Autumn is Coming!

The weather the past few weeks has been hot and humid, in fact everything feels sticky from the humidity. The perch and sunfish fishing continues to amaze me. After a couple of boys a while back claiming that they had caught 75 fish on an afternoon trip I have been watching the count very closely. Last week a young girl had a counted 26 fish to her credit and we spent a fair amount of time riding up and down the pond making a cooling breeze while looking for a spot to fish in the shade. Usually a family fishing trip is a busy event for me with several lines to keep baited and at least one fish needing to be taken off of a line at any given moment during the trip.
 
Yesterday right ahead of the afternoon rainstorm I had a trip with a grandmother and her grandson. The grandmother decided that she did not want to fish so I had only one line to contend with providing a little time for experimentation. I tried the new circle hooks and while they did not improve the number of fish hooked they were much better at not getting too far into the fish’s mouth. Most if not all of the fish were caught right in the corner of the mouth and easily unhooked. A real improvement over the old style hooks. One concern from my perspective thought is that the hooks are extremely sharp a cause for worry if a child or dad decides to bait a hook. This is not a complete negative I just need to stress even more that a great deal of care should be taken around the hooks. The single angler yesterday also gave me time to try something else that has been on my mind for a while. We occasionally catch large shiners mixed in with the sunfish and I know that they can be excellent bait for big bass. I rigged one line with a float that is normally used for fishing herring for stripers on the coast and baited the line with an eight inch shiner (yes a bait that size can pull the float under all by itself) I had three fish take the bait but was unable land them. I think that part of the problem was the rod not being stiff enough to deal with a large fish and I am wondering if the hook I was using was big enough. No matter though, a fish that can swallow a bait eight inches long will definitely add a little excitement to an already exciting family fishing trip. I plan to experiment again soon.
 
My schedule continues to be very full with few openings, it is easy to think that it will never end but I know that folks will soon start back to their regular schedules and summer vacations will come to an end. In fact I noticed one of my regular clients’ boats ready to be hauled out for the season at the boatyard in the harbor. I remembered that he told me the kids return to school in early August. I noticed that the goldenrod has started to bloom and Joe Pie weed is also blooming along the riverbanks, all signs that summer is drawing to a close. Soon the water temperatures will start to drop significantly and fishing will begin to really pick up. I can't wait for the cooler temperatures and the start of autumn.
 
My next small business seminar for guides is scheduled for three evenings in September and a specialized marketing seminar one evening the next week. Check it out at Maine Outdoors Seminars.
 
Summer is coming to an end but it is not too late to make plans for a trip in the Maine Outdoors. Click on the links below to see what the options are or give me a call and let's talk about the possibilities and arrange a trip for you or your family today.