‘Hooked on Maine Outdoors’

Observer photo/Mike Lange  FOCUSED – Lauren Robinson watches for a nibble at Drummond Pond during the May 21 Hooked on Maine Outdoors fishing trip.

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

 ABBOT – It wasn’t the best day for fishing – windy, with temps in the mid-50s.

But the fourth-graders from Piscataquis Community Elementary School didn’t seem to mind.

 Thursday, May 21 was “Hooked on Maine Outdoors” day at Drummond Pond in Abbot where volunteers spent most of the morning teaching youngsters the finer points of bait casting.

 The pond had been stocked recently, but nibbles were few and far between. “Some days, they just don’t bite,” said volunteer Rocco Palumbo. “But the kids still enjoy being outdoors.”

 Palumbo has been involved with the program since it began in Dexter in 2002. “The Maine Highlands Federal Credit Union, Sunrise Kiwanis and the Wassookeag Fish and Game Club are running it now and doing a great job,” he said. “I also worked with a similar program at Harmony Elementary School.”

 The PCES program is hosted by Community Fitness, a nonprofit center located at the former Guilford Primary School. “They bought all the fishing poles and reels,” Palumbo said. “Since their goal is to promote healthy lifestyles, this fits in very well.”

 There were several volunteers, parents and teachers on hand at Drummond Pond, helping squeamish kids bait their hooks and watching their casts carefully. “Laurie Calhoun takes care of the fish cleaning. He’s got the dirty job,” Palumbo laughed.

 Gary Nelson worked with the “Hooked on Fishing” program sponsored by the Dover-Foxcroft Kiwanis Club previously and volunteered for the Drummond Pond outing for the first time. “I enjoy teaching them the basics,” said Nelson. “If they catch something, it’s even better.”

 As expected, a few fishing lines wound up entangled in the bushes and some leaders were lost at the bottom of the pond.

 Then there was the unexpected. Zander Grant of Abbot dragged in a huge snapping turtle, who found the night crawler too tempting to resist. With the help of volunteer Tim Richardson, the snapper was unhooked with no apparent harm done and sent back into the water.