Greetings all from Casco Bay region in Portland, Maine. Though I am not new to fishing, I am far from being even close to an expert and always interested in learning more. I grew up as a kid fishing for mackerel of piers and occasionally boats. I don't remember anyone actually showing me how to do it. I just grew up around it so it became a fun thing to do with friends and relatives. As I got older, I kinda "did not have the time" to fish, even though I never really lost interest in it...my interest was just kinda buried underneath too many other things. Over the last couple years, I have become very interested to the point where it has almost become an obsession. My wife thinks I am nuts! I now have a 2 year old who has his first pole. He has yet to actually get interested in fishing but LOVES seeing pictures of fish so its just a matter of time for that. I look forward to learning from some of you and possibly sharing with others.

A few facts about me.....
I think all kind of fishing is great and don't believe in any style being "better" than others.
I do most of my fishing from shore, jetty, or piers. I don't have a boat (yet).
At some point, hopefully this winter, I am hoping to build my first rod. The first one I build will belong to my wife.

Anyways, thanks for reading my long-winded post.
So who here is from Maine anyways???

Welcome to the board. You'll definitely learn a lot here if you pay attention. You will also be impressed by the pics of fish that you see here. Lots of real sharpies here.

welcome maineeac. My parents live in cape ned#^&#^&#^&#^& so I spend alot of time up there and I work on a site near boothbay and fish a bunch up there. Someday we'll have to hook up. Welcome to sb.

Thanks for the warm welcome guys. I took a look at some of your work Salty. You seem to do a great job with the details. Maybe sometime I will have to get some of your lures. I promised my wife I would not buy anything new until the off-season (when I decide to put my pole away). Especially since I have not had any luck this summer. She finds it odd that I am always wanting to buy new lures when the old ones don't seem to be working. My point is that is a GREAT reason to buy new lures. Till I find one that works.

Welcome to the board.

Thanks all for your welcoming responses. So just a quick question... When do MOST of you feel its time to put your gear away until next year?

Welcome Maineeac! to answer your question, run a search and you'll prob find a thread from last year at this time. this place runs the gammet of the entire region, so there are some guys here that fish up through December or just never stop! Personally, mid-November is usually when I hang it up.