So what do two high-energy business owners of one of Maine’s most successful seafood companies do for relaxation?
Go fishing of course.
My business partner and friend of over twenty years, Ray Swenton, and I were headed out bass and pike fishing with Mike Guarino of Maine Wilderness Tours. Mike and I have become friends over the past couple of years as we have fished and hunted together and he of course has graciously hosted this blog on his website.
We got an early start, and after a week or so of cold temperatures and rain, were reveling in the warm sun that was splashing our faces as we headed out on the lake. Fishing had been good recently and we were hopeful. But when I am fishing with Mike, I never care if I catch anything because he’s a blast to be with. He’s got tons of good stories to tell. Has a self-deprecating sense of humor. And, is the best damn fisherman I have ever met. I never fail to learn a new trick or improve a technique when I am with Mike.
On our way to the fishing ground we spotted a loon looking for breakfast. It seemed to sense I was in the area with camera in hand and pruned and stretched and did his best to improve my photography skills and burn up memory on my camera disk. After a hundred pictures or so, Mike revved up the boat to get us to an area where he had been having some recent success.
As we reached our intended spot Mike had our rods geared up. Ray was fishing with a spinning rod and lures, while I had opted for my fly rod. I had set up my 7wt rod with a sinking line and Mike had picked out a winning streamer for it.
Ray had no sooner got his line wet when he had hooked a really nice small mouth bass. It put up a good fight but years of bass fishing experience on Lake Champlain enabled Ray to get the fish to the boat where Mike brought it in. A great start to the day!
I worked my streamer with some guidance from Mike and pretty soon I had a couple of small but energetic pike in the boat. They are not a native Maine species and many old timers hate them but they are fun to catch, especially on a fly rod.
The wind came up after an hour or so, so I switched gear to a spinning rod and worked some different types of plugs and lures. I lucked out with another pike and pretty soon Ray had a couple of pike in the boat as well.
Unfortunately, a mid-afternoon meeting meant we had to bail-out around noon and so we headed back to shore. On the way we encountered a flock of Black Terns. They locate here during the spring before making the trek back to the southern hemisphere later in the summer.
Pretty soon it was back on dry land and the drive to Portland. A great way to kill a morning, have some fun, and create some new memories.
Darrell Pardy
May 2011
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