My Dad told me stories about fishing various brooks and streams around Mars Hill when he was a youth growing up in the 1920s. Although he became a devout fly fisherman, early on, angling was as much about food as fun and worms were free, readily available and very effective. Fishing equipment was another matter, a luxury and too expensive for an adolescent from a working class family with several kids.
Not to be thwarted, my father and his fishing buddies would actually cut four and five foot lengths of fairly stiff brush or tree limbs from along the brook to use for makeshift poles. A length of sturdy carpet thread, six to eight feet long, was tightly tied to the tip of the branch, and the bait would be dipped or tossed underhand rather than cast. Hooks were inexpensive, but still a rare commodity, and when unavailable a small safety pin was bent to serve the purpose and tied on the line.
Trout were seldom played, more often stiff-heeled over the shoulder into the streamside bushes or grass, pounced on, dispatched and proudly hung on an alder stringer. Just like today, an ardent angler nearly 100 years ago took pride in displaying his catch on the hike back home. Stories suggest native trout populations burgeoned back then and fish proved less wary, thus the consistent success on minimal gear. One major aspect hasn’t changed however, worms work! The least expensive most readily available live bait still offers action for anglers of all ages, especially during current spring conditions when other baits fail.
With all the technological advances in rods, reels, lines and a vast array of artificial baits isn’t it amazing, and a bit humbling, that the “Old Garden Hackle” often works best. Fly fishing remains my forte most outings, but when conditions demand change to assure some action from my finned quarry, I give in. I still grin and get a small chill when I place a self-dug garden worm on my hook and feel the instant connection with my Dad and even my grandfather all those decades ago.
With the advent of new gear, some fishing tactics and techniques have changed, but not the most natural of baits. Nothing entices a big fish to feed as readily as the natural movement, look and smell of a live angleworm or nightcrawler. Regardless of water clarity, height, or flowing debris, cast a worm near where trout are holding during April and May ice-out conditions and action ensues. Locating the runs holding fish and properly presenting your bait are prime requisites of near-guaranteed hook-ups.
Fly rods can be used to fish worms along small brooks, but for ease of casting and distance, a spinning reel outfit works better, especially for youngsters and novice casters. The most common techniques and line set-ups for rivers and streams remains pretty much the same as our forefathers. The hook is threaded through the worm at least twice, often three times and a small sinker is crimped on the leader six to 12 inches from the bait. I prefer split shot rather than torpedo-shaped weights and use non-toxic sinkers.
Sinker weight needs to be adjusted to speed of the water along the selected stretch. Enough weight must be attached to settle and hold the worm in place until a slight lifting of the rod tip allows the weight to lift and move a few inches along the stream bed. This allows the worm to settle, wiggle and attract a strike if a trout is near, then to be moved again covering the entire run slowly but thoroughly.
Some bait tossers prefer to hook their worms in a tight glob, others prefer to allow a couple of inches of worm tail to extend beyond the hook. I find an inch of extended worm undulates enticingly, perhaps the extra action draws more strikes.
Another practice is to attach a spinner to the line and hook and cast the baited rig across the current slowly reeling as the worm swings in a downstream arc. Not only do you have the sight and aroma of the worm, but the flash of the spinner draws attention from trout at a greater distance. This tactic covers more water in a shorter time span, but when fish are very lethargic in the cold spring freshet, slowly bouncing the weighted worm right in their face works better. When I use a spinner, pearl colored and silver are my favorite colors, and I prefer a single, small blade.
To fish eddies, backwaters and bogans, all slow-moving runs or still water holes on rivers and streams, a bobber rib often works best. The floating bobber needs to be attached to the line at a distance from the hook and bait so only eight to 12 inches of free leader lays on the bottom. When a trout grabs the bait and begins to swim away the bobber will be pulled under the surface or at least show lateral movement, alerting the fisherman to set the hook. Bobber fishing also works well when only a portion of a lake or pond frees of ice. Anglers can cast out near the ice shelf with one or two rods, support the rod in a Y-shaped stick on the shoreline and then relax and wait for a bobber bouncing alert to a strike.
Fishable open water remains scarce, but a few spots are available on sections of the Aroostook River, Prestile Stream, Fish River and Meduxnekeag. Smaller brooks will become more accessible each passing week and a few small lakes and regional ponds will free up of ice along some edges and near inlets and outlets. The lowly earthworm is truly the king of baits for the next month or so, and this natural bait even works on the hottest days of summer. Open water fishing season is at hand in the Crown of Maine, visit your garden plot or compost pile, dig some bait and fish the old fashioned way — toss out a worm. Alder poles and string are optional.
