Maine Fishing Season: Does it have to end?
Only if you want it to.
Before you know it you’ll be tired of pushing snow around, tying flies, and anxiously awaiting the warming rays of spring sunshine. There are some great extended season waters still open here in Maine and fishing well. Enjoy it as long as you can.
Maine Fly Fishing: September Rules!
Time flys… this update is long overdue, but for very good reasons. The fishing has been incredible on the West Branch of the Penobscot as well as area ponds and smaller rivers and streams. The high flows from Mckay Station on the West Branch of the Penobscot have dropped considerably along with the water temps, and the fish are responding well to stripping and swinging streamers. The retrieve seems more important than the pattern right now, all I will say is “make it move!” But it is not just a streamer game right now…in fact within the last week and a half I have witnessed two of the best late afternoon caddis hatches I have seen all season. These hatches are bringing up a lot of fish, including some really big ones just before dark. Try brown tan and black caddis sizes 16-20. If you are hiking out without a headlamp, you probably left too soon to see the big fish feeding on top. Blue Wing Olives (BWOs) have also been making appearances almost daily along with good spinner falls in the evening. The naturals have been small size 20-24 and we have been boating some good sized salmon on all phases of the hatch. Try parachute BOWs, barrs emergers, and wd40’s when you see these guys come off. If you can’t deal with the frustration of fishing (and seeing) these tiny flies I have good news! We are still seeing some action on big stone and hopper dryflys in the choppy water and along the foam lines, especially on the fair weather days. So enjoy fishing dryflys while you can…
I will be busy guiding on the West Branch of the Penobscot and Kennebago River in Rangeley through the end of September. Come October, I will be guiding Float trips on the East Outlet of the Kennebec River, The Dead River, and a few more extended season waters. If you want to get one more quality trip in before snow flys, give us a call or send an email. 207-749-1593 This is a great time to enjoy the splendor of Maine’s fall color, while catching some of the best fish of the season.
Have a safe fall on the water!
Fall Landlocked Salmon
Slippery…
Signs of Change: Maine Fall Fishing is almost here!
Ah…The Dog Days of August… While the extended forecast shows high day time temperatures the nights are beginning to cool off… The days are growing shorter as the earth tilts, and it won’t be long until my favorite season to fly fish in Maine is here. I have already seen some early signs of Fall color along the backroads:
While last season brought torrential rains keeping anglers off many bodies of water here in Maine… this year the extended periods of high temperatures have made trout fishing a tough game. What’s a trout hound to do? I traveled with my wife to her homeland in Finland to try to escape the heat of late July early August…only to arrive to record breaking high temps and smoke from Russian wildfires filling the air across Southern Finland. I gave trout fishing a try… Then realized that cold beverages and Sauna with faraway family was a better use of time…
Back home in Maine for over a week now, and the River temps remain around the dreaded 70 degree mark on my favorite trout and salmon waters… I have fished over six counties catching Rainbow Trout, Landlocked Salmon, and Smallmouth Bass. If you are still chasing trout and salmon right now… play them quickly, keep them in the water, and fish barbless hooks.
Other fishing opportunities? While trout purists may cringe at the thought, Fly Fishing for Bass in Maine is where it is at right now. Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass remain active during these high water temperatures and provide a lot of fun, and action for the fly fisherman until cooler (trout friendly) water temps arrive. I had a some great days recently including showing a boat-full of young fishing addicts the joy of catching Smallmouth Bass on the fly rod in Southern Maine. If you have forgotten what fishing is really about, check out these photos! It’s all about having fun on the water!
Summer is growing short, and Fall never lasts long enough.
Give us a call and get on the water!
207-749-1593
Hot Days: Huge Hatches
Taking a break from the heat this afternoon after a nice long swim in the Big Eddy, and realized an update was long overdue. Had some awesome days in late June on the water and some extremely slow days as well. Got some good press in the July 2010 Issue of Field and Stream Magazine in an article titled “The North Woods Way” written by Edward Nickens. It’s a well crafted piece about Eddie’s travels and experiences fishing with three Maine Guides, myself included, last June. Get out and pick up a copy, or check it out here: The North Woods Way
For the last few weeks I have been burning the candle at both ends. Fishing the West Branch of the Penobscot during the morning and afternoon, and hunting Native Maine Brook Trout rising to Hexes, and exploring cool mountain streams. Things have been fishing well all around with the action on the river having picked up since a late June slump. The Landlocked Salmon and Brook Trout on the West Branch of the Penobscot River have been happily feeding on a wide variety of dry flies from tiny black caddis to super sized Stoneflies. Water temps are already over 68 degrees on the West Branch so take time releasing fish and avoid overplaying them.
While I have had some epic evenings on Maine Trout Ponds withing a 50 mile radius of the Big Eddy Campground, I do believe the Hex hatches are tapering off and the fish getting fussier by the day. Like everthing else this season, hatches are coming and going a few weeks ahead of normal.
Chris and his wife Kim just showed up for the afternoon round of fishing…so I gotta run. Check out the fish Chris landed this morning… Nice work!
Chris gets a beauty to the net
Nice River Brookie
Kevin's first Salmon on a fly
Looking for the Hatch
Game on!
Hot days on cool mountain streams
Should've been here last night (Hex Shucks)
Emilia with a nice West Branch Salmon
Small Stream Gems
Landlocked Salmon caught on tiny caddis.
From Rangeley to Mount Katahdin
Been a wild ride lately from a few days guiding for Grants Camps up on Kennebago Lake back to the West Branch of the Penobscot where I will be guiding and fishing through July. Had a lot of fun with a good group of folks up at Grants Camps, and got to spend some time with some good friends and fellow Maine Guides. My friend Tony had a rough commute in to the Camps when a Big Maine Moose decided to run into his truck, folding his mirror in and leaving behind just enough fur to tie a fly or two. On the fishing front, flows on the Kennebago River went from too low to too high, so we spent most of our time looking for windless waters and rising fish on Kennebago Lake. Although fishing was a bit tough, we got some feisty brook trout in the net and the hospitality at the Camps was exceptional as always.
Tony's truck after clipping a Moose
Evening Calm Kennebago Lake
Subtle Sunset Kennebago Lake
Kennebago Limbo
Motoring out from Grants Camps
The West Branch of the Penobscot greeted us with huge numbers of caddisflies and the fish have been hot on their tails. We have been seeing a good mix of caddis species as well as blu winged olives, Cahills, March Browns, Golden Stoneflys, and Yellow Sallies in the air. This big bug buffet has had some evening anglers scratching their heads, while those willing to look closely, and keep changing flies have been rewarded.
What are they eating?
Brookie barf tells the tale...
I'm not a pro photographer, but Matt Boutet is.
Last week we fished the river hard from Ripogenus Dam to the Abol Deadwater, and found some awesome dry fly fishing and solid fish throughout. Spent a day chasing fish from sunrise to sunset with friend and photographer Matt Boutet. He picked the right day for epic caddis…and got some amazing shots…Check out some incredible photos from the day along with many other stunning images at Matt Boutet Photography
Foam is Home
View from my cubicle...
Fat West Branch Salmon
The way things are going up here the big bugs will be here very soon, so have some Big stonefly imitations in the box if you are heading up. Stimulators, Sofa Pillows, and Bugmeisters get it done. For you Pond anglers, Hexes will be showing early this year too. Get on it…Prime Time is here.
Penobscot River Fishing: Summer is here!
June is here and it sure feels like Summer. We have seen some high daytime temps and humidity followed by powerful thunderstorms that felt more like July than late May… As for hatches, the Hendricksons seem to be trailing off, but I have been also seeing some good yellow sally hatches as well as bwo’s and the occasional golden stones and sporadic caddis. Spent wing mayflies have been the ticket in the evening and early morning, so keep an eye on the foam lines for subtle sipping rises. Not all small rises are small fish:) Streamers and nymphs have been filling the void between hatches. Try grey/white mitchell creeks, conehead olive wooly buggers, small stones and pt’s, green caddis, and hot wire prince nymphs.
Things really seem to be progressing very quickly this season, I even noticed some Lupines beginning to bloom at The Big Eddy over the holiday weekend! I’m guessing by mid next week we should be into our first really big caddis hatches of the season so keep your box stocked with elk hairs, X2 caddis, and Nancy’s Prayers as well as larvae and pupa imitations cause it will be on very soon!
I do have some open days for left for June and July, but they are limited, email if interested.
maineriverguides@yahoo.com Or call my cell 207-749-1593
Rusty Spinner Kennebago Lake
I have fished in good company the last few weeks from Grants Camps to the West Branch, made some new friends and caught up with the seasonal crew up at the Big Eddy. Here are a few photos from the past week and a half, including a shot of an empty Big Eddy Pool from last week… Won’t be seeing that again for a long time as Summer is here!
Misty Pool
Postcard day with a family of flyfishers...
Hendrickson by driftboat
Spring Salmon
Nesowadnehunk cleaning out a rafting crew...
Kevin with a nice Brook Trout
The Big Eddy Crew
Wood on water
Big Eddy Sunset
West Branch of the Penobscot River: Maine Salmon Fishing Report
Spent a few days fly fishing the West Branch of the Penobscot River this week, skies were blue, black flies were hungry, and I was happy to fish in the wind. Water temps were right around the magic 50 degree mark varying a bit from one location to the next.
Katahdin in Spring
On Tuesday I was in good company with Blake and Chad both from the big state of Texas. We had a beautiful day to float, and shared alot of laughs as the fishing was a little slow. We fished a good variety of flies, but nymph fishing with pheasant tails and caddis larvae seemed to be the game for getting some smaller fish to the net. By mid afternoon we began to see a few scattered Hendrickson duns sailing up river in the wind, but they were early to the party as a true “hatch” never materialized, nor did we see any rising fish.
Blake fighting his first Salmon
Blake with a 21 inch Salmon!
We had a good float and Chad had to put the rod down in the afternoon, because his fishing license expired. Blake and I decided to give one more spot a few casts, before calling it a day. Glad we did. In true Texas fashion, Blake ended Big!
Flies and Fins: West Coast Steelhead Fishing Video
Took a Flies & Fins sponsored trip out to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State back in Late March/April. The “Sasquatch Crew” as we dubbed ourselves, got dealt with on the weather for a few days…Hurricane force winds and torrential rain and hail limited our fishing days…thank god for good company, a warm fire, whiskey, guitars, and Rainier Beer! This video highlights some of the fun we had out in Forks Washington on and off the water. Everyone on the trip got Wild Pacific Steelhead in the net thanks to the hardworking crew from Brazdas Fly Fishing Thanks Brazda, Tyler, and Jeff! If you haven’t fished for West Coast Steelhead the Brazdas crew will get you in the game! Big thanks out to Joey Mac over at LateralLineMedia for putting this Steelhead Circus together, Well Done!
If you have ever considered fishing the Olympic Peninsula for Steelhead, this is the trip to check out:
http://www.laterallinemedia.com/fly-fishing-destination-trips/washington-steelhead-fly-fishing-olympic-peninsula/
Here are some highlight photos:
Mossy
The Washington Coast
Green Tunnel
Yessah!
Fishy Water
Joe with a Big Buck
Close up
Fly Tying Frenzy
Proper Steehead Fishing Attitude
Joey with a Big Dawg!
Good Day
rainy day guitar session…
“Glove of Honor”
Chrome!
Pumped!!!
Until Next time…
Maine Spring Fly Fishing: Variety is the Spice of Life
This spring has brought a amazing variety of Fly Fishing opportunities here in Maine. I have had the pleasure of fishing with a good variety of anglers and friends over the course of the last three weeks. We have seen some epic smelt runs, big March Brown hatches, too many Moose to count, and an unforgetable encounter with an overly aggressive loon trying to grab a brook trout away from a friend as he was landing it!
This is just the beginning, the next few weeks fishing should really kick in to gear. If you haven’t planned a Maine Fly Fishing Trip yet, you should!
Give us a call: 207-749-1593
Maine Smelt Run
Maine Lake Trout
Fat Maine Smallmouth Bass
Nice Brookie Megan!
Megan and Derek with a slippery Brook Trout
Spring Landlocked Salmon
Maine Pike on the fly
Beautiful Brook Trout
See you next time!
Maine River Guides: Maine Sunday Telegram
Here is a link to the full article Shannon Bryan wrote on learning to fish with Maine River Guides featured in the Maine Sunday Telegram today.
Maine Guide Greg Bostater teaches Shannon Bryan the basics of fly-casting and fishing.
John Ewing/Staff Photographer