There are times before a trip begins that you get the feeling that the day will be special. Our most recent trip was just like that. We were bringing our gear up as the sun was coming up giving us an awesome view of the pond. Mist was rising from the water, the birds were singing and a new beaver had found the pond and was busy constructing his house. He did not like Jeff intruding and repeatedly swam in front of him and slapped the water multiple times. Jeff got video of him swimming, but could only get a photo of him slapping the water. On our first trip in I also spooked the resident ducks who took off and I could hear the whistle of their wings as they glided over the water to the far side of the pond. On my way to pick up our clients a black bear ran across the road affording me a great view of this majestic animal. He had a beautiful coat and looked very healthy. I was in seventh heaven. Growing up in an area known for black bears I had only seen one bear before this and to think this was in southern Maine. These types of mornings just make you feel optimistic for how the rest of the day will go and we were not disappointed.
Beautiful Morning
This beaver was not happy we were there
When we finally got on the water the conversation was easy and we rigged their lines up with the necessary fluorocarbon leaders to prevent any lines from being cut from the teeth of the pickerel. Suffice to say no fish were lost due to having our lines being cut. This was a phenomenal addition to our arsenal as we have done very well with pike this spring as well without any breakage. I just wanted to find something different than the normal wire leaders that we could easily cast with our fly rods as well. On this pond we primarily use white grub jigs and small Mepps spinners depending on the weather conditions. If it is sunny we fish the grubs down deep and if it is overcast the Mepps spinner is deadly. After a bit of instruction on how to keep the jigs above the weeds Matt was into some nice pickerel. Matt was a natural and the pickerel came to net frequently. When we caught a yellow perch we put it on our stringer in case we saw the resident snapping turtles. On a previous trip up here we realized that the turtles were following our canoe as we had a few fish on the stringer in the water. They repeatedly tried to grab the fish off the stringer and when we took them off and tossed them into the water they eagerly grabbed them and returned to the bottom. Well on this day they did not disappoint and Matt and his mom were treated to seeing numerous snapping turtles take the perch offerings not very far from the sides of our canoes.
Matt caught some really nice fish
Setting up and explaining our methods
One of the things that Matt was interested in doing on this trip was catching a pickerel and cooking it up as an appetizer to our shore side lunch. There was no shortage of options, but with pickerel it is a good idea to keep a large one. Filleting is tricky with all the bones present and you will need to remove the y-bone if you are not frying them up at high temperatures. The quicker you can cook them the better as they will stay moist and flavorful. I cut my pickerel fillets up into small nuggets so they will cook quickly. We just used Italian bread crumbs and vegetable oil and they turned out really well. Matt gave us his stamp of approval, so that is all that mattered. We also wanted to give him a traditional Maine meal so we brought along fiddleheads and brook trout that we had caught the weekend before. This is one area that we will not skimp. The fish may not cooperate, but we control the food. We like to say no one will walk away from a trip with us saying they did not have enough to eat. A variety of cheese, crackers, pickles and salads are a good start and brownies or fruit parfaits are a good way to finish the meal. With the warm temperatures it was nice to sit in the shade and enjoy the peace and tranquility of being by ourselves. At no point did we see anyone else on this pond, which is one of the main reasons we love this pond as much as we do.
Pickerel nuggets for a snack
Having a great time on the water!
The forecast for this day called for some severe thunder showers later in the afternoon, so we were constantly watching, listening and keeping tabs on the weather on our phones. While Matt was getting some work in with his fly rod we watched with apprehension as a thunderhead cloud started to form over the tree line. As soon as we heard a roll of thunder we knew it was time to go. Unfortunately we cannot control the weather and we would never do anything to compromise our clients safety so this was an easy decision. With our Matt and his mom safely on their way we had to work quickly. Dan was a huge help by bringing his ATV to bring our equipment up and to also bring them back down. Without him we would have had a daunting task ahead of us. As we were bringing our last load down the rain came down in sheets and then we received some good sized hail. Jeff and I had been through worse situations so we just looked at each other completely drenched and laughed while sitting in the truck waiting for the storm to lighten up.
Probably the best fish of the day
Matt’s mom was not just a spectator
One of the main questions that was asked during this trip was regarding the effort that it took to get all of the equipment up there and the time that it would take us. It is true that this pond is approximately a half mile from the road along an ATV trail and is somewhat of a tough walk up if you are not ready for it. The incline is deceptive and we even struggle with it sometimes as we may hike up too fast and find ourselves winded and wondering what is wrong with us. I cannot remember how many times we have dragged a canoe in and by the time we got to the pond we were left wondering why we would go through all of this effort. Then we spend the rest of the day in complete solitude catching plenty of fish that put up a great fight. On this day we hiked back together and I pointed out the shavings from our canoes from previous trips. They couldn’t believe that we had taken the time to drag our canoes up here without the aid of an ATV. The only answer we have is that when it is worth it you make the extra effort to get what you want.
Matt was nice enough to let me pose with one of his numerous fish