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Got a Month Off? In Naples They Go Fishing

January 28, 2009 - NAPLES -- Crouching by a foot-deep hole in the ice, Cory Black pulled up a translucent fishing line while three others looked on expectantly.

“It’s still live,” Black said, looking into the dark, cold water and replacing the line in Trickey Pond. A nibble might have triggered the orange flag to rise, but no fish had taken the bait.

The temporary burst of excitement over, four men made their way back toward two pickup trucks parked near the edge of the Naples pond.

The four men returned to standing at the edge of the pond sipping Bud Light out of cans. Bundled against the cold, staring out at the sunny, snow-covered lake, they waited.

By 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Black, 26, Travis Astbury, 27, Shawn Evans, 24, and Bob Weiss, 60, had been ice fishing on the pond for almost four hours and were planning to stay until dark, or until they felt like leaving. They set up a total of 20 traps, but only three flags had signaled action, and their catch so far consisted of a 16-inch splake, a cross between a brook trout and a lake trout.

“If you catch one, you’re happy,” Weiss said. Though he has a friend who says he catches more fish just before storms, Weiss said, “I’m a believer of the right place, right time.”

The ice fishing season started Jan. 1 or when the water froze over, depending on the lake or pond. So far, windy conditions and cold weather likely led to smaller than expected numbers of anglers in Southern Maine this year, according to Francis Brautigam, regional fisheries biologist for Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

The cold weather, however, didn't keep Evans inside. He said he goes ice fishing every chance he gets, even during the previous week’s cold spell.

Those chances have been abundant recently, as he is in the midst of a month off from his job working on an oil rig in Singapore. Black, who lives in Windham, also works with him in Singapore, and Astbury works on another oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Weiss is retired and lives in Saco.

During their months off, Black, Astbury and Evans often spend time with fellow oil rig workers, given that most other friends and family work during the days. Many of the oil rig workers seem to like to go fishing and spend time outdoors, Astbury said. On his oil rig, there are nine to 10 guys from Maine, and on the Singapore rig there are three to five from Maine.

“If you want to make any good money in Maine, you can’t work in the state,” Astbury said. Evans agreed.

After a 25-hour plane ride to Singapore or a shorter flight to the Gulf of Mexico, the men work 28 days straight, 12 hours a day. They come home to “very enjoyable time off,” Black said, adding that it’s hard to be away from family for so long. Evans said he’ll keep working on the oil rig until something better comes along.

Black, dressed in brown Carhartt coveralls, went to check the bait on his traps – structures that hold lines hanging through holes drilled in the ice. At the bottom of the lines are shiners, small fish he used as bait. Some people are lazy and don’t check their bait, Black joked, looking at his friends.

It was only Black's third time ice fishing, but Astbury and Evans said they had been fishing as long as they could remember.

It’s a less expensive hobby than skiing or fishing in the summer, and there are no bugs this time of year, the men said. It’s quiet too, especially mid-week.

“Otherwise, it’s a real long winter, if you don’t do anything,” Weiss added.

By Julia Davis
Reporter - Lakes Region Weekly


Lakes: Trickey Pond
Regions: Sebago


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