bass

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

Yesterday afternoon was my first trip on Megunticook Lake for the season. The sky was clear and there was a chilly breeze out of the northwest. I was prospecting for guided trips over the next few weeks and I like what I saw.

The eagles are back nesting on the lake providing multiple opportunities to see them perched, on the nest and flying. Loons have returned in good numbers and I saw several pairs, one pair in particular seemed to have a nest in a cove that they were pretty interested in having me not around.

I have been on Megunticook Lake in Camden much more this year. Partly due to Ken Bailey having some health problems and filling in for him and another guide. Partly due to clients requesting to go there and finally liking what I saw. First let me state up front that in the high summer on a nice day it is way too busy for my taste. But on a September day with only a couple of other boats it was an absoulte delight. Even in the gale we had today it was still possible to find places to get out of the wind and cast a fly to bass.

Tropical Storm Hannah really did not have much of an impact on our area beyond lots of rain. I heard that western Maine recieved as much as seven inches. We did not have that much but we did have enough to raise the freshwater part of the Saint George significantly and change the color of the saltwater section from sea green to freshwater brown. The color change was visible yesterday as far out as the nearby islands.

The first week of July offered us great summer weather, foggy mornings, sunny breezy afternoons and warm summer temperatures. I have run a bunch of trips in the last ten days with a good variety. Family fishing trips, several striper trips and an afternoon nature exploration canoe trip thrown in for good measure.

We are in the middle of our first hot spell of the summer. Actually not really that hot compared to the rest of the east coast, in the 80’s, but with high humidity. Yesterday morning there was little wind just enough breeze to keep any bugs at bay. Launched the Grand Lake canoe on one of my favorite bass ponds, this one is small by Maine standards at only 250 or so acres, just the right size for a short fishing trip. The bass are spawning on the shallow flats and it was some of the best sight fishing you could wish for.

My season has been off to a great start. One of the best things about guiding is the great folks that I get to spend time with over the years. Often a trip is as much a chance to catch up with a friend as anything. I am truly fortunate for the great folks that I have as clients. Now to the fishing.

One of the great parts of being a guide is having to actually spend time finding the fish or birds or making sure that water levels are right. There is nothing better than having to spend the afternoon launching the boat and poking around to see if I can find a few fish on an afternoon like this. The breeze was light when I started and went to nothing as the afternoon progressed. As you can see in this picture the water was just like glass and I can verify that the air temperature was nearly perfect.

I am still trying out the new Lund Alaskan and making sure that everything works as it should before my season really gets underway. To do that I thought that I would take advantage of the warm afternoon that we were having today. I launched the boat in Seven Tree pond and after an initial mishap (left the plug out when I launched, really good news the bilge pump works like a charm) I spent an hour or so bass fishing.

Today is a summer day that is for sure, the humidity is hanging in the air holding down the visibility and the temperature is in the low 90’s. Quite a change from last week when I was wondering if I should put in some more firewood to carry us through until summer arrived. If you don’t like the weather in New England just wait a minute.