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Legends of Fishing Gather in Maine

March 19, 2010 - FREEPORT -- Some of the country's top anglers will be featured guests at L.L. Bean's Spring Fishing Weekend in Freeport on Saturday and Sunday, but they plan on doing much more than just meet with customers and share fish stories.


For the past 30 years fishing license sales in Maine have gone up, but only slightly. These fishing legends want to promote and grow the sport here, as does L.L. Bean.


"We're aware of the fact there is a definite declination in general participation in outdoor activity. Like we've always done through the years, we try to make it as easy as possible to engage in the outdoors," said Mac McKeever, L.L. Bean's senior public relations representative.


Since 1978, fishing license sales in Maine have increased from roughly 170,300 to 184,700, according to the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.


Tim Rajeff, who owns and designs fly fishing equipment for Rajeff Sport in Vancouver, Wash., said Maine is one of the strongholds for the sport. But he said it's important to teach, promote and encourage new ways of fishing everywhere. That's why he's traveling across the country to do that, including this weekend in Maine.


"We have a disproportionately larger number of older people in the fly fishing industry," Rajeff said from Washington. "It comes up in every conversation: Are we supporting as many outreach programs as we can? We still see flat sales of fishing licenses, and in some cases a downward trend. Maine, in comparison ... is not doing poorly."


Rajeff, 50, started teaching fly fishing in San Francisco when he was 14. He said of the great anglers gathering at L.L. Bean this weekend, he is the youngest. But he said this kind of gathering still is one of the best ways to spread a love of fishing to the younger enthusiasts.


Flip Pallot, author and guide, said this "shortcoming" in America applies to much more than the sport of fishing. He said, "If we fail to get this generation of young people involved in the outdoors, then we will have lost them and in losing them we lose the chance to preserve and protect (the environment)."


L.L. Bean has hosted fishing legends for years, but McKeever said it is only in the past three years that this many of them have gathered at the store.


As a group, Rajeff, Pallot, Lefty Kreh, Stu Apte, Mark Sosin, Bob Popovics and Dave Klausmeyer helped to incite change in the sport, particularly with the use of light tackle.


"We just think it's a wonderful thing to get this caliber of talent together," McKeever said. "They have single-handedly turned more people on to the sport of fishing than anyone else."

by Deirdre Fleming, March 19, 2010, Portland Press Herald

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Regions: Sebago


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