Its that time of year! Every kind of fishing imaginable is hot or heating up. Stripers are at the beaches and ascending rivers. Trout fishing is still good with plenty of cool water in rivers and streams. Pond and lake hatches are starting.
Pond and lake water temperatures are cold for this time of year – I think because of some cold days and lots of wind. The leaves on my mature trees just came out in the last few days. Still, bass are heading to the shallows and will get aggressive on topwater poppers soon. The pike are still in relatively shallow water, attacking anything and everything.
I don’t have enough time in the week to fish everywhere I want to, plus it is peak gardening season too. I also have other responsibilities that I foolishly committed to. I should never agree to do anything in June.
I will be doing a Zoom presentation for the DownEast Chapter of Trout Unlimited on May 31. Anyone can watch if they wish. Contact them for more information and the link, or email me.
I am also giving casting and flyfishing classes at The Fly Company (fly rod maker and much more) at their facility/shop in Yarmouth on the Royal River. We try to do one at the end of every month. They sell out fast.
Due to continuing publishing issues, I (and everyone else) are out of stock on Flyfishers Guide to New England and In Pursuit of Trophy Brook Trout. I do have plenty of Fly Fishing Northern New England’s Seasons. I will shout it from the rooftops when I am back in stock, hopefully soon.
Here are some recent photos and videos. I realize I haven’t posted in over a month (computer meltdown) but I will circle back and post material from April and early May soon.
My first smallmouth of the year on a very versatile “fly” pattern – the red beadhead squirmy wormy. So far this year I have caught bass, brook trout, and a 20 inch plus brown trout on this pattern. Notice the very defined vertical stripes on this bass.I have enjoyed learning about pike fishing on the fly rod this spring. My personal best is still under 30 inches but I lost one close to the kayak that was bigger. Knotting wire tippets requires additional knot knowledge.Even though many stocked general law southern Maine streams are pretty much put-and-take fisheries, that doesn’t mean you don’t occasionally catch multiyear holdover browns like my wife, Lindsey, did recently. She was fishing a bend pool with lots of sunken wood in it – just where you would expect to find a larger brown trout.Kayaking the area where the Presumpscot River dumps into Casco Bay is a good location to intercept stripers in mid May
A few days remain in the season for some waters, while other locales offer extended seasonal opportunities. I strongly suggest playing hooky and abandoning all other responsibilities and get out fishing. Rain has come to all areas of Maine and flows are good. For some rivers, this is the first time they have been at normal flows since April, and the first time September flows have been normal in several years. So get out there.
I have been hopscotching around: both Kennebago Rivers, the Diamond Rivers in the Dartmouth Grant, N.H.’s Wild River, the Mags, the Roach and East Outlet of the Kennebec, to be more specific. I can’t say the fishing was easy, but persistence and changing approaches when required has yielded some good fish.
Releasing a nice trout from the upper Dead Diamond River on another hot September day.A released Wild River brown trout resting a slow current.This is my largest brook trout of the year and came from the Roach River. I didn’t want to take it out of the water but I am unhooking my fly from the corner of its jaw, and its tail goes past my leg. It was also very fat. 4 pounds maybe? The pattern you ask? Size 14 dark brown Klinkhammer, swung like a wet fly.
The average size of the salmon seem to be much bigger than normal this year. Doesn’t seem to be many of the skinny 14-inch variety, and a good number of 18-plus inchers.
Biggest landlocked salmon of the year, on a dry fly no less. Didn’t try to weigh or measure this big male, but somewhere north of 22 inches and four pounds.
The crowds on the rivers have been intense, but I can’t really blame anybody, no one has been able to fish some of these waters for months, and everyone seems in a good mood, just happy to get a line in some moving water.
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The weather has been unseasonably warm (along with the rain) and looks to continue to be that way. 35 years ago, fly fishing the last week of September on the upper Maggaloway River meant neoprene waders, down jackets and gloves. Water temps were in the 40s, air temps in the morning were below freezing, and the air might be spitting sleet and snow. I know that seems difficult to believe for you young-uns, but that is the way it was before climate change. The forecasted lows for the Rangeley area during the next week – first week of October – barely nudge below the upper 40’s. The change in seasons have moved at least three weeks later in the fall.
On the book front, my new 2021/2022 edition of Flyfisher’s Guide to New England has finally arrived and I am sending it out to stores and shops as fast as I can. You can also purchase from me directly. If you already own a copy, don’t feel like you have to rush out and purchase the new version. Overall, it has additional waters and some other updates, but not enough to warrant replacing.
In my In Pursuit of Trophy Brook Trout book, I discuss and give tying instructions for a number of patterns that I find very effective at hooking big brookies. One of these is the Lou’s Brookie Sculpin. Last week, I walked into The Warden’s Pool on the Roach River in late afternoon after it had been hammered by anglers all day. According to those leaving, success had been limited. Within the first few casts, a nice fat brook trout inhaled this pattern. Now, that sort of thing can happen with any pattern (to the dismay of anglers who are packing up to leave after a fruitless few hours on the same water), but this not the first time this has occurred with Lou’s Brookie Sculpin. Last year, I had a similar experience in October at Upper Dam.
A nice Roach River brook trout with Lou’s Brookie Sculpin in its mouth. See next photo for a close up of the fly.You can see by the two eyes peering upward that this fly is tied with a sculpin head available now commercially. Search on Fish Skull to find them
As the official season winds down to it final days for native trout and salmon waters, I will leave you with an excerpt from my book, Flyfishing Northern New England Seasons,
On the last day I quit fishing for the last half hour before dark, even though fish may still be rising. I sit and watch the water, and reflect on the fishing season past and the fishing seasons still to come. It may be a long seven months until the ice breaks up and fishing begins again in earnest so I try to fix in my mind the good memories, long-time friends, and personal tranquility that fly fishing has brought me. During the winter I recall these mental snapshots. It helps me bridge the gap between seasons.
By then it is dark, so I gather up my gear and go home, to reacquaint myself with family and friends that haven’t seen much of me in the past month – but not without one last backward glance at the water, to see if the fish are still rising.
Hi folks, I have a few little details to cover before I get started.
First of all, I added a April/May/June report for local southwest Maine rivers and streams with photos and video. It was posted in calendar sequence after my latest post, so if you missed it, scroll back.
Second, if you are on Instagram but not following me, you should, because I provide real-time fishing and related outdoor updates almost everyday. @mainelyflyfishing.com
Third, if you like stickers, check out the cool Maine outdoor stickers my daughter is selling, along with other outdoor related items. www. reclaimedsignco.com
Just a few of many stickers available. Also check out all of her merchandise at Cool As A Moose stores.
Fourth, my book, “Flyfisher’s Guide to New England” is pretty much out of stock everywhere. An updated edition is currently stuck on a boat somewhere on the West Coast waiting to be unloaded. Hopefully, back in stock by early September. In the meantime, you can upload an electronic Kindle version on Amazon, and LLBean and Trident Flyfishing might have a few left. Don’t forget my other books though. “In Pursuit of Trophy Brook Trout?” does outline all of the places that trophy brook trout can be found, along with technique and tactic information.
Fifth, I did a little guiding in June, mostly teaching fly-fishing beginners. For example, I took Thomas out to various spots on the Presumpscot River, and before we were done he landed his first trout on a fly and learned how to fish dry flies and the different approaches for nymph fishing. So much fun to watch someone hook their first few fish with new skills required.
Thomas with first trout. The brown took a pheasant tail nymph.
Now onto the update…..
July weather couldn’t have been more different than March, April, May, and June. Massachusetts saw flooding rain several days and certain locations broke July rainfall records. Western Massachusetts rivers were over their banks. Most of Northern New England received good rain as well. In Windham, Maine where I live part of the year, we had over 5 inches of rain. The western Maine mountains missed the early July rainstorms but did receive some decent rain later on. Flows did not increase significantly through mid July and remained low, but I hope they have improved since then. I haven’t been in the Rangeley area for several weeks so I need to get an updated report, but for most of New England, the drought is over.
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For most of July, with river flows ridiculously low, western Maine mountain fishing consisted of hitting the lakes and ponds or fishing the lower Mags, Upper Dam, or Middle Dam. Since hatches started early this year, they ended early as well, so sporadic Hexes and misc. caddis provided most of the action on lakes and ponds.
Drake hatches are frequently concurrent with Lupine blooming. When the Lupine are done, so are the major hatches.
We did catch many nice-sized brookies and salmon by fishing the thermocline with sinking line and streamers. We went out to drop-offs when it was windy. We cast full-sink lines with Cosohammer streamers, let them sink 20 feet or so, and then retrieved them halfway to the surface, before letting them sink again. We would do this several times until we cast again. Because of the wind drift, we covered new territory with every cast. Fishing was exactly fast, but several times an hour, we would feel the heavy thump of a good fish on the line.
You can catch nice trout in the middle of a bright summer day, but you have to go deep for them.
I saw good fish being caught at Upper Dam (usually by one angler who happened to be at the right place, at the right time, with a fly pattern that intrigued the salmon.} The flows were low below Azischos Dam so the fish couldn’t really hide from the anglers. Persistent anglers did well. On a family fishing trip, Will Folsum landed a 3 pound plus brook trout at Mailbox Pool on a small black nymph while the river was flowing at 750 during a weekend kayaker release.
With water low and warm throughout Maine, many switched to the salt in pursuit of stripers. I caught them randomly while doing other things. Caught a few kayaking Scarborough Marsh and a few after swimming of the dock at the Cumberland Town Beach. My buddy, Will, going over the Cousins Island Bridge, spotted out of the corner of his eye a school of stripes smashing bait on the surface, stopped his truck, pulled his bass rod out of the back, and caught a few nice ones.
Every year I kayak Scarborough Marsh for stripers This might have been the smallest striper I have ever caught.
March is a transition month, at least for me. Part of me is trying to cram in more ice fishing and cross-country skiing before everything melts. But the rest of me is getting spring fever, tying flies feverishly, longing for open water, and counting the days when I can plant radishes underneath my plastic hoop tunnels.
Ice fishing for salmonids slowed down as the winter weeks progressed, as it usually does, but the last few weeks has seen a resurgence of pickerel hook ups. I believe that is because pike species move into the shallows in February in preparation for spawning.
My wife, @lindseyrustad1, did try ice fishing for the first time and had a blast as you can see from this video. https://youtu.be/aGYjAC2rzgA
Here is a big salmon my friend Will caught through the ice on Dundee Pond. From the look of his nose, maybe a hatchery brood stocked fish. Click on the link: https://youtu.be/HhLLc99Hna8
My fly tying has focused on creating a better smallmouth bass popper. My experience is that the best smallie popper is yellow or chartreuse, small, but capable of making an audible pop on the surface. The ones commercially available are too big or too small (to make a good pop) or the rubber legs and tail material get tangled around the hook.
I will keep trying different options until I find one that works best.
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Will Cue-de-Canard feathers change the way nymphs fish?
Finally, as spring approaches, let me remind or inform readers that have read my Flyfisher’s Guide, that my first book, Fly Fishing Northern New England Seasons, describes each of the angler’s seasons – starting with ice out, early stonefly hatches, and the early smelt runs – and what tactics and patterns to fish. It was written (and recently updated) to be a companion book to the Guide. One works with the other. Can purchase signed by me from this website or, of course, from Amazon and other specialty book stores and fly shops. Here is a photo of the back cover.
And to get everyone pumped for spring, a video of a smelt run, just click on the link. https://youtu.be/rgcGFC5Rwlk
I hope that you are surviving Covid and figuring out a way to see your loved ones in some fashion; in person or virtually. My family had our Christmas in hastily-decorated garage with car doors and windows open and everyone wearing masks. I think we deserve an A for ingenuity.
December is usually a month with little fishing activity, at least locally. The last few years, my wife and I have been fortunate enough to travel to southern climes, but not this year.
The weather has been a roller coaster. Early December was warmish, more indicative of November. Then in mid-December we had a burst of real winter; some zeroish nights, 20 inches of snow, and 4 inches of ice on the pond
Late December brought October weather – driving wind and rain, 50 degrees, and bare ground again with open water.
Ice breaking up. It was soon completely gone.
I am old enough to remember that late December in Maine frequently meant single digit mornings, snow on the ground from early December on, and lakes and ponds locked up tight with ice. I swear our weather is New Jerseyish now, at least 10 degrees warmer than it used to be. We hardly see any below zero temps anymore.
Fishing was a roller coaster as well. Early December featured water temps still in the 40’s and trout were still active to a well placed nymph. Some big browns were caught in the Royal River and Presumpscot River – some stocked that size, others hold overs or wild fish.
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A typical early Dec. brown.
A huge holdover brown weighing in excess of four pounds, caught in slow water (not by me)where he probably overwinters. During the summer he most likely lives in some undercut bank or under a sunken tree and only feeds at night.
Brookies were active in early December as well, and fishing tailwaters worked well.
On December 22,23, and 24th the newly formed ice was thick enough (barely) to ice fish on, at least in Windham, Maine’s small ponds and lake coves. My Floridian son-in-law had never ice fished or had a brook trout fish fry so we fished a put and take ice fishing pond, caught some brookies and fried them up. I don’t think I had kept and cooked brook trout for over ten years.
First ice fishing of the year on Dundee Pond, a few days before Christmas
My son in law, Brian, caught a number of large pickerel in front of my house.
Destined for the frying pan. We could tell from the coloring that one was recently stocked, the other two not for some time.
The warm rain melted the ice and sent rivers and streams raging with high, 35 degree, brown water. But below dams where the flow was normal and waters clear, fish could be caught if the angler could tolerate cold fingers and only the very sporadic take from a sluggish fish.
High-stick nymphing with tiny nymphs or egg patterns is the highest percentage play for winter fishing
A brookie caught December 27th on a size 20 tungsten bead red midge nymph.
Love this time of year when so many creatures feel the strong pull of perpetuating the species. Here are two videos. The first, by my friend, Kevyn Fowler ,shows smelt spawning in a tiny outlet stream. Note the eggs, which will hatch in a few weeks with the emergent fry washing down into the lake before seasonal streams dry up. Near the end of the video, watch the fat brown trout cruise on screen looking to pick off a distracted or injured smelt.
The second video shows newly arrived Merganser ducks with the splendid black-and-white males competing for females to pair off with.
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The timeliness of my blog has certainly escaped me recently. If I don’t do better, I will have to call it a b-late-og instead of a blog. This post will cover October with another post about November posted soon.
October featured seasonal weather but night time temperatures rarely fell below freezing even in the mountains, with a number of calm sunny days in the 60’s. The growing season continued with gardeners avoiding frost in many parts of Maine. My garden as well as my family’s gardens had late maturing squash, leeks, carrots, beets, and tomatoes, and all continued to grow and ripen before winter weather arrived. My reseeded lawn went from dying, brown crabgrass to lush green fairway-quality grass.
Fall colors on the edge of Dundee Pond
I explored some new access trails to the Presumpscot River and discovered surviving trees and vines from an overgrown area that was obviously once a farm. I came home with a different type of catch – yellow delicious apples and concord grapes – that soon became grape jam and apple pie. Yum!
Unexpected harvest of wild golden delicious apples and concord grapes.
We finally got much needed rain in big bursts. My rain gauge in Windham showed a 5- inch storm, followed by 3 and then a 1- inch event. The ground was so dry, it absorbed much of the precipitation so rivers and streams only rose moderately. I wish we could have received some of this rain in August and September.
Higher levels of testosterone are also required to pass a driver skills examination, a final evaluation to test the cheapest viagra tabs things you’ve learned during classes. Not only that the reliable service provider for the best solution. buy levitra devensec.com You need to take cialis store basically on empty stomach and if it is not possible make sure you finish your meal at least 2 hours before getting indulged into sexual activities to ensure its proper absorption. Now I’m actually talking in particular about WordPress best price for viagra blogs here. Between the moderate weather and rain, fishing was very good in October where there was adequate water flow. Kennebago Lake fished well all month with several calm days leading to heavy midge hatches and rising trout. Anglers had a choice – fish small dries for 6 to 12 inch brookies, or stay deep with streamers for the occasional trout in larger sizes. I opted for casting dry flies with my little six foot bamboo rod and had a blast. Trout sipping midges are not pushovers and require delicate casts delivered accurately and quickly to specific rising fish. Video below shows fall midge fishing weather – after the sun is off the water.)
Rivers that remained open, with dam-controlled flow such as Upper Dam and the Kennebec provided great fishing. Rivers such as the Rangeley River suffered from low flows and even lower lake levels. Southern Maine rivers stocked in the fall such as the Presumpscot, Royal, and Pleasant River (most now within 10 minutes of my winter home) provided immediate action with perfect water temperatures and flows. Here is a video of an upper Presumpscot male brook trout.
In other news, I did finally make a full recovery from Lyme Disease. I also received a new shipment of all three of my books so I have books available for those looking for Xmas presents signed by the author.
It has been a cold and rainy April. But day after day of fog and drizzle and above freezing temperatures at night melted the snow quickly, even in the high country where snow was head high. Over the last week or so, ice has gone out in much of New England, although the ice is still quite solid in northern Maine and the mountains.
Stocking in Maine has been late this year with only a few locations stocked, although stocking has continued normally in the rest of New England. States try not to stock in rivers and streams when the water temperatures are below 45 degrees because the newly stocked fish tend to move downstream looking for warmer water. Rivers range from bankfull to “into the trees” because of the rain and melted snow.
I got out fishing even though I was fishing to stocked fish.. The Exeter River in New Hampshire is a small, beautiful stream and it was fun pulling brook trout out from under logs and in tiny side currents. The Merriland River in Wells is another pretty stream running over rocky ledges and through mature forest without any development (at least in the part I fish.} I also briefly fished the Saco River where it hits brackish water just downstream from Kennebunk. Interestingly enough, a gentlemen streamside told me that fishing slowed down in April while the snow was melting, but in January, February, and March, a number of anglers enjoyed consistent fishing for searun browns and brookies. I will have to try this next winter.
The first trout of the year is noteworthy even if it is a stocker
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A foam eddy at the base of a small falls on the Merriland River. I always look for noses poking through the foam.
For those of you looking for my new book, “In Pursuit of Trophy Brook Trout”, they can be found in the following locations: In Massachusetts, The Evening Sun Fly Shop; In New Hampshire, Kittery Trading Post and North Country Fly Shop; In Maine, Royal River Book Store, Rangeley Sport Shop, Matagamon Campground
Reminder….follow me on Instagram @mainelyflyfishing
On April fools Day, only fools were fishing. Strong winds and temps in the teens in the Rangeley area made any outdoor excursion seem like midwinter. I went up to Kennebago Lake on the last few days of March to check on my camp and the snow was still four feet deep with drifts on the causeway road up to fifteen feet high. Great snowshoeing and xcountry skiing but it seemed a long way to fishing season, although open water was beginning to show where there was significant current.
I am standing on top of 15 foot snow drift. I could have touched the power lines
I am standing above the famour Thomas Logan Pool on the Upper Kennebago River. Only a sliver of water shows.
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The last weekend of March was the Maine Sportsman Show and there was quite a turn out. It was great to chat with friends, other people in the industry, and loyal readers of my books. I got to meet new anglers and my presentations each day on :”10 Best Flies for Trophy Brook Trout” allowed me to meet more folks. I particularly enjoy chatting with folks that are new to the sport and eager to learn.
I also get to talk to Senator Angus King (I have known him for some time), the new Commissioner of the State of Maine Fish and Wildlife Department, Judy Camuso, and Governor Janet Mills – an avid fly angler herself.
A reminder: I am now posting to Instagram almost everyday with some fun fly-fishing related photos. Follow me on Instagram@mainelyflyfishing.com. If you are not on Instagram, I suggest you download the free app. It is an easy way to enjoy great videos and photos of your favorite topics and I find it quicker and easier than Facebook. Give it a try.
Along the coastal plain of Northern New England, snow is melting and the landscape is more mud brown than white. This is not the case as you move inland and into the mountains where it is snowing today, adding to what is already a high and dense snowpack. If you look at webcams from places like Bosebuck Camps, it looks like midwinter. Future weather is always uncertain, but it looks like ice out is a long way away.
Kennebago Lake Ice Out on May 4 2018
For those of you interested in running into yours truly, I will be selling books at the Sebago Lake Trout Unlimited Banquet tomorrow night .Then Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (March 29, 30, and April 1) is the Maine Sportsman Show in Augusta. I will be at the Maine Sportsman Booth Friday night from 5-7 pm. I am giving presentations (and selling books) each day. My presentation each day is ” 12 Best Flies to Catch Trophy Brook Trout: The times are: Friday at 3:00 pm, Saturday at 1:00 and Sunday at 11:00. This Sildenafil citrate works to increase cialis prescription prices the blood circulation in the muscles that are responsible for erections (corpus cavernosum). A non-invasive and non-surgical method of treating Shoulder Pain Austin overlaps sildenafil online with several other forms of manual therapy, including massage therapy, osteopathy, physical therapy to name a few. So what are discounts on viagra you waiting for? Buy Kumara now and enjoy intimate moments with your partner. It was manufactured with an aim of curing people frankkrauseautomotive.com viagra for sale cheap suffering with cardiovascular diseases.
I have expanded my digital communication efforts and am now on Instagram@mainelyflyfishing. I will try to post an interesting video or photo on as many days as I can.
A reminder: I still need reviews of my new book on Amazon.
