fishing

Last fall I enjoyed a day that I labeled a pickerel panic. Today was not an equal to that day but we are well on the way to some exciting fall fishing. This morning’s clients met me at the appointed time in a light rain. They decided that since they had multiple trips booked in the next week that they would pass on fishing this morning. Since I was ready to go and now had a few free hours. I decided to do a little fishing on my own.

Each summer I wait for the time when the bass are “looking up” to feed eagerly. Granted most of the summer some bass will take a popper if conditions are right but around the middle of July they are all feeding on the surface, sometimes with abandon.

Over the last week I have guided a variety of fishing trips and can say without a doubt that we are enjoying some excellent fishing on freshwater and while the striper fishing is still slow in the Saint George there are fish in the river.

I had the good fortune to fish on Megunticook Lake in Camden Sunday with a couple from the Washington DC area. I arrived about an hour early to do a little research on the perch fishing for some upcoming family fishing trips but was quickly distracted by bass in the shallows feeding on the surface. For about 20 minutes I had fish at times fighting over my surface popper.

This morning marked my first mackerel fishing trip of the summer. Well no that is actually wrong it was the first wildlife watching trip where we caught a few mackerel. It was grey and chilly on the way down the Saint George River with only a slight breeze out of the east. With calm seas and cloudy skies the visibility was excellent and there was a lot to see.

I consider being able to customize various fishing and nature trips one of the real advantages that Maine Outdoors has to offer. Every trip is tailored to the interests and desires of the folks that are on it.

After hearing very encouraging reports from southern Maine I was looking forward to the the coming striper season. A trip down onto the saltwater section of the Saint George River has me encouraged. First water clarity has not been this good for several springs now. There was good clean green seawater well above the Route 1 bridge in Thomaston. Water temperature was in the 60’s another very positive sign.

I usually don’t talk much about trout fishing. The best of the fishing is usually in late April and early May. Before there are visitors around to have me guide them. Many springs in the last several years have been wet keeping rivers high and not safe to wade. But this spring has been different; with low water levels, very pleasant temperatures and cooperative fish have all combined to have me guiding more trout fishing than normal this year.

This spring has been without a doubt one of the best we have experienced in a long time.. The river is not running at flood stage, it has been warm and pleasant most of the time, and the flowers are at least a couple of weeks ahead of schedule. The only down side is that we have had lots of wind, in fact today it is out of the northwest at easily 25 mph.

But no stripers yet. Captain George Harris of Superfly Charters and I make our early trips searching for fish together. Saves gas and makes for a much more enjoyable outing. Not to mention we each solve the same problem of catching fish for clients a little differently. So it is a gret chance to learn from each other. While there were no stripers to report this morning we were treated to the early season Saint George River wildlife show.