One of the benefits of being out every day is that you see some amazing things. In the last two weeks I have had two great stories happen to me.
First I was striper fishing in the Saint George with a father and his eleven year old son one morning last week. The fishing was pretty good and I had just pulled up to a new spot. Both of them cast toward the ledge and immediately hooked fish, this is going very well from the guides perspective. I walk forward to coach the son in landing his fish and as I look down through the clear green water I see what I think at first is a big striper. Very often a really big striper will stalk a small one that has been caught, I assume sensing that it is distressed and interested in an easy meal. I start to say look at that really big stri& and then I realize that it is a seal. At this point I encourage the boy to reel his fish in as quickly as possible. He of course is trying to get the fish in but it is a pretty even match for a few minutes. When the fish is finally tired and at the side of the boat I grab the line and reach over the side of the boat to pick the fish up by the lip and raise it into the boat. I have just gotten my hand in position and started to pinch down on the lower lip when with a huge splash the seal returns and takes the fish right out of my hand! He takes off with the fish and almost immediately snaps the 12 pond test line. My first reaction was to stand up and count the fingers on my right hand to make sure that they were all still there. Needless to say we did not see that fish again.
Wednesday, I was guiding a client fishing on the fresh water out of the grand lake canoe. We were heading into a pond on the Saint George River and using the outboard to make the trip go more quickly. I came around a bend and we both saw a large animal swimming across the river. At first I thought it was a deer because of the size but on closer examination it was clear that it was more dog like. Then I realized that it was a coyote, I know of course that coyotes can swim but had never seen one actually in the water. We were able to get quite close because it could not swim as fast as we could motor. It made the bank and quickly scrambled into the bushes on the far side. I was surprised that it could not swim faster, I expected that they would be able to paddle along at least as fast as a deer but they are not much faster than a retriever.
We will enjoy the best weather of the year in the next six weeks or so. Please make sure that you get out and enjoy the Maine Outdoors.
Best regards,
Don Kleiner
Master Maine Guide
