When Maine’s recent stay at home order goes into effect on Thursday, there are many things you cannot do, such as have friends over or go for a ride with your neighbor. But there are some “essential activities” you can continue to do in the pursuit of health. Namely, outdoor activities including fishing and hiking are allowed.

Fishing regulations, like any rules or regulations, are not easy to love. Some time ago, as fishing law books got thicker and the water-by-water rules got increasingly complex with multiple S-codes and exceptions to the General Law, a cynic made the observation that a serious law-abiding angler needed two companions with him on the water: a Sherpa to carry the law book and a lawyer to interpret the regulations and S-code for each body of water.

Like the rest of you, I'm not allowed to spend much time visiting others nowadays. Social-distancing rules say that I'm supposed to stay six feet away from everybody else, and as this pandemic gathers steam, I've even found myself guiltily holding my breath when I've passed someone in the aisles of my local grocery store. For a guy who makes his living meeting up with total strangers, listening to their stories, and sharing those tales with thousands of BDN readers, this has been an odd time, to be sure.

Anglers who head out to fish Maine's ponds, lakes and brooks early in the open-water season have learned that for several weeks, the fishing can be quite slow. The cold water has left the fish sluggish, it seems, and it might take just the right fly or bait to garner any interest from a passing fish.

Many people in Maine are turning to the outdoors to boost their morale and health during the COVID-19 pandemic. This, state officials say, is a good idea -- as long as it’s done with social distancing in mind.

Grade 7 students at SeDoMoCha Middle School had the opportunity to head north to the mountain to ski and snowboard -- many for the first time -- earlier this year.

The spring turkey hunt will begin on time this year -- despite web rumors, officials said. Citing misinformation that has been spreading on the internet, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife issued a press release on Wednesday, March 25 to assure hunters that the scheduled spring wild turkey season will begin as originally planned, with Youth Turkey Day on May 2 and the opener for all others on May 4.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is asking all hikers to postpone any hikes on the Appalachian Trail until the risks of spreading COVID-19 to others has reduced significantly. The statement was issued on March 23 after multiple sections of the 2,193-mile footpath, which spans from Georgia to Maine, experienced large crowds this past weekend.

Last week Gov. Janet Mills and Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife commissioner Judy Camuso announced an early opening of the state's open-water fishing season, and also said that until April 30, no fishing licenses would be necessary.

April – Maine’s seasonal limbo month -- just got a little more interesting. Gov. Mills directed Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Camuso to waive the need for a fishing license during the entire month of April. Of course, anglers must still abide by all of the fishing regulations as outlined in the new fishing law book, but nobody needs a license for the first 30 days of the open water fishing season, which commences April 1.

New England Fights has re-scheduled its scheduled April 18 mixed martial arts show at the Collins Center for the Arts at the University of Maine in Orono for Saturday, June 13, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Gov. Janet Mills directed Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Commissioner Judy Camuso to open all inland waters for fishing and to waive the requirement that anglers need a recreational fishing license to fish the inland waters of Maine. The order, which is effective immediately, will run through April 30 and is intended to encourage Maine people to enjoy the outdoors as we confront the challenges associated with COVID-19.

Maine is home to some truly challenging hiking trails. Mud, steep slopes, slippery stream crossings, exposed tree roots, ridiculously rocky terrain. Maine has it all, and often hikers must contend with all these things at once. But here’s the thing: It’s worth it.

News that this year's Kenduskeag Stream Canoe race won't be staged came as no surprise, and in fact, most of the races scheduled for the next six weeks have also been scrapped as efforts to enforce social distancing to slow the spread of the COVID-19 ramp up.

Registered Maine guides are among those in industries in which face-to-face service is an essential part. But as spring and early summer fishing seasons near, some guides have already begun seeing a dropoff in reservations due to the COVID-19 virus.

Preseason training camp for the Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl all-star football game will return to Foxcroft Academy in Dover-Foxcroft for the next five years under a new agreement reached recently between the school and the game’s board of directors.

The Maine Principals’ Association football committee took a step Monday toward branching out beyond the traditional criterion of school enrollment to classify high school teams around the state in that sport. The panel voted unanimously to approve the addition of 16 schools to the state’s two, eight-player divisions this fall.

Most outdoors people that I know would rather take an alder branch in the eye or get thumb-snagged on a rusty hook than spend 10 minutes at a political rally. But sometimes political reality gets close to home, especially for recreational hunters whose heritage is linked inextricably to their right to possess and use firearms in the field.