to test their casting skills. Each angler may use only two flies over the 30 hour period. Teams are comprised of two anglers and a judge/drift boat oarsman. Kittery Trading Post is providing over a thousand dollars worth of fishing gear for the winning teams. Advance registration is required. Information and entry forms are available by phoning 1-877-851-7533.<<<Get Rules and Application>>>

Northeast Drift Boat Competition- A first of its kind, the drift boat competition is scheduled for 2 pm Friday, June 13. The timed race will test guides’ skills at launching, course navigation and rowing. Designed as a spectator event, the competition will begin at the Route 2 Bridge and finish at Bethel’s Davis Park.<<<Get Rules and Information>>>

Spey Fishing Clinic – Monday, August 18. Morning and afternoon introductory instruction in Spey fishing, a traditional European fly-fishing technique using 10 to 16 foot rods.

For detailed information on events log onto www.upperandro.com or phone 1-877-275-3363.

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A River’s Journey: The Story of the Androscoggin

June 5, 2007 through May 31, 2009

In the Robinson House of the Bethel Historical Society

One of the largest rivers in northern New England, the Androscoggin drains an area of over 3,400 square miles in New Hampshire and Maine. The 170-mile waterway begins its journey near Errol, New Hampshire, at the outlet to the Rangeley Lakes and, punctuated with numerous rapids and falls, eventually mingles with the waters of the Kennebec River in Merrymeeting Bay below Brunswick, Maine. One of the most polluted rivers in the country by the 1960s, the Androscoggin has made a comeback thanks to more stringent rules governing industrial waste and municipal sewage, and is today a significant recreational resource for many communities situated along its banks This exhibition—through the use of selected images, artifacts and text—presents a vivid picture of the Androscoggin’s past as a transportation route (especially for logs during the 19th and 20th centuries), a source of nutrients for agricultural production and waterpower for industry, a subject for artists and photographers, and a destination for fishermen, canoeists and nature enthusiasts.