This is the 3rd full-length feature from Gray Ghost Productions, with last year’s “East by Northeast” exciting angling audiences with amazing footage from all over Maine, New Hampshire and beyond. This year’s film tours the better part of the East from Labrador to the Florida Keys and everything in-between. Hitch a ride in the flying Beaver with Luke Gray in search of huge Eastern Brook Trout and enormous Northerns. Check out the alluring saltwater for Stripers in the north or toothy monsters of the southern latitudes. From Peacock Bass to Landlock Salmon, from urban pools teeming with silver Shad to remote runs with glorious trout and a dash of the occasional Stonefly hatch, this film is proof that the good life is never too far away.

The Frontier is a stunning intimate venue located in the Ft. Andros complex, with excellent food and a unique collection of beverages. FFIM’s Dan Tarkinson adds, “The Frontier has quickly become somewhat of a favorite in the Maine Fly Fishing community. We’ve held several events there now, and the crowd and ambience of the theater have always gelled so well. We’re very pumped to be able to showcase the film-making talents of Carter Davidson and the Gray Ghost Productions crew at such a fine establishment”.

Due to limited capacity, we strongly recommend ordering your tickets in advance, by either purchasing online with a credit card at
http://www.flyfishinginmaine.org/thegoodlife/, or by calling the theater at (207)-725-5222.

The event festivities will also include several door prizes for each screening, as well as the chance at some larger fund-raising raffles, including a 2-person Pontoon Boat to be raffled off at the annual FFIM Conclave in June.

All proceeds from this event and the raffles will go to the FFIM Grassroots Grant fund. FFIM is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Past recipients of FFIM Grassroots Grants have included Trout Unlimited, Casting For Recovery, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and many more. Among the beneficiaries this year is the Sebago Chapter of Trout Unlimited, providing them with a grant for their “5-in-5″ Southern Maine pond reclamation program.

For more information about Fly Fishing in Maine, please visit our website at http://www.flyfishinginmaine.org/

For more information about “The Good Life”, including the trailer and where you can purchase a DVD copy, visit their website at http://www.ggpfilms.com/

The Maine Wildlife Park, a 200-acre haven with more than 25 different species of native Maine wildlife on exhibit, will open its doors for the season tomorrow, April 15, at 9:30 a.m. The park is located on Route 26 in Gray, just 3.5 miles from Maine Turnpike Exit 63.

At the Maine Wildlife Park, visitors are guaranteed to see a moose, along with white-tailed deer, black bears, mountain lions, porcupines, coyotes, owls, native turtles, hawks and owls, trophy trout, and more. Many of the animals at the park live there because they were injured or orphaned, or because they are human dependent since they were raised (sometimes illegally) in captivity. The park serves as a permanent home for wildlife that cannot survive in the wild.

New this year is the first of six small mammal exhibits. The first is for our porcupines, which was funded primarily by the Friends of the Maine Wildlife Park. Additional exhibits will be constructed throughout this spring and summer, with the eventual goal to relocate all of our small mammals into modern, naturalized exhibits best suited to the wildlife — and for visitors to view and photograph them.

“The Maine Wildlife Park is a fantastic family destination,” said Roland “Dan” Martin, Commissioner, Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. “It is an ideal place to learn more about Maine’s wildlife.”

There are nature trails and wildlife gardens to enjoy, interactive exhibits to view, a “snack shack” selling ice cream, candy and snacks, a nature store, gift shop and more.

The calendar of special wildlife events is full, starting Saturdays in May and running through Labor Day. Bring a picnic and spend the day. Reservations aren’t required. For a list, visit www.mainewildlifepark.com

The Maine Wildlife Park will be open daily through Nov. 11th from 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Visitors must leave the premises by 6 p.m. Admission to the park is free for ages 3 and under; $5 for ages 4-12; $7 for adults; and $5 for seniors. Groups of 15 or more are $3.50 per person. Now is the time to purchase your Family and Community Season Passes so you can take full advantage of all of the park’s summer wildlife programs and events.

The Maine Wildlife Park has a tremendous cadre of volunteers who staff the admissions gatehouse, plant, water and maintain our gardens, lead tours for school children, transport wildlife to licensed wildlife rehabilitators, and help out in the gift shop and snack shack. Call us to learn more about volunteer opportunities at the park.

For more information about any of these programs, please call the Maine Wildlife Park at 207… and listen to the recorded messages or check us out online at www.mainewildlifepark.com or mach-zehnderwww.maine.gov/ifw.

I’ve seen my share of outdoor films, from hunting, fishing, kayaking and an myriad of good movies aimed at teasing the senses, creating fidgety in your pants and to get you off the couch. East by North East is really in a league of its own. It’s hot!

Let me first be a bit forthcoming in that some may think my review of this movie would be influenced by the fact that I know many of the players. In another life, I coached a little soccer, baseball and skiing. Carter Davidson, Luke Gray, Nathan Harvey, Jen and Stephanie Percival and Mitch Cummings all at one time or other were a part of my life and I coached them in various sports. At times some of them might have wished I wasn’t part of their life (as coaches sometimes can be) but I have to admit, I stand in awe of their accomplishments and the lives they lead.

Little did I know at the time, some 15 or so years ago, that Carter Davidson would find his passion behind the lens of a camera, that Nate Harvey would be navigating some of the most exciting white water in his kayak, or that the Percival girls loved fly fishing and Mitch Cummings would be the master of landing the big one.

What sets East by North East apart from other fishing movies is simple really. ExNE is original, creative and complete. ExNE isn’t like “all the others” but you need to get a copy to view for yourself.

Creativity begins with the title itself and never quits through 70 minutes of fun and adventure. Davidson and crew have captured the thrill that drives all avid fishermen, through unique shots, camera angles and the presentation of one-of-a-kind characters, all in some of the finest fishing waters in North America.

East by North East is a movie that isn’t afraid to expand the limits of fly fishing. The DVD begins with a trip to the British Virgin Islands, fly fishing for bonefish. Through the journey on film, the cast wets lines on the Upper Magalloway River with Rick Estes, hits some isolated back country native brook trout ponds with Erik Lippman and dazzles us with bass fishing with Mike Jones.

But it doesn’t end there. I laughed so hard I nearly spit on my computer screen watching Bill Pierce and Mike Jones trying to net a huge pike caught in downtown Lewiston, Maine on the Androscoggin River, a place that once was famous for toxic fumes peeling paint off houses.

Jump from there to Winterport, Maine and you’ll find the McKay brothers, Tait and Jax, all of perhaps 8 and 10 years of age, wielding their fly rods like pros and hauling in fish seemingly with little effort. Davidson says the two boys were born with fishing rods in their hands. I believe it.

The show isn’t all about success with every cast or fishing only. As Luke Gray physically headlocks and drags “Stoo” Mason from his distillery at the Sunday River Brewing Company, they head for Canada to do some Atlantic salmon fishing. They soon find out why the Atlantic salmon is called the fish of 1,000 casts as Luke exclaims, “It should be called the fish of 5,000 casts!” as he and the others got skunked.

Adding even more variety for your viewing pleasure, Davidson explains that Nate Harvey, an accomplished whitewater kayaker and instructor, finds fish for him while spending time upside down in some pretty wild and deep pools.

Of interest to me personally was a segment of the movie that touched on the history of the Androscoggin River. The Andy begins in the Rangeley Lakes area, meanders into New Hampshire for a spell, returning to Maine and eventually merging with the Kennebec River at Merrymeeting Bay on the coast.

I grew up on that river many years ago. At one point of the film, Rocky Freda, a Maine guide and outfitter who utilizes the resources of the river in his business, tells viewers that few houses can be found built directly on the river because it once was so polluted, nobody wanted to live next to it. I did. I played on the banks of that river as a kid. I watched as the river went from one of the 10 filthiest to what it is today. It’s an incredible success story achieved mostly because the people wanted it to happen.

East by North East gives all a chance to witness the bounty this spectacularly scenic river now brings.

Still not complete, you’ll be entertained with legends and characters like Charlie Lowe, Will Gilson, Lefty Kreh and Rik Dow. There is nothing more entertaining than listening to Dow’s unique and often bizarre perspective on life in general, say nothing about fishing. Combine the two and you’ll walk away either scratching your head or laughing it off.

If all of this isn’t enough to capture your attention and hold it for 70 minutes, no other fly fishing film breaks between scenes with fishing tales as told by noted Maine humorist Joe Perham. I have to admit that the stories told in this movie are more on the line of “Tall Tales and Damned Lies” than the more believable fishing yarns often spun by some of Maine’s more colorful characters.

And to polish things off on a very complete and expansive movie, the camera zooms in on Charlie Lowe, to a face that has seen many years on the water, slipped on more rocks than most people see in their lifetime and caught more fish than………well, let’s just say he’s caught a lot of fish. His parting words to the camera, “Fish more and you’ll live longer.”

Now that’s complete!

If you would like to purchase a copy of East by North East you can find it at the following locations:

Online:
(soon) at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Store and,
Maine Guide Fly Shop

In Maine:
Aardvark Outfitters, Farmington
Eldredge Brothers Fly Shop, Cape Neddick
Fly Fishing Only, Fairfield
Maine Guide Fly Shop, Greenville (online available)
Sun Valley Sports, Bethel
Bear River Trading Post, Newry
Bethel Historic Society, Bethel
Tackle Shop, Portland
Van Raymonds, Brewer

In New Hampshire:
North Country Angler, Conway
WS Hunter, Concord
Fox Ridge Outfitters, Rochester

East by North East will be available at other fine tackle shops and outfitters, so check with your favorite store and see if they have a copy.

Tom Remington

Due to be released this month, the following movie trailer has been made available to wet our appetites.

Tom Remington

The magazine can be viewed at http://www.flipseekllc.com/maine2009winter.html or from the IF&W website at www.mefishwildlife.com.

For more than 40 years, IF&W has published a magazine to showcase the work and dedication of IF&W employees to preserving and protecting Maine’s inland waters and woods. But given recent tight economic considerations, the magazine was facing extinction because of reduced funding.

During the last Legislative session, members of the Joint Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife asked IF&W to come up with an inexpensive way to continue producing the magazine. The best solution was to put it online, according to Roland “Danny” Martin, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

“The Maine Legislature didn’t want to see the decades-old magazine cease in existence and neither did we,” Commissioner Martin said. “By putting the magazine online, not only are we saving money but now a greater number of people will have access to the publication and at no charge.”

More than 3,000 people had paid subscriptions to the quarterly magazine’s paper editions. By going online, the Department expects to reach more than 90,000 potential readers through e-mails and its website.

The online version of Maine Fish and Wildlife is produced in cooperation with FlipSeek LLC of Lyndhurst, Ohio, which developed a software application that gives publications such as magazines and catalogs the electronic look of hard copies. FlipSeek’s easy-to-use application lets readers flip through pages, zoom in and out of articles and pictures, and print what they’d like to keep in paper form.

Articles are written by IF&W employees, and the magazine is edited and designed by IF&W’s Division of Public Information and Education.

The electronic version of the magazine is not much different than the paper one. Readers will find insightful articles about projects or programs within the Department, see colorful pictures of biologists, wardens and educators at work, and share the reader-favorite “KidBits” with their children.

Also, readers will find “Field Notes” on Game Wardens’ activities or cases they have closed, “Biologist’s Journal” about an awe-inspiring or introspective event biologists may have experienced, and “Inside IF&W,” a feature about a talented staffer at IF&W.

“The 300 employees at IF&W are dedicated to managing fish and wildlife resources and enforcing the laws that protect them,” said Commissioner Martin. “Like our readers, our staff hunts, fishes, boats, snowmobiles, hikes or canoes/kayaks in the abundance of wilderness Maine offers. Their commitment will be evident in this publication.”

Posted by Tom Remington

Raised in the western mountains of Maine on the banks of the Androscoggin River and the village of Bethel, Carter Davidson is an avid fly fisherman, a producer of outdoor adventure television programs, documentaries and most recently executive producer of Gray Ghost Productions fly fishing film titled “The One.” Beginning in 2000, Carter first got his start with Maine PBS, producing and editing a long list of Emmy nominated magazine series and documentaries. Later, he traveled across the globe to locations such as New Zealand, France, Argentina, Chile, and British Columbia to film all sorts of outdoor adventures from extreme skiing, whitewater rafting and kayaking, skydiving, mountain biking and of course fly fishing. In 2007 Carter founded the video production company Gray Ghost Productions and began his search to film and capture the essence of fly fishing.

“Follow the dream team of Gray Ghost Production’s first adventure as they travel through New England, Patagonia and British Colombia in search of The One. Come explore the untouched terrain of Argentina with Michael Jones. Or hop in the jet boat for a wild ride hunting for steelheads. New England’s most prominent trout guru and director of the Green Meanie’s takes us into the back country of Maine and trophy brook trout water. Take a look back in time to rediscover the Rangeley lakes region and the famous trout flies originated in this area. Tag along with Luke Gray and Charlie Davidson as they hear the scream of the reel on some of New England’s large and small tributaries. Join these fly fishing junkies and their quest for, The One.”

Executive Producers: Matt Stanton, Carter Davidson
Producer: Charlie Davidson
Director of Photography: Luke Gray
Narration: Joe Perham and Carter Davidson

Movie trailer:

Tom Remington

GRAY, Maine – The Maine Wildlife Park in Gray, owned and operated by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, saw its best season ever in 2007 with more than 108,000 visits and close to $590,000 in total revenue.

This represents a 12.9 percent increase in visitations and a 31.3 percent increase in total revenue over 2006.

“Maine residents and out-of-state tourists are drawn to our special events and our wildlife and conservation education programming for children,” said IF&W Natural Science Educator Lisa Kane. “Superintendant Curtis Johnson, the park’s staff and volunteers look forward to welcoming them again this year, and we invite newcomers to come and learn more about Maine’s wildlife.”

Kane said good weather, too, played a large part in the successful season, as well as diversified advertising and public relations efforts. Visitors from Germany, England, Bulgaria, Australia, Hungary and Japan were recorded, along with those from several Canadian provinces and dozens of U.S. cities and states.

The Maine Wildlife Park, located off of Route 26 in Gray, is expected to open in mid-April, weather permitting. This week, classroom teachers will receive brochures about 2008 school programs and tours in the mail. This popular schedule is also available on the park’s website, www.mainewildlifepark.com.

Last year, special events offered each Saturday throughout the summer generated high numbers of visitors. Some of the most noteworthy events included the Third Annual Native American “Honor Animals” Pow Wow, which drew close to 4,000 visitors over two days; the annual Fish and Wildlife Open House, which featured free admission and brought close to 2,000 visitors in a single day; and the popular Halloween Night Hike, which attracted almost 900 costume-wearing families, who enjoyed a three-hour nighttime park visit with special Halloween exhibits, displays, contests and prizes.

Many of the same events are planned this year, as well as some new ones.

The Park Nature store doubled its net revenue between 2006 and 2007. It offers a variety of wildlife and nature-themed merchandise that is both appealing and affordable to visitors.

At the Maine Wildlife Park, visitors can see more than 25 species of Maine wildlife, including moose, bald eagles, owls, black bear, hawks, fisher, mountain lions, deer, wild turkeys and 6 species of native turtles.

Also, visitors can:

* Walk the Tree Trail, where you can read descriptions of a variety of Maine trees within the park, see how much wood is in a cord, and find out how to use a Biltmore stick to measure tree height.

* Feed the fish at the Dry Mills Hatchery

* Wander the Game Trail, which features camouflaged silhouettes of 13 different animals. See how many you can spot!

* Follow the Wetland Trails, where fish, birds and turtles are sometimes visible; and more 3-D wildlife models are hiding for you to find!

* Visit the Maine Warden Service museum and the Snack Shack.

Not enough? Bask in our wildlife and flower gardens tended by our generous volunteers; take a guided tour; attend a wildlife program or make animal tracks in the Visitor Center sandbox.

The Maine Wildlife Park is open daily mid-April through Nov. 11, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with visitors allowed to stay until 6 p.m. There are picnic and grilling areas available. Admission fees. Call 657-4977 FMI, or visit the website at www.mainewildlifepark.com.

Posted by Tom Remington

“Follow the dream team of Gray Ghost Production’s first adventure as they travel through New England, Patagonia and British Colombia in search of The One. Come explore the untouched terrain of Argentina with Michael Jones. Or hop in the jet boat for a wild ride hunting for steelheads. New England’s most prominent trout guru and director of the Green Meanie’s takes us into the back country of Maine and trophy brook trout water. Take a look back in time to rediscover the Rangeley lakes region and the famous trout flies originated in this area. Tag along with Luke Gray and Charlie Davidson as they hear the scream of the reel on some of New England’s large and small tributaries. Join these fly fishing junkies and their quest for, The One.”

Executive Producers: Matt Stanton, Carter Davidson
Producer: Charlie Davidson
Director of Photography: Luke Gray
Narration: Joe Perham and Carter Davidson

Movie trailer:

A movie premier will take place in Bethel in February. The release of the full length movie will be available to the public shortly after that.

Tom Remington

“We are excited to partner with the Kittery Trading Post for such an anticipated event,” said Martin. “At 6:00 p.m., we will commence the drawing and announce the name of the first hunter fortunate enough to be selected.”

Since 1999, the Department has rotated the lottery throughout the state. Prior to 1999, it was always in Augusta. Over the past nine years, lotteries were held in Millinocket, Boothbay Harbor, Old Town, Bucksport, Scarborough (twice), Presque Isle, Rumford, and Phippsburg.

“We are extremely pleased to host the Moose Lottery, and we plan on making it a great event to be enjoyed by the whole family,” said Fox Keim, Vice President of Hunting and Fishing at the Kittery Trading Post. The event will be held outside in a large, enclosed tent at the Kittery Trading Post. Food will be available, and other surprises are being planned to make it unique.

“We’ve moved the drawing to all parts of the state so that people can have the opportunity to be part of it first hand,” stated Commissioner Martin. “Nothing pleases us more than to have members in the audience react to being selected,” he said.

Martin said that staff from IF&W including local biologists and game wardens will be on hand.

“This is an opportunity for sports enthusiasts and the general public to interact with IF&W personnel”, said Martin

Admission to the event is free. In the past, the event has lasted approximately three hours. The Kittery Trading Post is located on Route 1 in Kittery.

Posted by Tom Remington