The last few days have been very busy with a variety of trips on both fresh and saltwater. Everywhere I went there was some sort of wildlife that is now more abundant than it was even a short time ago.

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.

The last couple of days have been cold, overcast and foggy with the occasional rain shower or stretch of drizzle. Yesterday and today I have come home from my morning striper trip and started a fire in the woodstove to feel warm. In fact on my afternoon trip yesterday I wore an insulated underwear top and was glad to have it on as the evening wore on.

Just a quick post to say that the stripers have arrived in the Saint George River in numbers. It has been a long wait for them to get here but they are a fish worth waiting for. For the last couple of days there have been acres of bait. Including an early bunch of what I call rain bait (it looks like it is raining where they are in the river because of all of the dimples on the surface) I think in reality that they are a bay anchovy.

Mike Krepner who makes the Igas Island products in the online store, got a nice write up in the local Free Press.  The article talks about items being made with solar power and touches on the durability of the stuff that Mike makes.

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.

Saturday was the Union Spring Hooked on Fishing Event the turnout was nothing short of amazing with well over 200 at Ayer Park. Baiting hooks, casting lines, eating hot dogs and oh yes even catching a few fish. You can see articles and pictures about the event in the Courier Gazette and Village Soup. Both papers have excellent photos of the day, none of me though.

I have been appointed to the Natural Resource Agency Task Force. A group tasked with reviewing the various natural resource agencies in state government and thinking about the way they deliver services to their constituents.

Saturday while helping Argy plant a few flowers in the rain I happened to look up and see what I thought was an American Redstart; after looking carefully through the raindrops. I was sure that it was a male redstart. Not really an usual sighting at all since they are not rare but it had been a while since I had seen one only five feet away. I did not see a female but she must be on a nest not too far away.

I’ve made two scouting trips on the Saint Gorge this week and can report an amazing number of eagles, cormorants by the thousands and a few ospreys. The ravens are still in the rookery at the head of the tide and calling to each other steadily. But not one striper to the boat, I did have one half hearted bite yesterday morning but no luck on setting the hook. Water temperatures are almost warm enough (59 up river and 52 in the lower river) and should improve over these next few days with a mid day low tide and sunny skies to warm the flats.