FREE PRESS • December 1, 2020
Maine is the only state in the Lower 48 where blueback trout are present as a native species. The last ice age receded from northern Maine about 10,000 years ago, so these fish are living artifacts. Today they survive in only 14 of Maine’s coldest, most pristine deepwater lakes and ponds. We were within Maine’s Deboullie Public Lands in the last week of September. By late afternoon our paddles became heavy and the trolling motor battery was completely exhausted. We had caught a good number of very nice brook trout, but the shy Arctic charr remained elusive. That’s fishing, and there’s always another plan for next fall. ~ Steve Hirshberg