How to plan for a five-day fishing trip to the Maine woods. (Some of the planning items may be out-dated by the time you read this.)

First, be sure to leave the electronics at home.  No cell-phones (no reception anyway).  No need for CD or DVD players, game-boys, MP3 players, etc.  Why waste time with those when you are in the wilderness of Maine?

Camping items:

• Proper size tent(s) with good rain cover and covered front entrance
• Indoor-outdoor carpet for under the tent
• Tarps – at least one 20’ by 30’ for over the table and fireplace
• Sleeping bags
• Foam pads for sleeping bags
• Pillows
• TOILET PAPER
• Shower bag (more on this later)
• Folding two-burner gas cook stove & 4-5 tanks of gas
• Coffee pot
• Frying pans, pots & pans, spatulas, spoons
• Silverware (get some at a yard sale), sharp knives
• Good, rugged leak-proof paper plates and bowls
• Dish detergent, washcloth, towels
• Lots of small-diameter rope for tying off tarps, etc.
• Firewood – hardwood, up to 6” diameter, split (we took 3 banana boxes full)
• Kindling – maybe pieces of wood shingles, etc
• Newspaper – to start fire
• Self-lighting Propane torch (perfect for starting the fire real fast)
• Small sharp axe
• Fold-up chairs
• Maybe a fold-up saw
• 5 gallon collapsible water container for fresh water

Food items:

• Coolers – we took three. Fill bottom with frozen water bottles to help keep everything cold, including the fish we took home
• Plan a daily menu, just in case the fish don’t cooperate
• Freeze various self-contained meals, like Taco soup, which we did eat by Wed.
• Aluminum foil, quart and gallon size seal-able bags
• Condiments-salt, pepper, butter, cream cheese, ketchup, sugar, milk, etc.
• Potatoes, bacon, peppers, onions, mushrooms (especially if you grow your own like Dan does)
• Coffee, bagels, bread, etc.
• Eggs
• Snacks – trail mix, nuts, dried fruit

Fishing items:

• Rods, reels, rigging – take an extra set, just in case
• Tackle box
• Paddles for the canoe
• Lifejackets (pardon me, personal flotation devices)
• Padded swivel seats – Dan felt they would be easier on our aging behinds
• A lot of extra catch & release hooks (more on this later)
• Bait traps and buoys with English muffins for bait
• At least two yardsticks and duct tape (more on this later)
• Knives and pliers for cut & release or taking out hooks
• Net – extendable
• Bait bucket
• Line for holding fish we keep
• Home-made tables to slide over canoe thwarts to hold items
• Fish-finder, if you think it will help

Personal items:

• Jeans, shorts, underwear, sneakers, socks
• Rain gear, sweatshirt, hat, sunglasses
• Boots –knee-high (getting in & out of canoe)
• Bathing suit (for showers, if not swimming)
• TOILET PAPER
• Bug spray or wipes, sunscreen
• Camera (bring extra batteries-mine lasted only until the last morning)
• Binoculars
• A couple of books for the quiet times or rainy days
• Flashlight for that night-time walk to the outhouse (I love the new LED ones, they are really bright)
• Ear plugs (Dan wasn’t really that bad)
• BE SURE TO GET YOUR FISHING LICENSE
• Medications (I take several pills daily)
• Leave your electronics at home and enjoy nature

Tips, Hints and other assorted thoughts:

• SHOWER BAG – bag designed to hold water for showers. We left it on the beach in the sun during the day to get warm, and then hung it on the ridgepole over the other campground, since no-one was there.
• BRING A SPACIOUS TENT – Dan’s tent could probably sleep four people if it needed to (especially if it were pitched on flat ground and three people were not sliding downhill onto the poor guy at the bottom), and had a fully enclosed front entryway (width of the tent plus about four feet out where we stored our clothes and left our shoes. It also had a rain cover over the top for additional protection.
• CATCH & RELEASE HOOKS – we used only single No. 1 hooks, not the three prong hook combos. They are easier to get out without injuring the fish when we release them.  Of course, if the hook is too embedded, we just cut the line, knowing the hook will dissolve over time, so we don’t keep the fish out of the water too long.  Dan had made up about 50 in advance, which is good, because I used up quite a few.  Be sure to use waterproof glue.
• SEWING ON THE BAIT – we stuck the hook down through the forehead of the shiner, looped it back trough again, and then stuck the hook into the front of the stomach with the barb coming out the end of the stomach.
• TWO WIDE YARDSTICKS – Dan had marked the paddles in increments up to 20” (but of course that was too short for MY fish), but it was cumbersome to hold the paddles while trying to also hold a fish. Duct tape a yardstick to the thwarts in front of each person and use that for measuring the fish.  Alternatively, you could just mark the thwarts themselves all the way across, which would be more than sufficient for about any fish you would catch there.
• THE TARP – I already mentioned that Dan used some rocks about the size of golf balls found on the beach, wrapped the tarp material around them along the edges, tied them with lengths of 3/16 inch rope, and tied the other end of the ropes around trees to keep the tarp tight, sheltering us when it rained on Thursday. He also had additional tarps along in case we needed them.
• BURN THE TRASH AND WASH THE DISHES – all trash, paper plates, leftover fish bones, etc. can be tossed on the fire after each meal to keep varmints away and so there will be less to carry out. Our fire was so hot even the aluminum foil burned up.  We used most of the three banana boxes of wood we brought with us, left the rest piled under the table, and then burned the cardboard boxes.  You want to leave the camp-site as clean as when you arrived.  The Ranger will probably drop by while you are there just to check up on things.
• TOILET PAPER – no one is going to leave any there for you, so bring some with you. I know I mentioned it several times, but it is mighty inconvenient not having it.  Fortunately, at least there is an outhouse out in the woods shared by the three campsites, so you don’t have to dig your own hole.  Bug spray comes in handy out there too.
• CLEANING A FISH – with a sharp knife, slice from the hole at the end of his stomach up to the neck. Cut the top of the stomach away from the throat, and strip it away, then scrape away the blood along the backbone.  Dan tossed the innards into the water, so I decided I might not want to go swimming while I was there.  Wash it out in the water and its ready to cook.
• RIGGING THE POLES – reels, hooks, rods
• BAIT- We stopped on the way up to buy some bait that would last us a couple of days, since we could not be positive that we would catch some once we got there.
• LOADING THE CANOE – the 250-lb 21-foot Scott Hudson Bay Freighter canoe can hold 2000 pounds, and everything we loaded in plus the two of us did not seem to weigh her down much at all. What a solid ride she gave us – I can see why Dan loves her so much.  Powered by the 9.9 hp motor, we moved along quite smartly, even fully loaded.   balance, weight
• CANOE ADD-ONS – Dan built a couple of small trays that could be slid over the thwarts to provide a flat place to rest drinks, snacks, camera, knife, pliers, etc. so they would be handy and not rattling around the bottom of the canoe underfoot. Maybe next he will add cup-holders for our coffee cups or water bottles.  And if the cushioned seats could tilt back, and I brought my pillow, and there were some place to rest my feet….
• NET – Maybe someone could (or already has) create a net with thicker webbing that would hold a fish tightly yet be easier to handle in getting the fish out quickly. I found the netting wrapping around the thrashing fish difficult to move aside to get the fish out.  (Maybe I should have caught less fish like Dan did so it wouldn’t bother me so much.)
• STARTING A FIRE IN THE FIREPLACE – All the wood Dan packed was aged and dry hardwood. He included some smaller pieces for kindling to build up the heat to get the larger pieces to burn.  I just crumbled up a full page of newspaper in the fireplace, laid two-three pieces of kindling on it, then another two-three pieces at right angles across that.  Then a couple of larger junks of wood on that.  With the propane torch Dan brought, I lit the paper and got the kindling burning, which got the larger pieces burning and there was a toasty campfire.  We didn’t need much of a fire, but it definitely added to the atmosphere.
• EXTRA CAMERA BATTERIES – I took about 49 pictures (and I didn’t even remember to take pictures of all of the fish I caught) with my little DiMage Xg camera, and the battery lasted until I took a picture of the sunrise through the trees on the last morning. Unfortunately, I could not get a picture of the three moose we saw on the way out.