Summer Draws to a Close in Maine

When I pulled out of the driveway last week I was surprised to see one of the red maples across the street has started to change color. Then I had to go to Augusta and drove past the marsh near Traveler Pond in Coopers Mills where all of the maples are already bright red. As I look out across the hills today the trees have definitely begun to change their colors. It is for the most part subtle but there for sure if you look carefully. Autumn is here for sure and fall is not far off.
 
There are other signs that the seasons are changing, the juvenile herring and alewives have begun to come out of the freshwater and into the salt in huge numbers. Just like last year I am amazed to see schools of juvenile fish measured in acres. I have seen a good number of Monarch Butterflies this summer and it is time to search the milkweed patches for caterpillars that we watch turn into colorful adults. This is also the time of the year when the smallmouth bass fishing is at its absolute peak with the fish schooling up and associating with some structure to provide amazing action without even having to move the boat. The air changed this week as well. Today the skies cleared and there was a cool northeast breeze. This dry air is marked by very blue skies without a single cloud, what I refer to as Chamber of Commerce weather, perfect for any outdoor activity. As the summer winds down our hummingbird feeders are very busy with the high pitched chirps of hummingbirds fueling up for the migration that is only a week or two away.
Stripers this summer have been very different than the last few years. The sheer numbers of fish have not been around like the past two summers. They have also fallen into a more normal pattern with the best fishing of the day coming just after daylight and the bite being almost completely over by mid morning. I have not bee successful taking folks on afternoon striper trips and having great luck like the past two summers. One change that made for more exciting fishing was their preference for top water plugs and surface poppers. There is nothing as exciting as a five or ten pound fish grabbing a lure from the surface of the water. This is not with out it’s hazards read more about those in my blog post.
My schedule this week is very busy with folks getting their vacations in before Labor Day marks the end of the summer season.  A big change for me this summer has been a drop in the number of canoe trips I have guided, the freshwater focus seems to have shifted to family fishing trips and I have guided several each week. I have noticed swings like this in past seasons and always do considerable head scratching trying to figure out what it means or if I should be doing something differently. Of course next summer will be different and the usual pattern has the number of canoe trips bouncing back. The interesting thing to me though is all of the marketing data and polling information from a variety of sources both national and local would have one believe that the canoe trips focused as they are nature exploration would be the biggest seller. That has never been the case in over twenty years. I wonder what I am missing as I explain those trips to potential customers in my brochure and on the web page.