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A once-modest winter gathering of fly fishermen has grown into an increasingly popular event.
By Deirdre Fleming dfleming@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer
Dan Dykstra of Old Town shows off a brown trout he caught Jan. 8 in the Mousam River in Kennebunk during the ninth annual Freeze Up, a gathering of fly fishermen held each January.
Photos by Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
Sal Detarli of Canterbury, Conn., casts his line during this year’s Freeze Up. The annual event attracts fly fishermen from as far as New York and Connecticut.
KENNEBUNK - Dan Dykstra couldn't wait to wade into the cold water of the Mousam River. So he asked fellow fisherman Kevin McKay to pull over for a taste of the brown trout fishery after they drove down from Bangor last weekend. And didn't the Old Town fisherman get into a mess of brown trout?
The next day at dawn alongside other eager fly fishermen, Dykstra willingly waded back into the ice-cold water to hook more than a dozen trout, including one 18 inches long.
You'd think this was the April or May hatch season.
Welcome to Maine's annual Freeze Up, the gathering of fly fishermen who kick off the year together doing what they love best.
Every January for nine years, these guys have gathered in the dead of winter -- some from as far as New York and Connecticut -- for a veritable fly-and-casting convention beside one of Maine's year-round fisheries.
The fishing is the crazy piece, but really secondary to the gathering on shore, where talk is about egg sandwiches, salmon, conservation and cigars. It evolved out of one guide's desire to say thank you.
In 2004, fishing website administrator Kevin McKay and a couple friends wanted to celebrate the new year fishing. That first year, a half dozen showed at the banks of the Presumpscot River. The next year, 10 showed, and pretty soon the count was over 20 for the annual event.
Read the whole story.....
http://www.presshera...2012-01-15.html
By Deirdre Fleming dfleming@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer
click image to enlarge
Dan Dykstra of Old Town shows off a brown trout he caught Jan. 8 in the Mousam River in Kennebunk during the ninth annual Freeze Up, a gathering of fly fishermen held each January.
Photos by Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
click image to enlarge
Sal Detarli of Canterbury, Conn., casts his line during this year’s Freeze Up. The annual event attracts fly fishermen from as far as New York and Connecticut.
KENNEBUNK - Dan Dykstra couldn't wait to wade into the cold water of the Mousam River. So he asked fellow fisherman Kevin McKay to pull over for a taste of the brown trout fishery after they drove down from Bangor last weekend. And didn't the Old Town fisherman get into a mess of brown trout?
The next day at dawn alongside other eager fly fishermen, Dykstra willingly waded back into the ice-cold water to hook more than a dozen trout, including one 18 inches long.
You'd think this was the April or May hatch season.
Welcome to Maine's annual Freeze Up, the gathering of fly fishermen who kick off the year together doing what they love best.
Every January for nine years, these guys have gathered in the dead of winter -- some from as far as New York and Connecticut -- for a veritable fly-and-casting convention beside one of Maine's year-round fisheries.
The fishing is the crazy piece, but really secondary to the gathering on shore, where talk is about egg sandwiches, salmon, conservation and cigars. It evolved out of one guide's desire to say thank you.
In 2004, fishing website administrator Kevin McKay and a couple friends wanted to celebrate the new year fishing. That first year, a half dozen showed at the banks of the Presumpscot River. The next year, 10 showed, and pretty soon the count was over 20 for the annual event.
Read the whole story.....
http://www.presshera...2012-01-15.html
