Mid Summer 2024 Fishing News

Posted on August 28, 2024 by Lou

Late June and July has been hot and humid for most of Maine and New England with occasional heavy downpours that caused localized flooding. I checked southern Maine’s daily temperature highs and humidity and it compared closely to a typical July in New Jersey or Washington, D.C. Maine’s climate is changing rapidly.

Ocean, lake, and river temperatures were already above normal. It used to be almost too cold to swim in Maine’s big lakes and Casco Bay but no longer -water temperatures are well into the 70s. Obviously, trout fishing ended in early July at least on the surface or in rivers. Temps are just too warm and any trout caught would be stressed to the point of death. The exceptions of course are bottom-release tailwaters, and spring-fed tributaries in the mountains. The Magalloway River below Azischos Dam fished well because the flow was extremely low, something like 130 cfs. At that level all of the river is accessible, and the fish have nowhere to hide from the anglers.

Based on the Instagram posts I receive from Maine anglers, many flyfishers switched over to smallmouth bass fishing – a great idea. I like fishing for smallies in rivers this time of year, along with casting for big bull sunfish with poppers in the evening on local ponds and lakes.

Nothing better on hot summer days than wading wet along pond shorelines or riverbanks and casting for bass just like my son, Gwynn did with me one day in July.

I love fishing small, cold mountain streams for 6 to 8 inches with my 3-weight, although this July, all my family was visiting, and I now have three small grandchildren, so fishing time was limited.

Even in the height of summer, spring-fed beaver bogs stay cold with brookies active all day.

Many of you know that I live on 200-acre Dundee Pond, an impoundment of the Presumpscot River, created by Dundee Dam (originally called Great Falls Dam). In late June, a lower gate failed and stuck in an open position and virtually all of the water drained out of the pond. I will spare you all the details for now, but it is devastating for the aquatic life in the pond including fish, amphibians, reptiles, mollusks, birds, insects, etc. The dam will be fixed and pond refilled September, but it will be years before the pond recovers. I liked fishing right outside my door but that might not be possible for quite some time. And I will miss all of the wildlife I used to see on a regular basis.

What drained Dundee Pond looks like. The stumps are from trees logged before the Dam was built in 1910. Wood decomposes very slowly underwater..

You can just see the orginal river channel on the rightside of the photo. The dam is still holding back some water.

“Til next time….

October Fishing Review

Posted on December 1, 2019 by Lou

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.

The opening month of fishing season: Fishing Report

Posted on April 30, 2019 by Lou

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

Lake Erie Tribs Steelhead Fishing

Posted on April 15, 2019 by Lou

My family and I couldn’t wait for the snow to melt and ice to thaw in Maine so we took a quick trip to upstate New York to go Steelhead fishing over the first weekend in April. I drove in the car with the gear and my wife (Lindsey), daughter (Mary) and her boyfriend (Will Folsum) took cheap flights from Portland to Buffalo ($ 150 round trip!)

The weather was cold and miserable on Friday, the first day (35 degrees, windy, with rain showers) warming to the 60’s by Sunday. The key to fishing these small tribs is that they don’t get rain or melting snow, since they rise and discolor rapidly, making the fishing extremely difficult. The Friday rain discolored the streams slightly but they remained fishable. Most of the fishing is a nymphing proposition with small egg patterns although my wife caught a beautiful steelie on, what else, a Cosohammer streamer that yours truly tied.

The fishing was done on small Lake Erie tributaries between Buffalo and the New York/Pennsylvania border. I won’t give the names except to say that the names begin with C or a number, which won’t help you much since the names of almost every river in western New York fits that description.

Anyway, since a photo is worth a thousand words (and a video even better), enjoy the following visuals. Remember to follow me on Instagram @mainelyflyfishing.

My daughter, Mary, with the best steelhead of the trip

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My wife, Lindsey, with a beautiful steelie caught on a Cosohammer Streamer tied by yours truly.

Classic small Lake Erie trib filled with large steelhead in the early spring

Releasing a recently spawned female steelhead.

The end of a beautiful weekend on the river.

If you are interested in this kind of fishing, go to Reelactionfly.com and hire them to guide you either in fall and spring.

If you want to know what locations are now selling my new book….

In Massachusetts, Evening Sun Fly Shop. In New Hampshire, North Country Angler. In Maine, Royal River Book Store in Yarmouth, Rangeley Sport Shop, Trident Fly Fishing in Windham, Mattagamon Camp Ground on the East Branch of the Penobscot. More to Come…

Ice Out at Kennebago Lake

Posted on May 5, 2018 by Lou

I am fortunate enough to be up at my camp on Kennebago Lake during ice out, which I believe will be tomorrow although the ice is almost gone from my part, the far northwest corner of the lake. Between snow melt and rain, water is cascading down the hillsides and the lake is up into the bushes. Weird weather. Warm and humid with fog over the cold water, then colder and humid, and then severe thunderstorms with pouring rain. Enjoy the photos.

I also took my first Maine fishing trip of the year to Collyer Brook in Gray, Maine. This year was by my reckoning, my 30th year fishing this local small water and if memory serves, I have never been skunked there in the Spring. I know though that a number of years I only caught one fish, I probably stayed as long as it took to catch one. Usually, Collyer is the place I go for my first trip of the year. This week, the fish were in a real biting mood, sometimes stocked fish are not. I even caught a small wild or holdover trout although I didn’t get a photo.

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Welcome Spring!

Fishing Action Everywhere

Posted on July 10, 2017 by Lou

Hello everyone,

Sorry for the length of time between posts. How time flies when one is balancing fishing and work.

Late June was a month of weather contrasts, and how good the fishing was depended on what hour you were on the water on any particular day. It could be hot and humid part of the day, then pouring rain, followed by a cold night and the next day. It led to frequent closet rummaging: Shorts to fleece, back to shorts, and then complete bug- coverage apparel as the little beasties swarmed. Often streams and rivers were too high to fish and ponds or lakes were the best or only options

The brown drake and green drake hatches on Kennebago Lake commenced on the east side of the lake on June 23rd and commenced up the lake until on the 27th bugs were popping opposite Grants on the north shore. It was very windy and rainy at times and fishing was tough under those conditions but those that were out during the lulls caught 12-16 inch trout and salmon on drake imitations. This author, alas, was otherwise occupied with guiding away and familial responsibilities, and didn’t get a chance to partake of above-mentioned hatch.
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A couple of interesting fishing stories….I was fishing a favorite stretch of the Magalloway River way down below Wilson’s Mills and on successive casts caught a good brook trout, a large fallfish, and a monster yellow perch. Where else can you do that? The water was almost too high to fish.

My favorite fish caught so far this year: I was high-stick nymphing on the Kennebago right at dark. Couldn’t really even see my line at all – certainly couldn’t see the sighter that I use for reference. I felt a sluggish resistance, set the hook, and eventually landed a very strong and fat 20-inch brook trout. I handed my 10-foot, 4-weight nymphing rod to my son-in-law and he hooked and landed another brook trout that seemed almost identical out of the same lie. We worked our way back to the car by flashlight, both with wide smiles on our faces.

Authors Note: It is gratifying that my Flyfisher’s Guide to New England is selling so well and that readers are telling me that it is proving a good resource for them. For those of you that have found this book useful, I would like to remind everyone that my first book, Flyfishing Northern New England’s Seasons, is a “how-to” book that complements the Guide. It is written in a different style with instruction for sure, but also stories, observations, and anecdotes. It is available from myself, Amazon, and some fly shops. Finding new water to fish is only half the battle, one still needs to know what to do.

Hatches, Hatches, Hatches

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Lou

Despite all of the continuing clouds and rain, over Memorial Day weekend, hatches commenced in the Rangeley area: midges, a blizzard of blue-winged olives, and a few medium-sized mayflies in the Hendrickson, march brown, and Quill Gordon families. And yet, large trout were being caught on streamers in shallow water literally stuffed with smelts – spitting them out as they were brought to net. The smelt must have still been running even into Memorial Day, or at least were moving back into their deeper water haunts and being intercepted as they passed through the lake shallows.

My son and I encountered an epic blue-winged olive hatch (size 18) on the upper Kennebago River. With a strong current downstream, and high-winds blowing upstream, the bugs were blown into a quiet side channel eddy that was all of 2 or 3 feet deep, and there were hundreds sitting on the surface. Somewhere between 12 and 20 trout were rising regularly. It was tough to get the trout to pick your fly amongst all of naturals but every once and awhile we would be successful. It was cool just to see the event and catch some fish. A happy young angler just upstream from us landed what looked to be a 20 inch plus trout on a dry fly.

getting viagra prescription In as much as we would like to have them changed. No decisive test has been found out yet buy sildenafil 100mg to ascertain its occurrence. Any dysfunction inside the balance in cialis where between those two causes can bring about hindrance within the health of a person, immediate medical assistance should be called for. It will make you feel good about yourself and boost up your confidence. cialis tadalafil canada https://regencygrandenursing.com/invisible/materials-form As we move into mid-June, the larger mayflies and caddis are emerging in earnest and quite a smorgasbord of insects are available to the trout. We are in the midst of really hot weather for the western mountains of Maine, with temps in the high 80’s during the day and upper 60’s at night. It is a bit discouraging to watch the water temps in the rivers rise from the mid 50’s to the upper 60’s in just a few days. Hopefully, weather and water temps will drop before it forces the trout back into the lakes, otherwise it will be a short season for trout fishing on the smaller streams and rivers with lake access.

We have also been experimenting with a fly we don’t fish often but are intrigued with its success with very large trout. Maybe you can tell what it is from this mediocre close-up photo took last night.

Ice Out

Posted on May 6, 2017 by Lou

My email these days is filled with folks asking me fishing questions so for this blog post, I will just answer them!

When was ice-out?

In the Rangeley area, it was within the last seven days, in fact higher elevations ponds still have at least a partial coating of ice. Further south, ice has been out for two weeks or so. However, the water remains cold because of cloudy days and cold nights. Patches of snow still linger in the woods in the Kennebago area.

How is the fishing?

Fishing has been slow because of high and cold water. In fact the lower Mags is running at 2000 cfs versus 350 for most of last year. I don’t know if I remember it being that high . A heavy snowpack melted quickly in Rangeley, followed by occasional rain. This is resulting in the spring run-off being closer to historical norms versus several dry springs over the last five years. While this means a slow start to moving-water fishing, it bodes well for sufficient water flows later in the year and good ground water levels.

Smelt are running in places, but perhaps not yet where water temps are still hovering around 40 degrees. Lake and pond fishing where smelt are running up brooks is where I would want to be fishing.

Does the high water mean that spring runs of salmon will push up rivers such as Kennebago?

Moreover, these effects are nothing as compared to what smoking is doing to your lungs. cheap buy viagra The reason, more often than not, isn’t to deceive their greyandgrey.com tadalafil 40mg partner but for the simple reason that they won’t forget or omit anything. Some common adverse effects reported by people include dizziness, headache, constipation, diarrhea, fatigue, and numbness in feet and hands. greyandgrey.com viagra pfizer prix Metrosexual are not homosexual men but they have related cialis without prescription solutions for women too. Not necessarily. At least in Kennebago, salmon don’t really take advantage of high water flows until temps hit 50 degrees. Hopefully when the river warms up, water flows will still be high.

Do you have any fun fishing photos/stories?

Always. My guiding partner Abby from Kismet Ouftitters has been doing some drift boat guiding in western Mass. and found some really nice brown trout in the Hoosic River.

How is the new book selling?

Very well. We are going to start a second printing soon, which will allow me to update the book a little, correct a few typos and include a few more waters. “Flyfisher’s Guide to New England” can now be found in almost every fly fishing outlet in New England, but it does sell out quickly and doesn’t always find its way back onto the shelves in a timely manner. Remember, you can always purchase the book from me directly, signed of course. Just email me.

Enjoy the beginning of a new fishing season.

Lou

End of Season

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Lou

For what seems like the 3^rd autumn in a row, September in the Rangeley area was dry and hot, and the trout and salmon didn’t begin to move into shallow water or run up the rivers until the last week of the season. Global climate change really seems to be impacting Maine. I remember that 20 years ago in the western Maine Mountains, by the last few days of the season all of the leaves would be off the trees, and sometimes it would spit snow and sleet. The end of September now arrives with the leaves still green and this year there wasn’t even a frost until mid-October.

I think that Maine’s Inland Fish and Wildlife Department should consider extending the regular fishing season to the first week in October. I know more water is being kept open later but prime waters are not. I don’t think extending the season by one week would negatively impact the wild fish and it would minimize the crowding during the last week in the season.

Although another “official” fly fishing season has come and gone, lots of water is still open. I guided two anglers in early October to upper Dam – still lots of heavy machinery working – but everyone there (up to 14 anglers in the late afternoon) seemed to catch a few fish. Most were 10-12 inches and very thin – I assume that they were resident to that area and that during this hot summer, the water had warmed too much for them to feed actively. A few fresh larger salmon and trout were caught – some in the 20 inch range, but I got the sense that the real movement of fish hadn’t started yet.
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I have some interesting photos and videos from the end of September that I will post as time allows.

In other news, I was able to stop into a new fly shop in Lincoln, NH – right at the end of the Kancamagus Highway. This new fly shop is good news for anglers in that part of NH who did not have a fly shop anywhere close by. The name of the shop is Mountain High Fly (www.mountainhighfly.com) and the owner, Sara, seemed quite competent and enthusiastic. They are on-line only during the winter, but the shop itself will be open again in the spring. Good luck with your new endeavor, Sara!

Fall Fishing is Here! Sort of.

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Lou

Early September has brought a few changes from August but the one thing that hasn’t changed is the lack of rain. Mid-August brought two rainstorms to the Rangeley region that dropped over 3 inches of rain in some areas, but the ground was so dry that much of it was absorbed with little run off. Still, it did raise and stabilize river flows in some areas. However, we have had little rain now for over a week and air temperatures are rising again into the upper 70’s during the day this week.

We did have cool nights (into the low 40’s several days) and water temperatures are dropping with rivers and streams falling into the 60’s. As a result some spawning fish are starting to move. Anglers are hooking a few nice fish in the upper Magalloway, a few nice salmon in the lower Kennebago, and seeing some big trout in the upper stretches.

Best bet is to fish early in the morning, be patient, and be satisfied with maybe one or two nice fish.
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Fish are also starting to move into shallower water in the lakes and ponds and people are reporting the beginning of good action – although still with mostly smaller fish. Today on Kennebago it was cloudless, 75 degrees, and calm, but fish were rising at mid-day as tiny trico-like mayflies emerged in shallow water and mixed with a few tiny flying ants. Go figure.

In literary news, my new book is becoming more widely available and is now found in most fly-shops, sporting goods stores, and specialty book stores in New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts including Bass Pro in NH, and Kittery Trading Post. Not LLBean yet. If you don’t see it at your favorite store – ask for it! Of course, you can always buy it directly from me. Good luck with your September fishing and keep praying for a good tropical storm to reach northern New England.

Mainely Fly Fishing Blog

Fishing report from the Western Maine Mountains and Beyond

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