Blessed are the Peacekeepers.
Mainefisherman salutes our troops around the
world! THEY should get the Nobel Peace Prize! 
I will put up anything about the FFO vs ALO controversy on this page. Here you will find links to C & R statistics, FFO waters, and any relevant info I get. It was getting too big for the front page, where I like to just put recent news. I am putting the following Info up so everyone will know
the definition of these terms. It is tough to understand the controversy without some info on the two kinds of fishing and the proposal. I wanted to propose the FFO waters below Augusta be changed to ALO waters. Many wrote to say "just take your spinning rod
and put a fly on it"! Not legal here in Maine! (ps...many also wrote to say that
this page or that page was "tearing you up" I assure you I don't care about ken
allen's opinion of me or anyone else's for that matter, this is only about
fishing!)
ARTIFICIAL LURE means any fishing lure constructed by humans as an imitation or substitute for natural bait or fish forage and includes, but is not limited to artificial flies, spinners, spoons, poppers, plugs, jigs and plastic, rubber or other artificial imitations of natural bait. An artificial lures only rule prohibits the use of any live, dead or chemically preserved natural or organic bait or food.
FLY FISHING means casting upon water and retrieving in a manner in which the weight of the fly line propels the fly. No more than 3 unbaited artificial flies individually attached to a line may be used. (NOTE: It is unlawful to troll a fly in waters restricted to fly fishing only).
OK....... About the letter in the paper. It definitely ruffled some feathers! I intended it as an eye opener, and it was. I think if the State is going to raise prices, which I am not against, it should aim for more equity. I have been researching the difference in Mortality between Spin and Fly fishing and find it to be very small. It is of course different depending where you get your info. I went to State Fish and Game Depts for mine. My argument is that the state must not cater to any one group. Not to boaters, not to bait fisherman, not to spin fisherman, that is my point! Equity. Not to stop anyone from trolling, not to ban motors, just to spread the burden, and the quality fishing, to everyone. Anyone who disagrees, I propose a two year trade. No change in stocking, just a straight up trade! We get your waters, and you get ours! Fair enough??? Over it's 25 mile length the Presumpscot got more than 4,500 fish but over it's 85 mile length the Saco got barely more than 3,000! Some fly fisherman have written to say that there are more waters open to other kinds of fishing than they have, but they forget that they are not banned from these rivers with their fly rod! If it was being done to save the fish, if fly fishing was safer to the fish, I would never say a word. That is not the case. It is not the quantity, rather the quality of their rivers that concerns us. All the best rivers, or best sections of rivers are FFO. Soon I will list all FFO waters and you can be the judge. We all pay so we should all get access. I mean, I would have to pay when I fly fish, which I DO fly fish! Now, noone is saying all Fly Fishermen are elitists, and in no way are personalities a part of this. This is about what the LAW mandates! I Fly Fish and so do many of my friends. This is about every one carrying their weight to help pay the bills! The Fly Fishing issue was rudely presented to me one day when I accidentally fished the wrong side of the bridge on the crooked river. I had it pointed out to me that it was an FFO water. My first intro to FFO waters! But, I assure you I have since put much time and effort into learning exactly what FFO means! I asked a Fisheries Biologist and a Game Warden what the reason behind FFO waters was, but the best they could do was say, "because they are elitist, and because they like to fish alone"! That is their qoute, NOT mine! All I am saying is let's raise revenue, and let's distribute all funds evenly.
I personally think the type of fishing is irrelevant. I asked many State Fish and Game Depts and HERE is what they said. I am still waiting for some of them to answer. I mean we all know fish swallow live bait the deepest, but what is the difference between a Swedish Pimple with a single barbless hook and a Streamer with a single barbless hook? We catch and release just like everyone else does. Noone is saying that you can't catch and keep fish. Noone is saying that I can't get a fly rod and fish those waters! I know I can! I am saying I want to take my spin fishing gear wherever I go to fish! Believe it or not, I actually prefer spin fishing over all other types of fishing! The results of 18 studies of hooking mortality of nonanadromous trout were integrated into a report by Taylor and White in 1992. The analysis showed that trout caught on bait died at higher rates than trout caught on artificial flies or lure, that fish caught on barbed hooks had higher mortality rates than fish caught on barbless hooks, that brown trout Salmo trutta had lower mortality rates than other species of nonanadromous trout, and that wild trout died at higher rates than hatchery-reared trout. Other variables, including size of hooks, number of hooks, and water temperature, did not show a statistically significant relationship to hooking mortality. Notice that they do not make a distinction between fly and lure. Mortality of trout that swallowed a single hook and worm was significantly higher than for those where the bait was not swallowed.* The Mainefisherman maintains that it is not the type of fishing, but rather the fisherman who ultimately determine if the fish will die. When the hooks are the same, it doesn't matter if you spin or fly fish. Since I am not an expert on this I have consulted many who are and will be putting their info up as soon as possible! Stay tuned this is sure to be a HOT topic!
The Laws of the State of Maine are varied and may be obtained here at Maine DIFW
Contact the Mainefisherman