10/30/09 Well, this is just about the end for most of the Kennebec. Tomorrow, Halloween, is the last day you can legally fish between Madison and the East Outlet. Or said another way from Sunday on the East Outlet (down to the Beach Pool) and the section of river from the lower Madison Dam to the ocean are the only sections of the Kennebec River you can legally fish. Don't forget because the fine is hefty.

Of course there are other waters that remain open and you can find them in the rule book or by searching the Inland Fish and Wildlife site. To search the IF&W site click on this sentence. It will take you to a map of Maine's counties. Click on the county you want to fish and it will open the Special Regs section of the rule book for that county. S-24 is the Special Reg you're looking for and by scrolling down you can find the waters that stay open beyond Halloween.

There is another way to find the S-24 waters and it is a timesaver. Just hold the Control key down and hit the F key. That will open up a search box. Type s-24 into the search box and hit enter - that will highlight the S-24 waters on the entire page. A quick count of Somerset County waters listed as S-24 showed me about 100 bodies of water that are open until December 31st or freeze-up - whichever comes first.

Hatches are about done and fish are getting close enough to spawn so that lockjaw is setting in. Thank goodness they don't all spawn at once or we'd really be out of luck. But since they don't all spawn at once there are still some willing fish out there.

As to flows water levels are coming down from last weekends rains. Here are some for you.

East Outlet is at a friendly 1,020CFS and I got an email yesterday saying that the East is still fishing well. Here's a quote from his email covering his two hours of fishing. "Largest brookie was 16 inches and the largest salmon was 20 inches (7 salmon all over 16 inches).

The gorge below Harris Dam is at 325CFS until 10:00am and then it bumps to 2,400CFS until noon. From noon until 5:00pm it will drop back to 325CFS - great day to fish the gorge.

The Dead is flowing at 205CFS.

Bingham is at 3,950CFS until noon and then drops to 1,300CFS until 5:00pm - great flow.

Solon is at 2,300CFS and at that flow you can wade a lot of water.

Madison is at 3,400CFS and that's a bit high but fishable. Should be dropping today and tomorrow.

Shawmut is at 7,000CFS and it's a strong flow with a lot of push - barely wadable.

Well, that's about it for today - look for Blue Winged Olives about 2:00pm and swing some bright streamers. You should get some action. I'm off to do some Steelhead fishing in New York this weekend and won't be back until Tuesday night late. So we won't be open on Tuesday the 3rd but we will be here on Wednesday the 4th. Wish me luck.

And, one more thing - this is the last full weekend for most of the Kennebec. After Halloween, the 31st (a Saturday) the Kennebec above Madison is closed. Well, actually the East Outlet down to the Beach Pool will also be open but for the most part the Kennebec will be off limits.

So give last week's report a quick look if you want to see what has been hatching and what people have been using and get out and fish. (Sunday is forecast as a good day).

10/16/09 Well things are good, at least, from a fishing standpoint. I've got my leg in a cast (partial tear of my Achilles tendon) and won't get the cast off until the 27th of this month. But from the reports I'm getting if I could get out there and wade I'd be having good fishing.

Not just reports some people are bringing in pictures of Shawmut Browns and showing me proof. The Brown Trout on the left was caught yesterday during a Blue Winged Olive hatch (2:30 or so on a soft hackle) and there were more like that one being caught. The fish have finally moved up into the wading area.

The water temperature is a cool 43 degrees and the levels are good for wading. The flow this morning is a comfortable 3,362CFS and holding steady. The problem (yes, there has to be a problem this is fishing) has been the wind. And, tomorrow's forecast calls for a North wind of 10 miles an hour. So it's more of the same - that North wind is cold so dress well - layers - you know the drill. No rain tomorrow but showers on Sunday - rain on Monday. However, unless the rain is hard and steady it shouldn't cancel out the fishing.

Flows are good up and down the river. The East Outlet is holding at 1,020CFS, Harris makes me want to take this cast off and close the shop for a day because the flow there is 325 until 5:00pm which is just too good to pass up. Perfect really because 5:00pm is time to get up out of that gorge anyway and the lack of light will force you to leave or climb out in the dark and you don't want to do that :-)

Moving downriver to the Forks and the Dead River inflow - you won't see much added water. The Dead is flowing at 194CFS - another easy level to wade and fish. That's the pattern all the way down as Wyman is flowing at 3,950CFS until 2:00pm and then dropping to a comfortable 1,300CFS for the rest of the day. Solon is only flowing 1,800CFS and Madison is flowing 2,350CFS a great flow for that section.

Another good flow is Grand Lake Stream which is running at 458CFS. I've had several reports of good fishing there with one customer saying he had luck swinging Wet Flies. Who knows what the fish took that for. Perhaps they still have some Cinnamon Caddis doing their "swim to the bottom - lay some eggs - swim to the top" routine. There are still some here but the cold water and heavy frosts of the last week have really cut back on the caddis activity here.

Most of the Leadwinged Coachmen have also stopped. There was a large gray winged mayfly on the water yesterday and it may have been the Leadwinged Coachmen but no one was able to grab one to make sure. Anyway, the hatch to match has pretty well shrunk down to the wonderfully, dependable Blue Winged Olive, Baetis. These are little buggers. If you see a size 16 on the water that's one of the giants.

My go to nymph for this hatch is a Sawyer Pheasant Tail (no Peacock Herl in the Thorax area) in a size 20. These nymphs are swimmers and so there's no reason to work hard at a dead-drift - an occasional strip or heavy handed mend that moves the fly can bring a hard strike.

Here's a little tip about this fall hatch - not all of those tiny mayflies are olive. If you're casting to a rising fish and getting good drifts with your dry - but no takes - try changing to a size 20 Sulphur or Rusty Dun. It may make the difference. If you can seine the water and capture a dun. When you get a close look you may be surprised at the mayflies color.

There's lots of good fishing to be had but it won't last a lot longer. Get out there and fish before you find yourself sitting around the campfire saying I should have gone in October when I had the chance :-)

10/09/09 Well, with the last few days of spotty to heavy rain and more of the same coming we're seeing higher flows. A lot of the water is still fishable but you really need to keep an eye on the levels. For example yesterday Madison's flow started the day below 3,000CFS, by 7:00am it was close to 4,000CFS, by noon it was about 3,500CFS, by 5:30pm it was 4,500CFS and at midnight it had dropped to about 3,600CFS - you get the picture - be careful wading and be conscious of level changes.

The East Outlet flow is still about 1,020CFS which is a good level for wading. Some say it's actually too low for their taste but someone always doesn't like the level no matter what it is :-) As you go down river Harris Dam is at 5,000CFS but at 2:00pm it drops to 2,400CFS for an hour and then drops down to 325CFS for the rest of the day. There is some sweet fishing in the gorge at 325CFS and the Forks area fishes well at those levels.

Speaking of the Forks area the inflow from the Dead River is only 191CFS so anywhere you care to fish the Dead you'll have good levels. Moving downriver from there to Bingham you'll see a great flow of 1,300CFS until 3:00pm and then a jump to 5,950CFS which gets pushy. There are sections of the Bingham water you can fish when the flow is around 6,000CFS but the push is hard.

Solon is holding its own all day today at 2,400CFS while Madison is running a bit higher and still bouncing. However, the projection for Madison is 3,610CFS which is wadable and can produce some good fish. Down here in Fairfield, (Shawmut Dam) the flow is 5,984CFS and has been steady. There is a lot of water coming in from the Sandy (967CFS) and from the Carrabassett (682CFS) but it hasn't made Shawmut muddy so clarity is good.

The bugs are much the same - some caddis still (dark wings, size 14,16 or size 12 orange Stimulators to imitate the October Caddis) and a couple of mayflies (the Leadwing Coachman and Blue Winged Olives) and a smattering of ants. Other than that most of the seasons hatches have run their course. However, as the fish get closer to the spawn streamers will become more and more effective for you (especially the bright ones) and may save the day if you think to tie some on.

10/02/09 - Water temperature out back is 53 degrees - perfect - and the flow is only 2,290CFS. Some fish are showing and better than that some fish are being caught. We still have hatches of Cinnamon Caddis (use a dark winged fly) like the Slow Water Caddis imitation. Leadwinged Coachmen are also still around.

Fish began moving with the burst of rain we got. Thankfully, it wasn't a gully-washer of a rain so flow in the rivers and streams jumped only a little. Just enough to get fish moving and thinking about the spawn. The closer we get to the spawn the less the fish will be putting on the feed bag but for now they are still feeding well and coming to natural looking dry flies. Soon it will switch to gaudy flies that trigger an aggressive response but for now things like Zug Bugs, Stonefly Nymphs and other meaty looking flies will get a response.

Don't put away your Buzz-Off clothing yet. While it's nice to be fishing without the worry and bother of mosquitoes and black flies you should remember there are still TICKS out and about. In fact October and November are peak months in Maine for Lyme Disease. I'll be wearing Buzz-Off until snow season - Lyme Disease is something I'd rather not deal with.

Didymo is another thing we can't forget about. Our local chapter of Trout Unlimited (Kennebec Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited or KVCTU) has purchased over 400 Personal Didymo Washing Stations, which is a fancy way of saying they have purchased over 400 white dry-wall pails. :-)

That's because any of the ever-present 5-gallon pails can be used for a Personal Washing Station if you mix 4-gallons of water with 3-cups of salt and soak your gear in the solution. Just a simple step like that can keep the stuff from spreading. You can pick up pails here at the shop or at any of our KVCTU Chapter meetings. Check out the KVCTU website Didymo page for details about preventing the spread of Didymo and to see the meeting schedule. Our next meeting is one you might want to attend as Ken Iwamasa is our guest speaker. (click here to see more information on Ken Iwamasa)

Here are some flows for you.

East Outlet is only flowing 1,020CFS and while salmon results are still slow there are some nice Brook Trout being caught.

Harris Dam is also having some low flows with but jumping around as usual - from 3:00pm on it will be below 500CFS

Dead River (S24 from Flagstaff to the Kennebec) is at 201CFS - easy wading level

Williams is only 1,800CFS and still sporting rising fish.

Madison is running at 2,370CFS all day and that level is about as good as wading gets in Madison (still good evening hatches)

Shawmut is at 2,290CFS and while it isn't fishing as good as past years people are catching fish.

The Moose is flowing at 893CFS which is very wadable but that river closed on the 30th (just seeing if you're paying attention)

And finally The West Branch of the Penobscot (WHICH IS ALSO CLOSED) is at the comfortable level of 2,167CFS which it was most of the season. We owe the West Branch a big thank you for it was about the only big river in the state that didn't flood out most of the season. That sure is great water.

So there's the long and short of it. Fishing is getting better not worse and the waters that are open are producing. However, there are lots of waters that have closed - be sure and check your law book before wetting a line - don't make a mistake and fish closed waters. Oh, and not only do you want to wear Buzz-Off clothing you might want to dig out an orange hat or vest - hunting is starting and it only makes sense that you make it easy for any hunter to know you aren't game.

09/18/09 - Flows are good up and down the river. Temperatures are down into an acceptable range (67 degrees last night out back of the shop) and there are still hatches of both mayflies and caddis flies. One caddis that is still active is the Cinnamon Caddis which is nicely imitated with a tan to brown winged Elk Hair Caddis. The Elk Hair Caddis with the bleached (almost white) wing is really too light but often works also. The picture of the Cinnamon Caddis you see here is from Troutnut.com which is a site you should become familiar with if you have "match the hatch" interests. Great site.

Try a tan LaFontaine Caddis Deep Sparkle Pupa for or a Ted's Diving Caddis for the Egg layers. These are size 14/16 flies and fish like them. The other good thing about them is they are emerging or diving to lay eggs so if the current drags or swings the fly some it's not a problem because these aren't dead-drift flies instead they can be fished with a lift or swing without spooking fish.

Now that the evening temps have driven the water temperature down into an acceptable range fishing is going to get nothing but better. October promises to be a good month and although I sure didn't think I'd be saying this the one thing that will help October is a rain. Not a hurricane or tropical storm - just a good steady day long soak. That would get things moving and bring some spawners up into the river pools.

Here are some flows for you.

Harris is at 325CFS until 8:00am and then jumping to 750 until 10:00am and then jumping to 5,000CFS until 5:00pm - good flows for the Forks area for the early part of the day. They will then drop the flow to about 750CFS until midnight. Almost makes it worth climbing up and down the stairs at Carry Brook. The Dead River flow is 546CFS. Wyman's (Bingham) flow is also pretty good with a 2,100CFS flow until 11:00am and then a 4,000CFS pulse until 5:00pm and a drop back to 2,100CFS which should make for a good evening rise.

Solon and Madison are at 2,600CFS all day and that's an easy level. Shawmut is also fairly low at 3,187CFS. Very wadable levels.

Get out there and give it a shot.

Oh, almost forgot. The West Branch of the Penobscot is at the 2,300CFS level they said it would be and should stay that way the rest of the month. GLS is at 500CFS and fish are in the stream.

09/11/09 Water temperatures are a bit warm and flows are good. The White Mayflies are hatching big time and people are catching fish. Shawmut flow is 3,920CFS and so wading is good. The temperature is 68 degrees this morning but temps have been topping out about 70 degrees by evening. Fish are scarce though. I'm hoping that trout that have been holding down river in the deeper and cooler stratified impoundment will move up soon. That has been the pattern for September and about now is when the change usually takes place. Forum poster Pine-tree-timberframes managed a 16" rainbow while fishing Wednesday (click here to see the post) so while IF&W hasn't stocked rainbows in Shawmut for two years there are some holdover rainbows being caught.

Pinetreetimberframes caught that fish on a White Caddis. My guess it the fish took that thinking it was part of the White Mayfly hatch. As you can see by the picture above there are a lot of them hatching. They are much later this year than normal but so were most things this summer - including summer itself. It seems to me that summer didn't start until September this year :-(

If you want a good imitation of the White Mayfly give a White Wulff a try - about a size 14. The black thorax area of the White Wulff is a great match for the White Mayfly. And as a bonus the White Mayfly is just a great searching pattern anyway so you can't go wrong tying one on. It is also a great indicator fly if you are fishing a dropper - say a light colored hare's ear nymph or a Cannon Snowshoe Emerger - both good pre-hatch patterns for the White Mayfly hatch.

A lot of waters close the end of this month and the West Branch is one of them. The good news there is on September 14th Brookfield power is dropping the West Branch flow to around 2,300CFS and leaving it at that level while they work on a turbine at McKay station. That's a great flow and you don't want to miss it if you're up in that area.

The Kennebec flows also look promising. The East Outlet is still on the high side since it is running at 2,155CFS but that's an improvement over the 3,000CFS we've been seeing. The Moose River is also down from it's high flows (another water that closes the end of this month) and is running at 745CFS. The Dead River which remains open is down to 500CFS which is a very fishable flow.

Bingham (Wyman Dam) has finally started to pulse at a normal rate and will be a 2,100CFS from 11:00am until 5:00pm. Great level. However, at 5:00pm it's jumping to 8,800CFS which is a higher level than I wade it at. Solon and Madison are also at good levels - both around 3,200CFS.

There are lots of good waters open, flows are dropping and temps aren't bad. The weather forecast is great (maybe a bit on rain later Saturday night or early Sunday) so if you can get out don't pass it up. Good fishing started late and will end all to soon - get out there.

09/04/09 - Well flows are finally better down here in Fairfield but still high out of Moosehead and Flagstaff. I don't know where the excess flow they are dumping out of the major impoundments is going but here flows are good. Water temperature is 68 degrees (checked it with two different thermometers because that seems low) and will climb some during the day but the cool nights seem to be holding temps down - thankfully. As you can see the White Rock is showing (flow is 5,600CFS) and the seagulls have already started to paint it. The White Rock is also sporting some weed growth which shows how long it has been submerged. Weeds on the top of the White Rock are unusual.

Speaking of weeds the weeds are sparse. The heavy weed growth we've seen over the last few years has really been knocked back by the high levels and hard flows. Weeds cover the bottom but there were no weeds worth mentioning that were tall enough to reach the surface. Wading out to the White Rock this morning was easy and I had no weeds wrapped around my legs.

There are lots of bugs streamside - little hatching this morning as most of the hatches are evening hatches this time of year.

The bugs I did see are Leadwinged Coachman, quite large Black Caddis, small Blue Winged Olives and Cahills. Standard fare for this time of the season.

Work is progressing on the dam. They have one section of the new inflatable bladder up and holding back water. The second section is close to ready for the bladder and the final section, I'd say, is getting close to ready for the final cement pour. You can easily tell the section that is complete in the picture by the black top (left of picture). The middle section that is almost ready is also easily recognized by the bright white new concrete face they have poured. While the third and final section (extreme right) is the dingy old gray concrete. I'm sure they'll be glad to get this job over. Probably as happy as we fisherman will be.

This has been a long project but it should help river flow control and will eliminate the problem of flashboards and the dangerous wading they cause. They have done well to keep this project going with the high flows we've endured.

Hopefully, now that flows have dropped FPL will be able to recover one of their containment booms that broke away from the construction site. The high water dragged the boom all the way down to the culverts above the Pasture Pool. It's a long boom but not far from shore so it should be easy for them to get out to it and hook a rope to it. Pulling it back to shore may be a trick but I'm sure they can get it.

Here are some flows around the state.

Moose River - 1,622CFS - finally coming down
East Outlet - 3,016CFS - still very high I fished it Monday and it was tough going at that level.
Harris Dam - 5,050CFS most of the day - also high
Flagstaff - 846CFS - high
Williams Dam (Solon) 4,440CFS which is a great flow
Madison - 4,520CFS - still a bit high but fishable just be careful where you wade. The edges are plenty safe at that level.
Shawmut - 5,029CFS - nice level

So that's it - some improvement. Good bug life, lower flows except for the big lakes which they are trying to drop. Small streams are fishing very well and that's where I'll be fishing this weekend; probably Tumbledown Dick stream up by camp. Get out and enjoy the fishing as a lot of waters close the end of this month.

08/28/09 - The water temperature is back down already. This morning's reading was 66 degrees. That's great but the flow and level is still high. Wish I could tell you something else. I have gotten a couple of phone calls from people who have fished Solon and Madison at the present levels and they told me I'm a sissy if I can't wade the flows we are having. So I've said this before but I'll say it again.

When I say flows are high that doesn't mean you can't fish the edges. I don't care if the East Outlet is 5,000CFS plus if I drive up there I can find somewhere to fish. I might be wading around tree trunks to find a spot where I think I can hook up but I can find a place to fish instead of just driving home. But I'm not wading out into the river at that flow. Sticks and stones and all that - call me a sissy but I'm not wading Madison at today's 6,040CFS flow either. I might fish the edges of it. I may Spey cast and swing streamer out 60 or 80 feet from the bank but I'm not wading 60 or 80 feet out and short line nymphing - nope - not me but anyone who wants to is welcome to the water. With that said here are some flows for you.

East Outlet still high at 3,024CFS (high)
Roach 115CFS (wadable)
Harris Dam 4,950CFS (high)
Dead River 950CFS (high)
Bingham - 5,950CFS (high)
Solon - 5,700CFS (which is high but still fairly wadable in the area by the dam but you have to pick your spots - good float level)
Madison - 6,040CFS (high)
Shawmut - 8,137CFS (high)

So there you have it. With the rains we have coming I don't see these waters dropping much. Smaller waters like the St. George and Sheepscot have wadable water. The Moose is down just a little and running at 1,751CFS which means it's headed in the right direction.

Some caddis still showing. Leadwing Coachman and Cream Cahills are still around. Ponds are still fishing well - don't forget to try dragonflies nymphs if there isn't any surface activity.

08/21/09 - Well it figures the water flow has dropped to levels we can wade and the water temperature has climbed to 71 degrees, which is awfully hot for trout fishing. It won't matter much either way though because the weather forecast for today is 70 percent chance of rain, followed by late afternoon thunderstorms, rain tonight and Saturday - oh Saturday night and Sunday too. Yep, we're down to wadable levels here in Fairfield and that's become a sure sign on rain.

I suppose the good part of that is that since it's the latter part of August and days are becoming shorter and the nights cooler the water temperature will start dropping and fish will start their fall feed getting ready for the spawn.

Here are some flows for you.
East Outlet - still high at 3,016CFS
Harris - 5,950CFS
Flagstaff - 500CFS - very fishable
Bingham - 5,950CFS all day
Solon - 6,100CFS all day (thank goodness the edges of the river fish well up there and that's not a bad drift flow)
Madison - 6,070CFS
Shawmut - a welcomed flow of 5,190CFS but it's hot
GLS - 500CFS
West Branch of the Penobscot - 3,239CFS (high but fishable - water is bound to be cooler up there)

Well there you have it. Some waters are dropping but here comes the rain. In the meantime hatches continue with lots of Leadwing Coachmen, Cream Cahills and Black Caddis. White flies should be hatching soon and a White Wulff is a good match for them (size 12 or 14) and if you want to start working some pre-hatch nymphs try a light colored Hare's Ear about a 12. Those nymphs should be plenty active with the hatch so close.

08/14/09 - Water temperature this morning is 67 degrees. Too bad we STILL can't wade Shawmut. You can canoe or boat it at the 8,692CFS level it's running at but wading is tough. Feeder streams are finally dropping yet heavy thundershowers in Western Maine drove the Carrabassett and Sandy rivers up on Monday and Tuesday and that heavy water is what's flowing by right now. Barring additional rain (and the forecast if for good weather for the next few days) the Carrabassett and Sandy ought to drop back to normal flows.

But those two rivers aren't the only source of high water. The headwater impoundments are all overly high and the hydro guys have got to get the levels down and the only way to do that is flow water. So until they drop the East Outlet (3,000CFS) and Flagstaff (800CFS) and Wyman (pulsing up to 6,000CFS most of the day) we'll still be high here.

So it's more of the same. Hope for no rain and a good fall season I guess. Meanwhile, like I said a lot of the feeder streams are dropping to normal flows. Streams like Spencer which is running at 310CFS now (normally 100CFS or less this time of year) are fishing well and worth spending time on. Ponds are also doing well but most have the Hex activity has peaked and hatches are sporadic at best.

So here are some flows for you. GLS is staying high and running at 800CFS. The West Branch of the Penobscot is also high and running today at 3,138CFS, which while high is close to what it ran most of last summer and a lot of people do fish it at that level. The Sebasticook is running at 288CFS and the "new" section is proving to be a good fishing stretch of river. Occasional Browns, occasional Striper and BIG Smallmouth Bass.

The main stem of the Kennebec is high with the East Outlet running at 3,000CFS. Harris is at 5,000CFS all day. Flagstaff is dumping 800CFS (fishable but fast and high) and should be dropping soon. Williams (Solon) is at 5,200CFS and will be at a pretty good level for our Spey Class this weekend (lucky us - good weather also). Madison is at 6,130CFS and Shawmut is at 8,692CFS. All in all high but fishable if you work the edges. But your best bets still are the feeder streams and ponds.

08/07/09 - Well we're back and sorry to find the river levels haven't dropped much. Today the flow out back of the shop is 11,210CFS which is still too high for wading. However the clarity is fair and a canoe or boat will get you fishing. The only good thing about all this rain and cold weather is the river temperature which is at a cool 66 degrees.

William's (Solon) was running at 6,800CFS yesterday and today is 5,600CFS - another drop like that and we should be able to wade Solon. And if they run the Madison dam at run of river, as I believe they are supposed to do, the flow there tomorrow should also drop from the 7,230CFS it is today to a wadable level.

Shawmut may also drop tomorrow and if it does I'll post an update on the forum tomorrow morning.

The East Outlet is running at 3,000CFS and the Moose River is running at 1,972CFS - both high. Flagstaff is running at 1,000CFS also high.

Fortunately hatches are ongoing despite this high water and Cream Cahill mayflies are out in force. They are easy to spot as they hatch in the late afternoon or early evening and their light color makes them stand out against the dark water. A Pheasant Tail (American with the peacock herl thorax) is a good nymph to use if you get to the water before the hatch.

Caddis are still around in a variety of colors but the one I'm still seeing most frequently is the Black Caddis. Well, I call them Black Caddis but only because that's the color I see when I grab one and look closely at it. I'm sure the caddis in this picture has dark, almost black wings. I'm sure its has light colored legs and a dark body - but I'm not so sure what Caddis it is. There are just too many of the little buggers to be able to identify them. However, I'm also sure a small Black Caddis (like the black Elk Wing Caddis or Black Davy's Caddis) imitation will take fish when these guys are around.

Stoneflies are also still active and Golden Stones are common on the Kennebec. While the big Golden Stones get all the press you shouldn't forget about the Little Golden Stones.

The Little Yellow Stones (Yellow Sally) are an evening hatching and evening egg laying stone fly. One of the nice things about the Little Yellow Stones when egg laying is that they skate along the water surface to broadcast their eggs. What that means to me is I don't have to dead drift a Yellow Sally to effectively fish it. Dead Drifting a fly takes effort, concentration and can get tedious. It's nice to be able to twitch or skate a fly and draw a strike instead of a refusal.

So the bugs are out there. The flows are slowly dropping and levels in the Kennebec should become wadable in the next few days. Until then the lakes and ponds are good and don't ignore the small streams. Those streams you normally fish in the spring are at spring levels today and very cool for this time of year. Go check some of them out you might be pleasantly surprised.

And while I'm thinking about it let me mention the West Branch of the Penobscot flow level. It is HIGH in the West Branch right now. Over 7,000CFS. I've been wondering all summer how the flows in the West Branch could be as low as they were when everything else was so high. Well, I still don't know where they were storing the water but they seem to have run out of room and the flow is up. If you're headed to that area of the state there are other waters you can fish and with this high flow you might want to search out those other places.

And last but not least our annual Spey Casting Class - taught by Jim Rusher - click this link for more information has been switched to August 15th and 16th. This time of year has proven too busy - read that the fishing is too good to spend a weekend at class. So we've postponed it until later in the season. So if you want to learn the ins and outs of Spey Casting give us a call and sign up.

07/24/09 - OK before I forget let me mention that tomorrow is our last day before our annual July vacation. We'll be here at the shop until 5:00pm tomorrow (the 25th) and won't return until August 4th at 10:00am. So if you need something stop in or give us a call at (207) 453-6242.

Now for the Friday Update.

The National Weather Service can say it better than I can so here's a cut and paste from their website giving the forecast for our area:

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST FOR...INTERIOR CUMBERLAND-ANDROSCOGGIN-KENNEBEC-INTERIOR WALDO-INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...NORTH WINDHAM...GORHAM...BRIDGTON...
LEWISTON-AUBURN...LIVERMORE FALLS...AUGUSTA...WATERVILLE...WINTERPORT...UNITY

...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING....TODAY...RAIN THIS MORNING...THEN RAIN LIKELY THIS AFTERNOON. HIGHS IN THE MID 60S. NORTH WINDS 15 TO 20 MPH. CHANCE OF RAIN NEAR
100 PERCENT.

Or said another way - more of the same.

Shawmut got down to the 8,000CFS level for the last couple of days and a few people were even starting to wade the edges but then came more rain and we're headed back to flooding. The ironic part of that for some reason FPL is holding back water and right now - soon to end - we're at a nice wading level of 5,600CFS. I don't know why but around 7:00PM yesterday evening the flow dropped dramatically and in only now starting back up. I suspect some prep work was done to prepare for the next onslaught of high water. Whatever the reason even those of us who live on the river didn't notice the drop in time to take advantage of it and that short window of wading levels is ending. So - it's more ponds and small streams for anyone that wants to fish because the river continues to be BLOWN OUT.

Well, maybe that's a little extreme as there are some sections of the Kennebec you can fish. For example Williams Dam (Solon) is a very fishable and wadable 4,000CFS today. Bingham at 6:00pm today will drop to 3,950CFS and the East Outlet is running at 2,020CFS all day. And Flagstaff (Dead River) dropped from the 710CFS they have been running to 410CFS. But, as always, those flows are subject to change and so you should call 1-800-557-3569 to check flows before driving any distance to fish these waters.

I've been hitting some small streams and next week at camp I'll be hitting ponds. I've probably missed most of the HEX hatch but there may be some activity in the high altitude ponds near camp. It's a long dark walk out from those ponds but worth it for the fishing those hatches generate.

I had a guy bring in a big Hex fly for identification just a couple of days ago. He showed it to me and asked if it was a Hex or a true Green Drake. I immediately said Hex. He wondered how I could be that sure that quick and I explained that the true Green Drakes have spots on the wings and three tails while the Hex has no spots (but heavy veining) on the wings and only two tails.

The mayfly he brought in had a beautiful yellow tint to the wings (without spotting) and two long sweeping tails. The back was dark and the belly was cream to yellow in color. It also was a full 1 1/2" long and looked like it must weight a pound or more. Man those are big bugs.

By the way I borrowed both of these mayfly pictures from Troutnut.com (click to enlarge them) a site created and maintained by Jason Neuswanger. It's a great site and you should visit it sometime. Besides having wonderful shots of trout food he has one of the better fly fishing oriented T-shirts that I've seen.

I ask you now isn't that a cool T-shirt? :-)

Anyway, despite the high flows water temperatures are good. Pond fishing is good and small streams that drop fast after a rain are holding trout. That's quite a treat as many of those streams are often too warm this time of year. The small streams I've been fishing are running at spring levels and the fishing is fast. Lots of trout.

So in between the heavy rains get out there and fish. You can bet rain or shine this coming week will see me float tubing some remote ponds and doing some bush-whacking looking for new beaver ponds around our camp. I found a big new beaver pond last fall during hunting season and I can't wait to check it out. It's only a half-mile from camp and it's huge. I'll post some picture of it when we get back from vacation.

Have a good week - sorry there won't be an update next week but I'll get one up the Friday after we return.

07/17/09 - I bet you can guess what I'm going to say about the river flow - yep, that's right - the river is still high. Just high enough to keep us from wading safely and just low enough to be tempting. The White Rock at Shawmut did peak out from the surface yesterday but the flow is fierce. The missing flashboards are part of the reason why and this picture shows you that the impoundment above the dam has to drop at least another 1 or 2 feet before they can put the flashboards back. My guess is that will take at least another few days because the showers and storms in Western Maine continue. And there seems to be no end. In the 7-day forecast only Sunday is predicted to be free of rain.

We fisherman aren't the only ones tired of this rain. The construction crew putting the inflatable bladder on the Shawmut Dam are sick of it also. They had planned to finish installing the bladder last month and to date they aren't a third of the way across as you can see in this picture (by the way click on any of these pictures to enlarge them). My guess is even if the rainfall drops back to normal for the rest of the summer those guys won't finish until next June.

This next picture shows the small hoe-ram they have on top of the dam. They use this to notch the top of the dam providing a secure foundation for the bladder base. When the water drops and the new flashboards are installed they will use the crane to lift the hoe-ram over the concrete "house" and finish notching the top of the dam. Quite a process. I for one will be glad when they finish but like I said I don't think that will be until sometime next year.

As for fishing some people have been wading the edges of river and picking up a few fish but the only way to work the river effectively right now is from a boat. So if you've got a canoe, kayak or drift boat the river is fishing well. Todd Towle of Kingfisher River Guides floated Solon at 6,000CFS and they boated several fish over 18" and missed others. If you decide to try Solon (which is running at 5,000CFS today) contact Evergreen Campgrounds to arrange a shuttle.

The water temperature out back in the river is a comfortable 67 degrees - unheard of in mid-July. Here are some river flows for you. East Outlet is at 2020CFS which is high but fishable - wading is limited but there are plenty of places at that flow you can fish safely if you'll walk a bit. Flagstaff (Dead River) is flowing at 700CFS and falls into the same category high, fast and hard to wade but fishable if you're careful. Bingham (Wyman Dam) is just under 6,000CFS all day today and that's tough fishing. The good part of Bingham's flow is that they are pulsing the water again instead of running at a constant HIGH dumping flow like they have had to for most of the last month. Madison is running at 5,950CFS which is a hard push there but fish are being caught along the edges. And Shawmut, as I mentioned above, is at 9,240CFS and more safely fished from a boat than by wading.

Ponds and the West Branch of the Penobscot continue to be your best bet for safe consistent fishing. However, the West Branch is creeping up and running at 2,629CFS today. The Hex's continue and the fish have been up feeding on them. I'd be giving the ponds a hard look if you're looking to hook up with some nice Brook Trout.

The Sebasticook has dropped quite a bit and today is running at 1,260CFS which is proving to be a good level. Much higher than the normal July level we expect to see but the normal level in July is very low and warm. This level keeps fish in the "new" section and fishing there can be quite good. To date the fish lift at the first dam in Benton has lifted 8 Shad and TWO ATLANTIC SALMON - which is a nice surprise.

While two Atlantic Salmon is a nice surprise the real story is that they have managed to get some Shad into the lift. I don't think the Lockwood Dam on the main stem of the Kennebec has gotten any to date.

Anyway, with these water temps the fishing is still good - hatches are mostly evening now and Caddis still rule the day. Go armed with some Goddard Caddis (as there are still Zebra Caddis around), plenty of Black Caddis flies and lots of emergers. An especially good producer has been the CDC Emerging Caddis in Brown or Olive.

07/10/09 - The water temperature out back is 61 degrees. That gives me some hope the river will have some fishing for us when this water comes down from the 25,950CFS we have for a flow. Last year on 07/11/08 the water temperature was 70 degrees. I guess somehow that puts us ahead of the game. I'm making no guesses as to when safe wading will resume. With this much water in the system and mixed sun and rain for the next week it's anybodies guess. Our best hope is that the ongoing dam projects will prompt FPL to dump water to bring the flow quickly down to somewhere near normal.

I'm sick of this high water. This is the 5th year of it according to my records. We had 5 years of drought, 1 year with normal flows and this is our 5th year of high flows. I for one would take the 5 years of drought over the 5 years of wet. At least we could fish, farmers could plant and do some haying during the drought and to add to that the strawberries were a lot sweeter during those sunny years.

But there is fishing to be had. Ponds are fishing well and the Hex hatch is on in many ponds. If they haven't started in your favorite pond yet they will soon. Some ponds have had them well over a week now. Alder flies are still hatching (click the Alder Fly picture to enlarge) Leadwinged Coachman, and Light Cahills as well. Lots of caddis still with more black caddis showing out back than any other.

All sort for bugs are out including our buddies the Golden Stones. If you can't find good water in any of your normal haunts try the tribs. Even though the Sebasticook is high (over 3,000CFS today) it is clear and there are fish up in it. The main stem of most rivers are running dirty and those clean high tribs are a better place to hang out than the main stem. Even areas like Bingham where the main stem is running fairly clean a slower running Austin Stream is a likely place to look for trout seeking refuge from the fast water. After all yesterday Wyman ran over 14,000CFS yesterday and it is around 12,000CFS today.

Dobson Flies will be out soon. Those big ugly bugs are spooky and I'll readily admit I don't especially like them flying around me at dusk. But they do provide some entertainment here at the shop. It's fun to trap one and put it on the counter. The kids love looking at them and it's fun to try and get people to stick their finger into the box :-)

The West Branch of the Penobscot is running at 2,295 today - a great flow. If you want to fish normal water head that way. It is definitely producing fish and enjoying off and on hatching all day. As I mentioned last week if big water like the West Branch seem daunting you can hire a guide to show you the ropes. Guys like Greg "Boz" Bostater at (207) 749-1593 or www.maineriverguides.com can show you a lot about the river on a trip. Even people who have fish the West Branch for years can pick up tips from Greg.

Something I want to mention is we have vacation coming up soon. The 25th is our last day here - we leave at 5:00pm - and the 4th of August is our first day back - we get here at 10:00am on the 4th. So if you need something be sure and stop in or call and order. One thing you might want to purchase before we go is a Battenkill Bar Stock reel. If you need a reel now is the time to buy one of these as they are both on sale and coming with a free spool at the sale price. See this post from the Forum to read more about it.

So to sum it up the Kennebec is high top to bottom - East Outlet is over 6,000CFS today, Bingham is at 11,800CFS, Solon is at 14,000CFS, Madison is at 15,400CFS and Shawmut is at 25,950CFS - you can write the Kennebec off for the next few days. But the tribs should be dropping and fishing well. Ponds are good and the Hex hatch is on or starting in most areas. The West Branch is at a great flow. GLS is high at 689 (but fishable) and should be still good for salmon when the level drops as water temps are pretty good for July. So give it a shot if time allows and you'll likely find fish - especially in the ponds.

07/03/09 - Well the good news is the water temperature is 62 degrees out back. The bad news is the flow is 22,710CFS and the water clarity is POOR. Oh, wait did I make it sound like that was all of the bad news - OH - there's more. More rain coming that is. Showers and thunderstorms all next week.

Now I know showers don't sound all that bad after the rain we've had but the ground is so saturated that any rainfall goes right into the streams - nothing more can soak in. So while the Carrabassett and Sandy rivers have been dropping because of yesterdays Western Maine 'showers" both are heading back up. The Carrabassett had dropped below 2,000CFS yesterday and this morning it is running at 2,110CFS and climbing. Likewise the Sandy is climbing from yesterday's low of just below 3,000CFS and is at 3,650CFS.

Oh but there is some good news - Zebra Caddis - or Alder Flies (whichever you call them) are hatching. The one I've got a picture of was nice enough to land on the window here at the shop so I could get a fish-eye view. This is a good hatch and while we can't fish it here on the mainstem of the Kennebec it's happening in other places. Remember the pupa for these critters is green and so is the adult for about an hour after hatching. So whatever you pick for a dry fly imitation of the Zebra Caddis a Zug Bug is a good dropper to hang off the dry, if you fish droppers that is. The LaFontaine Deep Sparkle Pupa in green is another that you might want to try - the bright green ones.

And while there isn't much wadable water there is some. The shining star of water flow through all this has been and is the West Branch of the Penobscot which is running at 2,186CFS, which is a nice flow. If you haven't fished the West Branch or want to explore some of the sections you can't wade call Greg "Boz" Bostater at (207) 749-1593 or visit his website at www.maineriverguides.com he's a guide who knows the river. Other good flows are harder to come by. The Dead River flow is 1,000CFS at Flagstaff Dam - down from 4,000CFS yesterday. That's one I'd be checking on the flow phone (1-800-557-3569) because they may well drop it again tonight. And then there's - well heck - there's little else at least in the Kennebec Watershed.

Harris is at 7,500 all day, East Outlet is at 5,300CFS, Williams is at 12,000CFS, Madison is at 11,100CFS and as I mentioned Shawmut is at 22,710CFS. But the "new" Sebasticook section has been a bright spot. Despite being high you can fish it and there are a lot of different fish up in there right now trying to get out of the "dirty" Kennebec water. Stripers, Shad, Smallmouth, Browns and Rainbows are all possibilities. Check out this thread on the forum http://flyfishingonly.net/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5071 for a report on one person's outing.

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July - enjoy yourselves and if you can't find any moving water to fish remember the ponds are almost all fishing well and, oh, did I mention the Hex hatches have started on most area ponds - Pierce included :-)

06/26/09 - High water again - still - forever - whatever - yes I'm sick of high water. What is it three years now? Enough. But on the bright side because of this high water natural reproduction and survival for trout and salmon across the state is on the rise and we're seeing the results in ponds especially. Good fish are being caught in the ponds and rivers (the rivers you can wade) and more and more of them are wild fish.

OK - enough of crying about it - today the river is a comfortable 64 degrees. That's one benefit of the cool summer so far. The flow in Shawmut is 12,370CFS and likely to bounce up some because of last night's rain. So no wading here. The Carrabassett and Sandy rivers are both creeping up as I type this. The Carrabassett is just below the 1,000CFS mark and the Sandy is just below the 2,000CFS mark. Since the weather forecast is for showers and thunderstorms every day for the next week I don't see this section of river dropping much.

However, if you fish the Kennebec above the Sandy and Carrabassett influence you can find better levels. Solon (Williams Dam) is running at 3,800CFS (great wading) and Bingham (Wyman) is at 5,9600CFS all day (too high for many) but will likely be at wadable levels after they dump all day. So check out Wyman's flow tomorrow and you may well find it OK.

The East Outlet is at 1,700CFS and hopefully running a bit cleaner than it has most of this week. I went up on Monday and for the first time ever at the East Outlet I couldn't see the top of my boots when I was standing knee deep. That's dirty for the East Outlet.

I guess the NorEaster wind we had for several days just filled the cove above the dam with crud. Anyway it was dirty and I was surprised. However, it has cleared up a lot since last Monday. People are catching fish there but if you go expect to see a few more people there than you normally do as there isn't a lot of moving water that is fishable right now.

Grand Lake area is out for this weekend, at least wading the stream is. The stream is flowing at 1,420CFS and yep - that's high. I'm sure the lake however will be producing for those of you who can boat it or those of you willing to hire a guide to get you out on the lake. That is a wonderful lake and I've spent a lot of good hours fishing it.

Bugs - we got bugs. The flashing picture you see is a cross section of the "backdoor" bugs I found waiting for me this morning. We still have Cahills and Sulphurs for mayfly activity. And we have Caddis galore. Speaking of Caddis our old friend the Zebra Caddis or Alder Fly made its first appearance yesterday. I hope that means we'll have a good Zebra Caddis hatch this year as it is one of my favorites.

The Goddard Caddis (size 12) with a Zug Bug as a dropper is a good rig for fishing the Zebra Caddis hatch. The pupa of the Zebra Caddis is green despite the dark color of the adult Zebra Caddis which makes a Zug Bug a good choice for a dropper.

Another caddis that is hatching is what I call the slow water caddis. I call it that for two reasons. The first being I don't know what its real name is and the second being "Slow Water Caddis" is the name of the pattern I fish to imitate them. You can see the Slow Water Caddis pattern in picture on the left. It is the small insert shown above a caddis I found on the back door this morning. Note the deep V the wings make in the real caddis and how it is matched by the "Slow Water Caddis" pattern. I think that is the key to the success of this pattern.

Speaking of Caddis the West Branch of the Penobscot River has plenty of them and that's another watershed you might look at for this weekend. The flow there is 2,416CFS and that's a good flow. It certainly is better than the 3,500CFS plus we saw most of last year.

That West Branch area is where I'll be this weekend as Linda and I are headed to camp. Unless the wind is so bad it keeps our boat on the beach I plan to motor over and up into the West Branch to fish Passamagamet Falls, which are the falls at the bottom of the Debsconeag Deadwater.

So good fishing to you all - enjoy and make the best of another wet weekend.

And last but not least our annual Spey Casting Class - taught by Jim Rusher - click this link for more information has been switched to August 15th and 16th. This time of year has proven too busy - read that the fishing is too good to spend a weekend at class. So we've postponed it until later in the season. So if you want to learn the ins and outs of Spey Casting give us a call and sign up.

06/19/09 Things are good. Water temperatures have stayed down - 60 degrees out back in the river. That's great for those of us who fly fish but it's hard on the summer vacation people. When we were kids at camp on mornings like this our mother gathered us in the camp kitchen and hung a blanket over the door. Then cooking breakfast and making toast in the oven would warm the kitchen and at least we could start the day warm. But rain or shine we kids would end out outdoors making the best of what we had for conditions.

I think that was good training for fishing this summer because it seems if you aren't will to go out in play in the rain then you aren't going to get much play time. The rain hasn't slowed the hatches much. I think wind is a bigger problem really. Somehow the bugs seem to know when there is a big wind and they don't hatch out.

That may not hold true all the time but I can say last night's rain didn't slow down the hatch. The caddis and mayfly pictures you see blinking from frame to frame are all from the back door and taken this morning. You can see there are plenty of different bugs hatching out right now.

The flow in Shawmut is great for wading - it is only 6,434CFS right now but it will climb during the day. Both the Sandy and the Carrabassett rivers actually dropped during the night but a quick check this morning shows that the runoff has started and both rivers are starting to swing up. This much rain is bound to do that but it hasn't been particularly bad for wading. I have to think that is because of the dam projects FPL has going on at Skowhegan and Shawmut.

Most of last week the Sandy was running over 1,000CFS and yet we weren't blown out here. Either FPL is keeping the impoundments low enough to absorb a big rain or they are dumping the water to protect the work in progress because a 1,000CFS flow in either the Sandy or the Carrabassett normally stops our wading.

Flows are good up and down the river. The East Outlet is running at 1,202CFS, Harris is dropping to 325CFS at 4:00pm, and Bingham is running at 3,950CFS most of the day. As a bonus Bingham (Wyman) is dropping to 2,100CFS at 7:00pm which gives you a couple hours of evening hatch fishing with low waters since we have these nice long days.

Solon is at 3,000CFS all day and Madison at 3,880CFS while again here at Fairfield (Shawmut Dam) is very wadable at 6,434CFS. But with all that said a quick check of the flow phone may save you a wasted trip so be sure and check by calling 1-800-557-3569 before you head out. You can also check a bunch of different flows by following this link.

Get out there and fish. Even though the temperatures are pretty good it won't last. We're bound to have some sun soon and it's going to drive the temps up, which will slow the fishing. Take advantage of the good temps now.

06/12/09 Well it's Friday again and time for a Friday Update about the river but first let me wish a Happy Birthday to my sister who's birthday makes June one of my favorite months. If you're on the forum today wish FFOSIS a Happy Birthday.

Ok - water temperature is a cool 59 degrees today - think this has been a cold spring? Must be Global Warming - what's Al Gore doing these days? Anyway fishing is good, bugs are hatching and fish are being caught. Shawmut is producing good hatches but there aren't many hold over fish being caught. There are some around but not the density there used to be.

Shad are in Waterville now and the fishing can be very good, or like fishing can always be - very bad. But for the most part the Shad fishing is holding up well. Wednesday morning I went to Waterville and poled my canoe into Ticonic Bay (a fancy name for the wide section of river by the old Hathaway mill) and caught 4 shad in about two hours. They are a fun, powerful fish but if you want to hook up you should be sure and bring a sinking line. I couldn't get any interest until I was DEEP with my presentation and I'm getting that same feedback from others who are catching them.

The color of the working fly on any given day seems to change but one constant is the Shad seem to like some flash. A Crazy Charlie Bonefish fly is a good one to try if you happen to have some left over from a trip to the flats. If you tie you can make up a pattern with bead-chain eyes, a bright Antron body and a bit of Flashabou. And of course you can always stop by here and pick up a couple of Shad flies.

For every Shad I caught I caught at least 5 or 6 Alewives so while the major run of Alewives is over there are still plenty in the river. Which should mean there are plenty of Stripers in the river but I'm afraid not many Stripers are being caught. Like last year they are very few and far between. They may still show but so far I'm not hearing about many hookups with Stripers.

The river flows are already being driven up by this rain. The East Outlet is down to 1,200CFS, and Flagstaff (Dead River) is down to 300CFS, but Bingham is at 6,000CFS for the whole day and while the flows below there are good but subject to rapid change with this rain so be sure and check before you go. (1-800-557-3569)

There are plenty of bugs hatching. Tan Caddis, Olive Caddis, Gray Caddis and Black Caddis are all on the water. About the only Caddis we're lacking is the Alder Fly. For Mayflies the Hendricksons are about gone but their smaller cousin the Pale Evening Duns are coming on strong. Along with the Sulphurs, Light Cahills, Leadwinged Coachmen and a bunch of less well know mayflies thrown in for good measure.

If you want to know what's hatching go to some bushes streamside and look at the underside of the leaves. You'll see a bunch of them is my guess. Check out these two photos with all the leaves. The second one is a close-up of the first. All those black specs turned out to be bugs when I got a little closer.

So far the fish haven't been real selective. They seem willing to take any appropriate fly if the presentation is good. The exception to that seem to be in the evening when the Sulphurs and Light Cahills are on the water. As you might guess when given a choice between the Sulphurs and the Light Cahills they are opting for the bigger meal and taking Light Cahills. At least that's how it seems to me. I've had better hookup rates with the Light Cahill than the Sulphurs when they are both on the water.

Our Casting Contest has come and gone but it's not over. Here's the scoop. Craig Weaver was the winner of the casting event. He was supported in his effort by his wife, two kids and parents. (his Dad tried to beat him but lost out :-)) On that day Craig was the most accurate caster who entered.

We only had one person complain about the contest focus on accuracy instead of distance. He felt a Casting Contest should live and die on distance. However, I still contend that accuracy in casting catches more fish than distance does.

The reason I say the Casting Contest isn't quite over is that we haven't drawn the "non-caster" category winner yet. We'll do that tomorrow at noon and post the winner on the Forum. So that means you can still enter and perhaps win the "non-caster" TLS Power Matrix Fly Rod of your choice for a prize. If you follow this link ( Maine Trout Unlimited Trout Camp CASTING CONTEST.) you can enter until noon tomorrow. We're at about $845.00 and had hoped to make it to $1,000 in donations to the Trout Camp.

And last but not least our annual Spey Casting Class - taught by Jim Rusher - click this link for more information ha has been switched to August 15th and 16th. This time of year has proven too busy - read that the fishing is too good to spend a weekend at class. So we've postponed it until later in the season. So if you want to learn the ins and outs of Spey Casting give us a call and sign up.

06/05/09 Hatches are on and fish are being caught most everywhere - HEY - it must be June :-)

Water temperature is 62 degrees and the flow in Shawmut is 5,377 which is perfect. Sulphur mayflies have started - few Hendrickson mayflies left - Caddis (tan 14) are all over and in general if you go to the water you'll see surface activity most any time of the day.

I have to admit I haven't been able to take advantage of Shawmut's water much at all so far this season. Things have worked out so that since going to GLS I've either been at camp on the weekends or just plain away. And, unfortunately my mornings have been taken up with the Casting Contest preparations and other various and sundry projects - but that's going to change after tomorrow's casting contest. From then on my mornings AND evenings are free and I'm planning on hitting the water more.

However, I've been getting reports and here's one from a guy who bought a pair of waders on his way to Shawmut the day before yesterday. He stopped in this morning and said "I got a couple of Rainbows and Browns - the Browns were about 18" and the hatches were great." Can't beat a report like that.

Those Rainbows have to be holdovers as there have been no Rainbows stocked for two years now. And I'm happy to say he's not the only guy reporting holdover Browns as they have been scarce.

I've got to go out and finish up on the casting pond for tomorrow's contest so this will be another short Friday Update but I'll have a bit more time for them the rest of the summer. Right now though is THE time of the season to get as much fishing in as you can - it won't get any better then what we'll see for the next three or four weeks - get out there - somewhere and take advantage of this season - we've waited long enough for it to get here.

Sulphurs, remnants of the Hendricksons, Pale Evening Duns, Blue Winged Olives for mayflies - tan and olive Caddis all hatching now - black Caddis soon to start as are the Golden Stones - it's on - Happy Days ahead.

Here are some flows - GLS 619CFS, Madison 4,770 CFS, Solon 4,100CFS, East Outlet 2,509CFS Flagstaff 302CFS, Bingham after 6:00PM tonight 4,100CFS - ALL FISHABLE FLOWS hard to decide where to go. Oh did I mention the West Branch and almost every trout pond is also fishing well.

So get out and fish and if you can stop by and try your hand in the Casting Contest tomorrow or if you can't make it call in or make a donation online to the Casting Contest to support the Maine TU Trout Camp. Below is the blurb I wrote last week about it.

So have a good weekend - stay safe - fish hard and when you make plans for next weekend be sure and include stopping by here to enter the Maine Trout Unlimited Trout Camp CASTING CONTEST./a> (Saturday June 6th) And since so many of you, in past years, that can't make the Casting Contest have entered without ever casting we've created a Non-Caster category. You can make a $15.00 donation and get a chance at winning an ORVIS TLS POWER MATRIX fly rod. Get more info by clicking here.

And last but not least our annual Spey Casting Class - taught by Jim Rusher - click this link for more information has been switched to August 15th and 16th. This time of year has proven to busy - read that the fishing is too good to spend a weekend at class. So we've postponed it until later in the season. So if you want to learn the ins and outs of Spey Casting give us a call and sign up.

05/29/09 - The river is high and fast despite what the USGS website says. If you check the USGS site the Sidney flow reads 7,100CFS and the Sebasticook reads 306CFS. Subtracting the Sebasticook from the Sidney flow tells you that Shawmut is running at 6,794CFS which would be just fine for a flow. But it isn't - I'd say from looking at the river level at Shawmut that the flow is closed to 8,000CFS. It's cranking out there and getting higher. So if you're planning on doing some wading you might want to hit Madison or Solon today.

Madison is running at 4,640CFS and Solon is at 4,100CFS - both wadable levels. With yesterdays rain and today's drizzle to a full rain there should be a good Blue Winged Olive hatch. But as cool as it is you might not see many Hendricksons. Speaking of cool - happily - the river is staying cool with today's temperature reading being 53 degrees down 6 degrees from last week's reading. Nice

The Carrabassett and Sandy have crested and today's rain probably won't push them higher. But today's rain will slow the drop so if you plan on fishing be sure and check the flow either at the USGS SITE or by calling 1-800-557-3569. It could save you a long trip for no fishing.

Flagstaff is running at 582CFS, East Outlet at 2,308CFS and the Moose at 1,591CFS - all fishable but caution is your friend at those levels. Jumping from the Kennebec Watershed to the Penobscot might also be a good idea - McKay Station is running about 2,400CFS and that's lower than it was most of last year. We're headed for camp this weekend and I just may have to head up that way :-)

So have a good weekend - stay safe - fish hard and when you make plans for next weekend be sure and include stopping by here to enter the Maine Trout Unlimited Trout Camp CASTING CONTEST. (Saturday June 6th) And since so many of you, in past years, that can't make the Casting Contest have entered without ever casting we've created a Non-Caster category. You can make a $15.00 donation and get a chance at winning an ORVIS TLS POWER MATRIX fly rod. Get more info by clicking here.

And last but not least our annual Spey Casting Class - taught by Jim Rusher - click this link for more information has been switched to August 15th and 16th. This time of year has proven to busy - read that the fishing is too good to spend a weekend at class. So we've postponed it until later in the season. So if you want to learn the ins and outs of Spey Casting give us a call and sign up.

05/22/09 - What a difference a week makes. The river is prime here in the Shawmut area. Flow is 7,000CFS (a bit high for some but safe enough - 6,000CFS is perfect - 8,000CFS most people stop wading) and the water temperature at 6:00am read 59 degrees.

There are hatches as well. Last week before I left for GLS there were no bugs to speak of. But the Hendricksons must been waiting for me to leave as they kicked off the first big hatch two days after I left. So for 3 or 4 days now there has been a good hatch and like normal it starts around 1:30 or 2:00pm and lasts a couple of hours. Some come early some hatch late but they are hatching. Some Blue Winged Olives are showing and if we get the overcast with showers weather they are prediction on Saturday there should be a good hatch of them. Not just here in Shawmut up and down most of the river would be more like it. Oh yeah, also the caddis have started. I found my first bunch of caddis on the back door of the shop today - nice. They've been hatching on the feeder streams but now they've started in the main stem.

And up and down the river you'll find fishable flows. East Outlet is a bit high today with a flow around 2,000CFS. As is Flagstaff with a flow of 795CFS but both may be down some tomorrow - call 1-800-557-3569 to check flows. Bingham is pulsing, although not as frequently as normal, with a barely fishable flow of 3,950CFS all day. Williams (Solon) is even better with a flow of 4,100CFS all day - good level. Madison follows suit with a flow of 5,000CFS all day which is a little on the high side but wadable if you're careful.

Grand Lake Stream was full of fish while I was there last week and should be fishing well this weekend. I caught most of my fish on Streamers (can't help it I just love swinging streamers) and saw little dry fly activity. Lots of people fishing nymphs and they were hooking up. Didn't see much dry fly activity but yesterday's temps and today's temps ought to kick the hatches off nicely. I missed it but was told Sunday on GLS there was a great hatch. I fished it Monday and Tuesday - figures - I'd love to be there today.

That's about it - the conditions are good most everywhere and it should be a good weekend for fishing. I had some bug pictures for you but I can't find my camera - hope I didn't lose it - I'm headed up to the dam now to check the area where I was parked yesterday morning to see if I dropped it while getting into or out of the truck - wish me luck finding it.

05/15/09 - Well, it looks like the river fooled me this year, because my safe wading prediction for May 12th appears to have been a bit optimistic. Since the river is running about 12,000CFS out back and 12,000CFS can't be called safe wading :-) However, I really don't think it will be long even with yesterdays rain and showers forecast for the Western Mountains over the weekend.

The water temperature is 53 degrees. Hendricksons haven't started - there have been a few advance scouts out and about - but not enough to call it a hatch yet. I'm sure there have been some Blue Winged Olives by now but I haven't seen any. Things are ready to kick off if they will just get the flashboards up - or I should say if Mother Nature will let them get the flashboards up - we could be fishing in perfect conditions - good water flows and 52 to 58 degree water. At least perfect for the type of fishing I like to do.

One of the things that made me think the flashboards would be up early is the inflatable bladder FPL plans to put on the Shawmut Dam soon. They started the project last fall and poured the base and anchor points for the inflatable bladder but delivery of the custom made rubber sections wasn't until December. The timetable they announced last fall calls for installation of the bladder by the middle of June. "Times a wasting" as they say and if they are going to make it work will have to start soon. This picture shows some of the forms they built last fall and if you follow this link you can see a video I made last fall showing a close-up of the work in progress. All in all it's shaping up to be a normal year with wading and Hendrickson's starting during the third week of May while I'm up at West Grand Lake for my annual trip with friends and family.

It seems every year while I'm up at West Grand when I call back to the shop and ask about the river Linda replies "the wading is great and the Hendricksons are out in force." And of course they aren't hatching up at West Grand and I'm having to fish subsurface to hook up. Oh well, there are worse places to be - if I'm fishing West Grand I've got no complaints.

The Kennebec, East Outlet flow has been cut back to around 2,100CFS which many used to say was too high to wade. However, several years of high water has forced people to search out sections that can be fished at that flow (they are there) and now many will wade at that level. It can be pretty unforgiving at that flow but might be worth a look. The last several day the East Outlet flow has been about 5,000CFS and that's bound to have brought some fish in.

Solon is running at 7,500CFS and so too high for much wading but like Shawmut it will be soon. If we only get showers it could be fine by Sunday. Madison actually went up a bit last night to 8,930 and so its also too high - sounds like last year doesn't it - too high - too high - too high. But you have to remember it's early and these levels are normal.

Ponds are fishing well and hatches are starting - give it a go somewhere this weekend.

Here are a couple of general notices:

The Kennebec Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited will hold the annual Alewife Festival at Fort Halifax Park - open to the public - free casting and tying lessons - very kid friendly. On Saturday may 16th.

The Kennebec Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited will hold the annual Women's Day event Saturday May 30th. This event will be held in Winslow on the restored section of the Sebasticook River and fishing will be from the bank and also by wading. The event goes from 10:00am to 4:00pm and lunch is provided. Contact Greg Ponte to sigh up by calling (207) 724-2861 or emailing gponte@tds.net

That same weekend we will conduct our annual Spey Casting Class - taught by Jim Rusher - click this link for more information.

Also June 6th is the date for the Fly Fishing Only Casting contest held to support Maine Trout Unlimited Trout Camp. You should stop by that day and see if you can win the Orvis graphite rod of your choice. I'll post more information about that soon.

05/08/09 - Well, the water is still high with Shawmut running just over 12,000CFS - going to be tough to make my safe wading prediction of May 12th but I'm hanging with it. The Carrabassett and Sandy have crested already and are heading down to that 1,000CFS mark and if they are below that the flashboards can be installed. Two days to drop, two more days of stable flow and then board installation the next day - heck - I'd only be one day off.

The picture on the left shows FPL loading flashboards into their barge a couple of years back. The flashboards and barge are sitting just inside their gate and have been there for a week - it could happen at a moments notice.

Meanwhile flows are high up and down the river. Moosehead Lake must have finally filled as the East Outlet flow has jumped to 4,800CFS and that's a bit on the high side :-) for my taste. But when it drops I'd like to be there because that flow will bring in some fish. Flagstaff Lake must also be full as the flow out of Flagstaff is 1,016CFS. Down at Grand Falls it must be quite high as Spencer is running at 1,040 yielding a combined flow of over 2,000 from Grand Falls down.

Williams and Madison are also high with William's (Solon) running at 10,000CFS all day and Madison at 10,900. But those levels are to be expected this time of year and with the gates open like they are levels will drop quick.

Not much for bugs on the river yet. However, David Braica was good enough to stop in yesterday after fishing the "new" section of the Sebasticook (above the old Ft. Halifax dam site) and report a Blue Winged Olive hatch. That is certainly good news as Shawmut is usually a couple of days behind the Sebasticook for hatches. Blue Winged Olives on the main stem soon - that's a good thing. Once they start the game is on.

Alewives are running in the river. They can be found in the Kennebec and all the way up to the Benton Falls Dam on the Sebasticook. A report I got Tuesday said on Monday alone well over 100,000 had been passed over the Benton dam headed towards Newport.

Another thing David mentioned is some of the LARGE Smallmouth Bass that lived in the Sebasticook Impoundment didn't leave when the dam went out. He reported at least one of them is still there :-) It's a good place to check out now while the Kennebec is so high. The best chance for some of those Smallmouths and the Brown Trout that are sure to be feeding on the Alewives is now. Because if the Stripers show this year those Smallmouths and Browns will run and hide.

While the fishing is very close to breaking loose around here I'm running away for the weekend. Headed for Pemadumcook Lake and a grand experiment - trying to apply Irish Lake Drift fishing techniques to Maine's fifth largest lake. A friend and I will be using 11 and 12-foot long 6 and 7-weght fly rods and flies like the Claret Dabbler shown on the left.

I'll be sure and post a trip report on the forum after we return. This is a new technique for me and I'm quite eager to try it. Although it means I'll be up late tonight tying the special leaders the technique calls for. Those would be the leaders I've been going to tie for about a month and since we leave tomorrow at 5:00pm I thought tonight would be a good time to tie them :-)

So that's the news about the fishing in the area. A couple of general notices are:

The Kennebec Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited will hold the annual Alewife Festival at Fort Halifax Park - open to the public - free casting and tying lessons - very kid friendly. On Saturday May 16th.

The Kennebec Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited will hold the annual Women's Day event Saturday May 30th. This event will be held in Winslow on the restored section of the Sebasticook River and fishing will be from the bank and also by wading. The event goes from 10:00am to 4:00pm and lunch is provided. Contact Greg Ponte to sign up by calling (207) 724-2861 or emailing gponte@tds.net

That same weekend we will conduct our annual Spey Casting Class - taught by Jim Rusher - click this link for more information.

Also June 6th is the date for the Fly Fishing Only Casting contest held to support Maine Trout Unlimited Trout Camp. You should stop by that day and see if you can win the Orvis graphite rod of your choice. I'll post more information about that soon.

May 1, 2009 - It's a wet one today. The pattern we saw last year with water levels dropping to within a day or two of safe wading followed by a rain is continuing. Shawmut was down to just over 10,000CFS yesterday - only 3,000CFS over safe wading but the rain that started last night has already pushed it up above 11,000CFS. But it's just May 1st and the annual average flow for May 1st is over 15,000CFS so things aren't so bad.

Most ponds are open, Moosehead is open and most streams are running full but not over the banks so there are plenty of spots to go try. I had no luck this past weekend while searching for Pike. Well - no Pike luck but I can tell you Ingham Stream is the home of some very big and strong Smallmouth Bass and while working Ingham for Pike I also caught the largest Yellow Perch I've ever seen. And while I was striking out in the Pike department on Ingham friends of mine were nailing them in Belgrade Stream. Just my luck - right watershed - wrong location - oh well.

I never did make it down to the Sebago area last weekend. Too many weekend chores :-) but I'd rather get things done around the house now so I'll have more time when the fishing really kicks in. And fishing will be kicking in SOON as water temps in the Kennebec River right out back of the shop are already 50 degrees - that's right 50. Last year on May 2nd the water was 35 degrees. Many small streams and ponds are already showing mayflies and if this keeps up we'll have heavy caddis hatches here before June. I'm confident we'll have Hendricksons hatching here by May 20th and I didn't post my first Hendrickson picture last season until June 6th.

TThe East Outlet and Flagstaff still have low flows for this time of year. East Outlet is only 1,200CFS - very fishable - and Flagstaff is at 315CFS which is more than very fishable it's low. Moosehead and Flagstaff lakes must be low as there seems to be plenty of water running into them but little (for this time of year) flowing out. The Moose River is high and dumping 5,000CFS into Moosehead and the Roach is also high running over 8,00CFS - I know it's a big lake but between the two rivers that's almost 6,000 cubic feet per second for an inflow. You'd think before long that would force them to open the East. If I can get out to fish this weekend maybe I'll head up there and see if I can fish it before Moosehead does fill up and they start to dump.

If any of you reading this get a chance please take a water temperature in your area and post it on the forum in the Water Temperature thread I just started.

04/24/09 - I have to admit I was beginning to worry I was way off with my prediction that May 12th would be our start of regular, reliable wading in Shawmut. Water was dropping and even got down to 9,000CFS for a day or so.

Well, not to worry, with 33,000CFS running by the back door, 23,000CFS in Madison and the Sandy and Carrabassett both over 4,000CFS I'm pretty sure it's going to be a couple of weeks before we're wading and May 12th is 18 days away. Yep, I'm hanging with the 12th.

Ponds are another story. Most any pond in this area is open. Many north of here are open, no make that most ponds and the lakes aren't far behind as this picture taken this morning shows. Pemadumcook Lake is near Millinocket and usually goes out a week or so before Moosehead.

Sebec Lake (Monson, Guilford, Dover-Foxcroft, Milo area) is open already and has been for a couple of days. Check out their webcam if you get a chance. They have a great time-lapse video you can run. It also shows the water temperature which yesterday was about 39 degrees which means the lake should be turning over. That will bring the salmon and togue up.

But it's Pike for me this weekend. Sunday I'll be on Long Pond fishing the same water I used to fish this time of year for Salmon. But when the Lord gives you lemons you're supposed to make lemonade so going for Pike is what I'll be trying. But Monday I'll probably go south to Sebago to see if I can get another nice Salmon like the one I got the last time I was down there. I don't often head South to fish but a Salmon like that makes the trip worth it - lot of people though. Which is why I don't do it often.

It's really just a frame of mind much like Grand Lake Stream on opening day. If you tell yourself to plan on seeing a lot of people, on talking to a lot of people and sharing stories about fishing and celebrating the end of a long winter, basically more of a social event than a fishing trip it all smoothes out and makes for a good outing. Especially if you get a couple of hookups.

Ponds are fishing well in the area. I've talked to a number of people who have caught a goodly number of trout in local ponds like ______ and ______ oh yeah, that's right they asked me not to mention the ponds. Well, I can say they were within 30 miles of Fairfield :-) which includes a lot of ponds.

But for those of you like me who love the moving water - take heart. While the river was down to almost wadable it did provide some fishing from the banks and edges. The brown in this picture was caught on the 18th and again - I'm afraid I've been sworn to secrecy but I can tell you it was caught below the Solon Dam and above the Donald Carter Bridge.

Get out this weekend and go find some fish. If you stop by the store tomorrow morning (the 24th) Tom Browne is doing his final presentation here for this spring and he will be talking about how to fish Maine Ponds. The presentation starts at 10:30 and ends early enough for you to take the tips from his years of experience to the pond with you.

Also don't forget the sale Orvis is having and we are participating in. If you purchase a TLS Power Matrix, Superfine, T-3 or Helios fly rod between now and May 15th you can pick a free reel to go with it from the Battenkill Reel family. That includes the Battenkill Original Disc Drag reel, the Battenkill Bar Stock (BBS), the Battenkill Mid-Arbor or the Battenkill Large Arbor - your choice.

04/10/09 - Well call me crazy but I'm sticking with my prediction of wading Shawmut by May 12th.  We've had what I call a good melt, so far.  It certainly could change with a big rain but the forecast has a few showers during the next week and a string of 50 degree days.  Great for continued fast but not furious melt. 

Add that to the light water content of the snow that remains and things are looking good.  In fact, I'm almost tempted to move the predicted date up a bit - but I won't.  The 12th is what I'm sticking with. Just for reference the 1st of May was the earliest I remember being able to wade Shawmut (for more than one low day here or there) and June 1st in the latest I remember for a late start of wading day.

This map shows the latest water content survey from the State of Maine website.  I know it may be a little on the small side for you to read the print but here's what the colors indicate.  Those white areas show a snow pack with water content in the middle 50% of historic levels.  The lavender (most of the state) shows a snow pack with water content in the lowest 25% of historic levels.  And if you look real close there are some darker - almost purple - areas which show a snow pack with water content in the lowest 10% of historic levels.  That's all good from my point of view. 

There are still some areas with deep snow in the woods north of us and over west but that snow isn't saturated and when it melts the flows shouldn't jump too high. 

Ice Out dates are also on target or a little early.  Sebago has large open areas.  Big Bay is wide open, South Cove, in Standish is wide open with some ice behind Indian Island but some other areas like Jordan Bay are still locked in.  I don't know about you but my sneaking around the ice days are over.  I quit after being trapped for two days by shifting ice.  Thankfully, I was at my camp and so comfortable but until the wind shifted the ice away from my shoreline I was trapped.  So if you hit Sebago stick to the open areas and don't try sneaking into places between the shoreline and ice sheets.

Speaking of my camp on Pemadumcook Lake it will still be awhile.  Some kind soul has installed a webcam there and when I looked at it this morning the sun was shining brightly on that snow covered ice.  Hopefully it will be out by Mother's Day because I plan on being there. I also plan on doing some drift and cast fly-fishing out on the big water.  Terry Walsh and some others have been giving me some pointers on Irish Lake Fishing techniques and I've tied up a bunch of flies for the outing.  I'm anxious to try it out and will report back on how it works out.

So all in all it's shaping up well.  If you know of ice outs on lakes or ponds in your area I'd appreciate you putting up a post saying so on this forum thread - Ice out on your lake or pond?

And just a couple of additional items. The next three Saturdays (starting tomorrow) Tom Browne is going to be giving seminars here at the shop.  They all start at 10:30am with no set end time.  Seating is open and first come - first seated.  They may fill up and if they do we'll try to get him to repeat the seminar later in the day.  

Also of note is a sale Orvis is having (which means we are having) starting the 15th of this month - it goes like this.

If you purchase a TLS Power Matrix, Superfine, T-3 or Helios fly rod between April 15th and May 15th you can pick a free reel to go with it from the Battenkill Reel family.  That includes the Battenkill Original Disc Drag reel, the Battenkill Bar Stock (BBS), the Battenkill Mid-Arbor or the Battenkill Large Arbor - your choice.

If you've been thinking about buying a rod - jump on this sale.