I wanted to thank everyone for a wonderful 2021 season! Without those that gave me the chance to share with them my passion for the outdoors I wouldn’t be where I am today, and I am eternally grateful. Whether those clients wanted a freshwater, saltwater or ice fishing trip I was able to fill those trips all over the state and had a blast doing so. It’s not to say that this past year was without challenges of having to drive a lot and being away from my family a great deal, but coming home was always very sweet for me. I hate overused cliches but doing a job that you love doesn’t feel like work and that is absolutely the case for me!
At the beginning of 2021 I entered into a joint venture with other guides called Maine Guides Unlimited. The co-founder with me is Dan Hillier of Songo River Guide Service and we had been talking loosely about this concept for many years. When On the Water Magazine reached out to Dan about an ice fishing trip and to film a show on Sebago in March, we decided that this would be the best time to make it official and run with it! We added a vacation rental agency with Jordan Rentals and a concierge service with Your Maine Concierge to bolster our commitment to bringing the best experience to those looking to book a trip with us. Later we added hunting partner Northeast Wilderness Outfitters to round out our initial group. We are still working on adding more guides and offerings as we always have more requests than we can fulfill every year. The mission will stay the same in that we are always looking to put together high-quality experiences for our clients in our great state through this network.
Our ice fishing season was filled with many great people wanting to experience this fun sport for the first time. We have many good places for beginners and experts alike. By picking spots with easy access and many willing fish we were able to put many people on their first fish through the ice. For those looking for a more difficult challenge, Sebago offers just that with deep water, fish finders and bigger fish. This is not for the faint of heart as conditions can get tough out there exposed on this large body of water and many times we are more than a mile out from the shore. However, the tradeoff is that these fish are much bigger than anywhere else around and are great table fare for those wishing to bring their catch home with them. Booking early is always recommended for the ice fishing season and especially for Sebago.
Springtime saw an exciting endeavor for me in being able to guide for an Orvis Endorsed Lodge in Grand Lake Stream at Weatherby’s Lodge (www.weatherbys.com). This was a great opportunity for me, and I made the most of it. We started out chasing salmon in the stream along with pre-spawn bass in the lakes around the lodge and through the summer we stayed on smallmouth bass throughout the region. I loved the camaraderie amongst the guides, staff and clients and being immersed in this lifestyle was amazing. If you were looking to experience this for yourself, please give me a call or email me to check my availability there. If you are looking for a traditional Maine Sporting Camp experience this is the place. Do it sooner rather than later as I book up quickly there and I always work on a first come first serve basis.
I didn’t spend all of my time in Grand Lake Stream this year. I bounced back and forth between home and my second “home” to fill client requests. I especially enjoyed my time on the ocean chasing stripers in Casco Bay. This year wasn’t as good as the previous, but we had a great time either way. There is something about the smell and ever-changing landscape that gets me during these trips. For instance, we had a trip during the lowest tide of the year and we saw structure we hadn’t seen in a while. Launching my boat was also a challenge due to the low water and I had to tie my boat to the dock to slide my trailer out from underneath it as there was just enough water to do so. Fishing was great that day as the fish were very cooperative and willing to take our baits! The highlight of my saltwater season was learning new water with another Captain on a group trip. It was exciting to see the takes on our soft plastic lures near the surface and also to have a double hook up at the same time was amazing!
The majority of my work remains fresh water and one of the most memorable days was around Memorial Day on Sebago Lake. I had a father and son out trolling for lake trout and we had moderate success in the morning. Playing the wind in my favor I was able to fish a spot right before lunch that I usually have good success. I was minutes away from saying we should head on in for lunch when one of the rods went off. This was no ordinary fish as the planer board was being pulled under water and I was wondering if we had hooked bottom at first. It definitely wasn’t bottom as we made moderate gains on him and when he came to the surface, I was floored with how big he was. As this was happening one of the other rods went off and the father was onto a very nice lake trout, but nothing like the one that his son had caught. I had trouble getting this fish into my net and when it was on board, I just started laughing at how it all played out. This lake trout measured 34″ and was almost 14 pounds! It wasn’t the longest fish caught on my boat this year, but definitely the best lake trout to date with me!
The fall time is always exciting for me as I love the change in the seasons and the variety that October affords us. I got to hunt upland game more than I have ever before, which gave me a break from my normal routine. I also love sight fishing for big landlock salmon in the stream. I always tell my clients that if you see a fish, you can catch them. Once a fish has settled down and is staying in one place you have a great opportunity to see everything happen and to react to a take much quicker than watching a strike indicator. I also tell my clients that if I say to strike do so as I have seen something that indicated that the fish took their fly. I am not always right, but there is no harm in setting the hook on nothing. I do hate the phrase “hooksets are free,” but there is a shred of truth to it.
My favorite memory from this past October was a trip on Big Lake with a great client and his brother. It was a nice warm day and things were looking to stay that way all day long. We had moderate success in the morning and right before lunch we found a nice pod of smallmouth bass hanging around a rock pile that made for an exciting flurry of activity. After a delicious lunch over an open fire, I decided to take them to a rock flat that I have done very well on over the course of the guiding season. However, on our way over to that spot the smallmouth began busting bait all around us and it was like we were on the ocean chasing stripers! It was one after another! A white clouser was the ticket as they were feeding on alewives and after a few long casts all that was needed was to flip the fly back over the boat and we hooked into another one as they all chased a fighting fish up to the boat. The guys were limited to how many fish they could catch based on how fast I could unhook and get their fly and lure back into the water. As this was happening a float plane flew over and as we waved, he tipped his wing in response and my client hooked up as he was watching! Amazing moment that I was glad to be a part of.
Last year was very exciting for me and 2022 is shaping up to be just as busy! Make sure that you get your request in soon as spots are filling up fast. I’m excited for what the future holds for this year, and I hope to see both new and returning clients on the water soon!
