2004 Information - Kennebec River, Shawmut Section

12/03/04 Sorry I missed last week and I'm afraid this week is my last post for the season.  The normal reason I stop this time of year is that shelf ice has formed on the sides of the river and I don't like walking out over shelf ice to fish.  However, this year it's a different matter.  There is no shelf ice on the bank and if any had formed it would be gone - taken away by the high water.  Right now the river looks like early April - high, fast and dirty.  (not to mention cold)

I'll start posting Friday Updates again next April.  In the mean time start checking for the Thursday Review which I will start next week.  I'll keep posting on the Thursday Review until April when I start the Friday Updates again.

One more thing before I sign off check out the post on our forum about the Maine Rivers Conference tomorrow. 

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - Good Health and Good Fishing to all of you.

11/19/04 Shawmut has slowed down.  The Blue Winged Olive hatch seems to have run it's course.  The water temperature is 37 to 38 degrees, clarity is good and flow is moderate to slow. Fish are still hitting streamers and Woolly Buggers. Local smaller streams are also producing and this 14" brown was nice enough to take my nymph this morning.  The picture on the right shows the fish resting as I get my camera. I put the picture up to illustrate the benefit of using a net.    

I like the net because I net the fish early in the fight and don't have to wear it out.  Once I clear the hook I can hold the net handle between my legs with the fish submerged and when I'm ready I can lift the fish and snap my photos.  In between shots I can lower the fish back into the water.   The animated photo shows how active they can be while in the net.  I know a lot of people don't use nets but I think they are a good thing.  Anyway fishing is still going on and if you get a chance you should get out and enjoy this great fall weather we are getting.  Don't forget to wear your blaze orange - there are hunters out there.  Oh yea, if you want to take a closer look click on the photos to enlarge them.  The one with the fish partly out of the water (middle) shows how colored up the fish are right now.  Oh, one last thing - here's a link to our forum and a post Tim D put up last night about yesterdays fishing. http://flyfishingonly.net/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1705

11/12/04 I'm baffled by the good fishing but very happy for it.  Shawmut is still hosting a good hatch of Blue Winged Olives and the wading level is still fine.  Not much else to report as there is little change from previous weeks.  The water is cold (high 30's) flow is good, level is good, water is clear and FISH ARE RISING.

It sounds like Sunday there will be a group of people up there see forum post
http://flyfishingonly.net/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1658
it starts out talking about last Sunday but fishing was so good they are talking about a repeat for this Sunday.

And to get another perspective see this post by Jeff Reardon on Tark's site, and yes he is talking about yesterdays fishing even if it sounds like a June hatch day.
http://www.flyfishinginmaine.com/forums/viewtopic.php?topic=5453&forum=1&0

11/05/04 Things are still great.  Fish are rising during the afternoon and levels are good for wading. (although the level is rising and falling during the day not staying steady).

Blue Winged Olives are still the order of the day.  Some attractors are still working (Royal Wulff, Royal Coachman and Bugmiester all work, at times) and streamers are also working (Mickey Finn, Frankie's Shiner) and are worth trying.

10/29/04 The water level is still good, temperature is 45 degrees, flow is moderate and the clarity is good.  Blue Winged Olive activity peaked this weekend and I'm happy to say I was out fishing Sunday and Monday when the hatch was so heavy the mayflies blanketed the water.  I caught fish but nowhere near as many as I should have.  They were very, very, very fussy. 

The bright sun we have had the last few days has slowed the hatch yet there have been fish up and feeding each day this week.  It is still happening and if you can get out you should. The East Outlet closes soon and the last fishing day there is Monday - don't forget and go Tuesday.  If you do you'll have the water to yourself, except for a warden or two. :-)

Another thing to remember is Saturday is a hunting day.  It might be a good idea to wear something orange over that tan vest or those brown neoprene waders.  Fish safe. 

Don't forget to vote on the 2nd. 
And if you don't want to read anything on this board to do with the election stop reading now because the following is a link to the video Stolen Honor - Wounds That Never Heal.  There is a link on the page that will download the video for you to watch on your PC.  You need a high speed hook-up or a lot of patience but it is worth watching if you can.  www.stolenhonor.com/documentary/watch-video.asp

10/22/04 The water level is great for wading, temperature is 51 degrees, flow is moderate and the water clarity is good.  Blue Winged Olive mayflies are hatching almost every day and the hatches are fairly strong.  Fish are showing regularly most of the afternoon and the hatch is apt to start anytime after noon.  There is a post on the forum where several recent comments have been made about the hatch (see post by clicking here) if you want to check them out just visit the forum.

Grand Lake Stream closed on the 20th but the East Outlet is open until the end of the month.  Several members of the forum are going up to the East Outlet (see post by clicking here) to get in another day or two before it closes.  Most of the Kennebec will close on Halloween (31st) but if the weather holds we can expect good fishing from Madison down to the Tidewater well into November.

Yesterday Chris Hutchins stopped in and we were watching a trout rise about 50 yards above the shop.  As we turned to re-enter the shop I noticed a trout rising just below our dock.  Chris didn't have a rod with him but, well, I just happened to have one laying around.  About 20 minutes later I released a nice (no fin clips) brown that was about 14" in length.  Now that's my idea of an afternoon break at work. :-)

10/17/04 Shawmut is to high to wade.  I'll post when it starts to drop.  Flow is high and fast right now - center gate is wide open.

10/15/04 Water temperature is 52-54 degrees, clarity is good, flow is moderate too slow, level is great for wading as the White Rock is showing by over a foot.  Fish are being caught and insects are hatching in the early afternoon on through to dusk.  The hatches are, however, sparse.  Fortunately the fish are still holding in an area and working that area instead of cruising.  They will start the cruising for insects soon enough.  Man it is frustrating when they do start cruising.  You stand there and watch a rise and wonder is he going to turn right or left for his next bug.  I always guess wrong it seems.  But for now if you see a fish rise you can work over and concentrate on the area of the rise.  There is a good chance the fish is still holding there.

Shawmut is producing some good fish (see forum posts http://www.maineflyfishing.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1599 and http://www.maineflyfishing.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1596 ) as is the East Outlet (see forum post http://www.maineflyfishing.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1598 ).  The river flow has dropped some and Solon and Madison are also producing some good fish.  Madison wading is tough when the flow is up around 4,500cfs as it has been but the flow now is closer to 3,500cfs and so easier.  Solon calls me and I may well float it this weekend - it is fishing well, quite well I'm told, and with those hardwood ridges it is one of the prettiest sections of the Kennebec.  Don't put that rod away yet - take advantage of this grand fall weather we are having. (except for today's rain it has been good fall weather, don't you think)

10/08/04 Water temperature is 56 degrees, clarity is good, flow is moderate, level is great for wading as the White Rock is showing by a foot or so.  The flow is about 5,000cfs and in my opinion it is perfect for fishing right now.  56 degrees is very fish friendly, comfortable for wading and not bad if you take a dunking.

And, I cut and pasted that paragraph from last weeks posting.  In other words things haven't changed much except for the drop in water temperature.  The weather is beautiful, hatches are weak and if fish are showing it is in the afternoon to evening timeframe.  All in all things are good on the river.

I didn't fish this morning - went shooting ducks instead. Maybe that should read shooting AT ducks.  Only got one - maybe I should have gone fishing.  :-)

10/01/04 Water temperature is 62 degrees, clarity is good, flow is moderate, level is great for wading as the White Rock is showing by a foot or so.  The flow is about 5,000cfs and in my opinion it is perfect for fishing right now.  62 degrees is very fish friendly, comfortable for wading and not bad if you take a dunking.

With tomorrow's forecast calling for clouds forming for the afternoon the Blue Winged Olives should be active and fish should be up.  Same thing for Sunday.  If you don't know where to go I'd say Shawmut and Madison should be high on the list to pick from and the fishing should be (afternoons not mornings) just what we have been waiting for.

Weed levels at Shawmut are very manageable and there isn't any of that green slime - the high water took that away.  Actually, with the cooler temperatures this summer that green slime just didn't form - a true blessing.  When that slime is all up and down the water column it's impossible to swing streamers or drift nymphs without driving yourself crazy cleaning your fly.  That certainly isn't the case now.  I used a cone-head Woolly Bugger (had two fish on but lost them) and then switched to a small Brassie (one on and lost it) and while doing that sub-surface fishing I had no real weed problems.  I did occasionally catch some of the weeds but a slight adjustment in my retrieve of the streamer or in the spacing between my fly and indicator took care of that. 

So, come do some gentleman fishing.  Sleep late, eat a big hearty breakfast, hit the water about noon and fish until you want to quit.  You may well have hatches and rising fish from one o-clock on.  Small black flying ants have been hitting the water about 1:00pm, followed by Blue Winged Olives about two-ish, with a smattering of caddis (black and tan) during the afternoon laying eggs.  Caddis have also had a good showing just before dark (tan, size 14) if you decide to stay late.   

We don't have much more really good fishing left but this weekend at Shawmut has great promise.

09/24/04 Water temperature is 64 degrees, clarity is good, flow is moderate to fast and wading is very possible but there is a lot of force. Not much has changed from last week and so I'm cutting this update short so I can get back to a bad e-mail problem I've been working on. 

One last thing - at the Hathaway parking lot this morning a 46" striper was caught. Nope, not by me.

09/17/04 Water temperature is 66 degrees, clarity is good, flow is moderate to fast, level is high and bug (and therefore fish) surface activity is finally starting to happen.  Marshall was guiding Shawmut yesterday and they had fish to target from 2:00pm on, even caught some.  What brought the fish up about 2:00pm was small black flying ants.  As they tapered off the Blue Winged Olives started and lasted until about 5:00pm.  All in all a good day on the water. 

As for myself while fishing in the morning I'm seeing little to no activity on the surface.  Today I saw one rise about 8:00am and I couldn't reach the area the rise was in.  I nymphed the deeper runs to no avail.  Fish seem to be still holding tight to the faster, broken runs and if I work those areas I can pick up fish on streamers - stripping fast.

I fished Winslow a couple of times this week and have to say Stripers are spotty at best.  Most of the guys who are fishing that area every day are just sitting around most of the time rather than casting.  They wait until a slug of baitfish come down over the dam and start fishing when the Stripers start busting on the bait.  When that group of bait passes the guys sit down and wait rather than just work the water.  The Stripers are there, in the area, but they just don't seem to show any interest until there is a lot of bait activity.  There have been some over 30" fish caught this week which makes it worth the wait.

Greg B and Kenny Clark are having a good time up on the York River, Gaspe Canada as you will see if you follow that link.  They have been up there for several days now and seem to be very happy they went.  Lots of fish in the rivers.

Went to Madison yesterday morning with my Spey rod and managed one brown.  The water was high and I was happy to have the Spey rod so that I didn't have to try and wade "just a little deeper."  I just walked the edge of the river bank (knee deep) and let the rod do the reaching.  I started nymphing with a big Bugmeister as an indicator.  No luck.  Then I switched to a streamer.  No luck. Then I saw some bigger caddis (couldn't tell what color) popping out of the water in a smooth run about 30 feet out.  I put on a three fly rig (tan LaFontaine Sparkle pupa, Hare's ear wet and a glass bead tan emerging caddis) and worked them dead drift as far as I could and then let them swing up and around.  Got my brown on the swing and on the Hare's Ear wet.  Great fun. 

Madison was high, clear, fast and wading was iffy in most of the more frequented wading areas but worth checking out.  Solon and Bingham are much the same right now high, clear, fast and iffy unless you are fishing from a boat.  The nice thing about drifting those areas is you can get to some wadable runs without risking a swim. :-)

09/10/04 I don't know where the rain is going but the water levels here in Shawmut/Fairfield are still wadable.  Flow is fast, the White Rock is showing and clarity is good.  The Carrabassett is over 2,000cfs and the Sandy is over 1,300cfs which normally spells disaster for us here but right now (7:40am) Shawmut at 65 degree water temperature should be fishing fine.  The extra flow we've had has gotten the fish moving again as these two rainbow pictures show.  They were caught Wednesday morning and to my regret I didn't get to fish yesterday morning or this morning. 

Winslow is also producing some stripers. Marshall and Jimmy were below Ft. Halifax dam a few days ago when I decided to stop and try my luck.  I didn't catch any but about 1/2 hour after I left to come open the shop action picked up.  Marshall got the one shown on the right by wading out and casting to a boil.  Of course both of them got a chuckle out of the fact that Marshall was fishing the spot I had just vacated.  I was Spey casting and I hope Jim Rusher who taught our recent Spey Class isn't reading this today as the picture on the left, that Marshall took, captures me casting with the rod laying down to the side - just what Jim told me not to do!  Sometimes I don't like having someone taking pictures while I'm fishing.  It is hard to deny bad casting form when someone produces proof by way of a photo. 

Anyway, right now Shawmut is fishable and clear.  If you should head up here today and that has changed, take heart, you can just drive another 25 miles and fish Solon as it will be running at 4,500cfs today, or at least that is what the water flow phone line said.

Oh and about the photo of me Spey Casting here is a quote that explains it better than I could:

Somebody just back of you while you are fishing is as bad as someone looking over your shoulder while you write a letter to your girl - Ernest Hemingway.

 

09/03/04 The rain was warm and drove the water temperature up to 72 but the cool nights have brought it back down to 67 degrees.  That's the good news - the bad news is that the flow is high and fast all up and down the river.  At Shawmut you can't see the White Rock, Madison is fast with limited wading and Solon is best fished from a canoe but has limited wading.  Bingham is just plain high (scheduled today to stay about 4,000cfs all day) and the East Outlet is running 2700cfs, which is high and fast.  That doesn't mean any of these areas can't be waded and fish but it does mean you want to be very careful.

I fished Winslow this morning hoping for a striper or two.  No luck for me.  I was down on the main stem of the river.  There were some people fishing up below the Ft. Halifax Dam and when I stopped to check with them they said fish were working earlier but had stopped for the moment. 

I'm headed for the West Branch of the Penobscot this weekend - good luck wherever you go.

08/27/04 Oh boy, the water is cooling down and fish are becoming active.  The water temperature this morning is 68 degrees and it has been for several days now.  The flow is moderate to fast, levels are high but still safe to wade.  The White Rock is showing. 

Flows are high up and down the river - Bingham has been at 4600cfs for several days and Solon at 4000cfs.  The East Outlet has also been high running at 2700cfs - but that doesn't mean you can't catch fish.  Check out the post by Jeremy Cameron at his site http://www.ineedasimplesolution.com/fish/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=211
where he posted video of he and Marshall successfully fishing the East yesterday.   Or Marshall's post at http://www.flyfishingmainerivers.com/writerpages/marshall/marshall'snotebook.htm
where he has a couple of good underwater photos he took with his new underwater camera.  It's high as is the rest of the river but the flow is steady and so the fish are moving and working the edges of the fast water.  There isn't any need to wade out into the swift water just wade at a comfortable depth and fish close.  The fish are there and happy to have cooler water.

White Mayflies are hatching right at dark.  The Baetis haven't started but they will soon and there are alewives in the river from Shawmut down.  We should be in for good trout fishing from now until the end of October.

Don't forget the stripers - they are working the beaches hard and there are also a lot of Bluefish in the area.  Go fish.

08/20/04 The water temperature is 70 degrees. The flow is strong and the level is high.  The picture on the left shows the White Rock from just a few feet upstream of it.  You had to get that close to see it in the fog this morning.  The picture on the right is the entrance/exit point at the West shore blow-down.  Those of you who are familiar with the area can see it is almost over the pillar downstream of the blow-down.  It's all the water I wanted to wade.  Wading over to the rock from the west shore took me through about 10 yards of water that was over my belly button.  I kept saying I know the bottom comes up soon and finally it did. 

I caught no trout this morning but the Smallmouth Bass are willing.  Once I got to the area I wanted to fish I started swinging streamers figuring to take advantage of the alewife run that has started.  It worked.  If this kind of flow keeps up and the cold front that is coming drops the water temperature a couple of degrees we should be in for some good streamer fishing.  This Pearl Lite Brite Zonker was the fly they wanted today.  It works well with a floating line - the bead giving it just enough weight to get down a little without hanging up on weeds every cast.  Yes, the weeds are still with us. 

However, the high water and fast flow has flushed out a lot of the green yuck the was clinging to the bottom.  All in all the water conditions are good for this time of year and trout fishing should be good in September and October.

08/13/04 Water temperature is 69 degrees this morning and it's raining cats and dogs out there.  Water is a little discolored but it should clear right up.  Water flow and level is on the way up. Check out the graph on the right. That's the Sandy River at 5:00am today.  If you enlarge that graph by clicking on it you'll see that the flow in the Sandy has doubled in the last 12 hours.  That's all coming here folks. 

That's a good thing - a rain like this is just what we need to get the young of the year alewives to move. It would be nice to have a run this year.  We've been cheated by the low, hot water the last THREE years.  Since there is little insect activity right now I, for one, would be happy to be hooking up swinging streamers.  Especially if the alewives bring the big fish back up into the wading area at Shawmut. 

As for how the river is fishing here's an e-mail I got this morning from one fisherman summing up last nights fishing.

My thanks for a late night report - he got home about midnight and took the time to write that quick note.  Much appreciated.

As you can see not much surface activity until dark or just after.  Subsurface is the name of the game until the hatch - if there is a hatch.  Insect activity is low to none during the day.  If you do come and want to cast dries try ants, grasshoppers or big golden stones - maybe a Bugmeister or two.  Terrestrials will bring fish up during the day.  Take heart the insects will be hatching again soon. White Mayflies should be the next big hatch and the water is cool enough for the fish to get real active during this hatch. It is a late hatch also starting just at dusk.

  This picture is from my 8/23/03 post announcing the start of the White Mayfly hatch. As you can see they are a  heavy hatch.  Stock up on White Wulffs or my favorite the Usual and Spent White Mayflies.  This hatch only lasts two weeks or so.  Don't miss it. Oh, one more thing about this hatch, it is a strange hatch in that there are duns and spinners on the water at the same time. 

08/06/04 Water temperature is 73 degrees.  Flow is moderate. Level is medium to low.  Hatches are few and brief.  The evening hatch activity doesn't start until about 8:00pm. It is heavy and is bringing fish up.  There are Cahills (only a few), Blue Winged Olives (lots and lots) and Mahogany Duns.  Lots of spinners falling also.  To sum all that up - the fish activity is good in the evening but there is a lot of food on the water and it is hard to hook up.  Sounds like we are into summer. 

Madison is running about the same temperature as us and has about the same insect activity.  Solon is a little cooler (67-68 degrees) and Bingham is even cooler (66-67 degrees). 

Tomorrow morning will find me at Bingham.  I can kill two birds with one stone.  I'll get a little fishing in and start scouting for our Spey Casting Class.  Nice to have the Spey Casting take place in an area we know holds active fish.  If the idea of a Spey Casting class sounds good to you check out our Spey Class Page by clicking on this link.

07/16/04 Water temperature is 69 degrees - it will be over 70 by the end of the day if the sun burns through.  Fish are still feeding and the two I caught this morning were healthy and didn't need to be revived. When I lowered my net they just swam out.  Flow is low to moderate and clarity is good.  There are some weeds forming but nothing compared to the last few years.  There is a good side to this cool summer.

When I got there this morning I couldn't see any sign of rising fish so I decided to fish subsurface rather than prospect with a dry fly.  I rigged up with two wets (soft hackle Partridge and Orange and small CDC Blue Winged Olive emerger) and took both fish on the Partridge and Orange - dead-drift.  I would dead-drift as far as I could and then let the fly swing, following with a slow retrieve but no fish came to the swinging flies.

Madison is producing fish and has similar water temperatures.  Solon is a little cooler (64 - 65 degrees) and is fishing well especially above the bridge.  Bingham is cooler yet and also fishing well.  Hatches are slow and occasional during the day with various caddis (particularly black) taking fish and most evenings bring a fairly strong Sulphur hatch.  Light Cahills are also showing.  Solon flows have been steady and Bingham has it's normal ups and downs but even the ups are low enough for wading - be sure and check just in case.  You can get the phone number at our water flow page the address is http://www.maineflyfishing.com/waterflow.htm just click the link to see the FPL and other flow phone numbers.

I'm heading to Montana the end of next week and since I'm going to be gone Linda thought it only fair they she take the week off also so the store will be closed for the week of July 25th.  We will reopen on August 3rd at 10:00am.  I will post next week but not the week of the 25th.

And, last but not least the last couple of soggy days have produced a good Blue Winged Olive hatch - today and tomorrow are supposed to be much the same for weather so be sure and bring (or stop in and get) some Blue Winged Olives, sizes 18 to 22.

07/07/04 - Two days ago the host of this website had a hardware failure that wiped out a lot of this site.  Part of the missing material is some of the posts between today and 06/25/04.  I can't get them back so I figure I'll just start from here and go on. The only problem with that is this is the second time today I've had to do this update.  Who knows I may be lucky and they won't delete this update.

Today the water temperature was 69 degrees about 6:00am.  I didn't check it this evening - some things I just don't want to know.  There are Black Caddis, Tan Caddis, Olive Caddis and Gray Caddis hatching.  Alder Flies are just about done.  For mayflies we are seeing Lead Winged Coachmen, Sulphurs, Light Cahills and a little guy that looks like a Hendrickson (size 16)

There are stripers being caught in Winslow and a few Shad.  Here are a couple of pictures Jimmy took while he and Deek were trying their luck.  Between the two of them they were able to keep a couple of them still enough to take a picture.  If you've ever caught one you know how hard it is to keep them still - they are fidgety to say the least.

One more thing about the trout fishing - the next couple of days are supposed to be cool and the evening temperatures even cooler.  They may well keep our temperatures in the good for trout range.  However, Bingham and Solon are generally three or four degrees cooler than Shawmut so those areas can still supply you with good fishing.  Madison is also cooler but only a degree or two.  Another thing you might try is some hex hatch activity in the ponds around here.  For that matter most ponds state wide are having a good hatch of Hexes if you can get out and fish them while it lasts.

06/25/04 Sorry I missed last week.  Today's water temperature is 68 degrees and water is warming.  Flow is slow and level is very low.  The work is completed on the dam below us and so the flow should improve.  I went up in the canoe this morning and went trout hunting I got a nice Rainbow.

He was cruiser and we played tag for about an hour.  I'd try and guess which way he was going to go after a rise and I kept guessing wrong.  Finally he made a mistake and turned in the direction I guessed and the fight was on.  I didn't measure him but my span in the picture on the right is about 9" so you can see he was a good one.

The Alder Flies are still hatching and Blue Winged Olives were off and on all day yesterday - even after the sun broke through.  You can see from this picture of the back door that there are plenty of them. Fishing is still good but the good strong hatches aren't going to last a lot longer.  It will get spotty soon. 

One last item - if you drive down in to the parking area at Shawmut you might be surprised by the change in the view.  IF&W is doing some trimming and clearing and I understand they will be fixing all of the ruts in the road.  Good news.

06/11/04 Water temps are great - 60ish, clarity is very good and the level is low.  Bugs of all types are hatching, caddis of every color, olive, tan, cinnamon, black you name it.  Sulphurs for Mayflies along with a Hendrickson looking one still.  Here are a couple of bugs I found on the back door. Click to enlarge.

 A couple of different caddis and mayflies for your viewing pleasure. 

And lest I forget Happy Birthday Sis. :-)

06/04/04 Fishing is good here in Shawmut land and pretty much state-wide.  Water temperature here is 58 degrees and there are good hatches of mayflies, (Sulphurs, and a little Hendrickson looking mayfly) and caddis (pick a color, tan, olive, black - they're all coming off).  Levels are good for wading and the clarity is good. 

Scott Davis of Fish and Fowl guide service caught a good on yesterday and Marshall was around to see it and snapped a picture of it.  Here's a link to Marshall's Page and a write-up of the catch marshall'snotebook.htm check it out.

Winslow is producing Stripers and they are in the river with a few big ones showing up.  The really big ones should be here any day now.  I keep hearing about the occasional Shad and hope to see a good showing of them later.  Get out and fish now while it is this good.  Don't wait  - and Ed Mestieri, that includes you the play book will be there when you get off the water.

05/29/04 The White Rock is showing.  The mechanical gates are closed and the center gate is closed.  The wind is strong, clarity is medium and water temperature is 50 degrees.  It has been a long, cold, wet week but it sure helped the water temperatures and levels around the state. If you get a chance to fish this Memorial Day, Shawmut should be a good place to go for Browns or Rainbows and Winslow should give you a good chance at a Striper or two.

05/28/04 Water is high and dirty.  The White Rock is showing by only an inch or so and the flow is fast.  One-half bay of the mechanical flashboards is down and there is a lot of water flowing.  One can wade Shawmut today if they are comfortable wading fast water and know the bottom well, otherwise, I'd wait a day or two.

I have been away the last few days and so I'm not sure what has been hatching but already I've heard that hatches have been heavy.  There were sure a lot of birds working up there this morning - swallows were everywhere.  Along with a couple of Ospreys. Fishing should be good when the water drops and it should drop in a day or two.  The Sandy and Carrabassett are dropping now.

I went to West Grand Lake and fished the stream - it was very good.  The best part was the rain. Most days I had the stream to myself including the Dam Pool which I fished Wednesday from 9:00am to 1:30pm with only one other guy in the pool.  I was nailing fish.  During that time I don't think I went five minutes without a fish on.  It was truly one after another.  The guy I was sharing the pool with wasn't hooking up and after an hour of this he turned and hollered "Hey, I don't mean to bother you but I gotta ask - what are you using - you're killing me here."  I invited him over to fish the section I was fishing which was loaded with visible fish.  He was soon hooking up also.  It was great.

Anyway here are a few highlights for you to see. This salmon was in the Hatchery Pool and came to a dry. The rod cork handle and reel seat measure 10 1/2 inches so you can tell this is a nice fish.  It was also a lot luckier than this next fish which came out of the Dam Pool.  I don't know what hit it but whatever it was it sure made a hole in it's side. And the last picture for you is of an old friend who must have fallen into the river earlier and was sitting on a rock trying to dry out.  I came across him just below Little Falls - right above the Wing Dam.  I asked him how he came to be there but he wasn't talking.  Click any of these pictures to enlarge them.

Oh, and before I forget - the water is high in Waterville/Winslow but the big stripers have shown up and fish in the 35" to 45" range are being caught.

05/21/04 Fishing is good. Water flow is slow, level is LOW, LOW, LOW especially for this time of year.  Water temperature is ranging from 59 degrees to 62 degrees during the day, and the clarity is good.  Still Hendricksons and Olives for Mayflies along with a smattering of caddis. 
I am starting to see some Mayflies in the morning but I couldn't catch one to ID.  Caddis also in the morning (egg laying) and about 10:30am yesterday the Caddis were definitely bringing fish up to feed. Fishing is good right now with off and on surface activity during the day. 
Water temperature and flow worry me because we didn't see 60 degrees last year for a water temperature until the 2nd week of June last year and fishing tapered off early last year due to low flows and high temperatures.  We are already experiencing low flows despite the showers we have had and with temps like these today - it could be a long hot summer. If you are thinking of booking a guided trip with us or coming on your own you may want to come in the next few weeks - don't put it off.
To get an idea of what is being caught check out the forum, here's a link to a good rainbow.

05/14/05 Update.  OK, first fishing was very good yesterday and today. No reason it shouldn't be tomorrow.  Good things are happening - for one the violets are out which mean Hendricksons. And, Hendrickson, mean midday hatches so we get to gentleman fish.  Rise late, eat a big breakfast, tend to your gear and get on the water about noon.  Nice way to go.  Another good thing is the water temperature - it's just right.

Yesterday Marshall called about 6:30pm and said the couldn't keep the fish off his Flymph.  Nope that's not a typo a Flymph is what Vernon Hidy called his favorite type of fly.  He defines it as: "FLYMPH - A WINGLESS ARTIFICIAL FLY - with a soft, translucent body of fur or wool which blends with the undercolor of the tying silk when wet, utilizing soft hackle fibers easily activated by the currents to give the effect of an insect alive in the water, and strategically cast diagonally upstream or across for the trout to take just below or within a few inches of the surface film."  Well, that was all I needed to hear, you can guess what I started with this morning.

Actually I started with a March Brown Wet Fly on the swing while I worked my way to the stretch of water I wanted to fish. I got one fish doing that and switched over to a Flymph (Hendrickson imitation) and a Black, Rubber Legged Copper John.  Both caught fish. The fish on the left is a small brown but it isn't a Shawmut stocked fish.  This years stocked fish have the right vent fin clipped and this one had all of it's fins. The rainbow on the right is one of last years hold-overs and it was fat and sassy. 

Oh, Oh here's another update - Chris R just came in with a small box containing several MAYFLIES. Chris and several others were good enough to stop in today and give a report.  Today was a day to be on the water and it is only going to get better these next few days.  Get out and fish you owe it to yourself.
The fly on the right is a Hendrickson (male - note the red eyes, been out drinking is my guess) and the one on the left is a LARGE Blue Winged Olive of some sort with ginger wings.  It brings the fish up in a big way and is a hatch that I look forward to each year.  Last year we didn't see any of these insects until the 23rd of May - a bonus for this year to have them so soon.  I'll get some other pictures up soon - sorry it took all day to get back to finish this post but I'm happy to say we were busy today. 

05/14/04 Things are good. Fishing is picking up nicely.  Water temperature is 53 to 55, clarity is good, flow is moderate, bug are starting.  I will post more later but I got in a little late and have to play catch up a little before I can spend the time.  Fishing is good.

05/12/04 Water level is good for wading - almost to low.  Water temperature is 53 degrees (at 9:00am) and there are some insects showing.  Marshall took photos of a small Blue Winged Olive and one of the guys who posts on the forum saw big Blue Winged Olives (about a 14) with red eyes.  Almost for sure that was a cornuta - a hatch you don't want to miss.  The Hendricksons should start today or tomorrow with these water temperatures and so if you can fish it's time.

05/07/04 Water is high, but wadable, the white rock is showing and the temperature is 49 degrees. I will be adding to this post later but wanted to let you know it is fishable.  Water clarity leaves something to be desired, by the way. I tried some nymphs and had a white strike indicator on - while pulling the rig back in a trout slashed at my strike indicator.  Well, I can take a hint and so I switched to a white muddler and pulled it back through the water right on the surface making a splash.  That brought a few more slashes at my fly but no hookups.  I finally gave up on that and went back to nymphs but still stuck out. 

Ok - here's some more information. With the water temperature hanging right around 50 degrees we ought to start seeing some hatches.  Check out our Blue Dun Page for information on some of the first flies to hatch.  There is information there on what type of water the bugs like and the temperatures that normally kick off the hatches.  Another clue to what might be hatching soon is - what is flowering?  Forsythia bushes are looking good and the book "Trout Flies and Flowers" says we ought to be seeing Blue Quills. (which are talked about on the Blue Dun Page)

Here's a look at the dam when I first got there. And here's a look at the dam when I was leaving. If you look close you can see that some of the water gates are down in the left picture and in the right picture the guys are in the gondola closing the last gate.  That was about 9:30am and so the flow should be dropping all day.  My guess is tomorrow will be good fishing with a little slower flow and better clarity. The level will still be high and the flow will still be swift but fishable.

05/06/04 Still to high. I think I'll be wading tomorrow morning but today is shot.
I went up this morning to check it out and they had put the mechanical flashboards up but they must have been a little early because while I was standing there looking I saw a guy go out on the dam and climb into the gondola.  He then proceeded to pull the pin and dump half of the mechanical flashboards and that was that - way to much water. I just checked the flow for the Sandy and the Carrabassett and they are dropping fast and should be manageable by the end of the day. 

05/04/04 Shawmut is to high to wade.  They started pulling the flashboards about an hour ago and the water is just plain too high and fast right now. I'll post when it drops - one or two days anyway.

04/30/04 Things are good.  Water flow is moderate, and levels are a little high but wading is good. The water temperature is 48 degrees and bugs are out.  Black flies anyway not much for mayflies or caddis.  Water clarity is fair, the flashboards aren't up yet at Shawmut but the impoundment is low and they should be putting them up soon.  I had project stuff to do this morning and a casting class early, before the store opened, so I didn't get to go fishing but I plan to go tomorrow morning.  I'd go tonight but Fridays are our late night - we are here until 8:00pm.

I'd say if you have the itch to fish tomorrow Shawmut should be a good spot for you to try.  Good way to spend May Day.

04/26/04 Well the water was wadable yesterday and still is today. The rain may change that but as of a few minutes ago the White Rock was showing. My only catch yesterday was this stonefly. The pictures below are, from left to right:
A stonefly emerging from the water (if you enlarge the picture you can see the wings up in the air trying to dry)
The second picture is the stonefly immediately after I seined it from the water.  It is still holding it's wings up to dry. 
The third is the same stone after the wings dried and the last is that same stone on the run - trying to find a place to hide I guess.

There were some (a very few) rises.  I ran into Al and Bob from the board while the hatch was just starting.  We spotted a rise, watched for another and when we saw a second one Al started to move into a good casting position for the rise.  Before he could get there the rises stopped and we only saw a couple of other light blips on the surface. We figured there was  some feeding going on but it was sub-surface and we couldn't get a take. Whatever, was happening it did none of us any good other than to make us think wistfully of the rises to come. 

Water clarity was poor and the temperature was a strong 43 or a weak 44 depending on how you held the thermometer.

04/23/04 Water levels are dropping.  We can't wade here yet but we are close.  The water is fairly clear and the temps are in the mid-forties.  The pictures below are from left to right: the Shawmut Dam with still a lot of water coming over the dam, in the middle looking downstream from the Shawmut Dam and the Sebasticook River behind the IGA.  Some fish are being caught around the state and there have been more fish pictures showing up every day on the forum.
As I said we are close to wading here in Shawmut.  The White Rock isn't showing but you can tell where it is because it is almost breaking the surface of the water. There must have been a lot more snow to melt in the Sugarloaf and Saddleback areas than people thought because the Sandy and Carrabassett flows haven't fallen below 1,000cfs yet and we generally can't wade until they do.
Bingham is also staying high.  They tried to regulate the flow through Wyman but it was coming to fast for them and they had to open the flood gates again.  It must be Spring in Maine.

04/16/04 Much the same high and dirty.  Try feeder streams or dam outlets to find some clean fishable water.  The main stem of the Kennebec is definitely muddy and fast.
Here's a picture of right out back of the shop and two of the Sebasticook River behind the IGA.

04/09/04    Not much has changed.  The water is fairly clear but to high to wade and to cold to fish well.  If I were going to check Shawmut out I'd try the ledges on the Benton side right up close to the dam.  There are some good fish caught off those ledges each spring.  Another spot to try is down river at the head of the Pasture Pool, Benton side also.  You can go over the fence and walk down by rocks that start the Pasture Pool.  The eddies below also produce this time of year even when the water is high. 
All and all it looks good for early wading and fishing. 

Be sure and check some feeder streams going into any local ponds - casting a streamer at the mouth of any stream with smelt runs can produce some good hits.  Keep your gear ready it won't be much longer and we will be fishing regular.

04/02/04  Water temperature, cold, water level, high, water flow fast - hatches none.  Sounds like April doesn't it.  That was my opening line from last year and of course it is the same this year.  The water isn't as high this year but it is too high to wade in Shawmut anyway.  Water temperature is 37 degrees and the water is dirty. Here are some scenes from up and down the river.

Madison is also to high to wade or too high for me anyway.  The picture on the left shows a little bit of broken water.  That broken water is caused by the submerged island just above the spring-hole walk-in at the Pines.  To the right is a picture of the island on the West side of the river.  I wouldn't want to try to wade over to it.

Solon is another story.  Levels are easy for wading but the water is just as cold.  The view on the left is looking upstream from the bridge and the one on the right is looking downstream.  Looking upstream the you can see the rock pile on the left that is showing and downstream you can see the ledge drop that comes out from the West bank.  Both often not showing.

 Bingham is also low and should be looked at hard if you are thinking about going fishing this weekend.  The picture on the left is from the Bingham bridge looking upstream.  You can see forked-stick beach on the right. The picture on the right is Austin Stream which you can see is quite low for this time of year. And below, left is Wyman Dam again low levels and the close-up on the right shows that the flood gates aren't open so if someone was willing to take the risk of driving down the powerline access - or perhaps I should say the risk of not being able to drive up out - they would have easy water compared to most years.  All in all it promised to be early fishing and low water early.  That's OK by me as long as we get some summer rains. We don't need another dry summer the fish have had it hard enough with the last three years of drought.

I'll close this years first post with a section taken from last years post because this location would still be where I'd go tomorrow if I wasn't working and you might find me there Sunday or Monday.

"And finally to the place I'd fish if I was going to be out instead of here working.  There aren't that many good access wadable spots out there on April 1st any year so I'm not going to say where I found this gravel bar but I will say it is on the Kennebec. As for where you might want to go this week or coming weekend - try getting up towards the dams at some lake outlets. The ponds aren't overflowing and if you are streamside and above the swollen feeder streams that swell the downstream flow you might find fairly clean fishable water."

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