At Bosebucks Camps on Aziscohos Lake in western Maine. Photo courtesy of Bosebucks Camps

Commercially run wilderness fishing and hunting camps have been part of Maine tradition since the 1800s. Peaking at some 300 such camps in the early 1900s, camps today measure in the dozens as owners have passed away, camps have closed, tourists’ tastes have changed and, in some camps, have become privately owned. At the same time, many remaining camps are thriving.

This two-part series traces the history of these camps, opportunities and challenges they face, and the new landscape carrying on and extending the traditions of these wilderness outposts.

New generation

In many cases, camps started a century or more ago by individuals became family businesses passed down through generations.

Five generations over 130-plus years tell the story of Libby Camps on Millinocket Lake, outside Oxbow. Its lakeside log cabins, historic dining room, guided fishing and hunting, and 10 remote outpost camps assure that traditions remain intact. Like many camps, Libby offers fishing for native brook trout and landlocked salmon, and hunting for grouse, deer, bear and moose. Updating tradition, owner Matt J. Libby has made concessions to modern life.

“A lot of things are still the same, but obviously improvements had to be made,” Libby said. “When my grandmother ran the camps, two men would sleep in a double bed. Now, people want more privacy and many groups split up into more cabins than used to be necessary. We have also expanded to a winter season, which required insulating roofs and burying water lines. We have added Wi-Fi so people can do some work while they are here. Some people wouldn’t be able to come at all without being able to do a couple hours work each day.”

“I knew when I was 4 years old that I planned to take over Red River someday,” said Jennifer Brophy, second-generation owner of Red River Camps, also in the Maine North Woods. The Brophy family has been onboard at Red River since 1979, taking over a camp and its traditions established in the 1880s and built around a stately two-story fireplace that remains a camp centerpiece today.

Red River has embraced new traditions including solar power for lights and refrigeration, but she draws the line at internet or cell phone connection for guests.

“Most guests are very happy with that decision,” she said.

“We see many more couples nowadays, along with young folks and a good number of women, both in groups and solo,” Brophy said. “I think part of that has to do with the fact that we’re a camp run by two women; if we can do it, we can inspire other ladies who want to enjoy the outdoors as well.”

But passing camp ownership to the next generation is also a fading tradition.

“Their kids don’t want to work like that,” said Deb Henderson, realtor on the Maine Outdoor Properties Team at Realty of Maine, of the difficulty of passing camps to the next generation. “Times are changing.”

For instance, Henderson handled the recent sale of The Pines Lodge & Camps, which had been serving sports, families and vacationers since 1884 from 8 acres on Sysladobsis Lake, Washington County. The property is now a private family compound.

Similarly, Maynard’s of Maine is reportedly for sale, after running as a family business for more than a century serving sports and vacationers from a riverfront setting in the Moosehead region of western Maine.

New buyers

A new type of buyer is making an impact on the future of Maine sporting camps.

Bosebuck Mountain Camps is located on 15-plus acres on Aziscohos Lake in western Maine. Constructed when the lake was formed by a dam built in 1912, Bosebuck expanded to include a main lodge, 12 guest cabins and a handful of owner’s buildings to serve anglers, hunters, snowmobilers and others wanting to get away from it all.

Long beloved by sports for its access to land and waters behind gated roads, generations visited Bosebuck, including President Dwight D. Eisenhower in June 1955, an event marked by a plaque at the camp.

Though a tangle of legal structures makes determining ownership difficult, it is widely believed that conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson is the new owner of Bosebuck, which is no longer a public camp.

Similarly, Bowlin Camps was reportedly sold. Reports suggest that a large financial institution in Maine is the buyer and Bowlin is now a private corporate retreat. And the list goes on of traditional camps possibly being sold.

Remote pond, native brook trout

It was good to get here in the guide’s pickup truck, with its high ground clearance, extra tire for possible flats and satellite link communications — just in case. Chris Bushway, one of Bradford Camps’ long-time guides, navigated the rugged logging road for nearly an hour from camp. The destination was a remote, native brook trout pond, one soon to be designated a never-stocked Heritage Pond by the State of Maine. July 4 heat dominated much of the nation, but here in North Maine Woods, it was just warm.

Hiking in a mile, we arrived at pond edge and a scattering of canoes left in the woods by anglers. On this day, we were the only ones there. Chris dragged his canoe to the water, outfitted our craft and eased us onto the 35-acre pond, tucked against two mountains, circled by forest.

As the light faded and cool descended, Chris paddled us to a shoreline studded by submerged boulders and dead-fall pines trees. We were looking for the traditional summer hatch of Green Drakes, a large mayfly that lives most of its life underwater, only swimming to the surface as a fully formed insect in the final days of its life. It’s that emergence that sets up a trout feeding frenzy.

My friend Thierry and I cast our Maple Syrup imitation wet flies and Green Draft dry flies to the surfacing fish around us. Like generations before us and to come, we targeted brook trout, keeping Chris busy as we hooked and landed and released fish after fish, often both hooking up at the same time.

Back at camp, the next morning we recounted our evening to other guests and to Igor.

“Fishing and hunting will always be strong here,” Igor said. “Attracting guests and sports here is no problem. Finding people to live and work in remote Maine camps is the challenge.”

Looking ahead, Matt Libby also sees a future for traditional Maine sporting camps: “Keep it simple. People want to be able to relax in comfort in a pristine setting. The world is getting so busy and you can see people just start to unwind when they step off the plane or out of their vehicle. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Good food, comfy cabins and the relaxing will take care of itself.”

Tom Walek is a lifelong trout fisherman, sometime fishing writer, professional communicator (financial PR and journalism) and a resident of Brunswick.