Major League Fishing makes its second trip to Maine

It seems as if we have fished in either scorching hot days, rainy days, windy days or a combination of the three all summer.

Not that I am complaining, but it would be nice to fish a tournament in mid-70s, no rain and no wind.

I really shouldn’t be complaining, though, as cold and snow isn’t far away, and I will then be wishing for hot weather.

This year my son Shawn started Mid-Week bass tournaments and they have been a complete success. At first, we were only drawing 10 boats but lately we’ve had 17 to 20 boats. Doesn’t anybody work on Wednesdays anymore?

Shawn also runs the Maine Bass Trail as I stepped down last year to concentrate on just enjoying fishing without all the work that must be done to put on a tournament, let alone 20 or more tournaments.

I still run the Northeast Bassmasters tournaments, but I only scheduled five for this year as the younger club members prefer to fish more and have less meetings.

Unfortunately, they gave up on the banquet at the end of the year as they wanted a bigger pay-out at the lake rather than a banquet. It’s too bad as our banquet was the best in New England.

Well, the newer fishermen don’t want to attend meetings. I can agree with them that in winter it’s not fun to attend a meeting during a snowstorm. However, I still have Moose Pond in Bridgeton and Arrowhead Lake in Waterboro to run, so I can look forward to that.

After the payout at the end of the tournaments the rest of the money goes to purchasing the permits for next year.

I know many outdoorsmen that count the days until fishing season begins and then plan their whole summer as to what lakes they will be at on any given day. I asked Casey, “What lake are we fishing this weekend?” He said, “I don’t know but I expect it will have plenty of water and fish.”

Poor Casey, he hurt his back again and thinks his fishing season is over. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that he hasn’t fished in a long time.

The highly watched television show “Major League Fishing” was in Maine on Great Pond last week. I hope they were carrying spare props as that lake has a million big rocks just a foot or two under the surface. I know, as the first and last time I fished Great Pond I almost hit a bolder that was inches away from my propeller. I slowed the boat down and fished the rest of the day using my trolling motor.

I don’t understand why they chose that lake as there are many more lakes in the area that produce big fish. For example, Cobbosseeconte Lake, China Lake, Moosehead Lake and Kezar Lake.

Moosehead Lake for a national tournament would be awesome. However, Maine's Fish and Wildlife Department will not schedule any bass tournaments on it. They still think that trout and salmon is Maine’s No. 1 and 2 most fished for species.

This is Major League Fishing’s second trip to Maine so they must like what we have to offer.

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Here are the opening days for Maine. Bear season opens on Aug. 27 and ends on Nov. 24. Deer hunting for the bowhunters begins on Sept. 8 (limited area/permit required) and ends Dec. 8.

Firearms season for deer begins on Oct. 27 for Maine residents only. All hunters can hit the woods on Oct. 29 and deer season ends on Nov. 24.

In New Hampshire, bear season starts Sept. 1; however, dates vary for method and WMU. Deer archery season starts Sept. 15 and ends on Dec. 15.

Moose season starts on Oct. 20 and ends on Oct. 28 (by permit only). Youth deer hunting weekend is from Oct. 27-28.

Muzzleloader season for deer is Nov. 3 -13; while Nov. 14 to Dec. 9 is open season for deer.

Check the law book for dates when pheasants, turkeys, rabbits, ducks and other game open.

Wayne Hooper is a member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association and a lifelong Seacoast resident. He can be reached at sports@seacoastonline.com.