We will post current river condition information, as the season and the year goes on.

12/01/00 This is my last post for the year.  However, you will find additional postings about fishing here in Shawmut and elsewhere on our FLY FISHING FORUM page. Check it out, better yet post something.  If anything major happens at Shawmut (like the late Alewife run) I will post it on the forum. As for Shawmut today the level is good, water is cold (38 degrees) and not getting any warmer for awhile.  Flow is moderate and the fishing is slow.  However, people are still catching fish and one should never lose hope. Besides as always fishing is a good excuse to just get outside.

Good luck in all you do.

Mike

11/22/00 Water is cold - 39 degrees.  I was out there at 7:00am and fishing was tough.  Ice in your guides, fog on the water but thank God - no wind.  My guides didn't stop icing up until about 8:30 so if you're going fishing tomorrow bear that in mind. I have to go early to get into the shop by 10:00 but if there isn't anything making you go early - don't!  I got off the water at 9:00 and two hours of standing in that water was enough.  The fact that I caught no fish didn't help.  Tried a Black Ghost, Woolly Bugger, Muddler (regular) and a Marabou Muddler all for one-half hour each.  Got a bump that seemed to pull back on the Muddler; otherwise just a few bottom hookups.  Flow is slow, water is low.  If you plan to fish tomorrow be sure to dress for it.  Here's what I had on this morning: Two pair of fleece socks, fleece lined pants, fleece sweats over the pants, my waders (still wearing breathable, stocking-foot) a fleece jacket with my rain/wading jacket over that, finger-less wool gloves and a knit wool helmet liner (like Radar O'Riley wore in Mash) and it was just right.  Not to warm, not to cold. Another thing if you go tomorrow remember to change flies fairly often - it's a good way to tell if you are getting to cold - if you can change a fly and work those fingers you're probably not headed for hypothermia. Also don't stand still in one place to long - move a lot - work those legs keep that blood flowing don't let those feet go numb.  It's hard to wade out without falling if you can't feel your feet.  If you don't want to wade away from a good fishing spot just walk in place for a minute or two - it helps.  Good luck.  

11/17/00 Water is up, flow is fast, temperature is 45 degrees.  The White rock is showing by about a foot.  Wading is definitely tougher than what we have had to deal with most of the summer but still wadable.  Clarity is good.  Streamers are working well fish are still active.  Haven't seen any Blue Winged Olives for a couple of days - that hatch is slowing down but will continue on through the end of the month.  (or at least I hope it will)  Those of you who are planning to fish next Thursday (Thanksgiving) should still have fairly active fish.  I will post again next Wednesday to let you know the conditions.

11/10/00 Water is still holding around 48 degrees.  Flow is moderate, level is low.  Good fishing to be had.  Streamers fished on the bottom half of the water column seem to be working better than those fished on top, bring your sink tip.   Keep your floating line handy though because the Blue Winged Olives are still bringing fish up in the afternoon.  There are actually still quite a few fish being caught - they will keep hitting until the water temperature drops to around 44 degrees then it almost stops so if you want to fish remember a few cold nights will end it - don't wait. 

11/4/00 The water is fifty degrees, flow is moderate, level is only up about 6 - 8" from our snow/rain storm. Water flow is still down around 4,000 cfs.  Fishing has been good each morning this week. Woolly Buggers and Black Ghosts have been producing for me.  Pressure has been light - mostly due to the wind and rain I'm sure.  No Alewives.  Jeff Faulkner and a friend floated Shawmut down yesterday and had rising fish most of the way.  Blue Winged Olive were the only fly coming off.  They had little luck using Blue Winged Olive patterns and so switched to attractors.  The pattern providing the most hookups - Yellow Humpy.   And finally a house keeping note.  From now on I will be reverse listing my Friday updates.  The most recent post will be at the top of the page so you won't have to wait so long for this page to load.  Actually I think I will cut and paste this post to the top of the page and start the new format right now.  You can thank Henry Mitchell for that good idea. Good luck fishing.

04/07/00 Temp. is 37 degrees.  Flow is fast.  Level is high, and dropping. Clarity is poor. I was up to the dam this morning and things look like it will be awhile.  Water is coming over the top of the dam, the paths along side the river are not under water but, they are soft and were recently under water.  The ledges on the east side just below the dam (normally accessed from the sand pit) are submerged.  All we have seen, for insects,  so far are small black stones (about 1/4" long, total length) and some caddis (below is a picture of one of the caddis). Click on the picture to enlarge it.  If I were to head out fishing today I would try feeder streams (check to make sure they are open to fishing - Austin Stream in Bingham is closed until after the Rainbow spawn)  leading to ponds or rivers.  If you wish to fish the rivers and streams you normally do - be sure and fish the calmer water, work the eddies and fish with a good sized wooly bugger or try some cone head muddlers, weighted stoneflies or streamers.  Fish you fly low and slow - use something with some flash so the fish can pick it up in the cloudy water.  When you see a pocket of water along the bank that is slow moving and warmed by the sun there is a good chance fish are hanging there soaking up the rays.  Trout may not like direct sun in June but, this time of year it feels as good to them as it does to us. 

04/14/00 Temperature is 38 degrees, not much change. Flow is fast.  Level is high. Clarity is poor to fair. Water is coming over the dam.  No sign of putting up flashboards.  The Carabassett is at 1500 cfs and the Sandy is at 2200 cfs both to high.  They have to drop some for us to wade.  Waterville flow is about 21,000 cfs and the Sebasticook is about 3700 - that puts Shawmut at about 17,000 plus - for wading we need something closer to 8,000 cfs.  The good part of all this is that just 4 days ago Waterville's flow was over 70,000 cfs so it is dropping fast.  If we don't get a big rain (or several big rains) we will be wading before the end of the month. I'm gonna try some of the small streams around or Belgrade for Pike and let the river flow.

04/19/00 No Friday update this week.  I'm leaving tomorrow for New Brunswick to fish the Restigouche River for Atlantics.  My guess would be that the river Friday will not be fishable.  The flow today is about 15,000cfs in Shawmut.  St. George is running better and the temperature is hanging around the 50+ degree mark.  Shawmut temperature today is 42 degrees.

04/28/00 Well I went fishing for Atlantic Salmon in New Brunswick. The group I went with caught and released 20 Atlantic Salmon - no Brights - all holdovers from last year but, they fought well and were big fish.  The smallest 8 lbs. the big guys ran closed to 25 lbs. You can check out the following website for more info. www.sugarloafweb.com/fishing/index.html on fishing there or call Dusty at 506-789-1982. A rough idea of the cost is $300.00 per day Canadian (about $180.00) for two people on the river including lodging. (from here about 6 1/2 hours)  Now for the Kennebec - river is high, fast, fairly clear and running about 40 degrees.  Not to promising.  Ponds are providing some fishing but they two are cold and so fishing is off.  Don't let this discourage you.  Take advantage of the lack of flies and lack of foliage to search out some of those hard to find ponds you have been looking for but haven't been able to find.  Now and late fall are the times to search out ponds and river or stream access.  Don't forget to take your rod - if you hike in and find a pond fishing from shore this time of year is a hoot.  Fish are in the shallows and staying close to the edges where it has warmed up some.

05/05/00 River is quite clear, high (no longer in the bushes though) and about 49 degrees.  Some hatches of midge, and stoneflies (small brown stones).  Blue Winged Olives should be hatching soon.  I wouldn't be surprised to see them this afternoon about 2:00.  You can fish from shore in Shawmut and Waterville.  Behind the Lobster Trap in Winslow should also produce some fish.  Alewives are showing up in the Sebasticook (Winslow, Fort Halifax area) but not in large numbers yet.  Stripers can't be far behind.  If you want to canoe from Shawmut to Fairfield you should come.  People are catching fish from shore and boats you just can't wade all around.   

05/06/00  Nope it's not Friday but, I thought that you might want to know that the Stripers are back in the Waterville, Winslow section of the Kennebec.  Alewives showed up a week ago - and like always the Stripers were right behind.  People are catching them in Augusta also.

05/12/00 The river is blown out.  Flood stage twice over.  Hatches have started.  Blue Winged Olives are my guess. However it is just a guess. I didn't actually see the insects what I saw was the birds working the riffles just above the shop for about 3 hours.  It was during the start of our three days of rain and the water temps were right for Blue Winged Olives.  The water temperature is 51 degrees and when the river drops we should have good insect and fish activity.  A couple days of this 50 plus water temperature and we will have Quill Gordon's, Hendricksons and Blue Quills all at once.  Bring it on. 

05/19/00 The river is still high.  You can (in my opinion) safely float it in a canoe or drift boat but, you can't wade it yet.  The water is 52 degrees. Clarity fair to poor.  Still seeing hatch indications (birds working the riffles) but, haven't been out on the water so I haven't captured any insects yet for identification.   My guess is still Blue Winged Olives.  We should be seeing Quill Gordon's also, maybe a Hendrickson or two.  If you want to fish Shawmut I would suggest the East shore and fishing the Pasture Pool from shore or the ledges and points further up towards the dam.  If you wade out onto the underwater ledge from the points be careful!!!!!  There is still quite a flow.  I don't know how much because the USGS link isn't giving the Waterville flow today for some reason.

05/26/00 Still high, clarity not bad, wading is out but, canoe, shore or boat fishing you have a good chance of catching something.  The Hendricksons are hatching along with Blue Winged Olives.  Haven't seen any Quill Gordon's or Blue Quills.  A few caddis.  Water is 52 degrees.  

05/30/00 SHAWMUT IS WADABLE!!!!!!!!  The water is 55 degrees hatches are coming off all afternoon and fish are rising.  The White Rock is showing by about a foot.  Water is still coming over the dam and flashboards are not up yet.  Can't be much more of a wait - the impoundment above the dam is very low and while there is water coming over the top of the dam it is very little.  When the flashboards go up I will post again.  I was away this weekend so I haven't waded Shawmut yet but I plan to tonight and tomorrow morning. I will post my results.

05/31/00 Got out there last night but, not this morning. No fish last night.  The weather turned off cool and windy. I just floated the river looking for rising fish and checking out the changes high water and ice made.  Great to be out there. If you want good action and rising fish I suggest you try midday fishing when the temperature is better for hatches (at least this time of year).  Check out the Blue Dun page for information on water temperatures and hatch times for the insects we should be seeing now.

06/02/00  Things are good.  Come fish.  Clarity fair, temperature 54 degrees, Hendricksons hatching about 1:00pm, Tan Caddis in the morning but, not many fish working the Caddis ( I don't believe the caddis were hatching rather they were dapping the water - I think dropping eggs).  I think the fish know the main meal will be served later and so are sleeping in.  I was out there at 6:30 this morning and didn't catch a fish until 7:30.  As the morning passed more and more fish started to show.  My score this morning two Browns (both about 14") several small (recently stocked) rainbows and three or four long distance releases.  All in all great fun.   

06/09/00 Hendricksons are about done hatching - haven't seen any for a while.  Light Cahills starting to hatch - a few sulfurs also.  Lots of gray caddis - they seem to be hatching in the evening and dapping the water in the a. m.  laying eggs.  Water temperature is 58 degrees.  Clarity is good.  Flow is moderate, at about 6,000 cfs.  Lots of debris in the water from the dam - they cleaned the trash gates and big logs with root balls are hung up all over the wading section.  Be careful wading around them.  Especially below them - you never know when the current is going to eat the gravel out from around them and start them on their way downstream.  One thing I do know is I don't want to be in the way.  Caught two fish this morning - one rainbow on an Adam's parachute and a brown on a Black Ghost  - didn't see any surface activity.  The rainbow hit my dry while it was hanging in the current below me.  I was watching an eagle and paying no attention to my line when all of a sudden - fish on.  Nice bonus, watch an eagle pay no attention to your fly and catch fish - I like it.

06/10/00 The Hendricksons have slowed but the Golden Stones have arrived. Break out your yellow stimulators and Yellow Stones.  Also seeing Sulphurs hatching in the evening (size 14 - 16 - Light Cahills will work even though they aren't quite the right shade, but you are better off with a yellow green bodied fly).  Haven't seen any Black Caddis yet but they should start any day.  Olive caddis (size 16 - 18 - males are smaller they tell me) hatching mid-day (this hatch normally gets later each day until fall and then moves back to mid or early day) and Gray caddis hatching in the evening (size 14).

06/17/00 Fishing is good.  Water temperature is 59 degrees, flow is moderate, level is good, clarity is good.  Insects are hatching off and on all day long.  Tan, olive and black caddis.  Some Hendricksons still, Little and Big Sulphurs, Light Cahills and Golden Stones.  Bring all your flies.  Got a nice rainbow (18") yesterday during a caddis hatch about 8:00am.  Went back to the same area today - same time and sure enough the hatch came off and fish started to rise.  However, for the next hour and a half the fish refused everything I threw at them and I put a lot of flies over them.  I put several fish down but there was always another one working close by so I would change flies and move to another fish - all to no avail.  Still don't know what the answer is but I plan to go back tomorrow morning and find out.  The Waterville to Sidney stretch of the river is also fishing well.  If you get a chance to fish that stretch - take it.  It is beautiful water and right now you can catch browns (on top sight casting) and as your drifting along you will probably run into some Stripers busting bait fish.  Bring a heavier rod for them.

06/23/99  Water has warmed a lot the temperature is 69 degrees this morning. - it will be 71 or 72 by tonight and back down by morning - thank goodness for cool nights.  Got a 12 inch and a 16 inch rainbow this morning.  I was fishing a 15' sink tip with two wet flies on. They were a March Brown (14) and a Partridge and Yellow (size 12). Caught a fish on each one.  The 16 inch took the Partridge and Yellow.  I was casting 90 degrees to the current flow and then feeding line (using small mends) to let the line sink before it started to swing.  Classic wet fly technique - make a few swings, take two steps downstream and do it again.  Keep doing that until you find the fish.  Not as exciting as sight casting to rising fish but, very satisfying when you hook up. Light Cahills and Sulphurs still hatching, Little Yellow Stones, lots of Black caddis in the morning, Tan and Olive caddis during the day (spotty hatches) no Zebra caddis yet.  Best fishing by far is early morning or late evening.  The mid-day mayflies have pretty well gone by.

06/26/00 Zebra caddis started yesterday.  There are thousands of them.  Yes they are bringing fish up.  The daytime rises are mostly to egg-laying caddis, although some caddis are hatching during the day (black caddis size 16/18 and olive bodied, size 14 mostly for daytime hatches). Zebra Caddis are hatching in the evening and laying eggs early in the am. Zebra Caddis get the fish working both morning and night.  When the Zebra Caddis are freshly emerged they have a green body which quickly darkens to black.  In Pobst and Richard's book "The Caddisfly Handbook" they suggest tying an adult with a green body and black rib for the emerging insect and an adult with a black body and yellow rib for the egg laying stage. Mayflies aren't hatching until evening. There are Light Cahills (size 12), Little Sulfurs (size 16/18), Large Sulfurs (size 14),  and what looks like Little Mahogany duns (size 18). Little Yellow stones are still hatching and a Yellow Stimulator (size 12) will bring fish up even when there is no surface activity. 

06/30/00 Water level is low.  Clarity good.  Flow is slow. Temperature is 68 degrees. Thank the lord for cool nights with cold rain.  Today is supposed to be cloudy and have scattered showers.  If you come to fish today bring your little Blue Winged Olives (18, 20) because you can almost count of an hatch.  They don't call them the bad weather flies for nothing.    Don't forget your caddis either.  Pick a color and size and you will find it out on the water.  Light Cahills are still hanging around, some Sulphurs and lots of Little Mahogany Duns (size 18, 20) also.  Daytime hatches are slow (except for today with the showers - today I'm betting on a good midday hatch) fish are showing both morning and evening.  When I say morning don't forget sunrise is somewhere around 5:00am.  If you hit the water around 9:00am - it really isn't morning anymore. (at least not to the bugs) If you hesitate to fish size 18 and 20 flies because you can't see them on the water try  this setup.  Tie on a Stimulator or Royal Wulff (size 10 or 12) and then tie about 18 inches of 5X or 6X to the hook bend.  To that add a Blue Winged Olive or Little Mahogany.  It may take you a little longer to set this rig up but it is worth the effort.  And, finally before I forget - the day before yesterday I got a 17 1/2" rainbow in Waterville up high by the Lockwood power station.  It was a surprise because no Rainbows are stocked in Waterville so it must have dropped down from above.  Have any of you caught Rainbows in Waterville.  Please drop me an e-mail and let me know.  (just click the send us Email button below) Thanks.

07/07/00 Water is warm 72 degrees this morning.  Flow is slow to medium.  Level is low.  Clarity is good.  If you haven't fished Shawmut now is the time to come and get to know the river.  Even if you walk into one of the deep holes the current is slow enough that you can back up against the current instead of being swept in over your waders.  I caught mostly Smallmouth Bass this morning.  I had one Brown trout on and lost him.  I lost that trout after I got him up onto my reel - he just shook his head and out came my fly.  I'm sure it was a Brown because I worked his rises for about 30 minutes.  I tried several flies and the one he finally came to was a Bugmiester (Peacock) size 10.  I had tried several Zebra Caddis patterns and didn't get a take so I figured well, I'll put something big on and see what happens.  It worked.  The Smallmouth are feisty and fighting well - each one I caught came to a dry.  They sure do put up a good fight - especially when they get into the current.  The largest one I got was about 16".   Hatches are falling off - still some Light Cahills but only a few.  Little Yellow Sallies are also still hanging in there.

07/13/00 Yes I know it's Thursday but, I will be drifting and fishing the Waterville to Sidney stretch of the river tomorrow so I figured I would post today.  The water temperature today is 71 degrees - actually down a degree this week from last week.  Clarity is fair, flow is slow and level is low.  I drifted from Shawmut to Fairfield twice this week (Tuesday and today in the am) and had good fishing both days.  Monday night we had rain and it cooled the water plus it knocked a bunch of Zebra caddis into the water.  The whole 4 hours we were on the water we had rising fish.  Today was a little slower but fish were still showing.  However, with much less feed on the water fish weren't holding in one spot they were cruising looking for food.  The result was that if one rose within casting range you had to cover that rise and cover it fast.  No false casting - pick up your fly, change direction with your cast and place it back on the water NOW or miss the fish.  Tough to do. Even tougher to do with any degree of accuracy.  Scott Haggerty (the guy I was fishing with) caught a small rainbow and a 17 inch Brown.  I worked on my tan.  That was OK though because Tuesday I got a 19 inch brown and he worked on his tan.  

07/18/00 We must have had what is called a "significant rain event" while I was away for the weekend.  The river is high, muddy and un-fishable.  My guess is that it will be Friday or later before you can safely wade it at Shawmut.  The good part is that the water temperature has dropped to 62 degrees.  Also there are a lot of mayflies hatching I'm not sure what they are but I caught some of them and will be looking them up. Keep checking in I should have an answer by tomorrow.

07/19/00 No answer on the mayflies.  Did see Light Cahills and Blue Winged Olives (size 18,20) on the building this morning along with the big dark mayfly I'm trying to identify.  Water is still high and dirty.  Temperature is 62 degrees still.  Clarity is a little better but not much.  The flashboards at Shawmut were lost and from the looks of the flow it will be several days before they replace them. Lots of Black Caddis still - Alder flies slowing down.   

07/20/00 Water is still very dirty.  Level is down some but far from wadable.  Temperature is still in the 62 degree 63 degree range.  There is a good chance we will be able to wade by Saturday but that depends on how backed up Flagstaff and Moosehead are.  They hold water back in those impoundments while the Carabassett and Sandy drain the western mountain region and then they have to let Moosehead and Flagstaff drain.  That sometimes prolongs our high water.  Keep your fingers crossed, maybe the storms didn't dump much water up north.  One of the things you might want to try is fishing Solon or Bingham.  The dirty water we are seeing comes mostly from the Sandy. If you get above that the river is clear.  The other thing that makes me look north is that with them holding Flagstaff and Moosehead back the Solon Bingham area flow is low and will stay low except for peak demand periods.  This means that the window for wading the Bingham, Solon area is wide open. Check out the flows by calling FLP or visiting the USGS sites. You can get the number to call and the website address to check flows by visiting our Water Flows page. 

07/21/00 Surprise, Surprise you can wade Shawmut.  The flashboards aren't up yet but the White Rock is showing by a foot and a half.  The big turbine is shut down (I'm not sure what they are doing to it but it has been down all week) and so the flow is gentle by the sluiceway; in the rest of the river the current is moderate.  The water is still dirty.  Clarity is about 16 inches.  Wading is tough. I caught fish this morning using a conehead black muddler.  I've always been told black gives a better silhouette in murky water.  Well today it worked.  Last night Scott Davis was out and had some good fishing also; so despite the water color the fishing is fair.

07/22/00 River flow is moderate, level is good for wading.  Temperature is 64 degrees.  Flashboards aren't up yet.  Clarity is much better but, still not back to normal.  If you don't mind fishing in the rain (off and on showers predicted for Saturday & Sunday) come fish.  It should be worth the trip.  We seldom get mid-sixty water temperatures in July - don't waste the opportunity.

07/28/00 Hatches. Just when I thought the mayflies were almost done and that caddis would be the mainstay for the rest of the season (or at least until the water cools in September) here come some more mayflies.  The mystery dark mayfly that I still haven't identified, Light Cahills and Tricos were all over the building this morning when I got here.  The dark mayfly (whatever it's name is) would be well imitated by a dark Hendrickson (size 12 or 14). The Light Cahills are also in that size range.  Fair surface activity yesterday with the rain.  Plenty of evening hatches - getting later though, almost dark before you see a lot of rises. Blue Winged Olives were producing fish yesterday (during the day) as were tan or olive caddis patterns.  The flow is slow, water level is low and the water temperature is 69 degrees. If you haven't fished Shawmut come and learn the wading areas now while the water is low.  Don't wait until the rain starts the alewives running and then come.  Shawmut can be intimidating if you try to wade it for the first time at high water levels.

08/04/00 The water is 71 degrees.  Much to warm for my liking.  Last year at this time is was 75 degrees so I guess we should be happy with what we have.  Fish are still showing. There were rainbow trout slashing at baitfish right in the sluiceway this morning.  I don't think the alewives are running yet - I believe the state stocked a lot of small shad last week and the rainbows must be showing the little shad the ropes.  Zebra caddis, Black caddis and Olive caddis are all still hatching.  The White mayfly should start hatching soon and in about 3 weeks or so the alewives should start to run.  With the cooler longer nights August usually drops our water temperatures some, so hopefully, by the time the alewife run starts we will have mid-sixty degree water.  If you are fishing now please remember to play your fish hard and fast.  Better to break off a fish when the water is warm like this than to tired a fish out so much that it can't recover.  I think it is especially important to use a net this time of year.  A net allows you to bring in a fish while it is still fresh rather than playing a fish until it rolls over and waits for you to remove the hook. A fish that played out might appear to be OK when you release it but Lactic Acid buildup may cramp it up later and do it in.  It was about this time last year I went out shark fishing.  If any of you are interested in doing that contact Capt. Dave Pecci his website address is www.obsessioncharters.com. It was a blast and something you won't regret doing.  

08/12/00 Yep, I'm a day late. I'll do better next week.  Water is 69 degrees in the morning, 72 or 73 by nightfall if the sun pounds on it all day. Much better than last year's temperatures.  Level is low, flow is slow.  Grasshoppers are starting to work pretty well (pound the banks).  Hatches in the evening of Caddis (both olive and tan) and that dark mayfly that I can't find in the bug books.  I've captured a couple more of them and have found that despite the dark wings and body they are quite light on the underside of the body (light olive to yellow color). Hatches are late and short except for the occasional midday cinnamon caddis. 
Something you might want to try soon is a Crayfish.  They are very active when the water temperature is above 65 degrees.  It is their peak growth period and they are shedding which makes them easier to eat and digest. I have been using them with good results. I fish them at the head of a pool (dead drift them out of the riffles and let them sink into the pool) using a floating line and a 7 1/2 foot leader (2X). When they get below you in the current POP the rod tip (about a six inch quick rise) to jerk the fly a little and then DROP the tip and pause, POP the tip again and pause.  This motion mimics the actions of a Crayfish that has been washed out of the riffles and into the deeper water.  Hang on because when they hit Crayfish the fish hit hard.  I keep about 2 feet of line hanging loose between my index finger and the reel so that when a fish hits I can do a slip strike (keep your drag light). The other place I use Crayfish is at the tail of a pool, but I switch to a sinking tip line and an even shorter leader. (about 2 feet of 0X and 2 feet of 2X). I cast across and upstream (no more than 25')  make a quick upstream mend and let the fly sink as it moves downstream. When I think the fly is near the bottom I make several quick short retrieves followed by some longer slower pulls.  Then a pause to let the fly sink a little again.  This doesn't work very well in fast water but, it is great in a slower pool.  If you get into fast rocky bottom water (like the East Outlet) use the Brooks method.  For the Brooks method us a full sink line, maybe even some split shot and fish close (no more than a 15' cast). To control the slack as the fly moves downstream raise the rod, then as the fly gets below you in the stream lower the tip - allowing the fly to continue to drift deep. 
Try it - you'll like it.

08/18/00 Water temperature is 70 degrees in the morning warmer by nightfall if the sun beats on it all day.  Fishing is slow, flow is slow, level is low.  Good time to wade and find out where the ledges an deep holes are but not the best fishing.  Some people are still catching fish but no great numbers of fish.  What we need is a couple more cool nights like last night. Caddis still showing in the evening (tan and olive), not many mayflies.  Hope for a good cold rain that will start the Alewives running.

08/25/00 Well this morning the fish not only handed me my hat they gave me my gloves, packed my suitcase and told me to go home.  I fished over rising fish for 1 1/2 hours this morning and only had one hit.  That came on a desperate attempt to get them to hit a nymph (the rises looked like they were swirling on emergers, but emergers hadn't worked).   I put the nymph on (a Holy Grail, Hare's Ear, size 14) dropped it in the water and watched as it sunk to get an idea of the sink rate.  I let it go until my line straightened and then went to pick up and cast - WHAM - some cruel fish broke me off.
The water is 71 degrees this morning.  Flow is slow. Level is low.  The last few morning we have had weak, sporadic hatches but hatches none the less.  Fish have been showing but feeding has been localized.  I have been wading and blind casting (swinging a streamer) while looking for fish and then when I stumble onto a rising fish I stop and fish it.  
Hatches in the evening have been stronger but short lived.  Mayflies, caddis and midge hatching all at once.  Lots of fish rising in the evening but, there is a lot of waiting until they start and then it's fast and furious. 

09/01/00  The river is still warm.  Alewives not running yet.  Good hatches in the evening (lots of White Mayflies, size 12/14) right at dark.  Also some morning hatches but not as strong.  Water temperature is 70 degrees, flow is slow and level is low.  I went south this morning (Popham Beach area) and caught a Striper casting off the beach.  Great fun.  Got to watch the sun rise over the ocean.  All in all a long trip for one fish but a good change of pace.

09/08/00 The river is 68 degrees, fish should start moving.  Haven't seen much in the way of Alewives - just a few of the advance guard. Hope for rain.  Hatches are slow and short lived.  White Mayflies just at dark.  Some caddis (tan and olive, 16's) during the day - mixed caddis at night.  Midges also at night. Hatches can be heavy at times (especially in the evening) but even the heavy hatches are short lived.  Lots of small Blue Winged Olives showing at night but by small I mean 22's and 24's - tough fishing but they will produce if you have the patience. 

09/15/00 The river is 65 degrees and it is raining - I'm a happy man.  Look out Alewives here we come.  Still the same caddis as last week with a few odd brown big (size 12) ones thrown in.  Blue Winged Olives are hatching and with the temperature drop the hatches have moved from evening to midday.  Nice.  Still very small.  (still hatches in the evening but more activity midday than we were seeing) Some Gray Drakes still (Gray Drake is what I've taken to calling the mystery gray mayfly) but they are sporadic and the hatch is weak.  When they do hatch there are so few I've had trouble catching one.  If you happen to be up there and catch one of these gray mayflies please bring it in so I can take a look at it.  From here on out the fishing should get better day by day.  Come fish the last hurrah. 

09/22/00 Alewives are showing at the mouth of the Sebasticook in Winslow.  Stripers are showing also.  No reports of the big ones yet but schoolie action is picking up.  The Alewives aren't running thru Shawmut yet.  What rain we got last week wasn't enough to get them moving. They are coming down the Sebasticook because Sebasticook lake is being lowered and that has provided the necessary flow.  Blue Winged Olives are hatching almost every day - they are small - 20 & 22 is the rule.  Level is still low and the water temperature is in the 65 degree range.  Still good evening hatches, plenty of caddis.

09/29/00 Still no Alewives in Shawmut.  We need rain bad.  Water flow is hanging around 2,700 cfs instead of the normal flow of 6,000 cfs.  Water is low, clear, moving slow and fishing is tough.  You can't cheat up on your leader using small dries because of the water clarity so when you do get a good fish on it is hard to keep it on.  Lot of break-offs.  Blue Winged Olives are hatching most days with some regularity - mid-afternoon.  Water temperature is 62 degrees - nice temperature.  A lot of the fish are showing down towards Fairfield (more water in the impoundment area) and so if you can come with a canoe it is a good idea.  Try fishing Waterville to Sidney also - Stripers showing all the way to Six Mile Falls.  If you want to canoe that section call Waterville Canoe and Kayak at 872-7470 - their rental rates are good and they will pick you up at a preset time at the Sidney landing.

10/06/00 At 6:30 this morning Shawmut was cold, wet and dark.  At 9:00 when I left the water the only thing that had changed was that it was light.  However, the fish don't seem to mind the rain.  Midges were the meal this morning.  Griffith Gnats worked.  Water is 58 degrees.  Flow is moderate.  Level is, thankfully, rising (up already about 6" from yesterday).  The rain we had two weeks ago didn't get the Alewives moving, perhaps this rain will do it.  The Alewives showing in Waterville are big for the fall run.  Amazing how much difference another month of growth can make in size of a baitfish.  If they start and you come to fish them bring size 2 & size 4 flies.  If the run does start today I will post tomorrow, or for that matter whenever it starts, Friday or not, I will post both here and on the bulletin board. Still only a few stripers in Waterville - if the main Alewife runs starts striper fishing should improve also.

10/10/00 Still no Alewives.  Water is holding about 58 degrees.  Flow is up but still low for this time of year.  Normal flow is around 5,000 cfs and we have 3,600 cfs.  Fish are showing mid-day for the Blue Winged Olive hatch.  Also sporadic hatches of Caddis, small, mostly tan and what hatches there are have been short-lived and localized. 

10/13/00 Sorry a little late today (can it really be 4:00pm already?) Water temperature is 56 degrees.  No Alewives running (I'm beginning to think they are a myth or something I remember from a pleasant dream), at least not here in Shawmut water.  Not many in Waterville either. No rain - no Alewife run.  Very few Stripers being caught in Waterville. No rain - no Alewife run - no stripers, funny how that works. But I say to hell with the Alewives I'm tired of waiting for them, I'm fishing what I've got and I'm not going to ruin great weather days like we have been having pining for Alewives.  So here's the good news.  Blue Winged Olive hatches like you read about.  Lots of them coming off midday right up until evening. It's tough fishing (6, 7, and 8X leaders) but there is surface activity and you get to sight cast to rising trout. Not all bad.  The flow is still moderate, level is low and the trees are in full color = come fish. And, as a final note bring some Royal Coachman dries (size 14) for some reason the fish are coming up to them also.

10/20/00 The water temperature is 52 degrees, the flow moderate, level still low.  No alewives.  The rain brought the river up about 8" but the lake levels are still so low that the outlet streams aren't flowing strong enough to support a run.  The Blue Winged Olives, midges and a small brown caddis are about all that is hatching and those hatches are happening midday. Fishing is still good but the dropping water temperature will slow things down soon. Fish now while the fishing is still good.

10/27/00 The water is still 52 degrees. Not much has changed.  Here is  a post by "Stagger Lee" taken from Dan Tarkinson's board (www.flyfishinginmaine.com) which pretty well sums up yesterday's conditions.

"Fished Shawmut along with 10-12 others yesterday afternoon. Take a number! Great
day to be out. Water temp around 52 and fish taking emergers quite steadily.
Managed 2 Browns and 1 Rainbow on sz 22 BWO CDC and a beetle pattern. Olives
really came off well at dusk. Fish seem to be cruising. BTW, Thinking about re-naming
the Pasture Pool to PhD Pool! Stagger"

I use this post for two reasons.  One, it accurately depicts what is happening out there.  Two, note the comment about 10-12 others - take a number.  That shows you what low water we now have.  At normal water levels 10-12 people fishing wouldn't even be noteworthy. The wading area is so large it can easily support 10-12 people fishing.  However, with this low water the fish are concentrated in a FEW good holding areas (read the deeper pools) and that concentrates the fishermen also.  Give me a flow of 5,000 cfs any day compared to the 2,800 to 3,000 cfs we have had to live with all summer. Bottom line the fish are still active - hatches of small insects still happening - if you get the chance come fish.  

11/4/00 The water is fifty degrees, flow is moderate, level is only up about 6 - 8" from our snow/rain storm. Water flow is still down around 4,000 cfs.  Fishing has been good each morning this week. Wolley Buggers and Black Ghosts have been producing for me.  Pressure has been light - mostly due to the wind and rain I'm sure.  No Alewives.  Jeff Faulkner and a friend floated Shawmut down yesterday and had rising fish most of the way.  Blue Winged Olive were the only fly coming off.  They had little luck using Blue Winged Olive patterns and so switched to attractors.  The pattern providing the most hookups - Yellow Humpy.   And finally a house keeping note.  From now on I will be reverse listing my Friday updates.  The most recent post will be at the top of the page so you won't have to wait so long for this page to load.  Actually I think I will cut and paste this post to the top of the page and start the new format right now.  You can thank Henry Mitchell for that good idea. Good luck fishing.

To see the rest of November's posts go to the top of the page.

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