L. L. Bean, Freeport Maine

 

July 12, 2024

 

We had so much fun with two L.L. Bean Outdoor Discover Programs in Freeport, Maine, that we thought they deserved a post dedicated to them! I had no idea that L.L. Bean had expert-led experiences, but I quickly booked them once I knew.

Our first stop in Freeport, Maine, was at the L.L. Bean store, where we spent some time just looking at all their gear.

We purchased our one-day fishing licenses for a nominal fee before going to our campground at Wolfe’s Neck Campground for the next two nights.

The campground is part of a larger Smith Center for Education Research that works on sustainable agriculture, such as pasture rotation and non-plowing of fields, which is very interesting. They also have a small dairy herd, who walks across the campground morning and evening to the milking parlor.

On Wednesday morning, we walked 1.2 miles to the L.L. Bean Flying Point Paddling Center for our Cascade Bay Kayak Tour with Maine Audubon.

We kayaked to Pettigree Island, where we beached the kayaks and found a juvenile bald eagle perched on a log less than 50 yards away!

Andy, our Audubon birding guide, shared that the adults were likely nearby, and we saw them flying overhead to check us out (only adults have white heads)

Andy could identify birds we saw, often knowing who they were by sound even before we could see them.

We kayaked around and between Sow and Pig Islands before returning to the floating dock. The tide here changes by 8 to 10 feet, so the long dock, which wasn’t floating several hours before, was fully floating on our return. We walked back to the campground, did laundry, and Larry grilled us a delicious steak dinner. On Thursday, we got up early, had breakfast, and drove 40+ minutes to Miller Park in Lisbon, Maine, for our full-day Androscoggin River Fishing Trip with L.L. Bean. We met our outstanding guide, Chris, and shuttled upriver to launch the boat. Larry almost immediately caught a smallmouth bass, setting the tone for the day.

This is my first fish,  a cute little sunfish who made me laugh after Larry’s bass.

Together, we caught 45 to 50 fish, including smallmouth bass, sunfish with lovely peach bellies, and some fish called “fall.”

Larry caught so many fish that he switched over to try fly fishing, where, under Chris’ excellent tutelage, he caught three fish!

I caught a 17”, 2.75# smallmouth who fought so hard I thought I’d hooked the bottom!

All of the fish were hungry feeders who put up a good fight, and Chris knew which lures to use and how to move them to attract their attention.

Honestly, it was so much fun to catch a fish and see it at the side of the boat that after the first 20 or so fish, we stopped taking photos and let the line loose so that when the fish danced in the water they were usually able to slip from the barbless hooks. We did have to land some who swallowed the lure!

The Androscoggin River has received a massive pollution cleanup, but the mercury and heavy metals trapped in the silt mean that the fish are catch-and-release with the recommendation of eating only three fish — a year!! The fish seem fat, healthy, and full of fight, anyway! In one day, we both caught more fish than probably in our entire lifetime.

We fished all day until, quite literally, the cows came home!

Sorry, I couldn’t resist that one 😂

Next, we eddy out of the “Maine” visitor corridor to a quiet fishing village.

 

You can bet as we travel that we’ll be looking to see if we are near any L.L. Bean Discovery Outdoor program locations.  We found them at http://llbeanoutdoors.com