New England is famous for the changeable weather but spring takes it to the extreme. In the last week we have had warm sun, snow, rain, of course clouds and wind to make the picture complete. In spite of the variety this spring seems to be coming a week or two ahead of normal For those that fish the rivers and streams the alder leaves will be the size of a mouse ear after a couple of sunny days. Then it will then be time to chase trout in the river. Actually I have heard a few good reports lately but got rained out on my most recent attempt to check on the fishing personally.
Fishing in the lakes and ponds is well underway with a full report further down in this newsletter. I have also heard that the alewives have arrived at the fishway in Damariscotta at least two weeks early in my book. For those of you that birdwatch the ospreys are back and I expect the warbler migrations to be in full swing by early May.
Preparations are nearly complete for the coming season. The Lund is ready, the Grand Lake canoe is washed and waiting for its coat of varnish on the next warm sunny day. The canoe trailer is loaded and ready. Everything is set for you to enjoy a trip in the Maine Outdoors I'm looking forward to spending some time outdoors with you.
First Fishing Trip Report
The afternoon was warm with a light breeze out of the north. I decided to take the afternoon off and make sure that I had everything I needed to guide fishing trips. There was not a lot of sun but there were bright blue patches in between the clouds and of course a few rain showers (it is April after all). I fished Seven Tree Pond and Round Ponds in Union. The water level has fallen pretty quickly from the flood levels of only a couple of weeks ago.
Wildlife sightings were a big part of the afternoon. I saw dozens of ducks; mostly wood ducks with a few mallards and black ducks mixed in. My first osprey of the season, a loon and a muskrat finished up the sightings.
I was trying out some new flies from a fly tier in Connecticut (thanks AJ) that I hope will take advantage of the pickerel panic I enjoyed last fall and possibly the pike that are starting to show up in the Saint George drainage.
I fished for a little better than two hours. The flies worked perfectly as did the repaired trolling motor on the Lund. I was easily able to move along the shallow weed beds and cast right up to the shoreline.
Several pickerel were more than willing to take a fly. Most amazing were two of about ten inches that attacked the five inch pike fly. One even managed to get hooked after multiple attempts. I did have one nice largemouth bass on and rolled what I think was a large pike in very shallow water. Exciting; and yes I was not paying attention, too busy looking around at the scenery and wildlife.
I loaded the boat and headed for home before the sun and temperature started to fall. Every day will bring warming water temperatures and improving fishing for the rest of the season. I am delighted to be back on the water and looking forward to sharing an afternoon outing with you soon.
If you would like to go on your own. I recently wrote a blog post describing what you need to know to go fishing in Maine even without a guide. You can read it here.
Online Calendar!
Last season I experimented with an online calendar to help you decide when to book your trip. The calendar that I used allowed you to see available times but did not have a way for you to set aside a time slot. I have made a change and the new online version allows you to see what times are available but also allows you to propose a time that fits your schedule and mine. Take a look here and let me know what you think!
