Each day this week, I am posting columns about all the new laws and law changes that govern hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, and other outdoor activities. Here is column number six. It’s all about significant changes in guides licenses. An Act To Authorize the Revocation, Suspension or Denial of a Guide License under Specified Circumstances Be […]
Linda and I recently visited Attean Lake Lodge in Jackman (www.atteanlodge.com) for our travel column, and I was astonished by this historic sporting camp. I of course knew of it, but had no idea how special it is. The land surrounding this large lake in Jackman is protected by a conservation easement managed by […]
Enjoying a notebook of historical stories at Attean Lake Lodge in Jackman, I came across this wonderful article about Maine guides. Wanting to share it with you, I asked Andrea Holden to copy it for me. I am sure you will find it as interesting and enjoyable as I did. The article, published in Outing […]
Jake Morrell offers many great stories in his book, Hardscrabble Lodge. I got to visit with Jake at an authors’ event in Boothbay Harbor and eagerly grabbed a copy of his book. Jake and his wife Beth lived an interesting and unusual life as the owners of Hardscrabble Lodge in the north woods. They purchased […]
Something in the Water turned out to be Nazi U-boats, and the effort by these remote Maine islanders to protect themselves and others resulted in one of the best novels I’ve read in years. Author Peter Scott gives us both history and suspense, with very realistic characters, lots of emotion, and enemies both near and […]
Ludger Belanger, a young man who shot a big buck and hauled it out of the woods onto an old road, hopped into a car with two guys who offered to transport him and his buck out to his car. And then Ludger disappeared. This is just one of the amazing stories in Daren Worcester’s […]
I owe Bill Pierce a big thank you. While visiting with Bill at the Outdoor Sporting Heritage Museum in Oquossic, he recommended a book that turned out to be fascinating. It’s a detailed report on a winter wilderness adventure by Fred Barker, who spent the winter with a friend, J.S. Danforth, hunting and trapping in […]
The 1983 referendum initiated by a group trying to stop Maine’s new moose hunting season was contentious and hard-fought. Here’s a look back at it in a Sun Journal news story by reporter Joe O’Connor. Moose-kill Issue Draws Foes Face to Face, October 6, 1983. “Is the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife trying to […]
Last year Down East Books published my book, Maine Sporting Camps, a bit of history, lots of information about each camp, and great stories from longtime guests and customers. One of my favorite stories came from Dick Mosher, a master guide for 54 years. I had a fascinating telephone conversation with Dick, and he followed […]
One of the best things about writing my book about Maine Sporting Camps is the connections I’ve made with sporting camp owners and others who value history. One connection came from Bill Geller, who retired in 2010 from the University of Maine at Farmington. Bill wrote, “Your relatively recent book on Maine sporting camps seems […]
George stepped down at the end of 2010 after 18 years as the executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine to write full time. He writes a weekly editorial page column in the Kennebec Journal and Waterville Morning Sentinel, a weekly travel column in those same newspapers (with his wife Linda), monthly columns in The Maine Sportsman magazine, two outdoor news blogs (one on his website, georgesmithmaine.com, and one on the website of the Bangor Daily News), and special columns for many publications and newsletters. Islandport Press published a book of George's favorite columns, "A Life Lived Outdoors" in 2014. In 2014, George also won a Maine Press Association award for writing the state's bet sports blog. In 2016, Down East Books published George's book, Maine Sporting Camps, and Islandport Press published George and his wife Linda's travel book, Take It From ME, about their favorite Maine inns and restaurants.
