The Crooked River is a very healthy river with a promising future. That was not always the case. Just a few years ago the future of this river hung in the balance as a group wanted to dam up the river to run their mill for historical purposes. This would have had a huge impact that would have ruined a world class fishery. For those that do not know the Crooked River is one of the main spawning tributaries for Sebago Lake. The area in question is a main spawning area for the landlocked salmon and if you have not had the pleasure to witness this event you are missing out. In October you can clearly see the salmon holding in pools paired up. Catching them is a whole different story. We avoided the catastrophe of a new dam, but we all need to stay vigilant and remember what is at stake.
Throughout this section of the river there are signs everywhere that the future is bright for this river. Salmon parr are very willing to take your offerings, but please be very careful with them. Salmon parr are juvenile salmon that were born in the river and have not returned to the lake to become an adult. Also do not mistake them for brown trout, which is a very common mistake. You will not find brown trout in this section, so problem solved if you want to fish this section. These small parr will move back into Sebago as smolts and will become the trophy that many anglers pursue every year. They will also return to the same area they were born to spawn to create more salmon. If the dam had been allowed to be constructed these would have become tasty morsels for pickerel and bass that reside in this section already. With the impoundment there would have been an increase in sedimentation, which would have prevented proper spawning habitat. Thus the downward spiral would have commenced.
Future Sebago Salmon
Crooked River Brookie
Over the past few weeks I have been focused on fishing ponds right after ice out. This is an event that I look forward to every year and it just so happens that the rivers were not fishing very well during that time due to high and cold water. The Crooked River had come down to very fishable levels and the water clarity is gin-clear. There were also some very strong hatches coming off on the river, but not much in regards to surface activity. The Hendrickson hatch came off very slowly this morning, but the spinner fall hatch was spectacular. The Hendrickson hatch is the first major hatch of the season, but it can be frustrating as the trout and salmon are not taking the large duns floating on the water yet. They will be soon. Normally the spinner hatch happens during the late afternoon into the evening, but that does not always happen per plan. The females are easily seen as they carry an orange egg on their lower abdomen. I had the luck of catching one with my net. Even though there was no surface activity the brook trout and salmon were very willing in the runs. Even fairly shallow runs held fish and it can be as easy as holding your streamer in the current and watch as the trout and salmon jump and slash at it. Most of the time they miss your fly, but they keep coming back again and again. After a while I did not want to catch them as the show would end. Even though the show ended for the day it can only get better and certainly will over the next few weeks.
Hendrickson Spinner
Crooked River
