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

12/14/02 Sorry, for the gap - Yep, Friday updates are over for this year.  With this broken collarbone I haven't been fishing and with Thanksgiving and Christmas activity I just keep forgetting to come on here and post that I won't be posting.   However, like always I'll start back up in April.  Have a Merry Christmas. a Happy New Year and good luck in all you do.

11/22/02 First I'm happy to report that Maine PBS is reviewing the decision to drop the Northeast Journal and looking for a time slot to reinstate it.  It hasn't happened yet but it is likely. 
Now to the river. Flow is around 4,000cfs, water temperature is 40 degrees and level is good for wading. Not many people have been fishing Shawmut and so I have no reports on how the fishing is going.  I have been driving up in the morning and watching while I have a coffee and haven't seen any alewife activity but with this rain they should run.  If they start I'll be sure and post it.

11/15/02  The flow here at Shawmut Dam has been around 3,000cfs since July.  Target flow for this section is 6,000cfs.  Well, I'm happy to say today the flow is around 6,700cfs.  The gravel bars that have been showing in the middle of the river all summer are UNDER WATER where they should be.  The water came up on the 13th and has stayed up.  The main turbine is running which is something else that is new.  Since June the main turbine has seen little use.  What does that mean for fishing - I'm not sure.  It may be to little to late but it also might be enough to get the Alewives in Lakewood moving downstream.  Wouldn't that be nice. Especially since the water is 45 degrees and at 45 degrees the fish are still pretty active.  At the least it means that the wading area is no longer so shallow that fish won't venture up into it and stay.  Fish seem to have this thing about not staying in shallow water.  I wonder if the Ospreys have anything to do with that?  Of course the Ospreys have gone south but the fish don't know that.
    So, in summary the river level is about normal (the White Rock is showing by about a foot) flow is moderate to fast. Level is good, still very wadable but those people who got used to the 3,000cfs flow it will seem high.  Hatches are few.  If I were to fish this weekend (and I think the shoulder is feeling well enough that I will) I'd be going down after them with weighted nymphs or swinging streamers.
     On another topic altogether please read the following comments about Maine PBS and the locally produced show Northeast Journal:

    Love them or hate them, Harry Vanderweide and friends who produce Northeast Journal (which evolved from the Maine Outdoorsman) are Maine people producing a Maine based show.  They are still producing the show but it’s going to be harder to catch it on TV because Maine PBS has dropped it. 
    I don’t know why but my guess is those who control Maine PBS programming are anti hunting and fishing.  Maybe, maybe not, regardless of the reason the show is being replaced by another showing of This Old House.  A show I enjoy but watching it once a week is enough I don’t want to watch another segment of This Old House more than I want to watch Northeast Journal. 
    When I heard this news I thought “that sucks” and kinda let it drop.  Today I got an e-mail drumming up some support for Northeast Journal and after reading it I decided I would contact PBS and voice my displeasure.  The e-mail is shown below and I urge you to read it and contact Maine PBS yourselves, hopefully, to ask that Northeast Journal be continued.
    The e-mail I got reads:
    “If you haven't noticed of late - after over 10 years on Maine PBS - Northeast Journal is no longer being shown. A recent decision by station management has dropped the program from the lineup. We feel outdoors people throughout the state are being short-changed by PBS dropping the only Maine sportsman-oriented program from their lineup. If you are a supporter of Harry's program - we encourage you to contact Maine PBS AUDIENCE SERVICES either by phone, email or regular mail to voice your concern. They take every input very seriously. Your help will greatly be appreciated. If you have others who are interested in helping out - please forward them a copy of this email.
    To contact Maine PBS by Mail:
    Maine PBS
    1450 Lisbon St.
    Lewiston, ME. 04240
    FAX:207-783-5193

    To contact Maine PBS by Phone:
    1-800-884-1717

    To Contact Maine PBS by Email:
    Comments@mpbc.org " end of quote 

So if you like the show and want to see it continued please call, phone, e-mail or write – heck, do all four.  This is a Maine based Show and Maine people – ask Maine PBS to support it.  To e-mail them just click on this link.  Comments@mpbc.org

11/09/02 Water flow is up some. Water temperature is 40 degrees. Around one or two in the afternoon there are still some Blue Winged Olives coming off.  Wading is still good and with the good weather if I didn't have this broken collarbone I'd be fishing.  Like they say "I can't guarantee you'll catch fish if you go but I can guarantee you won't catch fish if you don't."

11/01/02 Water temperature is 47 degrees.  Flow is slow, level low and fishing spotty.  Jim was at Shawmut yesterday and saw one fish rise didn't catch any.  Yet this morning I got this in an e-mail from Dustin
"Just an update I fished about 4 hours last night and did real well above the pasture pool a couple nice hogs and fish in real good shape. Most of them on hares ear and prince nymphs and pheasant tails didn't seem to matter too much as long as I had a good drift on in the slow water behind the riffles. Also got a few on buggers when it got darker."
So, it boils down to the old saw - that's why they call it fishing not catching.  I've gotta say after last week's post and this week's if my collar bone wasn't still healing up I'd be fishing with Hare's Ear nymphs.  Still fish being caught in Skowhegan also, but with the water in the mid-forty degree range it won't last much longer.  Remember above Skowhegan closed yesterday - don't forget and head to the East Outlet - you'll have it to yourself except for the occasional warden. How about some Indian Summer days.  Isn't it funny for the last three months we've needed rain and a couple of cool nights now we need rain and a couple of warm days. 

10/26/02 update - Good news – three anglers showed up about noon to buy some strike indicators and a couple of bead head Hare’s Ear nymphs.  Seem one of them got a rainbow up in the wading area nymphing without a strike indicator and he thought he might have better luck with a strike indicator. 

Well, they headed back up and returned later tally one rainbow just under 3 pounds, one brown just under 4 – weighed in the net.  Blue Winged Olives hatching not many rises but some, it seems most of the feeding was subsurface.

10/25/02 Flow is still low and slow.  Water clear, and wading is good.  Blue Winged Olive hatch yesterday afternoon.  One of the regular forum posters stopped in about 4 and said he fished the East Outlet in the morning and got skunked (it was cold and spitting snow) and so  he left there and headed to Shawmut.  When he got there he went to the deeper water and saw occasional rising trout.  If I remember correctly he said he got two fish.  He stopped in long enough to pick up the Thomas Ames book on New England Stream insects and to give me a brief report. 

Marshall and Jim went to Bingham the other day and got into fish.  If you want to get some fall fishing in don't wait to long the water is getting cold fast.  Before long the fishing will start to slow both because of cold temperatures and the annual case of spawning lockjaw.

10/19/02 Sorry no update yesterday.  I was out running Jameson around town, something I do every night on my bicycle, and hit a manhole cover - the bike stopped and I didn't - I broke my collarbone.  So this will be a short update, typing is tough and one handed. 

Water level is up with the rain.  Flow is around 6,000 and wading is a little tougher than it has been all summer.  It's hard to tell yet if this has started the Alewives or brought fish up.  It should.  When I get a confirmation I will post it. Water is clear.

The stripers seem to have left Waterville. 

10/11/02 The Kennebec is pretty much the same as last week.  The only good new is it is raining. Lets hope it keeps raining. Just for grins you might want to think about going to Grand Lake Stream they have the gates open this week and will be closing them down some on the 15th.  The flow now should be bringing some nice fish into the stream and the reduced flow will make wading a little better than it is.  Right now it is fast and tough wading.  Some nice fish being caught.  GLS closes on the 20th don't forget. 
If you want to fish Shawmut concentrate on the deeper runs and the head of the Pasture Pool.  The wading area is still fairly shallow and even though the water is at a good temperature the fish just haven't moved back into the shallow water.  If you know the deeper runs, like the deep water between the island and the West shore you can find some fish.  Hatches are late afternoon.

10/04/02 Fishing is slow.  Water levels are still very low.  There are a few fish being caught in the deeper runs but for the most part the wading area in Shawmut is not producing many fish.  Hatches are also slow.  It seems to be like this in most areas.  Although, I am hearing of some fish in Madison and Solon.
The lower sections of the Fairfield, Shawmut run are producing some rising fish in the evening but one must have a boat to get to them.  We need rain!

09/28/02 Well we didn't get as much rain as they said we were going to but I think we got enough to get things going.  Here is a graph of what has happened to the flow.  As you can see the rain hasn't raised the flow even to 5,000cfs and the target flow for the river is between 6 and 7,000.  However, this should help things and may well be enough to get the Alewives running out of the area ponds.  I am glad to see the forecast shows rain off and on for the next few days because it will sustain the Alewife flow and is bound to improve the fishing.  Don't forget about the Kennebec Valley of Trout Unlimited "One Fly" contest today at Ft. Halifax Park in Winslow.  Free casting and Fly Tying lessons for kids, the one fly contest itself, free hotdogs and hamburgers, a casting contest, a great day, fresh rain added to the river and good fun.  Be there or be square.

09/27/02 Well the heat on Saturday and Sunday drove the water temperature right back up and it took most of this last week to drop back to a decent temperature.  It was 68 this morning.  All we can do right now is wait and see what this rain is going to do to us.  Hopefully, it will jump start things without flooding us out.  I post Sunday after things settle down and let you know how the river is doing.  Stripers are back in the Waterville/Winslow area.

09/20/02 Better news. The water is 66 degrees in the morning and still below 70 degrees by the end of the day. Fish are showing in the evening and coming up to several different caddis along with White Mayflies and an occasional Leadwing Coachman.  There are some midday caddis hatching but little surface activity on the trout's part.  The trout are waking up!!!

For caddis you still want some Black caddis (18's), Tan caddis (16,18) and it is a good idea this time of year to bring some bead head caddis larva in cream, olive and reddish brown.  For mayflies bring little mahogany duns (18, 20), white wulff (14), adams (12), blue winged olives (18 - 24) along with emergers for them.

09/14/02 This morning the water temperature is still 67 degrees.  Flow is slow and so was the fishing yesterday for Jimmy's clients.  They only managed one trout yesterday, a 15" rainbow.  Good insect activity with caddis, white mayflies, blue winged olives and leadwing coachman all hatching at one time or another during the day.  No fish rising to them - the wind had a lot to do with that - it really blew hard.  However, if the insect hatches have started the fish shouldn't be far behind.  Hopefully, we will get our rain Sunday and Monday like the weatherman has predicted and things will really pick up.

09/13/02 Last Friday I got 68 degrees when I took the river’s temperature.  By Tuesday with the hot spell we had it was back up to 73 degrees.  It dropped right back down with the couple of cold nights we had and yesterday I got 68 and today I got 67 degrees.  That’s good but I’m afraid it’s going to take a couple more days for the fish to realize things have gotten better.  What makes me say that is Jimmy was guiding the Shawmut section yesterday afternoon and didn’t see any sign of trout activity.  He and the guy he was guiding were fishing for Smallmouths and they got action but all the while Jimmy was doing what good guides do and looking for activity and clues of how the fishery is doing.  Jimmy is also guiding today and guiding for trout.  I’ll report how they do tomorrow. 

No reports of Stripers in Waterville yet – or at least no more than the few that have been hanging around during the heat.  The Sebasticook is running high due to the drain-down of the lake and alewives should be making it to the ocean right about now so ANY DAY NOW.

09/06/02 - I’m not sure how it managed it but the water temperature is 68 degrees!!!!! Thank goodness.  Clarity is good, flow is moderate, level is low, and weeds are thicker than I would like to see them. There are lots of bugs hiding in those weeds and the fish work them – don’t ignore the edges of the weed beds.  It isn’t just Smallmouths that enjoy the predator protection and shelter from the sun the weeds offer.  Watch for trout as well working the beds.

Black Caddis (18), Blue Winged Olives (20), White Mayflies (14) along with ants and grasshoppers should provide you with some action.  Admittedly there aren’t a lot of trout working yet – it JUST cooled down from some hot water and most of the trout drop down into the impoundment when it is hot and it takes them awhile to get back to Shawmut but they always make it back fairly quickly.  Now that their metabolism is back to telling them “hey, I’m hungry” they will go searching for an easy food source and the wading area is the cafeteria.  So come fish this weekend and enjoy the great weather we are going to have.  Just hope the nights stay cool so the temperature doesn’t jump back up.

08/30/02 – The river is 72 degrees and cooling slow.  However, it is cooling, down from 76 last week.  Water is low, flow is slow and fishing for trout is slow.  Smallmouths are still working, maybe more now that the temp has dropped a little.  The heat seems to bother them as well.

We don’t have as much green funk floating down river as we did last year at the time but the weeds are heavy.  This low water lets the sun get right to the weed beds and they grow like crazy.  Hatches are few, White Mayflies have started, good evening hatches of them.  Some Tan Caddis and Blue Winged Olives also showing. Bingham is still the coldest water around but even Bingham must be close to 70 degrees still.  Pray for cold nights and lots of rain.

08/23/02 Water is still warm I just checked it and got a strong 75 or a weak 76 degrees whichever way you want to think of it.  Even Bingham has gotten up to 70 degrees.  Thankfully, there is some rain in the forecast and the nights are cooler.  We should have peaked as far as temperature goes and things should just get better. 
There are few hatches and Blue Winged Olives are still the most consistent producers.  Smallies are still hitting but even that has slowed. Weeds are getting thick but those also should have peaked.

08/16/02 No real change.   Hard rain this morning but it didn't last long and won't change things.  I'm heading north this weekend and doing some pond fishing.  I figure it will be sinking lines and looking for spring holes. 

08/09/02 Ok boys and girls here’s the scoop – Fishing is tough right now.  The water is warm, 72 degrees this morning.  Flow is slow to moderate, level is low, clarity good and the hatches are off, all in all tough fishing.  However, there is hope.  Some fish are being caught and 72 degrees is down from the 74 degrees we were seeing before these last two cool nights. 
    Wading is easy here in Shawmut and upstream as well.  At these flows Madison is safe wading (72 degrees), Solon is also low and always worth visiting (69 degrees) and like always Bingham has the coldest water in a forty mile radius with water at the 67, 68 degree range.  Bingham is also having lower than normal flows in the morning.  Or perhaps I should say later than normal low flows in the morning.  They haven’t been raising the water until about 9:00.  You can go to our Water flows page and get the 800 number for flows and call to check if you are thinking of going. 
    Smallmouth fishing is good and several people have been in saying that they have hooked a chub and had a big fish come wack it.  That’s a fairly common event right now – all the big guys are looking for an easy meal.  Bring some bigggg streamers.
    Bring some sulphurs for a late evening hatch, tan caddis and maybe some black caddis but I’m not seeing as many of those.  Grasshoppers with or without a dropper are a good thing and Little Yellow Sallies are out and about.  If the wind comes up cast Yellow Sallies in under any shoreline branches – it can produce action.

08/02/02 No change. Evening hatch is holding up and fish are rising but mid-day fishing is limited.  To get trout during the day you have to get lucky and hit a caddis hatch, go down with sinking lines or wait for a rainy day and hope for a Blue Winged Olive hatch.  The fish are still in the wading area, there just aren't many daytime hatches to bring them up.
    Smallmouth fishing is good with some good sized fish being caught.  Also this water level is good for learning the river.  Not much flow and if you fall in the water is warm.  Now is a good time to come and learn the river so you will be ready in September for the fall fishing. 
    There are still Stripers being caught in Waterville but for the most part it is occasional during the day and fair after dark.

07/26/02  Much like the post below only the water temperature is 73 degrees. There isn't much activity during the day but there is still a good hatch just before dark and the fish are still coming up.  The flow is moderate and wading level is good.  The clarity is also good but the weeds are starting to become a pain.
     Last night I caught two Rainbows on a Usual, size 14.  There were a lot of fish rising and I was placing the fly about three feet above the rise and getting a good drift but no fish.  After awhile I figured it out.  The fish weren't holding in one place instead they were drifting down with the current and feeding on the way.  The section I was fishing in has few big rocks or structure for them to hold behind.  So by placing the fly 3 or so feet above them and dead drifting I was keeping my fly just outside of their cone of vision. 
    Once I figured that out I stopped placing it above them and started aiming my cast directly at the ring of the rise.  Of course, by the time I figured that out the light was failing and it was heading towards full dark and seeing and casting to rings was getting tough - not to mention the supper that was home calling my name.  So I called it quits after two fish and started poling back to the landing. 

07/23/02     Guided John Stewart the night before last.  Water temperature was 71 degrees.  We went on the water about 5:00pm and fished Smallmouths until about 7:00pm.  The Smallies were cooperative and we had some good fun with them.  About 7:00 we started to drift down the river looking for some hatches and rising trout.
    We saw some in the Pasture Pool but the insects were just occasional spent flies that were floating around.  Consequently, the few rises we saw were not holding fish but cruisers, which showed erratically.  However, we decided to drop down further and were rewarded.
    About half-way to the second set of power lines we saw a couple of rises, this was about 7:40pm and what seemed to be some small fish rising to them.  John had a Zebra Caddis imitation on and made some definitely drag-free drifts over the rising fish.  No takers. 
    So I got out the seine and started checking the water.  I got lots and lots of midges.  We had a strong wind blowing and neither of us wanted to switch to lighter tippets and small flies but both felt he had better make the switch. 
    I told John to use one of the rods I had brought along with a tan caddis pupa on it as something to throw at them while I took his Zebra Caddis imitation and tied on a size 20, Griffith’s Gnat.  So I started struggling with a Gnat and John started casting the pupa.
    About the third cast John hooked up.  This “small fish” headed down river in a hurry.  It turned out to be a 16” brown when John finally got it in.  In a short time he had two more on and several missed strikes; all on the caddis pupa.  Well by this time it was starting to get dark and the air was thick with caddis.  It seems the midge I seined were a masking hatch and just plain ole dumb luck put us onto the caddis drift that was what had got the fish working.  Sometimes you just get lucky.

07/19/02  River is wadable, clear and 68 degrees this morning.  Last night it was up to 72 - thank God for cool nights.   I went to Shawmut this morning and couldn't do anything.  Nothing rising and my faithful Muddler failed me.  I tried several other streamers but no luck.
    The flow is moderate and evening hatches are still holding up.  The time of the small Mayflies is upon us.  You might want to try a grasshopper with a small rust colored mayfly hanging off the back as a trailing fly because we are seeing a lot of Little Mahogany Duns right now and the grasshoppers are starting to move about.
    I went to Winslow yesterday morning and again last night to give the Stripers a run - the Stripers won.  I didn't see any sign of them in the morning but when I went back last night (9:30 or so) I could see the occasional swirl and hear them splashing but I couldn't hook up.  It was fun just to get my Spey rod out and work with it but a hook-up would have been nice.

07/12/02 River is wadable, flow moderate to fast, clarity good and the water temperature is 68 degrees.  Caught fish yesterday morning and this morning on Muddlers.  Not much rising in the mornings.  Still fairly good hatches in the evening.  We have had guided trips out for the last two nights and they went on the water about 5:00pm and were greeted by rising fish.  Not heavy hatches but good enough to bring fish up.  The fish stayed up beyond full dark both nights.

For Mayflies we are seeing Leadwing Coachmen, Cahills, Blue Winged Olives and Little Mahogany Duns and for Caddis the Alder Fly is still king followed by Black Caddis as a close second. 

07/08/02 River is wadable - White Rock showing by about 1 1/2 feet.  Flow in Waterville on the gauge is 8,600cfs which is where I used to stop wading in Shawmut before they moved the gauge.  Now the magic number seems to be about 10,000cfs in Waterville.  The last few times we have had high water 10,000cfs had been the cutoff.  I don't know what changed.  The water is running at 74 degrees and there aren't many trout showing.  Jimmy brought two people down through yesterday and they had very good Smallmouth fishing.  The largest being 17".  When the trout do show it is late and just for a small spurt.  Most trout temperature charts show 75 degrees at the high temp limit for trout - because of that I don't target trout above 75 degrees.  One advantage of going in the morning like I often do it that the temperature is normally below 75 for quite awhile yet.

I made my annual pilgrimage to Bingham this morning and fished with Kenny Clark.  The water up there was 64 degrees and fish were biting.  One rainbow and one Brookie or Splake - I couldn't tell - I didn't take the fish out of the water I was able to slip the hook without doing that.  Even if I do take the fish out I'm not sure I could tell.

The water level was good up until about 9:00am then it went from 1500cfs to about 3000cfs which wasn't a bad flow.  We got lucky because the water held at that flow until about noon when we were taking out anyway.  It has since gone to 6,000cfs and will probably stay that way until late tonight.  All that said I guess I would sum it up by saying get to Bingham early if you want to fish and you'll find active fish in cooler water.  We fished from a canoe and drifted down from Bingham. 

I'm not sure what Solon and Madison are doing but I'm sure they are cooler than Shawmut.  There are still Stripers in Waterville and Jimmy has been catching them on dry flies. How's that for a hot one.  Jimmy has also caught several Shad in Waterville over the past week.

07/06/02 Oops, forgot to post yesterday.  Water is 72 degrees, flow is good, clarity good but the fishing is not so good.  There are still fish to be had but you want to be working the faster broken water or coming early or late.  Not much happening midday unless you use sinking lines and go down after them.

One more thing - the Smallmouths are getting active and can provide you with some really good action.  If you do come midday you might want to concentrate on them until the evening hatch. There are some big Smallmouth Bass at Shawmut and they don't get anywhere near as stressed in this heat as the trout do.

07/04/02  Happy 4th of July!  God Bless America!!
But you can forget wading as part of your celebration unless you are used to wading Shawmut at high levels. 

07/03/02 It's going to be to close to call.  They have closed half of the mechanical flashboards at Shawmut that were open but there are thunderstorms going on all over the state.  That rain may well end up in Shawmut and if so they will just open the gates again.  I'll check it in the morning but it doesn't look good. 

There were two people up there tonight fishing from a canoe - don't know how they did.

07/03/02  River still high. However, the clarity has come back a lot.  The White Rock isn't showing and1/3 of the mechanical flashboards are down.  When the mechanical flashboards are down the flow is fierce and wading is risky at best. 

The Sandy River has crested and so has the Carrabassett which means that we will soon be wadable.  My guess is that they will close the mechanical flashboards sometime later today or tonight.  The other problem is the water temperature - I just checked it and got 72 degrees.  It's amazing how quickly the temperature has jumped - just a week ago it was 66 degrees.  Anyway, I wouldn't plan on fishing Shawmut until tomorrow morning.  There's an outside chance you could catch this evening's hatch - I'll post later today if I hear about the flashboards being closed.

07/02/02 River is blown out.  No wading, much to high.  Probably not a good idea to canoe it right now either as it is fairly dirty.  I'll update with more information later.

06/28/02 Fishing is good.  Flow is moderate, clarity good, and the temperature is 66 degrees.  I put in at Shawmut this morning and had rising fish in the wading area, Pasture Pool and then sporadically all the way down.  No hatches this morning just some fish coming up to drown insects.   

Good hatches in the evening though. Still seeing some Sulphurs and a few Cahills but very few.  Zebra caddis are the evening hatch and there are lots of them.  Still seeing some Golden Stones and a few small mayflies I couldn’t catch to identify.  All in all things are good. 

06/26/02  Zebra Caddis have started. I didn't see any yesterday morning and this morning there were lots of them.  Wading level is great, flow is easy and the clarity is good.  Bring some Schroeder's Hi-Vis  Caddis or Goddard Caddis and have some fun.

06/21/02 Oops, I just got a call telling me I should have put the fly that finally worked in my post below.  The winning fly was a size 18 Parachute Adams.  I also figured the weight using the length and girth formula (L x G x G divided by 800 = weight) and it came out to be just shy of 2 3/4 lbs.

06/21/02 Wow! Good morning – one 18” brown with an 11” girth.  I cast to rising fish for over two hours before I hooked this guy.  What a start to the day.   

Well, first here’s what is going on with the river. Water temperature is 61 degrees. Flow is moderate to fast.  Level is good. Clarity is good and the level is fine.    Now let me tell you about this fish.   

I got on the water about 6:30am. I put in at the Fairfield boat landing.  I started upstream and didn’t even get to the bridges before I ran into rising trout.  Finally I found some fish holding and rising.  For the last few morning I’ve been putting in at Shawmut and catching fish but I have had to use a sink tip line and swing streamers to get anything – the fish just haven’t been rising up there.  However, I’ve been hearing good things about the lower section of the river so I decided to try it.  Imagine my surprise when I didn’t have to go no more than 200 feet from the landing.   

So here I am with really my first holding, rising, pod of big fish of the season and I’m happy.  An hour later I’m still fishless.  I’m not so happy.  I’ve been trying but no luck.  So far I’ve used a Griffith’s Gnat, a Blue Winged Olive, a Phillips Usual, a big Royal Wulff out of frustration, a couple of droppers and all I’ve done is sting one fish.  About a half-hour later I sting another and it’s 8:00am.  Well, I decide that it isn’t my morning and that fish or no fish I’m leaving the water at 9:00am to come do this Friday Update and get the shop ready to open.   

At 9:05am I finally hookup with this brown which I don’t think is a brown because it jumps clean out of the water – not once but twice – both good high jumps.  I was convinced it was a Rainbow but it was so far away I just couldn’t tell. One thing I did know it was a strong fish and didn’t want to come in.  But it did and I’ve got to admit I had to just sit for awhile and ruminate over that one – great fun. 

Anyway, here’s a little more about the river.  Hatches – Sulfurs, Light Cahills and what I think are Pale Morning Duns for mayflies.   For Caddis we have, Olive, Tan, Chocolate and Light Green. When you hit the water make sure you are armed with an assortment.

6/19/02 Water is 59 degrees.  Flow is fast. Level is on the high side.  The White Rock is showing by about a foot.  The center gate is partially open. Some fish showing in the wading area more rising down below.  All in all things are good but we could do with just a little less water.  People have been having good fishing right in town - the fish have dropped down to get out of the flow above.  You might want to bring a boat to the Fairfield landing and try the water just above the railroad bridge. 

06/15/02 - no change from my earlier posting - my guess is that since the rain is supposed to keep up all night, off and on, that the river will be to high to wade both Sunday and Monday.  Canoes maybe.  Well I'm headed to Millinocket for the weekend - good fishing to you I'll post conditions on Tuesday.

06/15/02 White Rock is showing.  It's only out by 4 inches or so. Flow is fast.  Fishing is very good - there are a lot of fish rising but most of them are further down out of the wading area hiding from the current.  Bring a canoe until the flow slows down.   Don't misunderstand me, there are fish still in the wading area but, I assume because  the flow, they don't seem to be rising instead they are bottom hugging and feeding subsurface.  Rising, holding fish in the wading area are the exception. A few nights ago I poled my canoe up to the base of the dam and not finding any fish I dropped down a bit and anchored in a run I know often holds fish.  I then drifted dries, switched to nymphs, suspended from an indicator, and got no bumps or hits.  Then in the same run I switched to a sink-tip line (fast sink) and swung a Gray Ghost.  About the third swing I got a Brown, shortly after that a Rainbow and then another Brown.  All three from the run I had worked with dries and nymphs.   That's the way the wading area is fishing.  Anyway the rock is showing and unless the rain we have coming today is heavy we should be OK.  I will be away for the next two days so I won't be posting but if anything changes I'll post this evening before I leave.  One more thing - most of the hatches have moved to early evening 4:00pm on. Some caddis early early morning.  Alder flies coming soon they have started on the Sebasticook and so should show here within a week or two.

06/14/02 OK, here's my 12:30 Friday Update.  Jim just came off the water from an 8:00am to noon trip.  They had rising fish the whole way down.  The high water hasn't put the caddis off at all.  There were nice fish showing and all in all it was a good trip.  Plenty of opportunity but no wading; it was just to fast a flow.  No fish to the boat though.  Break-offs and missed strikes were the menu for the day.  With this flow it is very hard to get an extended dead drift and today, like most days, a dragging fly was ignored. The good part of that is the flow is still dropping.  I'll post again about 8:00pm to give you an update.

06/14/02 Still pretty high.  They had two bays of the mechanical flashboards open yesterday, only one bay open today.  The center gate is closed.  Water is clear, 57 degrees and fast.  I would fish it today from a boat, canoe or from shore but not wading.  I think the White Rock will be showing by late tonight or early tomorrow.  That is unless we get a big rain tonight or tomorrow.  I'll post again later today to give you an update.

06/12/02    The river is blown out.  Both the Carrabassett and the Sandy are over 1,500 cfs and the White Dock has gone under.  The center gate on the dam is open and the flow is fierce.  It looks like it will be a day or so before the wading gets safe - keep checking I'll post the levels as it drops.

06/07/02 Water temperature is 59 degrees, flow is swift, clarity is good, and the white rock is showing by about 10 inches or so.  There was a hatch of Hendricksons yesterday - must have been the rear guard because we haven't seen any for a week or more. Black Caddis (18) , Tan Caddis (14), Gray Caddis (14), Little Yellow Sallies (stoneflies also about a 14 long shank), Sulfurs (size 14/16), Little Mahogany Duns (size 18), Light Cahills and others I'm sure.  The hatches are on.  Fish are showing.  Come fish.

 Bring a staff and it will help you get out from the edges.  The banks are being pounded because the higher water levels are keeping people from wading towards the center.  However, once you get out a bit  you get onto the gravel bars and shoals and water levels are OK and the fishing better.  A staff will help you get out there and if you do get into a little deeper water than you had planned to wade a staff will help you get back to the safe water.

Much the same upriver in the Madison and Solon stretches.  Good hatches and wadable but on the high side.  Bingham water levels are fair in the morning and then they open Wyman and it's over but well worth a morning trip.

06/06/02 Here's a couple of pictures for you.  One of a gentleman being guided by Bob Coombs with a Rainbow in Pasture Pool and another showing Mark Lessard and his son Zack with a Waterville Landlock. Click on them to enlarge.

And, as they say for an added attraction here's the latest hatch. Yep, the light Cahills are here.  Be sure and bring some. 

06/05/02 Hatches? Yep, we got hatches.  Black caddis ( 16), Tan Caddis (14) Cinnamon Caddis ( 16), Gray Caddis (14),  Sulphur Mayflies ( 18) with a few larger light colored mayflies that I haven't been able to catch yet.  Fish are rising finally with some regularity and the flow is slowing down.  The water level is good, flow moderate, temperature is 59 degrees - all in all fishing has finally taken off.  Come on down.

05/31/02 Water temperature is 58 degrees.  Flow is fast and hard!  The White Rock is showing but only by about 10" or so.  Clarity is good.  Bring a wading staff. 
Hendricksons have tapered off to only an occasional few.  Still seeing a spinner fall.  Blue Winged Olives were hatching yesterday with the rain.  Small ones 20 - 22.  Finally the Caddis have started, both tan and Gray size 14.  Good fish are being caught and good fish were showing most of yesterday afternoon.

05/24/02 Life is good again.  The flow is moderate, water temperature is 53-54 degrees, clarity is good.  Hatches - Hendricksons, Blue Winged Olives, Gray Caddis.  Fish are being caught and there are more looking up every day.  Fishing is good and the trip worth making.  Still best to be here between noon and five.

Grand Lake Stream was low and fished poorly.  Perhaps the flow will pick back up but for the 5 days I was there it was to low. I went and fished surrounding streams and ponds. Had good luck.

 05/17/02  The only good thing I have to say about today is that tonight I head for Grand Lake Stream for 5 days.  I'm afraid the river here is high and fast.  Fairly clear but little to no wading.  Hatches of Hendrickson continue and if you have a canoe fishing can be good.  The river is dropping but my guess is no wading until Sunday and that is just a guess.  I won't be here to post Sunday so you will have to take your chances.  See you next week.

05/14/02 Big water - no wading the White Rock is well under water.  Jimmy was up to the dam and Pasture Pool in the drift boat today.  Fish rising mayflies hatching.  Hopefully, tomorrow the water will drop as fast as it came up. My guess is we won't be wading until Thursday. One could do well fishing the edges from the Pasture or off the ledges above but definitely limited to no wading.

05/13/02 Hendrickson are hatching with passion.  There were lots and lots of Hendricksons yesterday and today.  Yesterday the fish hadn’t figured out that all they had to do was look up and there was a meal waiting.  Today a few of them figured it out. With the rain I expected to see Blue Winged Olives also – no such luck however.   
I did see more little yellow sallies.  There are two picture here – one, showing the female Hendrickson from the bottom (the wings are down and would normally ride up) and then another showing the same mayfly turned on it’s side so you can see the wing color and normal profile. In the second picture you’ll see the Little Yellow Sallies also.  The colors came through pretty close.  It was good to catch a fresh Hendrickson so you can see how dark the wing is when they first hatch.  Click either picture to enlarge.

You can find out more about the Hendrickson by visiting our Blue Dun page or read this excerpt from “Hatch Guide for New England Streams” by Thomas Ames, Jr. 

“Frequently during a Hendrickson hatch, fish will take the emergers and ignore the duns, particularly if it is the first hatch of the season, or if warm conditions enable the duns to escape quickly.  Color is extremely important with emerger bodies, which ride under the surface where fish can see them clearly. Rises to emergers are less splashy, but the differences are subtle.  If other insects are hatching, your task is more complex, for it is vital to know which insects the fish are taking, and it what stage.  Really selective fish concentrate most often on the larger females, but males are not ignored entirely.  When Hendrickson duns drift calmly on the water, rises to them are confident, creating sharply defined rings as the insect is sucked under.  The hatch takes place without urgency, with fish inspecting each morsel at leisure.  Cast well ahead of any rise forms.  As the hatch progresses, fish develop a feeding rhythm which slackens as they become satiated.  Adjust your own rhythm accordingly.  Look for rises on either side of the current tongue and float your fly between the current and the fish.  On blustery days, watch the stream edges where these little slate-winged sailboats, lacking keels are easily blown.  The Light Hendrickson was designed to imitate the female Subvaria, with the Red Quill corresponding to the male.  Because Ephemerellas ride a bit higher on the water than duns of the clinging nymphs, a thorax tie is helpful when the fish get really picky.”
End of quote.   

So the hatches are on and the fish have finally begun to figure it out.  Ain’t life grand?

05/10/02 Water is 52 degrees, clarity fair, flow fast, level a little high but the White Rock is showing.  Some mayflies but we still haven't managed to catch one to ID.  The hatches are very light still but bound to break free soon.  The mayflies are probably Quill Gordons or Hendricksons.  Both a midday hatch so don't look for them in the morning if you come early.  Wet flies or nymphs are probably your best bet early and late but midday is likely to provide some dry fly fishing.

A few stripers have been caught in Winslow.  Mostly small schoolies - probably resident fish.  The big run hasn't started but with the warmer water temperatures they to should soon provide some good action.  Alewives are here and if you want to have a some fun  for yourself or to break in someone new with a little action go drop a pheasant tail in front of some of those Alewives.  They are cooperative.

05/08/02 The river is wadable, clear, fast and about 52 degrees.  Marshall saw some mayflies up there today but couldn't capture one to examine.  It's about to start. 

05/07/02 The river is wadable.  A little on the high side but clear.  Not much activity but fish are moving and working the riffles.

05/04/02 The river is higher now than this morning.  I don't see it coming down for awhile. 

05/04/02 Still high.  They have started putting some of the mechanical flashboards back up already. I wouldn't be surprised if the river is OK by tomorrow.  I'll run up and check late today and post here tonight so that you will know.  The Carrabassett and Sandy have crested.

05/03/02 Water is high.  They have two bays of the mechanical flashboards open.  And as of 6:00am the Sandy is still rising and the Carrabassett was just starting to crest.  My guess - Sunday before we can wade again.  The water is 45 degrees (49 degrees this time last year).  I for one am glad to see the water level and temperature  where they are.  It bodes well for the coming summer.  I don't want another summer like last year.  Much to warm, much to early last year.  I'll gladly give up a few days now of cold water and no hatches for a couple more days in June of good hatches and 55 - 60 degree water.
The regular flashboards are up and it looks like once this big flush of water goes through everything is a go.  All we need is a few warm days and there will be some good activity.  Fiddleheads are pushing up but just barely.  Midges are hatching.  Not seeing much for insect activity.  The Alewives are starting to show in Winslow.  Stripers can't be far behind.  Oh, before I forget the water is fairly clear despite the high flow so if you do come by the ledges and banks can be worked without having to wonder if anything can see your fly.

04/27/02 Oops, forgot to post yesterday. Sorry.  No much has changed.  Water is clear and cold - about 44 degrees.  Flow is moderate.  No hatches yet, save midges.  Flash boards aren't up but the impoundment is down; it can't be long.  I'll be putting our dock in as soon as the flashboards go up.  In a word the answer to the question "Is it worth coming?" is - Yes.  There are fish hugging the banks (which ever bank is getting the most sun, and the fish and nymphs are getting active.

04/24/02 Well, you can wade Shawmut Dam.  The flow has dropped enough and the White Rock is showing.  Water temperature is 42 degrees.  Flow is fast, clarity is good.  No hatches but it will happen soon.  Nymphs are active and fishing should pick up. Flash boards aren't up - the impoundment above the dam has been drawn down for the flashboard installation.

04/23/02 As you can see in the graph to the right the water is dropping fairly fast but it will still be a few days before we can wade.  Some people are fishing from shore or drifting the river - not much luck but a few fish are being caught. No hatches to speak of.  Water is fairly clean. 

04/19/02  Flow is up in the 30,000cfs range.  Way to high.  Even the paths along the sides are under water.  Saw lots of birds working about 2 to 4 feet off the water yesterday and today.  Can't find any bugs on the bushes - don't know what they were eating but I'm sure they were not flying around out there for the fun of it.  Check out our bulletin board at http://www.maineflyfishing.com/forum/

04/16/02  Wicked high water.  Hey don't forget about the TU Kennebec Valley Chapter banquet this Saturday. Check it out at http://www.kennebecvalleytu.org/  - all are welcome you don't have to be a member and you can buy tickets at the door.  It's a fun night. Went to the Merry Meeting Bay chapter banquet last Saturday it was a good one. 

04/12/02  The water is higher and faster today - sorry.  The runoff is clean and some people have been fishing from boats but with no real luck.  Bingham and Solon water levels are very fishable.  Streams in the Belgrade area are producing some Pike.  Small streams are running warmer than the main rivers -  time to do some bushwhacking.

04/10/02  The White Rock has gone back under.  Shawmut is at about 10,000 cfs.  Both the Carrabassett and the Sandy have rebounded and their flow is on the upswing.  The water is clean and clear - water temp is about 40 degrees.  Some guys have been fishing right in the brush and sticks on the East shore and getting fish.  They say it is much like brook fishing - one foot of fly line and your leader, hide behind a tree and just flick it at a fish and hope you don't spook him.  I've gotta go check it out. I haven't gone poking around up there when the water is in the trees - normally it is to dirty but with the flow being so clean they are telling me you can spot the fish if you are careful about not spooking them..

04/08/02  The White Rock is showing. Not by much but it shows.  The Center Gate is still open and the flow is fast and strong.  If you are familiar with Shawmut then you know there are a few safe wading spots.  If you aren't familiar with Shawmut I would still wait awhile. 

04/05/02 Much the same.  High and fast. It has started to drop - all the way down to 21,000cfs from the peak of about 25,000cfs.  Still has a way to go   :-)
The Carrabassett and Sandy are dropping fast and that is where our high water is coming from so it won't be long.  Here's a link for you that might be interesting it is the release schedule for the Dead River canoe and kayak runs.  http://mackro.maine.org/deadrels.htm 

And, one more thing, just food for thought, as I said above the high water we have is coming from the Sandy and Carrabassett so above that the main stem of the Kennebec should be fairly normal from a water level point of view.  Bingham seems to be running at about 2,800 cfs and peaking at 6,500cfs during releases.  Wyman Dam (Bingham/Moscow) and Williams Dam (Solon) might be worth a visit. That may well be the area I explore this weekend. While you're up there stop in and visit the new owners of Evergreen Campground in Solon.  I haven't met them yet but plan to stop in soon.  I understand they are nice people and that they will continue the Solon to North Anson launch and shuttle service.  That sure is handy if you like to float that stretch. Check out their website at http://www.kynd.com/~evrgrncp/index.html. It is a great place to stay and to fish.

04/04/02 Nope it's not Friday and nope not much has changed but I know a lot of you are sneaking a peek to see if anything has changed so I thought I would post.  The flow has actually gone up and Sidney is running about 28,000cfs.  The Sebasticook is at 4,000cfs bringing Shawmut to 24,000cfs.  Very high but not really that muddy or dirty.  Some people have been fishing from shore at the Pasture pool and from the rock ledges closer to the dam.  Limited luck.  A neat thing that is happening almost every day after school lets out is that several area kids are fishing right behind the shop (across the channel in the island park) and catching the occasional brownie. The first day I saw kids on the little point they fish from there were two of them. They were spinning and one would cast and then hand the rod to the other kid who would reel.  After several casts they would swap positions and repeat the process.  That's one way to share a single outfit.  They caught a fish and the next day after school there were six or seven kids there.  I think they must have shared their success story.  I'll post again tomorrow.  Although I don't expect much change. 

04/01/02  Well the river managed to pull another April Fool's joke on us.  After having been at mid-August flows most of the last 3 weeks it is now up to about 10,000 cfs in Shawmut.  That's about 2,000 cfs more than I care to wade.  Here's what the flow graph shows. As you can see the flow is well below the 16 year median (shown by the small triangles) but none the less quite high.  This graph shows the flow in North Sidney as having peaked last night around 14,000. It is now between 12 & 13,000cfs and the Sebasticook is running about 2,000cfs bringing our flow in Shawmut down to 10 or 11,000cfs - some April Fool's joke.  The good side is we need the rain. I'll gladly give up a few days of fishing now for a few more days in June. 

 Don't miss the Kennebec Valley, Trout Unlimited banquet this month, it's on the 20th - follow this link to see the newsletter. tunewsletter.htm

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