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This is the lead drift boat of our 3 drift boat “Flotilla” in the Mollyockett Days Parade with Fran Head as Captain and her grandchildren and neighborhood kids riding. We tossed 1440 individually wrapped Swedish fish candies to the kids in the crowd.

Local Maine guides and members of the Mollyockett Chapter of Trout Unlimited will teach the workshops. Instruction will include both spin casting and fly casting for older youth and parents. Maine’s Hooked on Fishing-Not on Drugs Program will supply complimentary rods and reels for use at the festival.

Families can practice newly learned casting skills in the one acre pond and are welcome to take home their catch. The pond will be stocked with trout courtesy of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Each young angler will receive a mini-tackle box complete with bobber, sinkers and hook courtesy of the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance.

Kids can learn how to tie flies with materials provided by local outfitters and fly shops. Children will be able to take home their hand-tied flies.

Families participating in the event will be eligible for door prizes from local outfitters and businesses as well as L.L. Bean and Kittery Trading Post. The Bethel Fire Dept. will host a barbecue of hotdogs and hamburgers, chips, and drinks and families are welcome to bring a pack lunch.

The weekend of June 5 and 6 is a free fishing weekend in Maine. Resident and Non-resident freshwater fishing licenses are waived each day.

The Family Fishing Festival is one many nationwide events that provide families with an opportunity to have fun on the water. The events are promoted by the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (www.rbff.org). For those families wishing to stay overnight and fish or canoe the Androscoggin River on Sunday, special family packages are available for the weekend at local lodging establishments.

For information on the Family Fishing Festival, contact the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance at 207-824-3694, fish@upperandro.com or www.upperandro.com

Events will include turkey hunting, fishing, hiking, canoeing, kayaking, golf and sightseeing, in addition to meetings, great meals and interacting with other writers and associates. There will also be a preview of Gray Ghost Productions latest fly-fishing movie, “The Good Life“.

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Above are all the contestants who participated in the 2009 Upper Andro Anglers Alliance Two-Fly fly-fishing contest held out of Bethel, Maine and hosted on the Upper Androscoggin River. For a larger view of this photo, please click on the photograph.

The Upper Andro Two Fly Contest and Northeast Drift Boat Championship are scheduled for the weekend of September 19 and 20, 2009 in conjunction with Bethel’s Annual Harvest Fest. The competitions are the annual fund-raisers for the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance, a non-profit group dedicated to the conservation, protection, restoration and promotion of the natural fishing resource of the Upper Androscoggin River, its tributaries, watershed and environs.

Contestants may use only two flies during the event, which starts at 6:00 am on Saturday. Teams may launch from public launch sites from the New Hampshire border at Shelburne to Rumford Center. The contest concludes at 2:00 pm.

The Two Fly contest will test the skills of anglers to fly fish for the most and the largest of the three trout species, brown, rainbow and brook found in the Upper Androscoggin River from the New Hampshire border to Rumford Center. A fly is defined as made from natural or synthetic materials tied to a single pointed hook. No tandems or treble hooks are allowed. Teams of three including two anglers and a referee/oarsman must fish from an open boat-drift boat or raft. All fish must be released live.

Prizes including rods and fishing gear supplied by Kittery Trading Post, L.L. Bean, Patagonia, Sun Valley Sports and the Orvis Company will be awarded Saturday afternoon immediately following a parade of the drift boats up Main Street and around the Town Common.

The Second Annual Northeast Drift Boat Championship will be held Sunday, September 20 at 10 am. Designed as a spectator event, the competition will test oarsmen’s skills at navigating a course and rowing speed. Each drift boat must carry at least one angler, who must remain standing throughout the timed race. The launch will be from Bethel Outdoor Adventures on Route 2 and the finish line is at Davis Park in Bethel-a distance of a quarter mile.

Last year’s winner of the Two Fly Contest with a 19 1/2” brown trout was Tyler Gammon of Otisfield, Maine. Winner of the Drift Boat competition was Mike Jones of Harpswell, ME rowing a Clackacraft boat. Both outdoorsmen plan to defend their titles.

Official contest rules and a registration form are available on line by clicking here or by phoning 1-877-851-7533.

Members of the Mollyockett Chapter of Trout Unlimited will teach the workshops. Instruction will follow the curriculum developed by Trout Unlimited’s “First Cast” program for Kids. Instruction will include both spin casting and fly casting for older youth and parents. Maine’s Hooked on Fishing-Not on Drugs Program will supply complimentary rods and reels for use at the festival.

Families can practice newly learned casting skills in the Grand Summit Pond and are welcome to take home their catch. The pond will be stocked with trout courtesy of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Each young angler will receive a mini-tackle box complete with bobber, sinkers and hook courtesy of the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance..

Kids can learn how to tie flies with materials provided by TU and fibers from Sunday River Alpacas. Children will be able to take home their hand-tied flies.

Families participating in the event will be eligible for door prizes from local outfitters and businesses.

The weekend of May 30-31 is a free fishing weekend in Maine. Resident and Non-resident freshwater fishing licenses are waived each day.

The Family Fishing Festival is one many nationwide events that provide families with an opportunity to have fun on the water. The events are promoted by the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation (www.rbff.org). For those families wishing to stay overnight and fish or canoe the Androscoggin River on Sunday, special family packages are available for the weekend at local lodging establishments.

For information on the Family Fishing Festival, contact the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance at 207-824-3694, fish@upperandro.com or www.upperandro.com.

Leave a Legacy Fish 50 Trophy Waters in 50 States in 50 Days www.fish5050.com

Our Mission: On June 13th, 2009 my son Taylor (age 17) and I will embark on a nationwide quest, a quest to Fish 50 Trophy Waters in 50 States in 50 Days. Our journey will span 15,000 miles by land, 6,000 miles by air (Alaska and Hawaii), cover 500 miles by water, with no shortcuts. www.fish5050.com/

Our Cause: Our hope is that our adventure, our quest, will inspire fathers and sons across the nation to realize their dreams for adventure and connect once again. To find and live out that adventure in their lives they so desperately desire and need. To realize that no matter where you live there is a pond, river, lake, or ocean – teeming with fish – waiting to be explored – to build a lasting memory – to rekindle that long lost relationship – to Leave a Legacy.

Ever since I was a small boy I’ve dreamed of adventure; desiring to seek after something that seemed bigger than life. If you’re like me, adventures such as climbing Mount Everest or running the Boston Marathon seem a bit beyond reality. I’m just an average father; what could my adventure be?

What’s so special about a father and son adventure? My son Taylor has been my fishing buddy since he was a small boy. We’ve experienced some incredible fishing trips together. Realizing that with college on the horizon we see one last chance at a truly epic adventure together – to seize the moment. Where the fish story of all fish stories, between a father and son, can be lived out and told.

When I was a child, I longed to ride along with my dad no matter where he was going, and I jumped at every chance to go fishing with him. In fact, from my earliest memories, fishing has always been my passion. For many of us, fishing was the one true bond we had with our fathers, where we finally felt connected, where our father’s legacy lives on. The romance of those days is a distant memory for most people. Fathers are caught up in the rat race of life with long commutes, constant emails, and never ending work weeks while our children sit at home trying to fill the voids by immersing themselves in their world of Xbox, iPOD, and Cable TV. With all of society’s advancements many fathers and sons have lost their common bond
- they’ve lost their desire for adventure.

The Media: The project will have significant U.S. media attention through local, state, and national magazines, newspapers, web, television, radio, and upon completion of our journey a book.

Jeff & Taylor Turner
7332 Fox Call Lane
Warrenton, Virginia 20186
540-351-0250
jeff.turner@fish5050.com

For the complete details and information about this adventure, follow this pdf link.

Posted by Tom Remington

The tournaments are open to adults and youngsters and subject to all ice fishing regulations as set by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Competitors may fish for togue, pickerel, pike and muskie. Says Maine IF&W fisheries biologist, John Boland, “ The Sebago Lake Rotary has always coordinated with Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to ensure their events are consistent with our fishery objectives. The derbies have been a wonderful success-encouraging families to take advantage of ice fishing and most importantly, raising money for charity.”

For the Statewide Derby, first, second and third place cash prizes will be awarded for the largest fish of each species. All anglers who weigh their fish will be eligible for the grand prize drawing of a 2008 Chevy 4 x 4. Other prizes include a choice of 2009 Ski Doo or Can Am ATV, Kittery Trading Post gift certificates, Mission Trailer and Ice Shack and fishing trip to Libby Camps in Ashland, Maine.

Weigh Stations for the Sebago Lake Tournament are Raymond Beach on Route 302 and Jordan’s Store on Route 114 in Sebago.

There are twenty-two weigh stations from Cross Lake in Aroostook County to Acton in York County. Fisherman may fish all legal waters throughout the state.

The Maine Chevrolet Derby 2009, hosted by the Sebago Lake Rotary Club is a fund raiser for The Good Shepard Food Bank which supplies 500 food pantries throughout Maine; Camp Sunshine; Maine Children’s Cancer Program, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the Rotary Foundation, the DARE Program and local charities selected by the statewide weigh stations.

Says derby organizer Tom Noonan of Raymond, “Over the years we’ve had thousands of fisherman participate and raised over $350,000 for charity. We are recognized by Field & Stream Magazine as one of the five best ice-fishing tournaments in the nation. Our hope is to become the nation’s largest Ice-Fishing Derby and generate awareness and funding for all our charities.”

Other events scheduled in conjunction with the Sebago Lake Derby are a Kid’s Derby on Thomas Pond in Casco on Friday, Feb 20, 9 am to noon; a motorcycle and car ice-racing event in Windham Friday evening from 6-10 pm; the Maine Children’s Cancer Program Polar Dip at Raymond Beach noon, Saturday Feb. 21; hot air balloons, helicopter rides and a general aviation fly-in all day Saturday and a Snowmobile Radar Run at Raymond Beach from 10 am to 4 pm on Sunday, Feb. 22.

Maine fishing licenses and Derby entries may be purchased at the weigh stations and at the Kittery Trading Post. Entries along with a complete set of rules, prizes, weigh station locations, and registration information is available on line at www.icefishingderby.com or by phoning 1-888-ICE-FLAG. The entry fee is $30 per person for the Sebago Tournament, which includes a free entry into the Statewide Tournament, $20 per individual for the Statewide Tournament. A Kid Pack entry is $50 for Sebago and $30 for Statewide. The Kid Pack includes entry for an two parents and up to 6 children under the age of 18.

The Maine Chevy Derby Fest Awards Ceremony and truck drawing will be held Tuesday, March 10.

Posted by Tom Remington

The weather was superb and the excitement was high for the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance Two-Fly Contest and Drift Boat Championship. As the photo shows, the morning began on the foggy side but soon cleared out for a great time.

Wende Gray, spokesperson and organizer of the event, said, “Everyone had a super, duper time and I think we’ll double the number of entrants next year.”

In the Two-Fly Contest:

Winner of the Largest Fish – Tyler Gammon, fishing from the Northern Outdoors boat.

Runner Up – Mike Jones, Farmington. Mike was fishing in the Fly Rod & Reel Magazine boat.

Winner of Largest Catch – Chad Hughes, Camden. Chad represented the Fly Rod & Reel Magazine crew.

Runners Up – George Smith, Augusta. George was fishing in the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine craft.

Kevin Carleton, Norway. Kevin was fishing in the Schiavi Home Builders boat.

Teams and boat sponsors were as follows:

Fly Rod & Reel Magazine
Mike Jones, Oarsman
Joe Healy, angler
Chad Hughes, angler

Northern Outdoors
Chris Russell, Oarsman
John Williams, angler
Tyler Gammon, angler

Skinny Moose Media
Bob Dionne, Oarsman
Kevyn Fowler, angler
Steve Minich, angler

Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine
Bill Pierce, Oarsman
George Smith, angler
Doug Rafferty, angler

Gray Ghost Productions
Carter Davidson, Oarsman
Luke Gray, angler
Brad Jerome, angler

Kenworth
Stephanie Percival, Oarsman
Joanne Hicks, angler
J.D. Percival, angler

Schiavi Home Builders
Scott Stone, Oarsman
Mark Hiebert, angler
Kevin Carleton, angler

Results of the Drift Boat Championship:

First Place: time of 7 minutes 25 seconds Mike Jones, Farmington

2nd place : time of 7 minutes 35 seconds, Scott Stone, Bethel

3rd Place: time of 8 minutes 21 seconds, Chris Russell, The Forks

1/4 mile course from Bethel Outdoor Adventures to Davis Park, circling two buoys

Photo by Phil Savignano
Winners of the First Annual Northeast Drift Boat Championships held Sunday, September 21 on the Androscoggin River in Bethel are (left to right) Third Place, Chris Russell, The Forks, representing Northern Outdoors; First Place, Mike Jones, Farmington, representing Fly Rod & Reel Magazine; and Second Place, Scott Stone, Bethel, representing Schiavi Home Builders. The oarsmen raced for the fastest time over a 1/4 mile course from Bethel Outdoor Adventures to Davis Park navigating three buoys and carrying an angler who was required to remain standing throughout the race. The winning time was 7 minutes and 25 seconds.

Tom Remington