ALLEN AFIELD: Look and you can see fall coming

Outdoors

Published
September 20, 2013

ALLEN AFIELD: Look and you can see fall coming

In my youth, old timers claimed that gardeners could expect frost in a specific area six weeks after goldenrods first blossomed there. For instance, an old friend swears that if goldenrods bloom in his fields on Aug. 17, frost will hit his garden by Sept. 28 exactly 42 days later.
Published
September 13, 2013

ALLEN AFIELD: Trout, salmon fishing heat up

As water temperatures drop below 70 degrees Fahrenheit this coming week, trout and landlock fishing picks up for fly rodders and spin casters. The closer the thermometer gets to 60 to 63 degrees, the faster the action gets, and often in central Maine, that golden time begins during the third week of September. And surely, waters have cooled up north.
Published
September 5, 2013

ALLEN AFIELD: Fall is grand time for cyclists

The fall bicycling season begins in earnest now, a grand time of year for this crowd. Days often stay cool enough, so pedalers don't sweat a gallon, but the September sun offers enough warmth to allow us to bicycle in shorts and a short-sleeve shirt -- except at dawn and during cold snaps.
Published
August 30, 2013

ALLEN AFIELD: Regulations make things complex

For much of my adult life, I had fished for Atlantic salmon in Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, where guides told me long-lining was illegal for the king of freshwater game fish. That law struck me as odd, even though I seldom resorted to using the tactic in Maine, where it's legal.
Published
August 28, 2013

Quimby Family Foundation announces 57 grant awards

The grant hope "to advance wilderness values and to increase access to the arts" in Maine.

Published
August 25, 2013

Maine’s bear hunting practices back in the crosshairs

Almost 10 years after failing to abolish baiting and other methods, animal-welfare activists want to revisit the debate: Are these cruel or are they viable wildlife management tools?
Published
August 23, 2013

ALLEN AFIELD: Guide has fun guidingfor bass

William Clunie of Dixfield, a fishing, float-trip operator, guides trout and smallmouth bass anglers on the Androscoggin River, and in summer heat, his bass clients outnumber trout casters interested in the river's rainbows, browns and brookies.
Published
August 19, 2013

Report: 10 times more Lyme cases than reported

New research suggests Lyme disease is a bigger problem than realized in states such as Maine.
Published
August 19, 2013

Messalonskee fish screen removal worries sportsmen’s group

Oakland officials Wednesday could decide to remove a barrier between Messalonskee Lake and Messalonskee Stream, a move the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine says could promote the spread of invasive species.
Published
August 16, 2013

OUTDOORS: Stories too good to be true

When writers meet, a topic often pops up that intrigues me. Someone will mention an incident that makes such a salient point that the experience appears far too perfect to be true. Most writers feel reluctant to use these phony-sounding anecdotes, but as our courage builds through the years, we eventually write the story, because it's too good for proving an axiom.