Fishing, like everything else these days, gets evermore complicated and costly thanks to government. Maine has just been through a drawn out struggle with the federal government, which insists on sticking its tentacles into every phase of our lives — including saltwater fishing. The day of the saltwater license has arrived in Maine and, once again, we are not as free as we once were. No longer can a casual saltwater angler try to snag a few mackerel off the town dock without worrying about being summonsed by a Marine Warden.

The good news, relatively speaking, is that saltwater anglers who already possess a fishing license for freshwater from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries will not have to pay extra to be included in the Saltwater Registry. Your name will be included automatically in the registry when you buy your fishing license from MDIF&W. Sportsmen have some people to thank for this. Without intense lobbying this spring by the Sportsmen’s Alliance of Maine (SAM) and legislators like state Sen. Dave Trahan and state Rep. Jon McKane and Kerri Prescott, all Maine saltwater anglers would be paying extra for a saltwater license.

The revised and amended saltwater angler law takes effect in 2011. After January 1, saltwater anglers who do not purchase a regular state fishing license from MDIF&W will have to register with the Maine Department of Marine Resources. The registration is free but an agent fee must be paid ($1 or $2). If you plan to fish for striped bass, you must buy a “striped bass endorsement.” That fee will be $5 for residents and $15 for nonresidents. At this writing, it is still unclear whether a nonresident angler with a freshwater license will need a striped bass endorsement. Once again, we are sticking it to the nonresident sportsman. He pays three times the resident fee for a striped bass endorsement, and, if past is prologue, he will also be required to buy a saltwater striped bass license even if he possesses a freshwater fishing license from MDIF&W!

The supposed rationale for this whole lashup known as the Saltwater Registry is to garner recreational angling statistics for the feds. We all know the real reason, don’t we? Greenbacks. According to SAM, the money generated by the striped bass fee will go into the Marine Recreation Fishing Conservation and Management Fund. That cuts a wide swath. DMR reportedly plans to use some of the money to fill vacant positions that are currently unfunded.

What about saltwater angling this year? According to DMR, “anyone recreationally angling in salt water in Maine during 2010 should check to see whether they must register with the National Saltwater Angler Registry, online at www.countmyfish.noaa.gov/.

 Trout are biting

 If you are a trout angler and have yet to wet a line, you are missing out. From all reports, fly angling for brookies on both ponds and moving water has been nothing short of superb. Although last year’s trout fishing was good most of the summer, thanks to an abnormally wet and cool summer, it’s even better this year, if you ask me. In mid June, Diane and I, fishing a remote pond in northern Maine, caught and released over 50 brookies in an hour and a half. We seduced them on one fly apiece. Diane fished a Goddard Caddis. A small Hornberg with a yellow belly and a silver rib worked for me. (As Vermont angler Tony Lolli said, “The trout were so hungry they probably would have hit a lug wrench). And I’ve heard better fish stories than these, too, from reliable and trusted anglers not prone to stretch the truth. Yes, time is running out, but it may not be too late to get in on every trout man’s fantasy: the Green Drake hatch. If you still want in, you might do best by earmarking a remote trout pond at a higher elevation, where cool waters may still persist. If you forgot to save the complete list of Maine’s high-elevation wild trout ponds that we published last year (June issue) in the Northwoods Sporting Journal, drop me an e-mail request and I’ll ship you the list online.

The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal and has written his first book, A Maine Deer Hunter’s Logbook. He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WVOM-FM 103.9, WQVM 101.3) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is [email protected].