In late January, Maine lost Gary Corson, a wild native brook trout conservationist of unmatched knowledge, accomplishment and influence.
Few if any have done as much for Maine’s wild native brook trout as Gary. And when it comes to lake- and pond-dwelling wild native brook trout, no one in the history of Maine ever knew more, and it’s likely no one ever will.
Gary should have been a household name on brook trout conservation in Maine, but he opted to do most of his work behind the scenes. Gary didn’t write, blog or post on social media, and he rarely spoke in public.
Unless you attended Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife meetings or fish and wildlife-related legislative hearings, you probably didn’t know who Gary was or what he did.
More people likely knew Gary through his role as a Maine guide than his advocacy. He guided out of northern Maine sporting camps for roughly 40 years.
He was the 2011 recipient of Maine’s Legendary Maine Guide Award, the third person to be so honored. He was also on the Maine Guide Advisory Board where he worked to require background checks for guides to protect those who hired them.
Gary was instrumental in getting fall fishing in Maine expanded, but only for stocked fish. In 2001, he was named Sportsman of the Year by Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine for his efforts in the fall fishing initiative.
Nothing defined Gary more than his work with wild native brook trout conservation. He lived and breathed lake- and pond-dwelling native brook trout and dedicated an immeasurable amount of time to their preservation.
Gary was talking about wild native brook trout when I met him more than 20 years ago, and he was still talking about them when we last spoke a week or so before his passing.
I first met Gary 25 years or so ago when George Smith recruited me to join SAM’s Fishing Initiative Committee, a group of volunteers with unmatched knowledge, experience, commitment and accomplishment.
While George and former publisher for “The Maine Sportsman,” Harry Vanderweide, ran things, Gary was the most active, vocal and influential member.
While the late George Smith was the public face of Maine’s heralded State Heritage Fish law, and the political clout that made it happen, Gary was the one behind the scenes working out the details and providing much of the data needed to support the initiative. Without Gary’s hard work and dedication, the State Heritage Fish law would not have happened.
A decade or so later, George, Emily Bastian and I submitted two bills to strengthen the State Heritage Fish law. One looked to align the criteria for adding new waters with that used to create the initial list. Unfortunately, the bill failed.
The second bill was to extend the protections granted to State Heritage Fish waters, which were no stocking and no live fish as bait, to their tributaries. This led to the hugely effective ban on using live bait in the North Zone to protect native fish. Gary was instrumental in ironing out the details.
He maintained his own Maine lake and pond brook trout database. He merged data from multiple sources, including manually inserting tackle, bag and length restrictions from the fishing law book. He incorporated GIS data and notes from personal experience and historic records.
Gary had a library of fishing law books going back a generation or more. While he answered questions, he guarded his data closely out of fear that it would be misrepresented or misused.
We used to joke, as did even some at DIF&W, that Gary was running the fisheries division. While combing through data obtained from DIF&W, I regularly encounter entries that say, “Inserted per Gary Corson.”
On occasion, I would ask DIF&W something about their data, or a general question about a specific water, and they would direct me to Gary.
A cancer survivor, Gary’s health went downhill after contracting COVID-19 a year ago. He developed some COVID complications and then suffered a stroke. For the next year his health went up and down, but never back to where it was.
Even then he talked about getting more involved with Native Fish Coalition to help advance his brook trout goals. He looked forward to brokering a meeting between DIF&W and Native Fish Coalition to try to get everyone working together for the greater good.
Unfortunately, that never happened.
Gary was not a person to heap praise or accolades on anyone. He didn’t expect it for himself and he didn’t see the need to do it for others. He saw what he did as something that needed to be done. Something we should all do.
With his health declining, Gary reached out to me about his data. He asked me to come to his home with a thumb drive so he could turn it over to Native Fish Coalition. He wanted his cherished data to outlive him and it now will.
Gary will be missed by those who knew him, worked with him or were guided by him. He should be missed by anyone who cares about Maine’s wild native brook trout, especially those who fish our irreplaceable State Heritage Fish waters.
The next time you see a State Heritage Fish sign while afield, take a moment to thank the person who was most responsible for making it happen, Gary Corson.
Bob Mallard is the former owner of Kennebec River Outfitters and a Registered Maine fishing guide. He is writer, author and executive director for Native Fish Coalition. Look for Bob’s latest books, Squaretail: The Definitive Guide to Brook Trout and Where to Find Them, Favorite Flies for Maine: 50 Essential Patterns from Local Experts, and Fly Fishing Maine: Local Experts on The State’s Best Waters. Bob can be reached at BobMallard.com or [email protected]
