The lack of water this year has been very concerning. We did not have a typical winter with an adequate snowpack and many of the larger lakes in the southern part of the state did not have a lot of ice covering them. While this helps with our heating bills and driving it does not help the river, stream and brook levels throughout the spring time and summer. Combine that with a much lower than normal rainfall through the duration of the summer and leading into the fall and many of us anglers, guides and biologists are left worried. Without enough water many of the fall spawning runs that rely on flows from dams may be affected. If there is not enough water in the basin that feeds into those rivers it could be really bad. The long stretch of warm sunny days throughout the summer was really good for those who enjoy the beach, but I, along with many others, kept looking at the weather forecasts hoping for any type of precipitation.
Linc with a brook trout
Native brook trout stream
Even with low water conditions there were many opportunities to be had. In many of our local brook trout streams all you had to do is find the likely hiding spot that trout would inhabit that would give them all of their needs. In small brooks these are cut banks, root balls, under fallen trees and any deep pools. Even with these criteria they may not be in normal spots so making a cast to a different area is not always a bad idea. The only way to know is to give it a shot and hope for the best. Some of my best days have been finding fish in unusual spots. For instance I always kick myself when I am on the Roach River during the fall as I always kick up a nice brook trout or salmon laying in skinny water near shore. Casting to them is always a challenge if you spot them first as they are really spooky. The main reason is that they are ultra sensitive to everything around them due to the low water and any disturbances usually sends them on their way. That is why many times when I am walking down the river I am casting to as many different spots as I can to see what I can pick up. It has worked enough times to keep me doing it and I learn a ton even if I am not successful. Using streamers makes this type of fishing very productive as you can cover a lot of water and many times you can pick up an aggressive fresh fish that is on the move or resting before moving again.
Heath with a nice brook trout
Fish the structure
On our smaller streams and brooks we had to be a little more careful as to our approach and handling of the resident trout. Given the lack of precipitation and potential for warmer than normal water temperatures in these waters we had to ensure that we handled the trout very carefully and got them back into the water quickly. We have always prided ourselves on getting our fish in quickly and released properly, so we make sure that we instill that in all of our clients. The trout were still active even during the height of the summer and were very willing to take our offerings. The low water made them more wary and we would usually only get one shot at a fish before it retreated back to its hiding spot, so you needed to make the first cast count. One must also be willing to walk miles to get into better fishing as a little effort goes a long way to make your fishing experience much better. The first pools along the road get the majority of the fishing pressure, so it just makes sense to walk a little further than those that came before you.
Exciting bass fishing
Quality smallmouth bass
A good example of how varied our opportunities are was our trip with Linc and Heath in the middle of August. On the first day we were catching native brook trout on one of our numerous brooks in the Sebago region. On the second we floated the Androscoggin River for smallmouth bass. Hearing Linc say numerous times I would never have thought a trout would have been where you told me to cast makes my day. Toward the end of the day we were standing over a cut bank near a submerged root ball and I told Linc to drop his jig down next to it. Before the jig hit the water a trout jumped out of the water and missed. When the jig finally made it in the water the trout took it quickly and all Linc could do was laugh. Shortly after that I had Heath dropping his jig down in between a huge log jam and he quickly pulled out a couple nice trout. One of the best things about small stream fishing during the summer is that most other anglers are busy chasing other species or have moved onto other pursuits so the fishing pressure is much less than in the spring. In my opinion the summer is the best time to chase trout in small streams and brooks no matter what part of the state.
Much needed shade during lunch
Linc having fun
On the second day the fishing was much more straight forward on our drift down the Androscoggin river. It is always a pleasure to have clients that are observant and appreciate what is going on around them and they were not disappointed as the bald eagles were very active during our trip that day. They seemed to be in front of us as we progressed down the river as if they were waiting for us to provide them an easy meal. The fishing on this day was made much more simpler as the bass were keying in on the Mepps spinners that we were using. On this river we find the smaller Mepps perform much better than the typical sizes used for bass fishing. The only drawback to using a smaller lure with smaller hooks was after catching numerous fish and hitting rocks those hooks have the potential to break at the most inopportune moments. That moment was when Heath had a very large smallmouth bass on and the hook broke much to my dismay. That was the only moment that did not go well on this drift, but we did have a moment that we all had to laugh at. We were at the end of the float and we had worked our way into the lower section of the Sabattus River looking to potentially pick up a pike and we were all pretty tired. Heath made a cast that somehow made its way to the top of a tree. Jeff captured this moment perfectly with the three of us looking up into the tree and a perfect caption would have been “we are not getting that one back!” With an extra heavy duty fluorocarbon leader, as we were looking for pike, just breaking the line was a challenge. It was a fitting end to a great couple of days and we all had a good laugh about that. Regardless of conditions there are always great opportunities in our state if you know what to look for. So get outside and enjoy!
“We’re not getting that one back!”
Post lunch take off