Deboullie
Every once in a while, you need to branch out or take a leap
beyond normal and just plain go fishing at another location. And that is
exactly what TC and I did. So, when TC said, why don’t you take the afternoon
off and go fishing at Deboullie? She did
not have to ask twice.
Friday, when I got home from work, TC had all the equipment
ready to load and was at the door waiting to take off. Now, for those of you
who have not heard of the Deboullie Mountain region, you are really missing a
wonderful area. Nestled in this area are some of the nicest clean, clear ponds
and campsites that you will find anywhere. The land is owned and maintained by
the State of Maine Parks and Recreation. Also, tucked in the parks confines is
Red River Camps. These sporting camps have been there for some time and just
simply are a vacationer’s paradise. Red River Camps, is however, for another
blog so I will leave it where it is for now.
Deboullie Region is accessible through the North Maine
Woods, from either Portage, Maine traveling up through the Fish River
checkpoint and over the Hewes Brook Road, or from the Saint Francis, Maine
checkpoint. The area includes a number of excellent trout fishing ponds and
camping sites that are well maintained, with many sitting next to one of the
ponds. There are also a number of hiking trails in the park that take you to
spots where the scenery will take your breath away.
TC and I traveled up through Portage to Deboullie this day. Once
in the friendly confines of the park, we headed straight for a pond that I last
fished with TC’s father over ten years ago. At that time, we caught trout over
18 inches. Now, to access this pond, you need to carry your canoe a fair
distance. I recalled a landing much closer that would get us on to the pond
without having to carry too far. And that is where the day became interesting. When
we first looked at the site, it appeared that there was enough water to paddle
up into the pond. So, we put the canoe in the water and shoved off. That was mistake
number one. We went a short ways and then the boat bottomed out, on mud, no
less. And there we sat trying desperately to turn around and get back to shore.
I was doing my best to get that boat to reverse course and TC was having fun at
my expense. We would get it turned a bit and would hit more mud. Now, when I
say mud, I mean the kind where when pushing the paddle in to get some sort of
grip, it goes out of sight. Yes, it just keeps dropping with no end in sight.
It reminded me of quick sand. Well, we moved and we pushed, and I knew there
was no way for me to get out of the boat and physically turn it around, because
down to the depths I would have gone. You know, like the Rambo movie where he
comes up out of the mud, only I am not sure I would have been able to come up.
As I labored to get that canoe to turn, TC was in the front having a grand old
time. I knew she was trying her best, but I also knew she was laughing inside
at me. When we finally got out and back to shore, the canoe looked like it had
participated in a mud run and that is in fact what TC said. We had gone “mud
canoeing”. Or as she implied, “doing a little red neck canoeing”.
Once back on dry, hard land, we pulled the canoe back onto
the trail and decided that we would walk down to the landing zone and see if we
could find any canoes already there. When we got there, a canoe awaited us and
we put our gear in and off we went. The pond was as beautiful as I remembered
it and the reflection of the rock face shined into the water. As we got on the
pond, I looked across and saw a lone white tail deer on the shore. It appeared
to be feeding. TC and I worked our way over as she fished and we got within 30
feet of her. She was content to feed on the grass by the water and although she
kept us in sight, she seemed to understand that we were not going to harm her.
We took a number of photos of her and then all of a sudden, she walked slowly
into the woods and was gone. She reappeared later and continued to work the
side of the water before she left for good. We fished the pond for a while and
finally decided to head out. We replaced the canoe and took our gear back to
the truck. Once we were packed, we decided to travel over to another pond in
the park called Perch Pond and have our dinner. TC had brought spaghetti and homemade
sauce and I had brought the Coleman stove. We fired it up and cooked the
noodles and sauce and had a feast. Then we headed over to Pushineer Pond. Pushineer has some very pretty campsites and
generally is the most sought after area when campers come in. We just happened
to find one that was empty and took the time to look at the beauty around us. We
snapped a few photos and then decided to call it a day. We made our way to the
Saint Francis checkpoint and then out to Fort Kent, where we stayed the night
at TC’s dad’s place. We had to update him on our days fishing activities and at
89 years old, he was as sharp as ever letting me know that he was with me the
last time we fished this pond and he caught some nice fish. He also remembered
where the hole was and asked if I had found it. When I told him that I did not
remember where it was, he let me know that his mind was still sharper than
mine. The next day, we drove back into the park and decided that we would try
another pond. We pulled the canoe off and loaded it and made our way out on the
water. This time, we did not have to do any mud canoeing. We noticed the fish
were jumping and it wasn’t long before I caught a nice 9 inch brook trout.TC
had a few bites before the ominous clouds began to make their way over the
mountains. Then all of a sudden the thunder cracked and we decided it was time
to get off the water. Mother Nature gave us enough time to load our gear and
canoe before the heavens opened up and the rain came beating down. That rain continued to fall all the way back
to Portage.
TC and I often remark that we lived so close to Deboullie
all of our life, but never really took advantage of what it had to offer. We
look back and say that it would have been a great place to take our boys and
enjoy the real outdoors. We hope to make up for lost time and spend more time
there in the future. And by the way, our youngest son will be flying in soon
and we plan to spend time there, including a night at Red River Camps. That, my
friends, will be the subject of my next blog, so stay tuned.
For more on the Deboullie area, visit this website:
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| One of the nicest ponds you will see |
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| A campsite view of Pushineer Pond |
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