Description

Go smelt fishing in a private smelt shack on the Abbagadaset River in Bowdoinham, Maine under the direction of all around good guy Chas Gill Master Maine Guide who farms the land adjacent to the river.  This is as genuine an experience as you can find.  The smelts are delicious and great fun to catch.  There are lots of videos of this on You Tube, and here is a link to one I took on a trip with Chas in January of 2017.  I went again in January of 2018 too and it was even better.

The fish range from 6 to 12 inches and are caught on drop lines or small jigging poles fished through a hole cut in the floor the length of the shack.  Chas’s spot is very private with only a very few other camps nearby.

The shack will fit two to a maximum of three fishermen.  Chas has a second shack and for some extra money up to 4 or 5 people can be accommodated, but you can work that out with him separately if you win the auction.

Chas will set you up with instructions, a wood fire, and bait – I watched him fillet a sucker for our bait – and take you across his snow-covered, farm fields to and from the shack in his Kawasaki Mule or, if you prefer, bring your snow shoes or cross country skies and get out to the fishing that way.  Food and drink are on you – these trips are FAMOUS for food and drink.

There may still be time to get the trip in this winter.  You need to have ice and generally speaking that continues up until early March.  You can also wait and book the trip for next season.