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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.

The Upper Andro Anglers Alliance in conjunction with the Bethel Inn Resort and Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce graciously hosted the New England Outdoor Writers Association annual (NEOWA) Spring Safari. The three day event included a whole host of activities including turkey hunting, fly fishing, kayaking, golfing, hiking, sporting clays and just about any outdoor activity one could expect in the picturesque area of Bethel, Maine.

Opening day of my safari adventures started with an early morning turkey hunt along the scenic Sunday River. Local guide Dan Thrall who owns and operates Antlers & Anglers Guide Service (www.antlernanglers.com) got us into the woods at 3:30 am and once day break hit the action was unlimited. We spent two mornings in the woods and even though I did not connect, Dan put plenty of opportunities before me. Part two of opening day included a float stocking trip with the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance (www.upperandro.com) from Gilead to Bethel. Since 1998 the UAAA has stocked 40,000 brown trout throughout the Androscoggin River and the organization is committed to the sustenance of the Upper Andro. Please visit their website for plenty of helpful information including maps, events and membership.<<<Read More>>>

Rocky had a deep understanding of the relationship between recreation and tourism. Sun Valley Sports exemplifies the best practices in providing superior service to its guests. In 2007 Rocky and his wife Lisa received the Maine Governor’s Award for Excellence in Tourism Innovation.

The Rocky Freda Outdoor Travel Writing Award will be presented annually in May to a professional outdoor and/or travel writer who publishes a story in print, broadcast or on-line media about those outdoor activities in Maine that were dearest to Rocky’s heart-fly fishing, canoeing and kayaking, wildlife watching, bird hunting, white water rafting, ATV touring and snowmobiling as they relate to the Maine visitor.

A copy of the story should be submitted either electronically or as a hard copy by April First for stories published the preceding 12 months. Submission should be sent to the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance, PO Box 244, Bethel, Maine 04217 or to fish@upperandro.com. The writer’s name, mailing address, telephone and email address must accompany the story submission.

The award carries a cash prize of $200 and the story will be published on line at the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance website, www.upperandro.org if publishing rights are available.

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

Magic Falls Rafting Company of West Forks, Maine will provide rafts and garbage scows. Immediately following the clean-up, Pleasant River Campground in West Bethel is hosting a barbecue for all participants.

Rivers and watersheds have been used as dumps for old appliances, shopping carts 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. With landfill space at a premium, recycling efforts stymied by a lack of plant capacity and toxic waste expensive to control, a grassroots effort can help maintain a constituency for preserving and protecting waterways. In 2009, 600 tons of trash and debris was collected and 7,500 miles of rivers cleaned across the nation. Last year the Upper Andro yielded over a ton of debris including bed springs, tires and tire rims and a 1950’s record player.

The Upper Andro Anglers Alliance is co-ordinating the local clean up. Says Clean-up Co-ordinator and UAAA director Bruce Pierce, “There’s been a long-standing effort to improve the Androscoggin’s water quality and fishery-now we need to improve the shore land zone along this wonderful river.”

National River Cleanup was founded in 1992 by America Outdoors, the largest association of America’s outfitters and guides, to assist local groups in keeping waterways clean. In 2007 American Rivers assumed administration of the river clean up. American Rivers, founded in 1973, is the nation’s leading river advocacy organization. NRC Information is published on line at www.nationalrivercleanup.org.

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“.

<<<For More Information>>>

Our friends at Gray Ghost Productions are at it again. Hang on for the March 27, 2010 release dates followed by screening scheduled for April. The Good Life is fishing from Florida to Labrador and stops in between.

All along the Atlantic seaboard from north to south lies some of the most mind-blowing sections of fish-able water. This project takes a long hard look at the sport of fly fishing along the eastern side of the Mississippi. The Good Life documents the bona-fide enthusiasm and determination for the fly fishing experience. Each fisherman in this film, from Pro’s to the unknown, legends to fresh recruits, all share a common bond. They all share an incredible thirst to cast a fly to a fish. This saga tours the better part of the East from Labrador to the Florida Keys and everything in-between. Hitch a ride in the flying Beaver with Luke Gray in search of huge Eastern Brook Trout and enormous Northerns. Check out the alluring saltwater for Stripers in the north or toothy monsters of the southern latitudes. Fish a day with Lefty Kreh in search of popper crunching smallies or take a ride with the hard charging Mckay brothers for a glimpse at young guns behind the fly rod. From Peacock Bass to Landlock Salmon, from urban pools teeming with silver Shad to remote runs with glorious trout and a dash of the occasional Stonefly hatch, this film is proof that the good life is never too far away.

Gray Ghost Productions LLC presents “The Good Life” with Lefty Kreh, Luke Gray, Robin Reeve, Kevin McKay, Bryan Pinard, Charlie Lowe, Rik Dow, Rick Estes Pat Dillon, Dan Connor, Erik Lippmann, Tait & Jax McKay, Brad Burns, Bill Pierce, Nate Harvey, Rocky Freda, Jim Bernstein and more…

music by Gypsy Tailwind, Moonboot Lover & Peter Prince, Pete Kilpatrick, White Mt. Boys Jonathan Hively, Dan Connor, Abe Whittaker and Hawthorne executive producer Carter Davidson / director of photography John Luke Gray / producer Charlie Davidson

written by Mike Faulkingham & Carter Davidson

run time 70Min

copyright Gray Ghost Productions LLC 2010

www.ggpfilms.com

Thursday, December 17, 2009
6:00 – 10:00 P.M.
At the Matterhorn Ski Bar – Sunday River

Suggested donation at the door:
$10.00 individual adult
$5.00 for children under age 12
RSVP by Friday, December 11
Call 207-824-6836 (Leave message with # of people)

Food, beverage, music; Live and Silent auctions.
Organizers are soliciting help with donations of food, beverages and items for the auctions.

Call Roger at 207-824-6836 or email rb@matterhornskibar.com

You can print out the form at this link, and mail it to the address listed on the form.

For more information visit Maine Striper Fishing Report.