World Class Fishing

By Regis Tremblay

Could anything in Maine be World-class? Our tourism industry is doing its best to convince visitors that Maine is a wonderful destination for year round opportunities to experience nature. Few other places can compare with Maine’s rich contrasts between our rockbound coast and hundreds of lakes and ponds, alpine and lowlands, our quaint villages and millions of acres of uninterrupted wilderness.

Our culture, history, traditions, and down-home hospitality beckon visitors from across the country and around the globe. Whether its lobster and lighthouses, covered bridges, fall foliage, down-home dining, wildlife watching or hunting and fishing, visitors come here by the millions.

No one would deny that Maine is a very special place, but World-class? Nobody outside of the tourism industry would probably make that argument. But, would anyone claim that Maine is a World-class fishing destination? I’ve heard people say it was good, but never have I heard anyone say it was world-class…..until I heard Mike Jones, a well-known angler and successful Maine guide.

Mike was featured in a fishing video entitled “The One,” produced by Carter Davidson, a native of Bethel. His Gray Ghost Productions company featured several well-known fisheries in Maine. It was in this video that I heard Mike Jones state several times that Maine is indeed a world-class fishing destination. Mike has fished all over the world, and his clients, who come back time and time again, insist that the fishing here is as good as it gets.

So, I wondered if Mike was the only one who felt this way, and if he was just saying that to promote his business. I decided to ask other well-known fishing guides if they thought Maine was world-class. To my surprise, each of the dozen I interviewed all agreed. Even Lefty Kreh, a well-known author about fishing for national magazines, said about bass fishing, “For bass, come to Maine.”

To nobody’s surprise, surely not mine, each of the guides I met said that people don’t just come here for the fishing, they also come here for the incredible scenery and wildlife. I think anyone who has spent any time outdoors in Maine would vouch for that. Maine, arguably, is the last great wilderness in the lower 48 states.

Since I attend many meetings hosted by the Maine Department of Tourism, I have learned a great deal about some other reasons why people come here, and one of them is because things don’t cost as much here. For one, Maine is close to the major metropolitan centers of Boston, New York, and New Jersey. It doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to get here, and only a few hours at most. Lodging and dining are also more affordable, along with everything else.

They are also coming to Maine to fish on more than 6,000 lakes and ponds and more than 32,000 miles of rivers and streams. Of those 6,000 lakes and ponds, 700 are principle fisheries for brook trout that are not stocked. 311 of these waters have never been stocked with brook trout and contain native self-reproducing populations of brook. I thought, “how cool is that? These fish have been thriving there since the last ice age!” Another 251 waters have not been stocked with brook trout in more than 25 years and contain wild, self-reproducing populations of brook trout. How did this happen? Not by any quirk of nature alone, but by careful study, planning, and management!

So far, I had lots of anecdotal information, some facts and figures from the Tourism industry, but nothing that would suggest that Maine is a world-class fishing destination. That’s when I decided to finally read my copy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation. What I discovered not only surprised me, but confirmed what everyone had been saying: Maine IS a world-class fishing destination.

According to the same USFWS survey, Maine is doing very well attracting non-resident anglers. In terms of days of freshwater fishing by non-residents, Maine at 800,000 non-resident angler days far outstrips states such as Montana (569,000), Wyoming (446,000) and even Alaska (521,000)

Furthermore, resident Maine anglers are not deserting our state to fish elsewhere. According to the same USFWS report, Maine anglers spent just 1 percent of their 2006 fishing days in other states! In other words, we stayed at home to fish more than any other state in the Union, besting the likes of Alaska (2%), Montana (4%), Wyoming (9%), Colorado (19%), and New Hampshire (22%).

Over the past 30 years, the State of Maine has seen its total fishing license sales actually increase by 18% to the current level of over 286,000 licenses per year. During that same time period, records show there has been a large increase in non-resident annual licenses.

During that 30 year period of time, the sale of annual fishing licenses to non-resident anglers has increased by a whopping 76% to nearly 17,000 licenses per year. If you count all non-resident license sales (1 day, 3 day, 7 day, etc.) 80,000 non-resident licenses were sold each year. Fishing alone had a $300 Million impact on Maine’s economy.

In a recent article I wrote about what we spend our money on and what other recreational activities cost, the cost of a fishing license to fish the entire year was equal to a few cups of coffee, and less than a movie for two with popcorn and soda. Everything else was going up every year, but not our license fees.

After comparing license fees from states like New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Alaska, and neighboring New England states, Maine’s resident and non-resident fees are lower than most! A resident Maine license cost $21 compared to $35 in New Hampshire, $20 in Vermont, $17 in Florida, $22.50 in New Jersey, $22.70 in Pennsylvania, $28 in Texas, and $24 in Wyoming.

A non-resident license in Maine cost $52 compared to $53 in New Hampshire, $41 in Vermont, $47 in Florida, $34 in New Jersey, $52.50 in Pennsylvania, $55 in Texas, and $92 in Wyoming. So, not only do we have world-class fishing for bass, trout, wild brook trout, and salmon, , it’s still a Wicked Good Deal to fish in Maine!

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World Class Fishing