Anglers from all over the Northeast indulge their grand obsession on Maine's 6,000 lakes and ponds and its countless miles of rivers and streams.
For options on rustic fishing camps statewide, request one of the attractive brochures that describes more than 50 sporting camps between the Rangeley Lakes and Eagle Lake near Fort Kent from Maine Sporting Camps Association, P.O. Box 119, Millinocket, ME 04462 (www.mainesportingcamps.com).
Nonresident licenses are $50 for the season or $21 for 3 days. Seven- and 15-day licenses are also available. You can purchase licenses at many outdoor shops or general stores. For a booklet of fishing regulations, contact the Fisheries Division at Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, 284 State St., Station #41, Augusta, ME 04333 (tel. 207/287-5261; www.state.me.us/ifw).
Ice fishing is enormously popular throughout the winter; you'll see the huts of anglers clustered on lakes throughout the state from the time the ice freezes until the season winds down at the end of March. If anyone tells you that Maine's waters are fished out, consider this: A Maine man landed a 23 1/2-pound brown trout while ice fishing in March 1996 at a pond in southwestern Maine.
