Don Kleiner's blog

For the last several years I have been helping my neighbors Scot and Mary put on two kids fishing events each year. One on the ice and one in open water. The next one will be February 20th. We would love to have join us! Details below.

This morning I went smelt fishing with Captain George Harris of Superfly Charters. Our party was made up of George, my son Noah and friend Don. It was a very cold morning here around 3 below zero at 6AM when I thought to check. Not as much wind as the last couple of days though.

The last few days have been warm for January, a pleasant thaw. The rain had settled and shrunken most of the snow and we enjoyed daytime temperatures in the thirties. Last night that all came to an abrupt halt. I looked out the window at about nine and it was snowing hard. In fact it was a very quick 3 inches of snow and the wind quickly came up. This morning’s temperature is 8 Fahrenheit and the predicted high for the day is in the teens. The nearly full moon shining through the trees and making it almost as bright as day.

It is raining hard this afternoon with a powerful southeast wind that is blowing right on the house. Our two plus feet of soft fluffy snow is shrinking back into a harder and thinner layer. The big worry with a storm like this is flooding both local when a culvert is full of ice and snow so it can’t pass all of the water. But also in the rivers where ice has formed, with the warmer temperatures and added water that ice can break up and pile together to form ice dams. Hopefully none of that happens but it is a concern at the moment.

Just in from a long walk around the neighborhood. It is cold today but not too, high of twenty degrees Fahrenheit. A breeze out of the North at about fifteen miles per hour and brilliant sunshine blocked by only a few wispy clouds. It has been a while since we have had fresh snow and the stories in the snow are really showing up!

I will be offering a session at the LL Bean spring fishing event again this year. My presentation is scheduled for Saturday March 20th, at 2pm in the Maine Store in Freeport. This is always a well attended event with lots of interesting presentations and individuals. Below is the listing for my presentation that will appear in the LL Bean promotion.
Hope to see you there!

Maine Smallmouth Fishing: A World-Class Secret

Maine Professional Guides Association

The wind shifted with a bang a little after noon today and we had a not too cold but windy afternoon. The skies were crystal clear and very blue. I always write about the clear winter skies but this time I’ll let a picture tell the story.

I know it is January and the snow is deep but how about a quick visit back to October? While I was at Libby Camps last fall they had a videographer working on clips about the fall grouse and woodcock hunting. The results are now posted to the Libby Camps web page.

A letter arrived in the mail last week congratulating me on Maine Outdoors becoming a favorite place on Google maps. Seems that the listing has been viewed frequently and the maps were used many times for directions to Maine Outdoors.

You can see the Google listing.

The sun is at the far southern extreme of its seasonal swing and our view is perfect. Sunrise is now to the south of Pleasant Mountain in Rockport. From the office I look directly southeast down across the field so at this time of year I am treated to an excellent view of the sunrise. The sun also comes up after 7AM long after I am awake and working at my desk. Actually the coffee pot is usually empty by then.