smallmouth bass fishing

I spent the last few days fishing bass fishing on freshwater. The last two with a couple of repeat clients who are not only good fisherman but great fun to be around. The fishing was better than I can remember for the post spawn time period in June. Over the two days they caught a bunch of nice fish like this largemouth bass.

This is one of the times of year when change is very noticeable to me. I have guided my last striper fishing party for the season and no longer need to get up and out by 5:15 AM, which makes it possible for Argy and I to walk each morning. Our morning walks are now in the near darkness marking the noticeable shortening of the day. I still have fishing parties at the end of the month and into November but the focus changes to mid day to take advantage of slightly warmer water temperatures.

Yesterday afternoon was spent scouting the Saint George River here in Union. I have a learn to fly fish trip on Monday and the ladies are very interested in wading the river. I usually recommend against it because wading and moving water add additional elements to fly fishing that are a lot for a beginner to grasp all at once. I also find it easier to coach when we are all standing in the boat. But the river is very low since it has been so dry and I though I might check out the possibilities.

When I pulled out of the driveway earlier this week I was surprised to see one of the red maples across the street has started to change color. Then I had to go to Augusta this week and drove past the marsh near Traveller Pond in Coopers Mills where all of the maples are already completely red. Autumn is here for sure and fall is not far off.
 

It is amazing how the fishing can change over only a few hours. Yesterday I fished a pond for smallmouth bass on my morning trip. Fish were biting very well and I would conservatively guess that a couple dozen came to the boat.  I came home had lunch and go ready for my afternoon perch fishing trip thinking it would be no problem. We would catch a bunch of fish and have a great time. Wrong again!

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.

One thing about living in Maine is that we do not have much of a spring. We go from cold and mud to full blown summer in a few short weeks. We are now in the middle of that brief period. The leaves are starting to come out on the trees, the spring warbler migration is in full swing and the alewives are on their spawning run. We are still not enjoying summer temperatures; in fact it was cold and drizzling this morning when I got up.