Category Archives: Recreation

Coffee Klatch on Clary Lake: August 24th

Many thanks to June Lordi and Steve Cowles for taking charge of this year’s Coffee Klatch! Here’s June’s pitch for the event:

Hey Clary Lakers:  to wrap up the summer,  we’re resurrecting the Coffee Klatch out on the Lake which first happened back in 2019. A number of water craft tied up near the middle of the lake and shared coffee, donuts, and laughter. You are invited to meet again this Saturday August 24th at 10:00AM. See you there!!

The rain date is the next day, Sunday the 25th. Where exactly on Clary Lake the flotilla will form will depend in part on the prevailing winds. Wherever the wind is coming from, that’s the shoreline you’ll find us closest to. If there isn’t much wind, look for us near the middle of the lake. Steve & company will be in his pontoon boat serving up coffee and donuts. We shouldn’t be too hard to find!

Upcoming Event: Our Ice Cream Social and Marsh Paddle

Our Annual Summer Ice Cream Social is scheduled for Saturday July 20th at the Clary Lake dam. It will be preceded by a BYOK Marsh Paddle (Bring Your Own Kayak) which will take place in the morning. Needless to say, a canoe is fine too! The Ice Cream Social will follow, at its usual time of 1PM. People who wish to participate in the Marsh Paddle should arrive at the dam by 10AM and bring appropriate clothing, water, and perhaps a light snack. The  plan is to leave the dam around 10:30AM and paddle out to the lake (about 1.6 miles one way), explore the floating bog a bit, and then return to the dam around 1PM, just in time for ice cream. The ice cream is free but donations are gratefully accepted!

We’d like to have an idea of how many people are planning to paddle so if you’re looking to participate, please let us know by emailing the secretary@clarylake.org.

(The photo at the top of this post shows a large portion of the great marsh from the air looking roughly southwest. The dam is near the upper right corner, Clary Lake is about a quarter mile off to the left and the Sennett Road is just off the right side. Photo by George Fergusson taken during a flight with pilot and lakeshore owner Terry Crummett, on July 10, 2022).

03 June 2021: All’s Well That Ends Well

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Canoe in tow

My wife Margaret and I had just settled down on our dock the other day to take in the afternoon and have coffee when I got a call from our President, Dave Knight. He had been on his way home when a man had flagged him down, saying that he and a friend had been out fishing on Clary when their canoe capsized. He had swum to shore and then hiked a quarter of a mile out to the main road to look for help. He told Dave his friend couldn’t swim and he had left him over an hour ago, without a life preserver, clinging to the upended craft. Continue reading →

21 May 2021: Rumor of Big Fish in Clary Lake Confirmed!

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Dinky Fish

The rumor that there are big fish in Clary Lake has been confirmed! I don’t usually post fish pictures on the website but I’m happy to make an exception for this beauty,  sent to me the other day by CLA member and friend Steve Viti. At 5 pounds, I’ll bet that was exciting to catch on the light tackle that Steve uses! Steve of course threw this fish back to grow some more. These big Bass are valuable breeders and should be returned to the lake as quickly as possible. If you’re looking for something to eat, harvest a small bass or two or have your fill of all the Black Crappie and White Perch you want- there are plenty of them in Clary Lake! In Maine’s Southern Zone, there is a 2 fish bag/possession limit for Large & Small Mouth Bass with no length limit, but only 1 may exceed 14 inches. 

Get out there and catch something!

Free Fishing Mother’s Day Weekend

Cast a line and celebrate the special moms in your life

Mother's Day free fishing license weekend May 8-9

During Mother’s Day Free Fishing License Weekend, May 8-9, 2021, everyone is encouraged to cast a line and enjoy Maine’s many waterways with the special moms in their life.

On these days, any person (except those whose license has been suspended or revoked) who registers may fish without a license. All other laws and regulations apply on these days. 

This free fishing license weekend is in addition to the semi-annual free fishing weekends. June 5-6, 2021 is the next scheduled free fishing weekend.

We hope you have a memorable weekend fishing with the special individuals in your life. Remember to be safe: tell someone where you are going, and when you plan to return, and ALWAYS wear a life jacket when on the water – the water is extremely cold this time of year.

Register

22 April 2021: Browntail Moth Update

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry (DACF) and other groups are predicting the 2021 Browntail Moth season will be a bad one. A recent article in the Bangor Daily News (worth reading!) is claiming this will be the worst infestation of BTM in over a century. It sounds like hyperbole but could well be true. The picture at left is a small section of a Browntail Moth 2021 Winter Web Moth Survey (PDF) published by the DACF shows the results of a drive-by survey conducted earlier this winter, hence the survey data are along major roads. The blow up includes Whitefield & Jefferson and shows medium to heavy concentrations of Browntail moth webs along Routes 126, 218, and 215 (South Clary Road). Of particular concern is not just the number of webs spotted (dot colors primarily yellow, tan, and red), but the density of dots which is an indication of how many individual vehicle stops were made. I’ve inserted the above picture into Google Earth. Download this KMZ file and load it into Google Earth. Continue reading →

23 March 2021: Maine IF&W Soft Plastic Lure Survey

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife has put out a survey on the use of soft plastic fishing lures in Maine waters. These lures are particularly popular with Bass fishermen, and I use them myself. However, if you’re not using them and disposing of them correctly, they can constitute a hazard to fish. If you fish with soft plastic lures, please consider taking this survey. If you want to know more about soft plastic lures and how to use the correctly, here’s a great link with lots of information about soft plastic lures: Fishing with Soft Plastic Lures.

The following is an excerpt of an email that I received today with a link to the survey: Continue reading →

Clary Lake: Fun For All Ages

Dave Knight sent me this video this morning which I decided to post on Facebook, then decided to embed here which is exactly backwards. Hopefully it won’t double post on Facebook 🙂

26 August 2020: State Boat Launch Posted No Swimming

We were as surprised as anyone when a No Swimming sign appeared at the State boat launch on Clary Lake a few weeks ago. We spoke to Diano Circo, Chief Planner at the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IF&W) and asked about the sign. It appears there have been numerous complaints of swimmers not getting out of the way when a boater wants to launch or retrieve their craft, both at the Clary launch and at other State-owned launches around the State. According to Mr. Circo, the IF&W has decided to post all State-owned boat launches. Whether this is true or not we can’t say, but another reliable source has confirmed that the State does plan on taking this action in the near future. Department of Conservation rules of conduct at State boat launch facilities prohibit swimming at State-owned boat launches but the no swimming rule has generally not been enforced. That “look the other way” stance has apparently changed. Continue reading →

4th of July Clary Lake Boat Parade

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Bill & Sue McKeen getting a plug in for the Whitefield Library.

Well the 4th of July 2020 Clary Lake Boat Parade happened, here are pictures to prove it. There were so many boats traveling at different speeds it was impossible to get one picture that showed all of them. There were boats all over the lake. What a sight! It was so well attended and so much fun that I can’t imagine it won’t happen again next year. Many thanks to Shanna Pease for organizing it!

Here’s a gallery of pictures. I took a lot of them, and people sent me even more pictures. It took a while to sort through and resize them and in the process I lost track of who took what so I’m sorry for the lack of attributions.

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Clary Lake Birding and Marsh Paddle Event

American Bittern

Ex-president and current CLA Board member Malcolm Burson has offered to lead one or more birding excursions in the Marsh at the northwest end of Clary Lake some weekend later in July (date to be determined). Both Malcolm and his partner Eleanor Goldberg are long time birders with considerable experience spotting and identifying birds. The plan would be to meet at and leave from Malcolm’s camp around 7 AM and head down the channel towards the dam.

Since birding at this time of year is mostly all about bird songs, participation is restricted to canoes, kayaks, and boats with electric trolling motors! To keep it to a manageable sized group, we’d like to limit it to roughly 6-7 vessels at a time, that way social distancing can be maintained without people getting too spread out. If there’s sufficient interest we’ll schedule a second expedition later in early August.

Right now Saturday July 18th or Sunday July 19th are looking like workable weekends. If you’re interested in participating in this event please let us know as soon as possible and include your preferred day (Saturday or Sunday) so we can start to finalize plans. You can use our Contact Form or just let George Fergusson know. Thanks!

Clary Lake 4th of July Boat Parade!

Shanna Pease is organizing a 4th of July Boat Parade on Clary Lake. This is not a Clary Lake Association sponsored event but it is nonetheless a Clary Lake event and we are happy to help promote it! Hope see you out there!

Please join in on the first
Clary Lake
4th of July Boat Parade!!

When: 4th of July
Where: Clary Lake
Time: 2 PM

Details: Decorate your boat and meet down by the public landing for a cruise of the lake! Let’s celebrate the 4th in style.

For more information or if you have questions please feel free to text or call Shanna Pease at 485-4171.

26 January 2020: Yes There Are Black Crappie in Clary Lake

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White Perch and Black Crappie photo by Joe Holland

We’ve known for some time that there were black crappie in Clary Lake, they started showing up back in 2015 as a result of illegal stocking (see: 28 May 2015: A Black Crappie caught in Clary Lake). They’re clearly now firmly established and it’s not at all uncommon to catch them! Jack Holland sent me this picture of some black crappie and white perch that his son Joe Holland (of The Jefferson Scoop fame!) caught last week on Clary Lake.

IF&W Fisheries Biologist Jason Seiders was not particularly happy to hear that there were Black Crappie being caught in Clary Lake when I spoke to him about it a couple of years ago. His recommendation was that if you catch them, keep them! I can attest, they are good eating, and fun to catch.

2019 Courtesy Boat Inspection Wrap Up.

20190928_071451-MediumLast weekend marked the conclusion of the Clary Lake Association’s first Courtesy Boat Inspection season and I’d like to thank our volunteers who gave of their valuable time to help out at the boat launch this past summer. In no particular order: Dave & Gayle Knight, Dan & Dolly Burns, Gareth Bowen, Wynne & Michael Keller, Malcolm Burson, Jack Holland, and George & Margaret Fergusson.

The purpose of the State’s Courtesy Boat Inspection Program is to prevent the transport and introduction of invasive aquatic plants into lakes in Maine, and this is the 19th year that the program has been in existence. With the repaired dam and newly restored water level this Spring we anticipated a significant increase in boat traffic and our concerns understandably turned to protecting Clary Lake from the chance introduction of invasive aquatic plants. It took a little while to get up and running, but finally, in early July, about a dozen CLA volunteers attended a short training session put on by Midcoast Conservancy (see “Courtesy Boat Inspection Training Set For July 1st“) and we started up our inspection program the following Saturday. Our goal was to have a courtesy boat inspector at the State boat launch on Saturdays and Sundays from 7 am until 3 pm. We broke the days up into 2 hour shifts. Continue reading →

2019 CLA Coffee Clutch

30 August 2019: 1st Annual Coffee Clutch

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1st Annual CLA Coffee Clutch

The CLA Coffee Clutch event was held last Saturday August 24th and we had a beautiful day for it. All told we had 7 boats and 6 kayaks show up carrying more than 30 people, all rafted together on Clary Lake, drinking coffee, eating donuts, and yakking up a storm. There was a stiff northerly wind so rather than anchoring out in the middle of the lake as originally planned, we moved the event closer to the north shore where we were a bit more sheltered from the wind. People who approached the flotilla from the south (which was almost everyone) had to battle high waves and a stiff headwind before arriving at the Coffee Clutch. Nobody had any trouble finding us- the sight of a few boats moored on the lake was hard to miss. Continue reading →

24 August Clary Lake Association Coffee Clutch Out On The Lake!

The Celebration Continues!

Come join us out on Clary Lake…by whatever mode of travel suits you… swim, sail, float, paddle, motor. Look for the boats tied up out in the middle of the lake this Saturday, August 24th from 9-11 AM. We will be serving hot coffee and homemade donuts from the Chase Bakery.

Tell your friends! Hope to see you there!

Editor’s Note: This is just the first “on the lake” event we’re planning.