I have been enjoying the variety that the summer season brings.
No not just in the trips I have guided this week. Although I have done a number of different trips in the last several days, salt water fishing to canoeing. Rather how conditions can be different even in a short period of time. This morning I had a family fishing on Megunticook Lake in Camden after having been there last evening. Both fathers wanted to fish with their kids and I was pleased to be able to pick them up at their respective docks. Kind of unusual for me to have two of the same trips back to back but I digress.
Breaking one of my own rules I fished over some of the same structure twice in less than a day. I normally like to rest a place or stretch of shoreline at least a couple of days. At any rate we did well enough on the first trip nothing out of the ordinary but this morning a bass that I weighed at six pounds came into the boat from an overhanging limb that I know my clients had cast to the evening before. (picture here)
Earlier this week I had been out mackerel fishing with two different families. On the first trip I rode to one of the popular seal haul out ledges and did not see a single one. Twenty four hours later and we counted over twenty. Tide almost exactly the same foggier the second morning to be sure but aside from that conditions the same to my eye.
Over all of this is the weather which provides its own variety. The family that I had on a canoe trip this week on a perfect afternoon with sunshine and white puffy clouds had their trip cancelled because of thunderstorms a year ago. So you might think that what I do would get routine after a while and you would be wrong. I deal with amazing variety almost every day!
Hope that you have a chance to get outdoors and enjoy the variety this summer.
Delightful morning trip
Most of the folks that I get to spend time with outdoors are a pleasure to be around and sometimes we are like old friends after only minutes. The couple I took on the lower Saint George last Saturday were an absolute delight. The stripers did not cooperate at all but we were successful in capturing mackerel and watched lobstermen haul their gear up close. They were very interested in this world so different from the center of the country where they live. And were eager to learn as much as possible, it was even more fun than usual to have them aboard.
The best part of the trip was the beautiful scenery and the gradually improving weather all morning. We had a bunch of wildlife sightings guillemots, gulls, eagles, ospreys, seals and harbor porpoises. We started the trip with a stiff south wind but it went down all morning and we returned to the harbor in pleasant warm temperatures with sunshine and some blue sky.
From the striper catching perspective not a great trip but perfect in every other way in my book.
One thing that I am frequently asked about is if clients should worry about getting sea sick. I always reassure them that we will be in the river where there is not an ocean swell. That morning even out at the islands the sea was like glass.
Ten Good Things!
Ok; it has been raining a lot. Many clients thought that it might not be much fun to stand in a boat for a few hours in the pouring rain (really can't blame them) and I was starting to get grumpy. It has turned into the Reign of Rain, summer 2009. So Argy, always the optimist, suggested that I make a list of ten good things about this summer's weather. I am always up for a challenge so here is my list
1. Saved a ton on sunscreen this summer. In fact I think I will have enough zinc oxide left over to get me through most of next summer. Not to mention that moisture is supposed to be good for the skin.
2. Our garden hose is redundant anything recently planted is very well watered; naturally!
3. We have burned up all of the wood scraps that I have kept hanging around in the garage for small summer fires, and just this morning I made another trip to the woodpile for some real firewood.
4. The lawn is still green and growing. Usually our lawns have quit growing by midsummer and are sort of brown. This year mowing is needed on almost every sunny day.
5. No dust clouds from the dirt road in front of the house when our neighbors drive by.
6. I can use the Lund Alaskan pretty much wherever I choose. There is plenty of water in the St. George River and all of the ponds.
7. I am not wishing for a day off in midsummer. I've had plenty and am very well rested, thank you.
8. Weeding the garden has been simple. The ground is soft, pulling them is a snap and with so little sun even the weeds are not growing well.
9. This year's young freshwater fish have plenty of water making for excellent survival rates. Even better fishing next summer!
10. Even though conditions have been perfect to breed lots of mosquitoes the weather has not allowed them (or us) to get out.
There you have it my list of ten good things about this summer weather. Got any to add?
It's easier Than Ever to Stay in Touch!
Times have changed and there is a list of new ways to stay in touch.
You can now friend me on Facebook (Don Kleiner) or become a fan of Maine Outdoors there as well. I am also on Linkedin and Twitter (DonKleiner) and update daily if you would like to stay up on the goings on here. Of course I still update the blog on the website at least twice a week and am available to chat on AIM, Googletalk or MSN when I am at my desk. Although I will be spending less time at my desk time now that summer is here.
You can also visit the Maine Outdoors web site and submit a contact form. Of course I still use e-mail and the telephone still rings in the office if you would like to plan your next trip or just say hello.
Make your reservations today!
Best regards,
Don Kleiner
Master Maine Guide
Maine Outdoors
(207) 785-4496
