Maine Maritime Academy

College Ambassador: Henry Currier

Species

Striped Bass: striped bass is my favorite fish to catch, and I find myself spending most of my time chasing after them. They are plentiful in the spring and fall, give the Bagaduce River a try or the southwestern tip of Castine tends to be a hotspot. 

Mackerel: While commonly known as a bait fish, they can also be fun to catch on ultra-light setups. Try jigging off the town dock and you’ll be sure to catch a pile. 

Bluefin Tuna: while this fish is nearly impossible to catch from shore in Castine, there are lots of kids that come from both recreational and commercial fishing families attending Maine Maritime. Ask to help out on the boat for a weekend and I’m sure they’ll make it worth your while ( my buddies and I from school already have 2 bluefin on the board).

Bluefish: while their numbers have not been great in Maine recently, they are making a huge comeback and anglers have been catching them farther and farther up the Maine coast. If my predictions are correct by this year or next, they should be as plentiful as the striped bass in Castine Harbor. Look for these gators in the rougher water off Dice's Head. 

Largemouth Bass: this northern part of the coast of Maine has some spectacular lakes and ponds holding some pretty good fish. One of my favorite spots to catch largemouth both from shore and from a boat is a little pond about 10 minutes from campus. This is where I caught my PB this past fall. 

Smallmouth Bass: Maine has an abundance of smallmouth bass which can be found at almost every lake and pond. 

Trout: whether it’s native brook trout in a micro stream or massive lakers through the ice, Maine has it all with a fantastic year-round trout fishery. 

Splake: a mix between a male brook trout and a female lake trout. These fish are primarily caught through the ice and cannot reproduce on their own therefore they are stocked in many lakes around Maine. Probably my favorite species of trout to eat. 

Crappie: target crappie through the ice or out of a boat. I’ve had some of the most fun days ice fishing for crappies with a group of friends. 

Perch: another common freshwater fish here in Maine that can be found in most lakes and ponds around campus and can put up quite the fight. 
 
Accessibility

Saltwater fishing is very accessible at Maine Maritime. The entire “on-neck” part of Castine is within walking distance and there are great spots scattered throughout the town. Everything from beach fishing at the back shore to wading mudflats at high tide to fishing deep fast-moving water off Dice's Head, Castine has it all. Something unique about Maine Maritime is they have a fleet of all sorts of boats that you can get a license to take out and go for trips on or just shoot up into the river to find a feeding frenzy. 

As for access to fresh water, there are over 15 lakes and ponds within a 10-mile radius, most with a public access boat launch. This provides a large amount of variety for many different species of freshwater fish while exploring new areas. Lots of these spots are very accessible to ice fishing as well, allowing easy access to spots on the lake not accessible from shore in the summer.

Community 

It was pretty easy for me to find a strong community of fishermen here at Maine Maritime. I believe that this is because most of the people going to Maine Maritime have previous experience on the water and are already interested in continuing their maritime path. I found a large group of friends almost immediately when I stepped on campus and we were soon to get out on the water and share our passion for fishing and the outdoors.
 
Hangouts

While there are not a whole lot of bait and tackle shops around, there are lots of on-the-water clubs and activities going on. One of my favorite clubs is called "Subsea". This is a club where students get the opportunity to take out the boats provided by MMA and do things like docking and undocking, mooring and unmooring, and other helpful skills like towing. There has always been a great group of people there.