2024 First Blog Post

(Note: This blog was supposed to post in early January but didn’t for some reason, so I am posting it in early February.)

I started to write about the warm, stormy and rainy November, December, and early January, but then I looked back at my blog post from this time last year, and guess what – they are identical!!! Here is what I wrote last year:

Mid-winter for all of the Northeast felt like autumn. Temperatures for November, December, and early January ran between five and ten degrees above normal depending upon where you live. There has was no snow to speak of. At my house in Windham, we have had green grass for most of winter so far as I write this in mid-January.

Ditto for this year, except the storms this year have been stronger. The December 18th storm did so much damage. In Windham, we lost a 90-foot maple tree that blew over, its upper-most branches scraping the house.

I am so glad that tree wasn’t thirty feet closer to the house.

In Kennebago, the lake water rose over the causeway and up onto our lawn, fortunately not washing away furniture, docks, or boats.

The Kennebago Causeway is usually a road next to a small beach, not a river.
A flood of Nash Stream near Stratton washed out the road to Rangeley.
One of my go-to fishing spots in September, where Bemis Stream empties into Mosoelookmeguntic Lake, had its bridge pushed into the lake, stranding camp owners on the other side. The actual road is out of sight to the left of this photo.

All of us who guide or fish often, and know our favorite Maine waters well, will have to start from scratch next spring because the rivers and streams will look quite different due to the flooding. Pools will be filled in, banks of gravel deposited, wider stream channels with longtime structure washed downstream, and new channels, undercut banks, and holes. We have had so many major floods in the last few years that the rivers have been constantly changing.

I worry that the eggs of fall spawning fish like brook trout, brown trout, and landlocked salmon will have been washed away by the flood waters. Usually, floods occur in spring and summer when the eggs have already hatched.

I could have done more fly fishing in November and December but decided to take a break and do other things (work on my next book). But it stayed so warm I fly-fished via canoe on January 1st, an experience I wouldn’t have thought possible. Next week is supposed to bring cold weather, so perhaps at least the ponds will freeze, and I can take out my ice fishing gear.

I didn’t hook a fish, but it felt like I could have. On January first!

Spring Fishing Season Peak

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

’til next time….Lou

October Fishing Review

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

Late Winter means Sportsmen’s (and Women’s) Shows

Coming up are two Shows that I will be giving presentations at and selling books:

On Saturday, March 16th the Western Maine Fly Fishing Expo returns to the Gould Academy Field House in Bethel Maine from 9am – 3 pm with more exhibitors, new seminars and presentations, and a casting area to test drive new rods. There will be guides, outfitters, sporting camps, authors, artists, equipment manufacturers, retailers, a silent auction, and a raffle.

On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, March 29th, March 30th, and April 1 is the Maine Sportsman Show in Augusta, Maine. see https://www.mainesportsman.com/sportsmans-show/ for more details. I will be at the Maine Sportsman Booth Friday afternoon from 4 pm on, and I am giving a presentation: 12 Best Flies for Trophy Brook Trout and How to Fish Them, each day. I don’t have the exact times yet.

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My New Book: In Pursuit of Trophy Brook Trout – The Ultimate Handbook of Tactics, Timing, and Territory is now available. You can order from me off my website. Just email me your address. You can send me a check at 35 Crystal Lane, Cumberland, Me. 04021 or can now pay with PayPal. Look for the tab and link on my site. You can also purchase from the Rangeley Sport Shop and Royal River Books in Yarmouth, Maine. As the books become more widely available, I will list other outlets.

September Update

First, the bad news…. It seems that for the next five years Middle Dam on the Rapid River is going to be replaced. Here is the information:

On August 15, 2018, Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners (the owner of a number of Maine dams) filed an application with the Maine Land Use Planning Commission (LUPC) to rebuild Rapid River’s Middle Dam (the river’s start from Richardson Lake). Work is already underway by upgrading roads. Actual dam work will start in 2019 and not be completed until 2023 – five years later.

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This project is similar to the replacement of the famous Upper Dam (on
Mooselookmeguntic Lake) over the last five years. This is not good news for fly fishers. Those who fish Upper Dam know that during the replacement phase, changing water channels, loud noise from construction efforts, and having to evade construction vehicles really diminished the fishing experience. The completed Upper Dam has eliminated prime fishing spots on or near the dam, concentrating anglers at the tail of the pool and reducing angler capacity. The fear is that we are in for the same situation with Middle Dam.
The plans for Middle Dam completely change the current dam configuration, including
elimination of the three fishing piers. The dam proposal has a spot on the dam labeled “Fishing Platform”, but the actual area for anglers is small and may not allow effective flycasting. It is critical that anglers make their desires known to (1) minimize fishing disruption during construction (2) not uniformly riprap the entire pool, (3) to construct usable fishing platforms so that the finished dam doesn’t eliminate fishing opportunities at what is arguably one of the best trout and salmon fishing spots in all of Maine.
Interested fly-fishing groups and individuals wrote to LUPC during the month of August
requesting a hearing. For the lasts up to date information,contact Trout Unlimited, the Native Trout Coalition, Rangeley Heritage Trust, or Friends of Richardson Lake for the latest information and how best to get involved.
Fishing during the first ten days of September was slow. Water was still warm and river and stream flows were also modest due to lack of recent rain. As a result, the fish weren’t moving into rivers or feeding on the surface. In fact, fishing was so dead in the Rangeley area that it was like a chemical spill had killed all of the fish.
But recent cold nights and over an inch of rain last night are livening things up considerably. Salmon and trout are starting to be caught. I got a report that the upper Mags is getting hot.

Of course, being out fishing is always worth while even if the fish aren’t cooperating, Check out this sunset from a few nights ago over Little Kennebago Lake.

Sunset too beautiful to focus on the fly

Sunset too beautiful to focus on the fly

IMG_0352

Finally, for those of you who are interested in reading more of my stuff, a reminder: I write a freshwater column  approximately every other month for the Maine Sportsman magazine/newspaper. Look for it in the September Issue available at news stands now, and also in November and December. I will also have several articles in upcoming issues of Eastern Fly Fishing Magazine.

Odds and Ends

Hello friends,

This entry is going to contain a whole bunch of unrelated little items. Should be fun to read but maybe a little all over the place!

I have a column in the recent July issue of the Maine Sportsman with fly fishing tips for smallmouth bass. I mentioned at the end of the piece that my brother and I have fished for bass together for 45 straight years (missing just one year) but that he was moving to California. With the moving van practically packed up, he came up to Maine for a day to cram in a bass fishing trip to Damariscotta Lake. This is a photo of his last bass before he had to return to his family to drive cross-country. It may have been the largest bass he has ever caught. What a way to send him off to the west coast!IMG-0505

In other news…Wilderness Adventure Press is releasing in early July a new edition of my first book, “Flyfishing Northern New England Seasons” with a new additional section that contains tactics and tips for catching large (trophy-sized) wild brook trout and landlocked salmon. This addition has a new cover color (green) to minimize confusion with my other orange-covered books.

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Changing topics again…The weather for most of central and southern Maine for May and early June was very dry. Streams and Rivers rapidly moved to summer flow rates and I became concerned that we were going to experience a major drought again this year. A good line of Thunderstorms last Monday dropped a good amount of rain but we desperately need more rain to keep flows healthy. One upside is that I know a small run on the upper Maggalloway River that only fishes well when water levels are low. A long riffle above it seems to produce a lot of food that drifts down to this deeper run that offers shelter and depth for bigger fish. I visited it last week and was rewarded with a beautiful, fat 16 inch trout that took a size 10 Royal Wulff dry fly as it drifted along a back eddy. Big trout love to sit in back eddies facing downstream.

IMG_0079

Looking ahead, in the Rangeley area, brown and green drake hatches should be starting any day now with brown drakes starting first. I will be heading up on the 24th hopefully to intercept them.
Continue reading

Memorial Day Weekend

How things have changed since Ice -0ut. In only three short weeks, western Maine Mountain waters have warmed substantially and rivers have dropped precipitously. Believe it or not, we need rain, or we will have a repeat of last spring and summer, when the fishing in rivers and streams became difficult very quickly. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much in the forecast for the next ten days.

The waters are still cold and the hatches just starting but the fish are looking up in the shallower and warmer waters in most lakes and ponds. My family and I found a concentration of fish in just one section of a local river and caught fish from 8 to 17 inches on a variety of flies including Soft-Hackle streamers, small dark hendricksons, and Prince nymphs.

My favorite fish caught was a very fat 17-incher that was rising just off an overhanging alder branch. From downstream, I high-stick nymphed him, saw the line straighten slightly, and tightened up to set the hook. The fish was confused at first but then figured it out and tried to run under the overhanging alder branches and tree roots before I finally crossed the stream and was able to clear the line. No photo unfortunately, but a real beautiful, fat, in-prime-of-health fish.

kennebago

Part of the family fishing this weekend
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Earlier in the week, I was at the Damariscotta River watching the alewives run up the fish ladder at Damariscotta Mills. The run looks to be over a million fish this year. Quite an increase from a number of years ago, all due to conservation efforts. See my video below.

 

 

Ice Out at Kennebago Lake

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.IMG_0080 (2) IMG_0085 (2) IMG_0088 (2)

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!