fishing at its best

"In the night I dreamed of trout-fishing;
and, when at length I awoke,
it seemed a fable that this painted fish
swam there so close to my couch..."

Henry David Thoreau penned those words about a trip he made to northern Maine's Allagash River region in 1846.

If you’re looking to fish for native brook trout in total seclusion, fish the Allagash River in northern Maine. You’ll be fishing wild, natural brook trout far from any significant populations. I won’t talk too much about this one, because it’s a local secret. 

Another off-the-beaten-path fishery in Maine is the St. Johns River. While it’s 140 mile length make it the longest free flowing river in the Eastern half of the country, it rarely gets fished. But it holds wild brook trout and landlocked salmon in its various waters ranging from pocket water to 170-foot wide river flows.

The Allagash Wilderness Waterway has ample opportunity to catch one of those 20-plus-inch brightly colored male brook trout with a hooked jaw that are something to behold!