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

11/30/01 Cripes, I almost forgot to post again.  It's not the quantity of whiskey I drink it's the quality - gotta stop buying that cheap stuff.  Anyway, back to the river.  It is still low, clear and slow flowing. Pretty good wading conditions for the end of November (we're also looking at a 60 degree day tomorrow - neat).  So if you can come and fish tomorrow by all means do - when's the last time you fished in December?  

As for hatches - maybe some Blue Winged Olives (not many showing this last week - but with high 50's to 60 degree weather, who knows).  Midges also.  Some have caught fish using big wooly buggers, chartreuse clousers, and general streamers during the last week.  Most of the fish are showing (if they show at all) on the Benton side still.  Canoes or other boats are a good idea.  If you don't bring a boat try the deeper water on the Benton side or work the edges of the Pasture Pool.  Fish have been hugging the bank in the Pasture area.  And with that I'll say good luck to all in the coming winter season.  This is my last post this year.  I'll start again next April.  Think Spring!!!!!

11/16/01  Sorry for being so late - I got busy this morning and forgot to post.  I can't say that much has changed.  Still low water, and few hatches.  People are catching fish and the Blue Winged Olives are still hatching.

Still more fish showing on the Benton side.  It seems a few more have moved into the wading area (at least more are being caught up there) and more fish are being caught on streamers than dries.  With the great weather we are having for November you might as well take advantage of it and hit the water. 

11/09/01    Water temperature is 45 degrees.  Not much has changed.  Yesterday we had a heavy hatch of Blue Winged Olives.  Eight or so anglers up at Shawmut.  I wasn't up there but one of the guys stopped by after fishing and said despite the hatch there were few fish showing.  Also few fish caught.  He saw some hook-ups and had one fish himself.

The water is still very low and as you must have noticed the wind has been blowing hard for days making a presentation difficult. Yesterday being the noted exception - what a bonus day. 

11/02/01    Water temperature is 49 degrees.  Blue Winged Olives and midges are the order of the day.  Still very shallow and so most of the fish are holding on the East (Benton side) shore.  Streamers and nymphs are producing fish when no hatch is going on.  Most of the hatch activity is taking place between noon and four.  Water is clear and slow moving - fish are fussy.  It is typical fall fishing - tough and spotty.  

While the fishing may not be as good as it can be at Shawmut the fish are there and still biting - don't waste the few good days we have left - come take the chance and fish.  You can't catch them from home.

10/26/01 The water temperature is 54 degrees.  The weeds are much better (some still around but overall they are manageable). Not many fish showing in the wading area, I'm sorry to say.  We could still use a good rain.  Small Blue Winged Olives are the order of the day. Midges are also a good thing to bring.  Nymphs are becoming more effective because you can drift one now without having to clean it every other cast.  The impoundment (boat/canoe water) is still producing more action than the wading area.

On a good note the East Outlet has finally turned on.  Tom Jewett and Marshall DeMott both recently had good days up there.  I will probably make another trip up this weekend.  Not much time left to fish it.

10/19/01 Except for the water temperature (now 55 degrees) and the weeds continuing to clear up (as commented on by Dan Marra) things are the same as last week. Sorry. 

10/12/01    Much the same.  Low water, temperature is 58 degrees (perfect) but the fish aren't showing much.  There are good hatches taking place from 4:30 on through until dark (Blue Winged Olives - small) but few fish coming up for them in the wading area.  Down below the wading area (Pasture Pool and down to the power lines) there are rising fish during the whole hatch time.  However, unless you wade out onto the rocks that define the end of the Pasture Pool or wade the edges of the Pasture Pool as deep as you dare; you can't reach the fish.  My advise wade out to those rocks or bring a canoe.  

For those who don't have a canoe and don't like standing elbow deep trying to reach rising fish I would say you want to fish the deeper runs on the East shore. Nymph those runs or swing streamers unless you see some fish coming up.  I'm afraid there is still a fair amount of green STUFF drifting in the water and if you are fishing sub-surface be sure and check your fly often - it will need cleaning.  Another tactic you might want to try is wading WAY UP towards the dam.  It is a tough wade but you can get very close to the dam wading in the center of the river.  Once you get up there throw some streamers.  That is about the only place I've had any consistent luck.

10/05/01 – Yep, this is the year of hot low water.  And, on the topic of hot water we are winning some; the water temperature is 62 – 64 and quite clear.  However, there still isn’t enough of it.  The flow is around 3,000 CFS, which is to low and slow for good fishing. 

During the hot water spell the fish dropped down out of the wading area into the deeper holding water downriver. They just haven’t come back.  There are some fish up in the wading area but for the most part on our trips down through we aren’t seeing any fish until we get to the Pasture Pool and then we are seeing fish showing (only in the evening during the end of the day hatch) all the way down to Fairfield.  Like I said last week if you are coming and have a canoe bring it.  There is some good nymphing to be had but it is also below the wading area. The wading area is still quite thick with weeds – hard to nymph or swing a streamer. Also like last week, there are some fish up in the wading area and fish are being caught – it’s just not what it should be.  WE STILL NEED RAIN!!!!!!!!!!! 

09/28/01    Same as last week in that the trout are showing but not hitting well.  There is a good strong hatch most nights of small Blue Winged Olives and it starts around 5-ish and goes to full dark.  Mostly the fish are holding down by the pasture pool and below in the deeper water (below the wading area, best bet - bring a canoe).  Last night Jimmy was guiding a threesome and they had rising fish from the pasture pool to below I-95, but before dropping down they saw little activity in the wading area.  I'm afraid the rain we got just wasn't enough to bring a lot of fish up.  

Now that I've painted a really bleak picture let me say that people are catching fish - even during the day.  It just isn't what is should be.  The water is still 64 degrees in the morning and warmer by night.  It should be closer to the 58 degree mark.  

Stripers are showing in Waterville, Winslow area.  I went to Winslow yesterday just before daybreak and caught 2 Stripers on my Spey Rod. Great fun.  The guy just below me got three fish.  It was typical Striper fishing - nothing happening and then - bam - an explosion and a bunch of activity - a hook-up and then still water - nothing happening.  It could be better, and will be, but WE NEED RAIN.

09/21/01 The trout are showing again.  More than showing they are biting. Blue Winged Olives (20 to 24's) are the major hatch.  Small Mahogany Duns and small tan caddis make up the rest of the insect activity.  The Blue Winged Olives are hatching almost every day rain or shine - anywhere from 5:00 pm on thru to full dark.  There are some Large dark mayflies also.  Today with the rain my guess is we will get some midday hatch activity.

Alewives are showing at the dam - last night about 6:30 Dana Charity gave me a ride up to Shawmut to shuttle Jim Thibodeau's truck.  Dana was headed home after giving me a ride.  However, there were so many fish busting bait right in the sluiceway that Dana parked his truck and started casting to all that action.  I haven't seen him today to find out how he did.  It was fun to watch, there were a lot of fish working and the baitfish were just skipping across the top of the water trying to get away. 

There are still a lot of weeds. They are thinning slowly.  Most of the green stringy stuff has washed downstream and so isn't a problem anymore.  I have actually been able to swing a streamer or drift a nymph the last few mornings.  That's new.  As little as a week ago you couldn't get one drift with a nymph without having to pull the fly all the way in to clean it before throwing it back out. 

09/14/01 Shawmut is running about 4500 cfs.  Good wading, clear water, 69 degree temperature, few fish showing.  If it doesn't heat up to much today this evening should have some fish showing.  If it is cool tonight (and it is supposed to be) it should be even better tomorrow.  

There are Stripers showing is Winslow, (mostly in the morning) but unless some baitfish drop down the Stripers are hard to find.

The East Outlet is still running high.

09/11/01 Forget the East Outlet.  Not only did the hot weekend bring the temperature up the flow is also up.  The fall attraction flow has started and so the East is at 2,700 cfs or better.  The Roach is only running at 60cfs.

09/07/01 The water is still pretty warm 69 degrees in the morning 72 or 73 by evening.  The East Outlet, however, is another story.  64 degree water and the fish are biting.  Insect activity has picked back up and fishing is good.  I suspect the Moose and Roach are also cool (flow might be low but the water is cool).  The East is running about 1,200 cfs. good wading.  Solon and Bingham are fishing better but could use a few more cool nights  - Madison down pretty slow.  The best part of all that is that sooner or later the cooling has to get to us.

08/31/01 Not a lot has changed since yesterdays post.  I did go up this morning but I didn't target trout like I had planned.  The turbine was shut down and there was a lot of water coming from the center gate and the turbine bypass.  In that water were a lot of baitfish (alewife or shad - I couldn't tell) and after them were many BIGGGGG Smallmouth bass.  I am sure I caught at least two that went 4 - 5 pounds.  I started making casts and trying to find a retrieve that didn't get be a fish.  Couldn't do it.  Everything worked - my arms are tired.   Luck of the draw - I just happened to be there at the right time.

08/30/01 Shawmut is running about 2300cfs which is slow and low.  Water temperature is 70 degrees (much better than the high of 80 we saw, but not quite cool enough for good fishing) and there are a lot of weeds to deal with.  Best open water is on the east shore.  The west side from the landing to the island is thick with weeds.  I've had some good fish on is those weeds but don't normally succeed in landing them because I get broken off when the fish wrap the leader up in heavy growth.  If you fish the west shore you have to get to the deep run by the island before you get weed free water.  No fish showing at all yesterday morning (I fished for two hours, never saw a rise) and I never got a bump.  However, now that the water is back to 70 (and dropping fast) I plan to start fishing it again in earnest and my target species is going to be trout.  The last few weeks my target species (at least in Shawmut) has been Smallmouth and they have been cooperative but I’m ready for a trout.  There are some mayflies hatching (White mayflies and Leadwing Coachmen) along with caddis (olive and tan) but even the hatches seem to be waiting for cooler water.  Keep the cool nights coming.  I'm getting reports of active fish at Solon and the East Outlet so you might want to check those areas out. 

08/24/01  Low, slow and hot here.  The water temperature is still 73 degrees in the morning.  It was 70 degrees yesterday at the foot of Wyman dam and that is the coldest water I have been able to find in the main stem of the Kennebec. (make that the lowest temperature water "coldest" can't be used to describe 70 degree water) The other good thing about Bingham right now is that they aren't increasing the flow out of the dam until about 9:00am so if you fish the Bingham area at least you get to spend some additional time on the water before the flow drives you out.  If you do head up that way you may want to stop and check out "Kennebec River Outfitters" the newest fly shop in the area.  Bob Mallard opened it up on Rt. 201 just north of Skowhegan about a week or so ago.  You can stop in and try one of his Sage rods and then stop here on the way back and buy one of our Orvis rods.  :-)  Don't forget about John Kenealy's  shop Mountain Valley Flies up in Solon either.  Heck you might as well check them all out on the way.  And lastly, remember that our Orvis Silver Label and Trident rods are on sale at 30% off while they last. Now back to fishing.  

There are a lot of weed showing at Shawmut and the gravel bars are about twice the normal size.  The hardest part of wading Shawmut right now is not getting tripped up in the weeds.  At least some of the mayflies are starting to hatch again.  There are White Mayflies, Leadwing Coachmen and small Sulfurs along with some Olive and Tan Caddis.  Now if the water would cool a couple of degrees perhaps the trout would start moving. Pray for a cool rain. 

08/21/01 The flow here is still low and slow.  The light rain we received didn't change the water temperature, it is still 73 degrees in the morning.  It has been my experience that once we get sustained temperatures over 72 degrees, fishing doesn't pick up again until the water gets back to 68 degrees. The trout don't seem to stop biting until the temperature tops 72 degrees for several days in a row and on the way back down they don't really get started again until it drops to 68 degrees and stays there for awhile.  All we can do is hope for cold rain and/or cool nights.  

08/17/01 Went to Bingham this morning and fished with my Spey rod at the base of the dam.  Caught some nice Smallmouths but didn't see any Salmon or Trout.  Water temperature was 70 degrees right at the foot of the dam.  The water was very low when I got there and only came up about a foot when they started the morning flow.  The steel pilings that normally claim a lot of flies were not a problem this morning - they were out of the water - you could walk between them and the river on dry rocks.  State officials say we aren't having a drought but you can't tell it by the water flow.  The Waterville gauging station reads  2,670 cfs - very low, slow flow.   Funny thing about the drought statement by State officials - they announced that they would be checking water flows on the 13th and son of a gun the river peaked that day at 3,400 and it hasn't been that high since.  Do you suppose there is some disadvantage to FP&L or Kennebec Hydro if a drought condition is declared?  I'd be curious to know.

So anyway back to fishing I guess I'd sum it up by saying good Smallmouth fishing but trout are scarce. 

08/14/01 The cooler nights have dropped the temperature to 75 degrees in the morning.  Still to hot but at least there is some movement in the right direction.  There was a big spike in the flow on the 10th, however, it didn't last.  For the most part the flow has remained just under 3,000cfs (target flow for the river is 6,000cfs) we sure could use some rain.  The forecast does mention showers later this week but not the two or three day soaking we need.  Smallmouth fishing from Waterville to Sidney is holding up well.  Jim took two people down yesterday and the trip started slow but ended with a good number of fish being caught (along with some of good size) all and all a good trip with plenty of action.

08/10/01 HOT, HOT, HOT.  At least we got some rain in the western mountains which brought our flow back up to about 6,000cfs.  That should flush out some of the green moss that has made it impossible to swing a streamer or drift a nymph more than once or twice without having to clean it.  However, the rain didn't have any effect on the water temperature 78 in the morning, 78 in the evening - it isn't going up, it isn't going down, it's just 78.  No fish showing - Smallmouth fishing is still OK but trout just aren't biting.  Even Bingham is hot now.  69 - 70 degree water for about a mile below the dam and then there is an almost visible line where the temperature starts to climb.  OH for a cold rain!

08/03/01 Nothing good to report. The water for the last two days has been 73 degrees in the morning and 78 degrees by 7:00pm (at least here in Fairfield).  Much to hot for trout.  I have been going to Madison, Solon and finding cooler water, but yesterday Madison was 70 degrees at 4:30 am.  This weekend (Sunday) I plan to head to Bingham (up close to Wyman Dam, a true bottom discharge dam and so a source of cooler water) but I really don't expect to find much in the way of cooler water.  It warms quickly on it's way downstream and within a mile or so it has warmed considerably. 

I plan to spend most of this month exploring places I don't often get to.  The only good part of this season is that the water flows are low, the water warm and so if you get into trouble wading and end up taking a swim - so what.   While learning the bottom on waters I don't often fish I will be fishing but my target species will be Smallmouths.  I think they have a chance of staying alive after a hook-up and fight in 75 (+) degree water, whereas, I think most trout just go to the bottom and die.   Ponds are a different story and some good fishing can be had in some of the ponds (look for spring holes and cold water inlets).  It is still important to use the heaviest tippet you can when fishing in or around spring holes.  Get the fish in and back in the water as quickly as possible (if you are practicing catch and release) so that it can get back into some cooler (and so well oxygenated) water. Try walking up some of those inlet streams also - you might get lucky and find a beaver dam or nice quiet deep pool.

Shawmut is easy wading right now, and so this is a good time to learn it.  There are plenty of Smallmouths around to provide some fishing but few trout showing or being caught.  You also have to contend with a lot of the green moss that forms on the rocks breaking free and drifting in the current.  If you drift a subsurface fly once or twice it is a good idea to check it before casting again - it will likely need cleaning. 

One more thing - Orvis Trident and Silver Label rods are still on sale at 25% off - get one while they last; some of the more common rod lengths and line weights are getting hard to come by.

07/27/01 Water temperature at 7:00am - 73 degrees.  Down from a high just two days ago of 78 degrees.  Much to warm.  When I got there this morning the steam was just rolling up from the water.  I used to look at that and say isn't that pretty.  Now I look at it and say look at that heat leaving the water.  Tonight we are supposed to drop down to into the high 40 degree range for the air temperature.  That should help a lot.  Hatches are weak. Clarity is good.  Smallmouths are being very cooperative - trout fishing is definitely off.  If the water temperature drops I promise I won't wait until Friday to post it.  In the meantime I would be looking at heading into the ponds and streams located in the higher elevations - they have to be cooler than this and should be fishing better. 

07/20/01 Water temperature at 6:00am – 70 degrees.  Clarity good. Flow moderate. Level just right.  Lots of Alder flies.  I had said they were waning but they proved me wrong there was a heavy hatch of them last night.  Little Yellow Sallies are also hatching again, along with our old friend the Black Caddis.  I have been suffering from the "I can hook em, but I can't catch em" blues but I'm happy to say I broke the curse this morning.  Two rainbows (12") and one brown (17") to the net.  I got the brown on a size 12 olive bodied caddis and the rainbows on a size 14 Royal Coachman. 

07/13/01 The thunderstorms have cooled the water some - 68 degrees this morning.  Water level is good - easy wading. (but could come up quick with another storm)  Flow is moderate, clarity is good.  Not much insect activity - hatches are off.  I fished from about 6:00am to 8:30 and didn't do a thing until the last 25 minutes or so.  I tried several different flies, used a sink tip and swung streamers (hung up in the weeds frequently - had one fish on and got broke off in the weeds), switched to an intermediate line and drifted emergers and then switched to a floating line and tried attractors.  The winning fly - a Royal Coachman dry.  I had already tried a Royal Wulff and hadn't done anything with it. I decided to put a Royal Coachman on and fish it on my way to shore.  As I got to the deeper water on the west shore; bang - bang - bang three browns, one about 16". One never knows. 

Two other thing I want to mention: 
1) All of the Orvis Trident TL, and Silver Label TL rods are going on sale - 25% off.  Get one while they last. Stop in and cast one or call us to order one.
2) We are going to do another canoe poling clinic. Mike Patterson will again be the instructor.  The clinic will be held on the 28th.  Cost $165.00.  All canoes, poles, life jackets and lunch will be supplied - bring your own if you want.  To sign up call us at (207) 453-6242.

06/29/01 Still 71 degrees, a little high and dirty.  Flow is fast.  Still very wadable. Hatches are staying the same as below except for a chocolate brown caddis (size 12/14) which is hatching  mid-morning.  Still a good evening hatch.  Hope for cold rain.

06/27/01 Water temperature is 71 degrees (8:00am) and the level is high, clarity is poor, flow is fast.  Four major hatches going on - Black Caddis (mid-day), Sulfurs (evening), Zebra Caddis (evening) and Light Cahills (evening).  Not much surface activity until right about or just after dark.  I was up there this morning for about 3 hours (started at 6:30) and never saw a sign of a fish.  I did manage to bring up one small Brown Trout by casting to a likely looking spot about 10 times.  He was the only foolish one.  I tried streamers and nymphs both - no luck.  I hope to do better tonight as I check out the evening hatch.

06/22/01 Water temperature came down as the water flow came up - it's a strong 68 or a weak 69 - take your pick.  Water level is up. Flow is fairly fast. Still very wadable.  Target flow for the river is 6,000cfs and the USGS site says the river is at 5,800 cfs.  If it seems a little high to some of you it is because last year is was so dry all summer that the average flow on the river was below 4,000cfs.  Sulfurs, and Light Cahills for mayflies, Black Caddis, Zebra Caddis, still some olive bodied and a few tan caddis showing.  Great hatches in the evening.

06/20/01 Zebra caddis started the day before 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 except for the small mahogany duns which I am still seeing in the morning.  Water flow is moderate, level is good and the temperature is 74 degrees in the morning. The good part of that is we have thunder showers and rain coming.  Let hope that cools the water some.

06/15/01 Fishing is good.  Black Caddis, Sulfurs, Tan Caddis & Olive Caddis all at once.  Water level is good.  Wading is good.  Water temperature is 65 (morning), 68 (evening).  Lots of fish showing.  

06/09/01 The rock is back.  Black Caddis (16/18) midday, Sulfurs starting about 4:00pm.  Water is still high and flow is strong but very wadable.   

06/08/01 Well, honest yesterday afternoon the white rock was showing ( I wasn't the only one to see it). However, this morning it is not even close to showing. The water is high and fast. Bingham flow is low and the Carrabassett and Sandy are well below 1,000cfs but none the less we have high water. So please, when you serve up my crow a little salt would be nice.
The Sidney flow is 11,200cfs - that makes a little more sense than the white rock showing yesterday afternoon with a flow of 12,700cfs.  

06/07/01 – Well the white rock is showing and Shawmut is once again wadable (as of about 6:pm - it wasn't showing this morning).  The level is high, the flow is fast, the temperature is 60 degrees and the clarity is fair.   Lots of stuff hatching: Yellow Stoneflies (size 6), Little Yellow Sallies (stoneflies also about a 14 long shank), Sulfurs (size 14/16), Little Mahogany Duns (size 18), Olive Caddis (size 14), Black Caddis (size 16) and more I’m sure.   I would say if you don’t mind the current come fish tonight.  Even better – wait until tomorrow and have even less flow to deal with.  They should close the center gate by tomorrow.
Flow in Sidney is 12,700cfs – I’m surprised that the white rock is showing if Sidney has that kind of flow.  We used to loose the white rock at about 8,500cfs when the gage was in Waterville.  Maybe they weren’t getting good readings in Waterville and so moved the gage. Whatever the reason I guess 12,700 cfs is the new number to look for on the downriver gage.

06/06/01 - Still to high and dirty to wade - some people are fishing from a boat but I'm not sure it is worth the risk.  21,000 cfs leaves little room for error. Check the following address, scroll down to the Kennebec at Sidney listing and click on the number beside the listing to see a graph of the river flow.   http://me.water.usgs.gov/rt-cgi/gen_tbl_pg?page=1 My guess is we will be fishing safely by Friday.  Both the Carrabassett and the Sandy are dropping and should be close to normal flows by tomorrow night.

06/02/01 - River is blown out.  Much to high to wade.  I'll post when we can wade again.

06/01/01 - Update - Sulphurs are hatching.  Not the real Sulphur (which will come soon and is smaller) but the Pale Evening Dun. These guys are not as yellow as the real Sulphurs but still decidedly pale yellow to olive. They are a 14/16 size and well imitated by a yellow comparadun. I'll try to catch some of these and scan them in.  Hatch starts around 4:00 pm.

06/01/01 - Water is 61 degrees. Flow is moderate, level is just right.  Hendricksons are done with it seems.  Lots of caddis.  Gray body (size 14) and green body (size 16) seem to be the most common right now.  
Had no luck with streamers this morning.  Switched to a Hemingway Caddis and got three Rainbows in about an hour.  Just fishing it in likely looking spots and to the occasional rise. 
The Golden Stones should be starting soon along with the Black Caddis.  

05/25/00 - Water is 60 degrees.  Flow is slow, level is low. Mid-summer conditions.  Like most of Maine we don't have enough water.  The fishing, however, is good but we may suffer later on with high temperatures and few fish.  
Hendricksons are still hatching, light spinner falls in the evening.  Caught fish this morning using light olive emerger patterns fished right in the surface layer during the spurts of fish showing on top.  In between spurts I also caught fish on a bead head pheasant tail fished on bottom and then stripped at the end of the swing.  I would dead drift the bead head pheasant tail and at the end of the swing just rise it up off the bottom and wouldn't get a hit.  When out of frustration I started to strip it in the check for debris, bang, I got a hit.  Kept trying it and it kept working. (short strips - just 4 inches or so but fairly fast)
Some caddis (light olive, 14-16) were dapping the water and bringing fish up.  Caddis haven't really come on strong yet.  Yesterday we had several people in who said they saw tan caddis - I haven't seen any yet.  

05/18/01 - Come fish.  Still good hatches of Hendrickson and Blue Winged Olive Mayflies and to make things interesting a few Golden Stones are crawling out on shore also.  Hatches are midday to early evening.  Not many Caddis showing. Mornings are still a little slow so sleep in and have a hearty breakfast.  Flow is moderate, level is good and water temps are great.  

05/16/01 - More good hatches today.  Water is 58 degrees.  Wading is good.  Level is low. Flow is moderate. In addition to Hendricksons today we had big Blue Winged Olives hatching.  Click on this thumbnail to see them full size.

05/15/01 - Today it happened.  Hendricksons.  Yesterday Jimmy guided a client in the afternoon and they saw a few mayflies but only a few. They caught two Smallmouths and one Landlocked Salmon. Today Jim went up in the afternoon and came back about 6:30 - stuck his head in the door of the shop and declared the fishing "RED HOT." Fish rising steady and despite the wind lots of hookups.  Can't say if it is going to hold true for tomorrow but I'm willing to bet it will now that it seems to have started. Jim didn't see any Blue Winged Olives or Quill Gordons. Water still in the mid to high 50's.

05/11/01 - For those of you who post on or view our bulletin board - it crashed.  When I rebuilt it I ended up with it at a new address - that is http://www.maineflyfishing.com/forum/ffoforum_frm.htm  check it out. 

05/11/01 - The river is very low.  August conditions.  Flow is slow.  Temperature is 56 degrees.  Still haven't seen any insects to speak of.  Little stones on the bushes - no mayflies or caddis.  Flashboards are up.  I did finally see some fish rolling today that I was sure weren't suckers. One in particular (like always just beyond casting range) came up three times in the same spot in about a twenty minute period.  It was a good feeding lie and I'm fairly sure it was a trout.  The guy I was fishing with this morning was using a black Clouser and got into two Smallmouths, the first of which went an easy four pounds.  
The good part of all this is that at least we can fish.  Last year we had a big rain about now and the river didn't go down and get fishable until the 30th.  And, on the 30th the water was only 55 degrees with Hendricksons just starting to show.  
One more thing - got to see an eagle take a fish this morning.  The eagle kept circling lower and lower than it cut one of the circles short and swooped down and plucked this fish right out of the water, smooth as could be.  No fuss no muss - just grabbed the fish and kept going.  Looked easier than what the Ospreys go through.

05/08/01 - THE WHITE ROCK IS SHOWING.  Flashboards aren't up yet but the rock's up.  Flow is fast, wading will be tough but fish are getting active.  Lots of Early Black Stones showing (crawling out in the slow eddies onto rocks) and the fish are after them.  Fish are hanging in the shallows and waiting for the stones to come to them.  This is going on midday - say noon to three timeframe.  Haven't seen and mayflies to speak of and few caddis. - Water is 52 degrees - insects have to be hatching I just haven't seen them.

05/04/01 - No wading yet.  River is high but fairly clear.  Water temperature is 49 degrees.  I was up there yesterday morning and this morning casting from shore at the pasture pool.  I haven't caught a fish yet but they were rolling out there - I just couldn't hook up. (just a few fish rolling but I bet by 2:00pm or so it will be busy with fish rolling)  I haven't seen any hatches yet, but at 49 degrees yesterday and today something should happen.  If we get cooler cloudy weather tomorrow like we are supposed to Blue Winged Olives will be hatching.  Quill Gordons will start soon also if the water temperature doesn't drop.  

If you want to come and fish from a canoe or driftboat I would say your chances are good.  If you come and fish from shore it's going to be a little hard to reach the fish.  Very limited casting from shore.  I was cheating the last couple of days I was using my 12' 6", 7 weight spey rod.  It opens up a lot of water because you don't need back-cast room.  If you come to fish from shore bring your waders anyway. The water is clear enough so that you can see bottom and so get out a few steps from shore without worrying about tripping over unseen logs.  That will open up a little more water. 

Oh yea, before I forget Alewives are in Waterville.  Stripers can't be far behind. 

04/27/01  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 too 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. 

 Now if any of that sounds familiar it's because I cut and pasted that from last year's 04/28/00 post.  I guess that goes to show we aren't that far off from last years melt after all.   Another note from last year is the arrival of alewives and stripers - May 6th last year in Waterville/Winslow.

Also if you want a good pull check out www.sugarloafweb.com/fishing/index.html it's Craswell Guide Service in New Brunswick.  I went up about this time last year and in one day we had over 20 Atlantics  to the boat. Good time and not to expensive. Check it out.

04/20/01    River is high and dirty.  Flow has been hanging around 28,000cfs - normal flow is 6,000cfs.  Water temperature is 36 degrees. I plan on just cruising around to some of the pond inlets and outlets and to visit a few feeder streams this weekend - it's supposed to be good weather and some bushwhacking without bugs will be fun.  If you are going to be casting about on the web check out the Penobscot Fly Fishers website - they are based in Brewer and are a great group of people.  The site address is www.penobscotflyfishers.com. They have a newsletter, schedule of events, list of club projects and a great list of links.  I didn't find a link to my site - but there are some good links.

04/13/01   Missed Friday - sorry.  You didn't miss anything. The river is high - there isn't much else to say.  The lakes and ponds are still frozen and what few stoneflies were hatching have stopped. 
At http://www.maineflyfishing.com/trips2000/tripintro.htm  you will find pictures from some of last year's guided trips, check them out, there are some good ones.    

04/11/01  Well play time is over.  Yesterday morning you could wade the Shawmut area.  By noon it was getting kinda high.  By 5:00pm it was to high to wade.  This morning it is still to high and my guess is it will stay that way until the melt is over.  We may get a day here or there but I don't think so.  I will continue to post on Fridays and if something changes for the good mid-week I will get on and post that.  In the mean time if you want to take a peek at the water level in Augusta click on this link
http://.me.water.usgs.gov/augloop.html  WAIT FOR IT TO LOAD - IT TAKES AWHILE - CLICK ON THE IMAGE IF IT IS FLASHING ALL THE TIME THAT WILL FREEZE IT.

04/07/01  Since the snow didn't happen I decided to try it this morning.  I got to Shawmut about 7:30am and there were two trucks there already.  After I got geared up and headed down to the water I passed one of the people heading out.  He hadn't fished long and had decided it was to cold to deal with.  When I got to the water the other fisherman was tying on a fly and getting ready.  Twenty minutes later he was gone.  I fished for 1 1/2 hours and didn't see any sign of a fish - lost two flies to the bottom.  Still it was worth it - I had a great (but cold) time.  There were geese and an osprey to look at; bright sunshine and that great feeling of water pressure on your legs.   Life is good.  Maybe next trip I'll even get some fish.  Water level is still good, flow is moderate.  

Even though I didn't see anything the osprey did.  I watched him dive for (and miss) a fish.  It was neat to watch him come out of the water - climb about 20 feet and then just stop in mid air and shake himself like a dog.  Water sprayed everywhere - I didn't feel so cold after watching that show.

If I hadn't had to come into work today I would have waited until about noon and gone up after the sun got higher and the air warmed up a little. Maybe tomorrow.  I figure cold or not I might as well get as much fishing as I can in before the melt starts.  With all of the snow in the western part of the state I figure once the melt starts it will be awhile before the river goes back down.  

04/06/01    Well like a true fisherman I started out my season with a fib.  After I posted my intent to fish this morning I told Linda I was heading out and she said - "You have a Doctors appointment tomorrow morning for your annual physical."  Well that was the end of that fishing trip.  So here I am posting my intent to go soon - I won't say tomorrow because we are supposed to get 2 - 3" of show by tomorrow morning and I'll be digging out from that before I come in here.  However, here's some information on the river.  Water level is mid-summer low, clarity is great, flow is minimal but the water temperature is only 35 degrees. If I fish Sunday or Monday I'll post the results.  

04/05/01  I know it's Thursday but I figured I get this page up and running a day early.  That's a record for me - I'm normally a day late.  I haven't fished the river yet this year.  I will be going out tomorrow.  I don't hold out much hope - right now the banks are covered with snow, the melt hasn't really started, flashboards are up so the wading is good, but the water is only about 34 degrees.  I only know of three fish being caught in the last week - all to subsurface patterns (bead head soft hackle pheasant tail, and small black stones). Tomorrow I'll let you know how I made out.  Don't miss the Kennebec Valley, Trout Unlimited banquet this month, it's on the 21st follow this link to see the newsletter. tunewsletter.htm

Return to Table of Contents