The Lure of Gear Gluttony

Saturday was, in my mind anyways, the first day (figuratively speaking), of the Maine open water fishing season. My Yellow Lab , Ray, and I traveled down to

Freeport to once again participate in the LL Bean Spring Fishing Weekend. To me Bean is still the quintesential (i.e. - representingthe most perfect or typical example of a quality or class) Maine sporting outfitter. I know it's gone Yuppie in it's fashions and not hardcore like Cabela's but for me, it's still the place to go.

Anyways..we arrived and Big Ray had to walk around a bit to do some serious sniffing and to check the Pee-mail that had been left in the parking lot by previous pups. We checked out the fly casting demonstration and did a quik recon of the perimeter. After Ray added his comments to the Pee-mail Inbox, he was enticed back into the car with a few bits of kibble.

From here on I'm going it solo. I checked out the fly tying demos and then saw part of a presentation by the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife regarding on the Roach River wild brook trout spawning project. Interesting and valuable work .

I picked up a box of free flies, some trolling lures (for those marvellous West Grand Landlocks), a fly line, a fly box and a new Daiwa spinning reel for those bass/brook trout - boating expeditions with my 5 year old grandson. And generally browsed continually fighting off the strong urges of gear gluttony, after all it is the season of Lent and one must make a minimal effort at abstinece. So... no new landing nets, waders, fly rods or flies, other than the freebies, for me on this trip. Just as well as I'm still in the process of taking inventory on the ones I bought last spring... but I do have a Wish List in place.

With my fishing needs not nearly satiated I forced myself to leave and headed over to the Home Decor Store (?) where I picked up a couple of all weather seat cushions for our Adirondacks and a large hammock which will serve as a base of operations this coming summer...at least until the mosquitoes drive me inside.