AUGUSTA – Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner Roland “Danny” Martin is pleased to announce that the 2010 Moose Permit Lottery Drawing will be held Thursday, June 17, at L.L.Bean in Freeport.

The drawing of names will begin at 6 p.m. under the moose lottery tent near L.L.Bean’s Hunt and Fishing Store. This year, 3,140 permits will be drawn for the fall harvest. Last year, 82 percent of hunters were successful.

No more applications for the lottery are being accepted as the deadline has passed.

Since 1999, the Moose Permit Lottery Drawing has been held at different locations throughout the state. Two years ago, the event was hosted by an outdoors retailer, and vendors were on hand to display hunting products and tips, and last year, the St. John Valley community carried that theme when the drawing was held at the University of Maine at Fort Kent.

This year, L.L.Bean is scheduling moose hunt education programs, covering topics such as gear, shooting techniques, moose calls, and “secrets” from “moose masters.” An indoor archery moose hunt and a five-stand public shoot also are planned.

“Over the last couple of years, the Moose Permit Lottery Drawing has evolved into a spectacle where hunters can gather to swap tips, learn how to improve their skills, and share their favorite hunting stories,” according to Commissioner Martin. “This year is no exception. L.L. Bean is planning an event that will leave hunters better informed on how to make a hunt a success. And, possibly, the hunters also will leave knowing their names were drawn for a permit. I thank L.L. Bean for its support of the 2010 Moose Permit Lottery drawing and I look forward to attending this well-planned event.”

Ken Kacere, senior vice-president and general manager of retail, L.L.Bean, said the retailer is thrilled to be hosting this year’s event.

“We are very pleased to have been chosen by the Department to host the 2010 Maine Moose Permit Lottery Drawing,” Kacere said. “For generations of hunters, the Maine Moose Lottery has become an annual tradition that celebrates Maine’s rich outdoor heritage. We are honored to be a part of it.”

Commissioner Martin said that IF&W staff from Augusta and local biologists and game wardens will be on hand at the event. The Department will be conducting a panel discussion on how to make the most of a moose hunt beginning at 5 p.m., one hour before the lottery drawing commences.

“This is a great opportunity for sports enthusiasts and the general public to interact with our personnel,” Martin said.

Added Mac McKeever, senior public relations representative, L.L.Bean, “In celebration of the Maine Moose Lottery Drawing, we’re offering a fun, festive array of family-oriented activities throughout the day to really enhance folks’ enjoyment and participation in the event.”

Activities are set to begin at 11 a.m., with most scheduled under the moose lottery tent next to the L.L.Bean Hunt and Fishing Store. They include:

· 11 a.m.: Gearing up for you moose hunt, presented by L.L.Bean experts;

· 11 a.m.-4 p.m.: Free indoor archery moose hunt, archery range, L.L.Bean Hunt and Fishing Store;

· Noon: Moose hunting in New England, presented by Mossy Oak Pro Staff panel of experts;

· 1 & 3 p.m.: Josh Cottrell, Primos Pro-Staff, moose calls demonstration and gear tips;

· 2 p.m.: Scouting techniques and tools for your moose hunt, presented by L.L.Bean experts;

· 2 p.m.-dusk: Five-stand public shoot, fee charged, see store representative for details;

· 4 p.m.: Moose calling seminar with Maine Professional Guides Association;

· 5 p.m.: Making the most of a moose hunt, presented by IF&W staff;

· 6 p.m.: Maine Moose Lottery Drawing begins. Moderated by Commissioner Martin and WGME-TV 13 broadcaster Doug Rafferty.

For more information, visit www.llbean.com/stores and select “upcoming events” or www.mefishwildlife.com.

Students from Telstar’s Challenge Program [Telstar High School] collected over 800 lbs of trash, including bed springs, pylons, washing machine, air conditioner and refrigerator parts, during the annual river clean-up on the Upper Androscoggin River between Gilead, Maine and West Bethel, Maine on Monday, May 24. National River Clean-up is sponsored by American Rivers and locally by the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance. Magic Falls Rafting Company provided rafts and garbage scows to collect the trash. Bruce Pierce, UAAA Director, coordinated the event along with Steve Keane, Telstar Challenge course instructor.

The annual Maine Moose Lottery Drawing event will take place this year at L.L. Bean in Freeport, Maine. I have attended the last two year’s drawings, the first at Kittery Trading Post and the second at the University of Maine at Fort Kent, and provided interviews and live audio and video Internet feeds of the drawings. Let me explain why this year’s event will not include me.

It was my understanding and perhaps I was wrong, that it was decided that if the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife was going to continue having a live drawing event for the Moose Lottery, they would have to get help from private enterprise.

It took some doing but eventually it was agreed to allow The Kittery Trading Post to host the event. I contacted the people at KTP and at MDIFW and tossed out the idea of my company, Skinny Moose Media, providing a live Internet feed of streaming video and audio. My intentions were to enhance the event and not steal any potential audience away from the event. For myself and my business the benefits of exposure couldn’t hurt, although the commitment was considerable money out of my pocket, time and travel.

The KTP event went extremely well considering it was our first attempt at a live, remote video broadcast. At one time we had well over 600 viewers watching and listening to the drawing. If memory serves me correctly, total viewership topped 6,000. An odd thing happened however, about halfway through the podcast. Viewership crashed.

The trip to Fort Kent was even more expensive but I was determined to make the trip because I knew from past experience that the City of Fort Kent and all its citizen’s would put on a quality event. And that they did.

The Fort Kent event went well and once again we had over 350 viewers on at one point until less than halfway through the event, visitors vanished. What happened?

What I didn’t know was that the MDIFW was posting the results of the random draw at about the same time the announcement of moose permit winners was being made. As soon as viewers found this information out, their interest in my broadcast disappeared but just as bad, attendance at the event in the gym at the University of Maine was also cut in half. People vacated the show and went home to find the results rather than stick around.

It is certainly my fault for not knowing the posting of the names was occurring when it did, but I went to some expense and sacrifice to provide this service. But no need to cry over spilled milk.

This year’s event, as I said, will be at L.L. Bean. I contacted MDIFW to ask them if they would consider holding off posting the names of the winners until the end of the show, or at least later. The answer was “no”!

It seems a shame that private business was called upon to save the show and no effort is being exerted on the part of MDIFW to make sure people have a reason to attend the show rather than wait until 6:30 the night of the show and go online and see if they won or not. This reasoning makes little sense to me. I’m pretty small potatoes compared to other businesses and enterprises that lay out considerable expenses, time and effort to put on a show.

It is just a foolish for me to make the trip and lay out the expense of providing a good service, only to get dumped as soon as the show starts because viewers can go to the MDIFW website and get the one thing they are interested in finding out.

So, if you’re thinking about attending the show at L.L. Bean, believing you’ll find out quicker whether you won, just wait until 6:30 on June 17th. That’s when winners will be posted. Or, you could contact MDIFW and ask them exactly what time the computerized random draw will take place. As soon as that has occurred, call them back and ask them for the information. According to the reasons I was given of why they couldn’t hold back on posting the results is because law prohibits them from withholding public information. No point of waiting until 6:30 is there?

I considered attending the show and perhaps just conducting interviews, shooting some video and taking pictures but it now seems it is not worth the effort. I may perhaps show up and meet and talk with friends, depending on my schedule that evening.

I apologize to some viewers who I know were probably looking forward to an evening online and others who had inquired about advertising sponsorship again this year. Perhaps if we can get MDIFW to change their minds, next year might work. This is an election year and Maine will be picking a new governor. Maybe the new governor will appoint a different Commissioner to IFW who will understand that it’s the thousands of applicants for a moose permit that pay their wages.

We don’t need any Stimulus Money, just a little cooperation and understanding of how free enterprise works.

Tom Remington

The Upper Andro Anglers Alliance in co-operation with Trout Unlimited will host a free family fishing festival on Saturday, June 5. The festival will be held at Angevine Park on the North Road in Bethel, from 9 am to 2 pm, rain or shine. Free casting workshops and fly-tying instruction will be available throughout the day.

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

PORTLAND, ME – Fly Fishing in Maine (FFIM) is proud to present screenings of “The Good Life – Tall Tails from the East”, a fly fishing feature film produced by Maine native Carter Davidson. The event, hosted by FFIM, will be at the Frontier Cafe and Cinema in Brunswick on April 15, at two separate showtimes of 6:00pm and 7:30pm.

This is the 3rd full-length feature from Gray Ghost Productions, with last year’s “East by Northeast” exciting angling audiences with amazing footage from all over Maine, New Hampshire and beyond. This year’s film 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. 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.

The Frontier is a stunning intimate venue located in the Ft. Andros complex, with excellent food and a unique collection of beverages. FFIM’s Dan Tarkinson adds, “The Frontier has quickly become somewhat of a favorite in the Maine Fly Fishing community. We’ve held several events there now, and the crowd and ambience of the theater have always gelled so well. We’re very pumped to be able to showcase the film-making talents of Carter Davidson and the Gray Ghost Productions crew at such a fine establishment”.

Due to limited capacity, we strongly recommend ordering your tickets in advance, by either purchasing online with a credit card at
http://www.flyfishinginmaine.org/thegoodlife/, or by calling the theater at (207)-725-5222.

The event festivities will also include several door prizes for each screening, as well as the chance at some larger fund-raising raffles, including a 2-person Pontoon Boat to be raffled off at the annual FFIM Conclave in June.

All proceeds from this event and the raffles will go to the FFIM Grassroots Grant fund. FFIM is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Past recipients of FFIM Grassroots Grants have included Trout Unlimited, Casting For Recovery, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and many more. Among the beneficiaries this year is the Sebago Chapter of Trout Unlimited, providing them with a grant for their “5-in-5″ Southern Maine pond reclamation program.

For more information about Fly Fishing in Maine, please visit our website at http://www.flyfishinginmaine.org/

For more information about “The Good Life”, including the trailer and where you can purchase a DVD copy, visit their website at http://www.ggpfilms.com/

As part of National River Cleanup, members of the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance and students from the Telstar Challenge Course at Telstar High School in Bethel, Maine will clean up a section of the Androscoggin River from Gilead to West Bethel on Wednesday, May 19. Students, ages 16-18, will float down the river in rafts armed with garbage bags and towing garbage scow rafts to collect debris along the riverbanks. The clean-up flotilla will launch at 9 am from the bridge at Gilead and take out at Newt’s Landing in West Bethel. Community members are welcome to help clean-up this and other stretches of the river. The town of Bethel will provide trash collection at Newt’s Landing and deliver to the town’s solid waste facility.

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.

Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner Roland “Danny” Martin will conduct a public informational meeting on the northern Maine deer population and other wildlife-related issues on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010.

The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at the Fort Kent Town Office.

State Sen. Troy Jackson, who asked Commissioner Martin to set up the public informational hearing, will be attending.

IF&W Regional Wildlife Biologist Richard Hoppe and other staff also will attend.

Bob Romano, author, outdoor writer and contributing writer to Maine Fishing Today and other Skinny Moose Media online publications, will be attending the Marlboro Mass. Fly-Fishing Show to sign newly released books.

“I’ll be at the Marlboro fly-fishing show all three days – Jan. 15th, 16th and 17th signing my new novel, “North of Easie” and book of essays, “Shadows in the Stream”, both about fly fishing in western Maine. I’ll be at the Angling Bookstore all three days and folks can stop by and say hi, talk about fishing in western Maine.”

So, if you’re planning to attend the show, make sure to stop by and visit Bob and pick up one of his books.

Tom Remington

*Attention: Note change of date from Dec. 16 to the 17th*

Wednesday, 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.

Anglers from Team Patagonia/Wild River Angler Take Top Spots In Upper Andro 2-Fly Contest

Bethel, Me…..Tyler Cote of Monmouth was the first place winner in the Third Annual Upper Andro Two Fly Contest held Saturday, September 19th on the Upper Androscoggin River between New Hampshire and Rumford, Maine. Tyler tied for first place in the biggest fish category with Brad Jerome of Newry. Both anglers caught a 14” rainbow trout. There was a tie for second place between Kevin McKay of Brewer, Maine and Charlie Lowe of Twin Mountain, NH, with 13 ½” rainbows. Chad Hughes of Camden, Scott Overbey of Brunswick and Mitch Cummings of Bethel each caught a 13” rainbow for third place honors.

The largest catch was also won by Cote with 12 fish, ten rainbows, a brown and brook trout. Second place went to Overbey with a catch of 9 rainbows and third place to Lowe with 4 rainbows, a brook and brown trout.

The Rocky Freda Turtle Water Team Trophy was presented to the Patagonia/Wild River Angler team who caught 21 fish.

Thirteen teams entered the competition. Each team made up of two anglers and a drift boat oarsman, fished with the use of only two flies from 6 am to 2 pm. All fish were caught, recorded and released. Along with the trophies, merchandise prizes from Orvis, L.L. Bean, Kittery Trading Post and Patagonia were presented to the winners. Three anglers who were unable to catch any fish received a new set of flies from Selene Dumaine of Merrymeeting Fly Shop in Brunswick.

The annual event is a fundraiser for the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance. The non-profit group, based in Bethel, Maine, is dedicated to conserving, protecting, restoring and promoting the natural resources relating to the Upper Androscoggin River, its tributaries, watershed and environs.

Note: Skinny Moose Media will be sponsoring a “media” boat again this year. Our fishermen will be Doug Rafferty, WGME-TV13, Portland news anchor and Steve Minich, news reporter for WMTW-TV8, Portland.

Twelve teams will be competing in The Upper Andro Two Fly Contest and Northeast Drift Boat Championship scheduled for the weekend of September 19 and 20 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.

The Two Fly contest will test the skills of anglers to fly fish, using only two flies, 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. Teams of three including two anglers and a referee/oarsman must fish from an open drift boat or raft beginning at 6 am and concluding at 2 pm.

Prizes including rods and fishing gear supplied by Kittery Trading Post, L.L. Bean, Patagonia, and the Orvis Company will be awarded Saturday afternoon immediately following a parade of the drift boats up Main Street and around the Bethel Town Common. A perpetual trophy named after Rocky Freda, founder of Sun Valley Sports and the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance, will be presented to the team with the largest catch.

A tally of fishing catches will be updated throughout the day at the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance’s booth on the Bethel Town Common. The Alliance will offer fly tying and fly casting instruction and Robert Romano, author of “North of Easie”, a novel about fly fishing in the Rangeley region will be signing his new book.

The Second Annual Northeast Drift Boat Championship will be held Sunday, September 20 at 10:30 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.

Sponsors for teams registered to compete include The Bethel Inn Resort, Casco Bay Anglers Club, Eldredge Bros. Fly Shop, Fly Rod & Reel Magazine, Gray Ghost Productions, Maine Tourism Association, Moat Mountain Brewery, No Drip Painting and 3rd Generation Flooring, Patagonia and Wild River Angler, Schiavi Home Builders, Skinny Moose Media, Striking Gold Jewelers and Williams Broadcasting.

Information on the events is available on line at www.upperandro.com or by phoning 207-824-3694.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

The ninth Annual Loon Echo Hike n’ Bike Trek will be held on Saturday, September 19, 2009 at Shawnee Peak Ski Area in Bridgton, Maine to benefit Loon Echo Land Trust’s conservation efforts. Trekkers may choose from a 25, 50 or 100-mile, fully supported, bike ride through spectacular mountain and farmland country in western Maine, or a six-mile hike over conservation lands on Pleasant Mountain, southern Maine’s tallest mountain.

Pledges are not required to enter, but are encouraged to help the cause. A delicious barbecue meal and a prize pool giveaway (for those raising pledges) will take place after the trek.

Registration begins on June 1st. Early bird registration discounts apply until July 1st.

Please help Loon Echo protect; one of the most beautiful regions in Maine! Contact Loon Echo at (207) 647-4352 or biketrek@lelt.org, or visit the website at www.lelt.org.