Maine Saltwater Fishing Reports

7 Reasons Why I'm Having A Blast Tying Flies This Winter

It's a stunningly gorgeous March morning here in Phippsburg, with fresh, fluffy snow in the trees undisturbed by any breeze and a brilliantly bright blue sky. It's the kind of morning where you (or at least I) feel like I can get anything and everything done on my list even though rational analysis says otherwise. Doing dishes this morning (yeah, we often leave 'em 'till the a.m. - no kids to judge us) I was struck by how much fun I've been having tying flies this winter. I've been cranking out patterns for albie season on the Cape and North Carolina and restocking boxes for striper charters and NEED to get busy on bonefish and permit patterns for my Soul Fly Lodge group in April. Moving from plates to cast iron pans I contemplated why I've been enjoying this winter's tying so much and here's what I came up with...

1.  I've been making the effort to get together with friends to tie and just loving it. Some outings are more productive than others in terms of quantity of flies produced (and volume of delicious beer consumed) but it is always energizing and I love picking up ideas from others. Thanks Matt Bickford of Maine Striper Adventures for getting us together on a regular basis. Who knew about using channel lead to weight flies? Brilliant Ben Whalley! (Helps to turn over the hook but distributes the weight along length of the shank but not top of the shank - getting a different sinking motion and eliminates the drawbacks that come with lead eyes). Not only am I tying up a hand-full of your Best Bet Fly patterns but I'm incorporating channel lead into some bonefish flies that will eliminate the need for the bead chain eyes when going all stealth-mode. Conversations with these guys about striper conservation, promoting more involvement in advocacy, and of course the usual fish-talk is thought provoking and motivating, so thanks also to Rich Pschirrer of Up 'n At Em! Guide Service, Patrick Rudman of Old Maine Outfitters, Josh Geib of I Just Catch a Shitload of Fish, and Todd Bickford - the quietest and best angler of the group. Come on Craig Uecker - make that schedule work so we can learn more about tube flies!

2.  I've been committed to keeping a (mostly) clean and neat tying station. In the boat I'm a stickler for everything having a place and everything in its place but my tying table is too often a victim of the double whammy of entropy and tier's-ADHD. At it's worse, the chaos extends to the side table, and the floor behind my chair, and the tops of my storage bins. I have no doubts that I'll fall prey to this blight once the guiding season starts up again but for now I'm (usually) being diligent and disciplined in cleaning shit up and only having materials out for the specific pattern I'm tying.

3.  I'm also doing better at maintaining a production tying approach and this helps immensely with the effort to stay organized. More importantly, I tie better flies when I repeat same pattern right down to size of hook and type of flash over and over again. Being pleased with the results keeps me motivated. Repetition breeds efficiency. Full fly boxes gives me peace. It soooo easy for me to craft one fly and then think "what if I added this material...?" and pretty soon I'm six flies deep and each one is different. I've been prioritizing needs over wants, proven patterns over the ever tempting great experiments and loving the satisfaction that can come from discipline in tying.

4.  Eldredge Brothers Fly Shop resumed in-person tying classes and while I wasn't smart enough to sign up for some awesome offerings, I was really pleased to return to teach another albie fly session. I love the process of translating the action of tying a fly into written and oral instruction notes. It forces me to consider every movement and step. It helps me reexamine the habits I've developed around a particular pattern and I often end up simplifying materials or application resulting in a better fly. The act of writing down notes, steps, observations is also a huge help, which leads me to reason #5.

5.  I started keeping a bound notebook next to my tying table a couple of years ago and sometimes I have the discipline to make notes on what I'm doing, learning and wondering. I organize it by pattern and even if I don't refer back to it, the act of writing out my observations helps cement them in my brain. I wish my sketches were aesthetically pleasing, even just to me, but they aren't. And never will be. But they help.

6.  I've been working to learn more about the materials I'm using, or should be using, and how to make the most of them. I'm much more knowledgeable about UV cured resins thanks to my class prep for Eldredge Brothers. I'm working hard to illuminate 1 to 2 seconds at 12 inches, then pausing 10 seconds, then illuminating 1 to 2 seconds at 6 inches and pausing before zapping it up close for the final cure. It does make a difference in completeness of cure and limiting heat build up, both of which make for a more durable fly and serve to limit material distortions. I've been geeking out on hook design and manufacturing. So many choices. There are endless possible variations of any proven pattern but sorting through the merits and drawbacks to substituting craft fur or arctic fox or finn racoon has lead me back to infatuation with coyote fur.

7.  I've been diving back into a couple of tying books that are as relevant and exciting as they day they arrived. Bob Popovic's Fleye Design is the bible and encyclopedia. Drew Chicone's Feather Brain, along with some of his species specific titles, is the perfect compliment. I've been watching videos too. What an incredible resource YouTube can be. If you haven't availed yourself of Gunnar Brammer's instructional gems lately, do it now. I've also made time for some awesome online events. Masters of the Fly is hosting Jason Taylor this Sunday evening at 8:00. If you fish for stripers or pike or musky you want to sign up for this session. Same is true for two more upcoming online demos and conversations. On March 12 Blane Chocklett will help you up your Game Changer game via an awesome set of seminars hosted by The Articulate Fly. Ben Whalley is in the virtual house April 4 with South Shore Fly Casters. Get registered now.

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm far from completing my winter tying tasks. I'm not at the point of waking up in a panic at 2:17 am, but I am feeling the urgency brought on by longer days. I hope you're finding fulfillment in your tying. 

Peter

Capt. Peter Fallon

Gillies & Fallon Guide Service, LLC

Fly Fishing Thoughts From An Evening Alone

With a forecast for for northeast winds at 15 knots with gusts to 25, plus 3/4 of an inch of rain, rescheduling my friday fly-only trip was an easy call. What to do with myself Thursday evening wasn't, until it was. It was finally cool enough to consider mowing what used to be our lawn and is now our hayfield. Gary the dog could really use some dedicated training time or even just an hour at the dog park. My fly tying desk qualifies for disaster-zone funding. The list goes on, but the striper fishing has been pretty fabulous and looking out at the river I could see the wind was dying and the tide was getting ready to turn. An honest assessment of priorities and needs had me changing into bug gear, digging another marrow bone out of the freezer for the pup, and heading for the ramp. I needed to fish. And I needed to fish a fly.

This wasn't a scouting mission, an opportunity to see what was going on in water I hadn't covered last couple days. Nor was it about just sticking some fish, as I sometimes have to do after dropping clients off. It was all about taking advantage of the perfect conditions to cast flies at waking fish in shallow water. Only. No blind casts to structure. No fishing under birds. No dredging edges as the water starts to move. Just waking fish. Period. 

I'm always looking for new insights, but last night my brain kept focusing on lessons already learned. Those reminders seem somehow different when your perspective changes from guide to angler. Not more significant or impactful, but like an additional layer in the fabric that builds understanding, proficiency, and habits. Here are some of my take-aways:

Catching waking striped bass on a fly can be hard. Really hard. So many elements need come together and do so at precisely the right instant to succeed. I get a lot of practice sighting fish and signs of fish, so am decent at doing so even in evening light under cloudy skies. I don't get a lot of time to practice my fly casting this point of the season, but I'm a reasonably proficient caster. And even with those advantages it can just be tough.

3 am solution to fussy fish

I'd run up to a flat that had been holding a lot of fish. I knew I was too early in the tide for what is usually peak feeding activity but I wanted to spend my two plus hours of remaining light in one spot, watching fish behavior change with the water flow, feeling out the evolution of movement, feeding, and degrees of success. The fish weren't showing well when I arrived but that quickly changed. Man were they tough. I was getting good shots, having fish follow, but just not getting eats. I was casting a 12 foot leader with 12 pound tippet and changing flies frequently to see if there was something that they really wanted. I started with a small fly (photo above) that had produced well in other settings that morning, because that's what we often do, but also because the bait has been small, the light was low, and I had confidence in it. It wasn't the ticket. Ok, so let's go big. Toss a meal out there. Something with wiggle and life. Yup. Same result. The hollow fleye (photo below) tied with an ostrich hurl tail and arctic fox head pushed a lot of water and is super sexy looking, to me only at that point is time. It was also more difficult to cast (and turn over) and at this point being able to reach out quite a ways was an advantage. Ok, next offering would be different, very different, so I went with a simple shrimp Clouser. And I caught a fish.

Super sexy ostrich-fox hollow fleyes

Well, I hooked a fish, played it for a bit, smiled and hooted a bit, and then the hook pulled out. No knot failure. I don't feel like I over-pressued it in my exuberance. No slack or line tangle to clear. Hook was sticky sharp when I got it back to the boat. Just pulled out. Uh-huh. If catching involves landing the fish, I just reinforced the lesson that this isn't an easy game. 

To be clear, the change to the shrimp wasn't the golden ticket. I could just barely discern that I had fish look at it without eating it, but I wasn't about to swap it out. What was clear was the challenge of detecting the strike when I couldn't see the fish eat the fly. The low light just didn't allow the visual feedback that tells you "SET THE HOOK!". With a fly that you strip fast, a fleeing baitfish imitation, the eats are aggressive. Not so with a shrimp that seeks cover by diving to the bottom. I missed a couple of fish that did their part to play my game. Hmmmm...stick with the subsurface fly or switch up again to see if a Gurgler gets a reaction? My stubbornness won out and I promptly caught (and even landed) a couple of nice stripers.

The eyeless Clouser doesn't sink so fast

I stayed with the shrimp and had a couple more great shots into big pods of stripers that were happily milling around...and got zero return. No swings and misses that I could tell. No hits on which I just didn't connect. Interesting. Light was getting lower. Tide was starting to move. I stripped my fly all the way in as I went to move up on more bass and what did I find? A weightless fly. I must have dinged the fly against the boat at some point and blew out the lead dumbell eyes. Ever had that happen to you before and taken a while to notice it? I think if I were guiding and not fishing I would have picked up on it sooner, but I wasn't. And didn't.

As I paused to rerig, the fish behavior changed noticeably. I started hearing and seeing much more aggressive slurps so I went with a scaled down version of the ostrich-foxy hollow fleye I'd fished earlier. I'd tied this specifically to cast better on an 8 weight floating line and lighter tippet and to be more user-friendly for anglers who aren't used to chucking big, bulky flies. First good shot it got attacked. And then the fish promptly came unglued. Trying to learn from my weightless shrimp experience, I checked the fly right away and found that the tip of the hook was just slightly bent over. I knew for sure that I hadn't pinged this fly against the hull or trolling motor but I hadn't checked the hook point before I tied it on. Yet again, something that I can't imagine doing when guiding that didn't occur to me when fishing. Dingus. 

Thankfully a little file work salvaged the fly and I started catching fish. All the way through to unhooking them and watching them swim away. The difference in their behavior and attitude compared to an hour earlier was stark. And it was fun. Really fun. I thought about changing flies after every hook-up, curious about the first pattern I'd tried and wondering what else they would chomp, but said screw it and just kept having fun, which after all is kind of the point.

Mouth full of feathers and fur

Here are a few additional reminders I received last night:

Fishing (and casting) a floating line is just more enjoyable. I'm still infatuated with the Scientific Anglers Grand Slam line. It casts well at short distances but shoots like a dream, handles a variety of fly sizes, and behaves well in much cooler water than you'd expect (59 degrees last night).

Even at 8:00 at night on a cloudy evening, fish are very attuned to overhead threats. It's impressive how well they detect a fly line in the air and are especially likely to freak out when schooled up in bigger pods. Even if the water erupts from the presence of your line either above them or hitting the water, get that fly moving, pronto. You're not likely to fool the biggest fish in the school but often someone can't resist reacting to it if it is moving in short order.

We should all work on our ability to make a cast with no false casts. Just pick up and lay down. Get the fly back in the water. Now! I've worked to reduce my habit of making two false casts to a default of one false cast, but sometimes you get lots of second shots at close range where even a single false cast takes up too much time. I also noticed that lack of practice has me back to the default of releasing the line completely with my left hand when I deliver the fly. I have to think about letting the line shoot through my closed thumb and index finger to do so consistently. Getting any slack out of the line ASAP, sometime even before it hits the water, is a benefit in both shallow water sightcasting situations and when targeting fast moving fish like albies. While we're at it, (becoming more proficient casters) we should all strive to have a strong, quick and accurate backcast presentation. 

Speaking of fly/leader turn over...I can't recall the last time I used a knotless, tapered leader in a saltwater setting. I still recommend them for people getting started in fly fishing (any opportunity to simplify things is helpful) but tying your own leaders with stiffer butt material makes a difference in the wind, with bulky flies, when you really need a straight line connection with your fly the instant it touches down. I wish I had THE formula to share, but I'm still playing with configurations, materials, and even knots (the Westport Fly guys have me revisiting improved blood knots). 

Unless we have good sighting conditions or see the bulge of water behind our fly, we have no idea how many fish follow without eating. Yeah, we often cast to a lot of empty water but we also get lots of follows with no swirls, tugs, taps, or bumps. 

Our success has so much to do with the mood of the fish. Especially when chucking a fly. Given what I was seeing when I first arrived on the flat last night, I would have moved if I'd had clients in the boat and come back a bit later. The attitude change with tidal flow and dropping light was impossible to miss.

A little bit of elevation gain when sighting and casting pays dividends. I was in the LTB last night and standing up on the anchor locker in the bow. I'm working with a custom composite builder to design a small coffin box for the bow that will provide another option for getting higher off the deck. Even in a boat with admirably narrow and low gunnels, it should be a good tool. No need for a cushion on top of it, just good foot traction and maybe a metal rail for a brace/grab bar.

Clearing the fly line off the deck when you do set the hook presents a dilemma. Do you try to reel up slack to get the fish on the reel? I preach not doing so as I see a lot of fish lost during this maneuver. If the fish is big enough, it will clear the line. Better to focus on not giving it any slack. Slack is your enemy. Strip by hand until you don't have to do so. Again, this is easier to say as a guide and harder to follow as an angler, as evidenced by my own behavior last evening.

If you spend much time fly fishing by yourself and you don't yet have a remote controlled trolling motor, start saving for this tool. Today. Right now. Everyone who's used one ends up referring to it with the same term: Gamechanger. 

I violated my own pledge when it became too dark to pick out the waking fish and made a few blind casts to a spot on the flat that has that magical combination of structure, current, and depth change. I didn't even roll a bass, but it did remind me how much fun I've had over the years fishing in the dark. It's a different experience and holds so many memories of all-nighters with John Asseng in Boston Harbor or Tony Cox nestled in his sleeping bag in the Lund while we drifted up Sagadahoc Bay under the stars or wading around the edges of Back Cove while Sarah was cleaning up the bar at Amigo's. Building that library of memories is one important reason why we fish.

What a mess!

Ok, that's waaaay too much. Time to take advantage of a day off the water to attack the mess that is my fly tying table. 87% of the flies I've tied in the last month have been one and done between 2:45 and 4:15 am, which lends itself to leaving shit out and dealing with the chaos. Entropy takes its toll and I've reached my limit. 

Hope you get out to fish. Soon. It's been really good. And really fun.

Peter 

Capt. Peter Fallon

Gillies & Fallon Guide Service, LLC

 

Striped Bass Fishing Update - Mid June 2021

Foggy morning, early start, white bucktail deceiver

It's been a busy start to the 2021 Maine striped bass charter season for me. I've finally got a day to catch up on boat maintenance, some tackle upgrades, and maybe even cutting the lawn that is out of control. I'd characterize late May fishing in the Kennebec as encouraging and first week of June as disappointing. It just seemed to take a while for enough stripers to move into our waters to produce consistent fishing. We'd get waves of bass but patterning the fish was a real challenge for me. That changed this past week. It finally feels like June should, like we remember, like we think about in January, and while I'm thankful to grab an extra hour of sleep and get some items crossed off my ever-expanding to-do list, it's killing me not to be on the water this morning. 

I've been horrible at updating fishing reports, photos from charters, random thoughts on fly tackle or news on boat improvements. Just wicked busy...so here's a quick brain dump of fishing thoughts that haven't evaporated from my consciousness:

The Minn Kota trolling motor is a gamechanger. Total gamechanger. I've been fishing with one for something like 15 years and we finally seem to be seeing an exponential growth in the number of saltwater anglers with a trolling motor mounted on the bow. I've helped quite a few other guides understand the value of this fishing tool and been unabashed in my absolute confidence that they would find the investment in a trolling motor well worth the cost. Ask 10 saltwater guides their go-to jig, favorite braided line, or most trusted crab fly pattern  and you'll get a wide range of answers and some really diverse opinions. Ask that same group if the significant initial cost to add a trolling motor to their boat was worthwhile and I'll bet a bottle of really good tequila that 10 out of 10 will say "Absolutely"! If you're thinking about adding one to your boat but not yet convinced, come to the Maine Boatbuilders Show at Portland Yacht Services July 23-25. I'll be running in-water demos. I'll put the remote in your hands and teach you how to use it and very quickly, you will know. 

Trolling motors can change how we fish a section of good bottom structure, a defined edge, an island shoreline. Here in the Kennebec River we've had a tradition drifting over or along the area we want to fish, allowing multiple boats to access the same area. One jamoke dropping anchor screws it up for all. Those of us who use trolling motors need to think about how we do so in spots where etiquette has always been to share that water. This is a very different norm than what we expect fishing a flat. It deserves far more attention than I'm going to give it today, so if you read this post and have input, send it my way.

Why don't I buy more white bucktails when I find good ones? I was at Eldredge Brothers Fly Shop earlier in the spring pawing through bins of deer tails and stopped my search after finding 4 that I really liked. Foolish me. I certainly don't have a habit of buying too little fly tying material but somehow I perpetually underbuy white bucktail and hooks.

No matter your skill or experience tying saltwater flies, invest a little bit of your screen-time watching HMH Vices Pro Tier
Brammer's videos on Beginner Predator Flies. Really good stuff for people with all levels of experience. And another reminder (to both of us) that we can do so much with white bucktail, so buy more of 'em.

Big bait, big bass

We've got herring of all sizes in and around the Kennebec. From Bath on up river to Merrymeeting Bay I see more river herring that are either about 4 inches in length or adults. In the Lower River (my own distinction that is Bath down through Phippsburg, Georgetown and Popham) we have same sizes plus much smaller herring that may be either Atlantic herring (aka sea herring) or river herring. These dense schools of small, slender bait can produce some fussy striped bass as they key in on the little bait. I keep at least one rod rigged and in easy reach with an adult herring imitation - something big - like a 10' Fin-S-Fish or a Super Snax or big spook plug. When we see stripers chasing these hefty baits across the surface, I want someone to grab that rod and fire it forthwith into the melee.

We should all be thankful for the incredible success here in Maine restoring runs of river herring. Efforts by the Department of Marine Resources to both trap and truck spawning adults and to remove fish passage impediments make us the envy of every other state in the Northeast where alewives and blueback herring are in trouble. The possibility exists to significantly improve on what we currently see for river herring numbers with dam removal and/or improvement of fish passage at the 4 lowest dams on the Kennebec. There will be opportunity ahead for you to participate in the effort lead by the state and non-profit organizations to continue this work. Herring keep fish in this river all season long, so if you fish it, I hope you'll get involved in sustaining it.

Water clarity and temps are more like early July than mid-June. If you love to sightcast to shallow water striped bass, get out there now. It will be interesting to see if this drought continues how it influences our fishing in July and August. There's one flat in particular that has at times been incredibly productive mid-summer even when the water on it was 78 degrees. I stopped fishing it for a bit two years ago as we were having to spend a lot more time reviving fish. It's easy to convince ourselves that if they swim away they are fine, but that isn't always the case. 

I finally got down to Duxbury, MA to visit with Chris Aubut in his rod building workshop. We only had an hour to talk about rod design, component options, application of different blanks, and what I'm ordering from him next. I'm absolutely head over heels about the first Aubut Rod that I've just put into service and people who've fished it feel the same way. I'm in the process of putting together an order of 4 or 5 new rods for Fritz after he spent two days with the Aubut in hand and I'm in line for another spinning rod and a fly rod. More details on these to come...

Another big hit with my folks are the Scientific Angler Sonar Titan Triple Density lines. This is the next evolution of integrated sinking shooting lines that Jim Teeny popularized and a really advancement, not just a slight improvement. You feel like you're fly casting, not just slinging a string attached to a length of  chain. The new SA cardboard spools are pretty cool. What a smart way to cut down on a lot of often wasted plastic packaging. Save a few of the plastic spools you have for line swaps - they last a lifetime and a half - as I expect other line makers to follow suit with this switch.

Weather forecasting has come a long way in the time I've been running charterboats. I sometimes still listen to the NOAA weather radio while cleaning up the boat for nostalgia sake. The tools we have available to us on our phones are incredible. Still, accurate wind predictions on the ocean are very difficult and far less reliable than temperature, participation timing and amount, fog, thunderstorm warnings. I blew a call last week with a fly angler when I suggested we not go on an evening outing due to wind. It was honking at 2:00 pm, the forecast included wind overnight and the next morning, and it turned out to be one of those breathless evenings when you can see fish pushing water from a long distance away. Ugh.

A couple of my loves:

• an early start (has really paid dividends this week)
• foggy days
• the community of guides who work together in this watershed
• cold brew coffee at 10:00 am after a 2:15 am alarm
• my post-trip nap
• being organized and having a routine
• my Humminbird Mega Side Imaging
• anglers who actually practice their fly casting and my casting when I've been practicing
• the universal appreciation for the beauty of this setting from all of the people in my boat
• fishing in Maine in June

A couple of reminders to myself that may help you out:

• using my alarm to prompt moves to a particular location helps
• using my alarm to remind me to reapply sunscreen is critical
• turning my screen brightness down to 8 on my fishfinder/chartplotters uses a lot less voltage
• making more cold brew needs to be a daily task
• buy more white bucktails when I find good ones
• tell people to bring a water bottle in their pre-trip email to cut down on the plastics waste we generate
• plan a mid-season fishing trip for myself in 2022

Thanks to all of you who have come out with me already or have made plans to fish this season. It's really fulfilling for me to spend time with you on the water. 

Peter

Capt. Peter Fallon

 

 

Fishing A Floating Line For False Albacore

In this season of sipping albies, one of the most effective tools we've employed has been a floating fly line. Read articles about fly fishing for false albacore and you'll find recommendations to use an integrated sinking shooting head, mostly for the advantage of minimizing false casts to these fast moving fish. Check out an experienced albie angler's quiver and you're likely to find at least one rod rigged with an intermediate line (slow sinking), probably featuring a clear tip or fully clear line. There are lot's of instances when one of these two line choices makes the most sense, however, when the fish are cruising and "ram feeding" on micro bait, the ability to quickly pick up your cast and reposition your fly can be a game changer. 

This September and October around the Cape and Islands, the majority of albies we found were in small groups and focused on tiny bait. They've often been out in deep water, working rips and other, more subtle structure, or even just featureless bottom with some kind of moving water. The fish cruise just below the surface, breaking the surface as they travel, often with open mouths sucking in the micro bait. If you've ever seen bluefin tuna ram feeding on krill, you know just what this looks like. The albies will circle briefly, what I refer to as "going around the rotary once or twice", before selecting their exit direction, and continuing on down the road. Being albies, they don't stay on the same course for very long even if their general direction of travel is constant for a period of time. This is effectively very different from a big pod of false albacore crashing bait and herding it down a beach or rocky shoreline or groups churning in a constant direction in open water. In those instances you have the opportunity to position the boat well ahead of the fish (usually up-current or up-wind or both) and wait for them to come to you. If you don't get a good shot or don't have a fish eat, you're likely to have an other opportunity momentarily. Plus you know that the majority of the albies in the school aren't showing on the surface and your fly is often inhaled by a fish not seen. Not so in this game. Everything is moving: fish, boat, water, position relative to wind and current. We still work for a position ahead of the fish and ideally with the wind in casting-favor, but the caster is likely to get one or two (maybe three) shots at the small school before you have to reposition the boat. Everyone strives to make their first cast count, but even the perfect presentation becomes futile when the small pack of funny fish alters course while your line is shooting out to it's intended destination. In this instance, being able to quickly pick up and re-present your fly can double (or triple) you chances to get your offering into a pretty limited strike zone.

The advantage of being able to quickly pick up a lengthy line has often been offset or outweighed by the time delay from cast initiation to fly presentation when using a floating line. So often in the fall, the wind is blowing, and the smaller diameter sinking lines offers less wind resistance. The trade-offs have fallen in favor of the shooting head line that sinks either quickly or slowly, but no more. The game changer is a "tropical" floating line that functions well in a temperate environment. I started fishing Scientific Angler's Amplitude Grand Slam line on the flats for striped bass this June and instantly fell in love with it. I had been fishing an all around floating line that was new as of late May and the difference in the way the Grand Slam line shoots was stunning. It's designed to excel at both long casts and quick, shorter shots on tropical flats and has a fairly stiff core, but, is also rated to perform well in warm water. SciAngler uses the following designations for fly lines: Hot, Warm, Cold. I suspected from past experimentation that a line rated for Hot climates would be a hot mess in Maine even in mid-summer. But what about this Warm rating? I was curious to see if I could find a line that "feels like" my favorite bonefish line in a setting where long casts do matter. A stiffer core that is less likely to tangle in the wind would really be a plus.

Whoa. This line was stunning from the first time I cast it. It boomed out there with minimal false casts, noticeably fewer than any other floating line I had in my bag. It made the "oh shit, fish!" cast, the one that we should practice more, where a shallow water target seems to appear next to the boat out of nowhere. It could handle a clunky crab pattern but was subtle enough to use in 18 inches of water on a clear flat on a windless day.

An added benefit that I hadn't anticipated was how comfortable some of my anglers were with a floating line but not a sinking one. These were good casters with lots of fishing experience, but just not familiar with how a 350 grain shooting head behaves. In the heat of the albie moment, they could react and feel confident with their casting ability, and that led to more hook ups.

Capt. Peter Fallon

Gillies & Fallon Guide Service, LLC

Kennebec River Striped Bass Fishing Update - Breaking Fish Bonanza

After what I described as good early season trips all of last week, the striped bass fishing on the Kennebec River here in Phippsburg really lit up this week. We'd all been waiting and searching and watching for big pods of happy stripers busting bait on top and hadn't seen it in the river (although I did get credible reports from around Gardiner about surface feeds 10 days ago) until this Sunday. I was teaching a two-day fly fishing class but a good friend was on a good surface feed Sunday morning on the dropping tide. It's only gotten better since then. Much better.

Of course it is still fishing, and not always what we expect. I fished Tuesday with my dad and was disappointed by what we found. It was bright, and dry, and cold, and not fishy weather. We got a good early start and had great moving water but were only finding one fish here and one fish there. Eventually we located a good group of bass that we're happy to eat but it was a slower morning than I hoped. Don't get me wrong, it was great to fish together on a stunningly beautiful morning after a fun evening of the season's first lobster feed but I really wish he'd been able to stay one more day. We'd be hearing stories for years about the fabulous fishing.

I fished by myself on Wednesday. I was wide awake at 4:00 and tied flies for the first two hours of the morning with intensions to get after some desk tasks and house projects. There wasn't a hint of wind on the water and the cloud cover was perfect, so by 6:03 I was in scramble mode, hooking up the Maverick and grabbing some snacks to go. I needed to test out these small hollow fleye variations I'd been working on and I also wanted to try a new SciAngler Amplitude Anadro line that I'd bought for some other purposes. It didn't take me long to find birds working over stripers at the bottom of the out tide. I really, really love to fish shallow water for bass that are visible or pushing water, but after another long winter, I'll take fish going bananas on the surface. I had a blast.

I fished a bunch of different fly patterns, fly line and rod combinations, and connected lessons shared over the weekend with observations on the water. Here are some fly thoughts:

1. Detecting a hit and setting the hook are learned and practiced skills. Most beginner to intermediate fly anglers would be amazed to learn how many fish have eaten their fly that they never knew about. This early June striper fishery offers an incredible learning opportunity when the fish are on. Ok, a lot of times you could be asleep and hook a striper, but not alway. In perfect conditions it was fascinating to note hw many "takes" would easily be missed - especially when dead drifting a fly pattern with great life. Repetition builds competence. If you go to the driving range, you should be fishing here this week.
2. Dead drifting. An often overlooked approach in saltwater, especially around breaking fish. If you don't employ this technique very often, here's your prompt to try it. The day before I'd been coaching my dad to make much stronger, more dramatic strips with his herring pattern to elicit strikes from unseen fish. It was working. Wednesday morning, around fish keyed into very small bait, no strip was the ticket. Even with a floating line in reasonably deep water. So much fun. The local warden was fishing a popper on his fly rod over busting bass at the same time and he reported finding best success when he just twitched his fly and then let it sit. He had a great big smile on his face, talking about his morning outing.
3. Speaking of fun, I really liked the Scientific Angler Amplitude Smooth Anadro/Nymph line. I need to use it more to feel fully dialed in on best applications, but I ended the morning looking forward to using it more. Speaking of more fun, I was fishing it on a Sage X 9 foot 9 weight that I'd only used in heavy wind last fall chasing albies. I like casting and fishing this rod.
4. Connecting numbers 1 and 2 above, detecting the hit and dead drifting a fly, I was thinking about the number of casts that don't unroll perfectly, even on a windless day, and how often people aren't in touch with their fly. Retrieving with tip at hip level, rod pointed away from the fly, slack in the leader are all streamer sins in most instances. When the fly touches down, get the tip touching the water, pointed at the fly, and strip out any slack in the line-leader...then let it drift.
5. Fly size and shape matters most. I spent a lot of time answering questions over the weekend about fly patterns, how to choose what to fish, why they are designed as they are, where you start, when to change, and how to fish different types of flies. As I was testing a variety of patterns on Wednesday, it was a perfect reminder that size and shape matter most and that how the fly behaves in the water (inherent movement and as imparted by the angler) comes in at a close second. I loved being in a situation where you could readily discern what the fish preferred. Everything caught fish this morning, but at wildly different rates, and there we're clear common threads.

Thursday morning was more of the same, kind of old school, Kennebec June fishing, run 'till you see birds, stop, catch fish until they either move on or you decide to see where else the stripers are feeding hard. I got to spend the morning fishing with my great friend Rich Pschirrer and neither of us really noticed the rain we were having such a blast. Just got a text from Rich saying "Let's do more of that, anywhere, anytime." I agree. I'm game.

One parting suggestion - if you don't have a pair of these gloves for early season outings (or fall tuna runs, December decoy deployment, or mid-winter cash washing), head to your nearest commercial marine supply store, by two pair (your dad, friend, spouse, client, will appreciate it), and stick them in your boat or bag.

Fish more.

Peter

Capt. Peter Fallon

Gillies & Fallon Guide Service, LLC

mainestripers.com

207-522-9900

[email protected]

Fishing Charters For Striped Bass in Phippsburg, Maine And False Albacore on Cape Cod, MA

Saltwater Fly Fishing Charters For Striped Bass And False Albacore ~ Kennebec River, Phippsburg, ME And Cape Cod, MA

Thanks for visiting Maine Saltwater Fishing Reports. Here you'll find updates on shallow water striper fishing around Maine and beyond, updates on September and October false albacore fishing around Cape Cod and the Islands, insights into how I chase these fish, suggestions and techniques that may help you become a better angler, and recaps of recent charter trips. Scroll down for the the latest posts.

I specialize in shallow water sight casting to striped bass and chasing false albacore with fly and light tackle spinning gear. The only thing I love more than the challenge of hunting for these fish is sharing the elation that comes from playing this game. I guide a lot of experienced striped bass anglers who've never cast a fly or a top-water plug to a striper on a shallow flat that is pushing water like a redfish or bonefish. Watching the bass track the baitfish pattern or tail slap the spook and then (hopefully) eat your offering is incredibly satisfying and addicting.

I live in Phippsburg, ME on the banks of the Kennebec River, and guide full-time from May into November. Striper fishing in Maine starts in mid-May, with fish usually showing up just south of Portland before they start to fill into the Kennebec. To get a jump on the season I head south to Massachusetts to get onto bass before they arrive in Maine. I also plan a couple of weeks during May and June to target large stripers in Cape Cod Bay and around Martha's Vineyard. This is big water fishing and where I grew up and first started running charter boats. If I had to pick one week to fish the flats in midcoast Maine, it would fall in early July, depending upon the tides. Fortunately, our fishing holds up all summer and every year we have outstanding days when anglers to our south are lamenting the "dog days". By Labor Day I'm packing up to spend September and October fishing the south side of Cape Cod for False Albacore. 

If you're looking to improve your striper skills, or want to try to target them on the flats, or just become a better angler, I hope you'll read on and if you like what you find here, give me a call. Let's get out on the water together this season.

You can also see more frequent updates on Maine Saltwater Fishing Reports Facebook Page.

See the fish. Cast to the fish. Catch the fish.

Peter

Capt. Peter Fallon

Gillies & Fallon Guide Service

207-522-9900

[email protected]

Who Said Albies Don't Eat In A Northeast Wind? More Lessons From A Fall of False Albacore Fishing on Cape Cod.

We finally found some consistency fishing along the Falmouth shoreline this past week. The fishing isn’t better when the albies are in here, but it sure is convenient being based out of Falmouth. More significantly, the first great day of albie fishing I ever experienced was right off the entrance to Waquoit and the only false albacore over 13 pounds I have personally landed was in the same place years later. Add a ton of fabulous other memories, both personal and with fishing charter clients made between New Seabury and Woods Hole, and the sentimental value of finding the fish in here is pretty fulfilling.  

Amber Albie Snax

 On Friday we arrived off Craigville Beach before dawn, fully expecting to be disappointed but looking for the first bread crumb that would lead us either east or west from there. It wasn’t long before we pushed away from the gathering albie fleet to fish on the Cotuit flats and Osterville channel. With the forecast for strengthening wind, we continued west finding them off Great Pond and Green Pond and hit the jackpot at Waquoit. It was fabulous fishing and it went on for hours. The white Albie Snax was getting eaten but not as well as it should have been. A quick change to amber and the fish were all over it. By mid afternoon they seemed to get fussy again. We changed to bright pink and wham! First cast and many cast thereafter had fish fighting to get to the bait. I heard from guides who were fishing the Vineyard, Upper Buzzards Bay, and even Rhode Island that they killed it on Friday. Some days these fish make heroes of us all and this was one of those days. 

The switch to bright pink Albie Snax pays off again

 The Vineyard Sound forecast for Saturday morning was pretty miserable and we made the mistake of not getting out until 8:00 am. It was pretty cushy in the Southport 272 and the fish were happy and I spent the first two hours swearing at myself for not going at dawn. I always advocate for an early start. Still get’s me pissed thinking about it now. The wind and the forecast kept a lot of people home and it felt more like a weekday out there. We started catching on Nonamesset Shoal where the albies were pinning bay anchovies up against the shoreline. My aggravation with myself (see above) got the best of me and I kept moving us around to busting fish when I should have kept the boat in one place. Settling down by mid-morning we really got in the groove in the fast current off Mink Point at the entrance to Woods Hole. There we no blow ups to attract attention of other boats that motored by, but on the edge of the shallow water the albies were showing one by one and eating with abandon. They were on big bait, and bright colored Hogy SI Epoxy Jigs were easy to throw in the wind and very effective. By early afternoon we moved off Nobska and did well there too. It would have been nice to do without the three boats zooming at WOT into every busting pod they saw, but thankfully there were plenty of fish to go around. End of the day at Waquoit was ok, not better, but ok at 5:00 pm is alright.

Big bait by albie standards

 The quote of the week came from Fritz Folts on Sunday. We were trying to run his Southport back to Boston but kept running into funny fish off Falmouth and then again around the Mashnee Flats and west end of the canal. Fritz was in the zone. He was seeing the fish as soon as they surfaced and putting his casts right where they needed to be, time after time. Fritz said “Next year I need to block off four full days in a row to fish. Chasing albies is a lot like high school - by the time you really figure it out it’s time for graduation”. 

Hogy SI Epoxy Jigs

 Monday was another day of battling stout northeast winds, but our perseverance paid dividends. We worked fish early along the Falmouth shore off Green Pond and Great Pond. Jeff was new to the false albacore challenge and quickly understood my pre-game pep talk on the importance of accurate casts. We continued on to Nobska where we were rocking and rolling, literally, but surrounded by happy fish and zero other boats. All the other charter captains I talked to had understandably pulled the plug on trips that day. As a guy who flies small commercial plans for a living, Jeff wasn't phased by a little turbulence.

 

Jeff is forever spoiled. His first ever albie topped nine pounds. We messed around at Lackeys, seeing albies but only catching blues. Wood Hole kept us entertained for a couple of hours until mid afternoon when the switch flipped (who did that?) and the schools of churning fish shut right off all at once.

Happy Jeff with his first false albacore

 After an hour of testing the east wind Tuesday morning, we decided to go out to breakfast. Wednesday seemed better suited to errands and chores but Thursday was worth the hassle. The wind was honking but the fish were hungry. It wasn't an easy day to chuck flies at these fish, but it was a productive day to do so. Whoever said albies don’t eat when the wind blows out of the northeast choose going out to breakfast instead of fishing too many times.

 

My last open dates for false albacore charters on the Cape are Monday, October 1 and Friday, October 5. If you want to see what all this albie fuss is about, give me a call or send me an email.

 

Fish more.

 

Peter

Capt. Peter Fallon

Gillies & Fallon Guide Service, LLC

[email protected]

207-522-9900

mainestripers.com

How To Catch More Albies - Color Matters - Tips And Techniques For False Albacore Fishing

It's that time of year when I shift all of my attention to chasing false albacore off the south side of Cape Cod. I base myself in Falmouth but fish from Monomoy to Wasque to Cuttyhunk to the Canal and all of the waters in-between. More later about why these fish have such a hold on me and so many other anglers. I'll try to explain in a future post, although the best way to understand, to truly get it, is to come fish for them. For now let's focus on those of you who are already committed to catching albies.

Color matters, not all the time, but often enough that it should factor into your equation of what and how you are presenting your offering to false albacore. If you've found the fish (here's a post that can help you with that endeavor) and you're making the right casts but they aren't biting the way you think they should be, it's time to change up what you're tossing. In many instances a color change is all it takes. 

Pay attention to the other anglers around you. Is someone catching noticeably more fish? If so, the albies want to eat something other than what you have tied on. If you've found your own fish and aren't getting consistent hits, it's time to mix it up. I think about setting up for ducks. Pick a spot where the ducks want to land that morning and you'll have lots of action. Set your decoys in a location that really isn't where the birds want to be and you'll have some lookers and you'll talk a lonely single into lighting at the edge of your spread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One simple change is to alter the color of the Epoxy Jig, Albie Snax, metal, Ronz that you are using. I've seen so many instances where we went from one hit every thirty casts to one hit every five casts just by changing from white to pink, or from silver to purple. And in some of those cases have confirmed the color preference with other captains and anglers on the same fish.

While I've experienced the same result with color change in fly patterns it seems to be often much less important than when tossing artificial lures. Why? I don't know but the flies we use are often much closer imitations of the prey, and I think that has something to do with this observation. Don't ignore color when you put together your fly box or watch the false albacore zoom all around your fly without trying to eat it, but I think it's lower on the list that includes presentation, retrieve, pattern shape and size. 

When you're chucking hardware, be ready to tie a lot of knots, have plenty of leader material, rig rods with different lures, and remember to change up color if the albies aren't doing what you expect.

 

 

Fish more,

Peter

Capt. Peter Fallon

Gillies & Fallon Guide Service, LLC

[email protected]

207-522-9900

Who Doesn't Want Another Fly Rod?

If you've subscribed to Consumer Reports for years or like to geek out on a Wirecutter review of the best pen and you're a fly angler, you really owe it to yourself to read the Rod Shootout write ups from the Yellowstone Angler. These guys have developed a format that others are now copying, but the original remains the best - far and away, the best. You don't need to be in the market for a new fly rod (what flyfisher isn't pining for yet another rod) to enjoy and admire the passion, precision, and detail that makes these write-ups so compelling. So if you aren't loading tackle into your boat, pack, or truck right now, why don't you pour yourself another cup of coffee (or a Mast Landing Saccarappa if it's that time of day) and dive into the 2018 8-Weight Shootout.

Fish more,

Peter

Capt. Peter Fallon

Gillies & Fallon Guide Service, LLC

[email protected]

207-522-9900 

 

Fishing Is Funny

I’ve been trying to figure out how to describe the change in the fishing in the Kennebec River and keep coming up with conflicting thoughts. This week has been incredible and disappointing. I’ve noticed a distinct difference from last week, when there were lots of active feeds all over the River and we were all raving about the great fishing. Where I’ve been, that has changed and not for the better but on the flats, wow...and come on fish. We’re seeing a lot of bass from 18 inch micro stripers to 40 inch cow bass in water from 6 feet to 12 inches deep. A lot. Sometimes they are hungry and aggressive and cooperative. Sometimes they are incredibly fussy. Early mornings on the coming tide have been generally slow for bigger fish. They just haven’t been waking much and thus sightcasting to them is really tough. You get a swirl, and a short push of water, and often a refusal, then nada for a while. Late morning to early afternoon, under bright sun, the larger bass have been much more cooperative and accommodating. Funny, this fishing.

The morning tide has been weak and I am sure that makes a difference, not in our favor. If you’re planning a striper trip far in advance, you’d be well served to target dates when the tides are at or above normal. In the Kennebec, an 8 foot high tide (or less, as measured at Fort Popham) can be challenging. 

My general approach is to start the morning with a spun deer hair slider in a dark color if we’re fishing on a darker bottom flat up in the marshes. The fish are usually “up” in the water column, at least when we can target individual bass or pods. These flies push some water and often illicit vengeful strikes. Once we shift to more traditional “sightcasting” over light colored bottom flats, the trick is to figure out if the fish are looking up or down. If down, it is time for shrimp, crab, or something that combines attributes of both. If they are looking up, we switch to baitfish patterns, sometimes small sand eel imitations and other times larger hollow flyes. You can get some important clues from the way the stripers break the surface when they feed, but we also rely on what worked yesterday on that flat and then changing fly pattern after two refusals on really good shots.

Part of what makes fishing funny is the mix of predictable fish behavior and the ever-changing reaction, location, travel, feeding patterns, of these game fish. Use what you learned last time out, but don’t get stuck in a rut. Be ready to add a lot of tippet as you try fly after fly. While I believe presentation trumps all, getting to watch the reaction of bass after bass after bass leaves me with zero doubt that on some days finding the right fly is key.

As for hardware chucking (which by the way, I’m proud to admit to doing) the standouts in shallow water continue to be the Albie Snax from Fish Snax Lures, the Zipster spook from Lonely Angler, and the small RonZ’s. I’m sure that the Hogy Skinny’s would be well received along with other small plastics. Don’t ignore creature baits if you are fishing the green water rolling off ledges. That largemouth bait also takes big, big stripers in shallow water close to the ocean at times. I haven’t recently tied on any of the small buck tails that I tie up, but maybe we’ll test them tomorrow. 

Tides here in midcoast Maine are improving. Fish whenever you can. Even if it doesn’t turn out to be the day that you will recall for years to come, you will learn more. Wear long pants, as the greenheads are just stating to show up. They aren’t out in force yet, but it will only be a matter of days. 

I’m booked rest of this week and headed back to the Vineyard for another long weekend of trips there but may have the 21st and 22nd open if you want to get out to chase striped bass here in Maine. 

Fish more,

Peter

Capt. Peter Fallon

[email protected]

207-522-9900

Should I Stay or Should I Go — Leaving Fish to Find Fish

After three incredible weeks fishing Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and surrounding waters it was wonderful to run down the Kennebec River yesterday morning just after 4:00 am with Fritz Folts, cruising past water loaded with flipping herring and then to be greeted by breaking fish and diving gulls at our first stop. There were individual bass chasing herring up onto a small mud flat and pods of stripers coming up in the middle of the channel and a few fish popping right tight to shore and plenty more revealing themselves on the sounder screen. You know when there are six herons in a span of shore 40 yards long fighting over the best fishing spot with herring gulls, black backs, turns and bald eagles diving from overhead there’s some bait in the area. The mission was to catch fish on the surface with the spook and we found success...but, we weren’t finding fish bigger than about 25 inches. After a short discussion, we made the decision to leave fish.

We could have taken the “quantity” approach, catching as many fish as possible and hoping that a few would end up being larger bass. We did spend a little time fishing adjacent structure instead of the small pods of busting bass, but that strategy wasn’t producing what we wanted. With zero wind and the sun still low in the sky and a southwest flow forecast for the day, conditions were ideal for fishing some shallow water, targeting waking fish. If you’re swallowing noseeums with bites of your Frosty’s donuts (they open at 4:00 am!), then you should be focused on shallow water fish.

We ran to a flat that often holds large stripers. As we were slowly working our way up into the middle of the cove, we could see fish pushing water ahead of us in a couple of different locations. We were about two and half hours into the dropping tide in two feet or so of water and the clock was against us. First pod to approach gave Fritz a perfect head on shot and he made the cast. The fish in the group immediately showed interest in the spook and as one tried to eat it I got a good look at how large it was. With great presence of mind, Fritz calmly twitched and paused the lure, like he was toying with the twenty sixth 18 inch schoolie of the morning. He played it perfectly, keepin these fish interested and competitive, but also giving them a chance to line themselves up for the eat. It’s not always easy for a larger fish in shallow water to grab a surface plug on the first try. Not far off the bow we both watched a big, white mouth open and inhale the zipster after another fish of similar size missed it. The hook stuck and the striper took off. After a well executed fight, Fritz lifted his rod to bring the leader to my hand. I realized that this fish would be a two-hander. Elated, we quickly snapped a few photos and Fritz returned the feisty bass to the water.

Some people swear by the adage of not leaving fish to find fish. We however, left for good reasons, and it payed off. Part of our decision making was based upon how we most wanted to fish, what would bring the greatest reward if we were successful, and the pretty ideal conditions for doing so. 

I hope you get a chance to enjoy this incredible fishery. If you want to get out on the water, send me an email ([email protected]) or give me a call at 207-522-9900. I do have a couple of openings coming up before my next trip south.

Fish more,

Peter

Capt. Peter Fallon

Gillies & Fallon Guide Service, LLC

Two Herring Fly Patterns That Stripers Love

We're off to a good start here on the Kennebec River with more striped bass arriving daily. These fish are hungry and there's plenty of feed in Maine for them right now. I've done a couple of fly-only trips this week and can tell you that fly selection really hasn't seemed to matter. There have been some surface feeds where the bait was clearly small - 2 inches or so - but we weren't forced to try to match what the stripers were eating. There's a ton of herring in the river and I'm a big fan of larger patterns when fishing good moving water around structure. I believe it gives us the best chance at tempting a bigger fish to eat.

I really focus on two aspects of flies when choosing what to use: profile - size and shape - and action - does it look alive, how does it move through the water, does the fly do what the natural does, does it trigger the desired response. Then I also take into account the angler's ability to cast the flies under consideration. More on fly design and selection later. For now let me share two patterns that I really like to use.

 

I fish a mix of flies that I tie myself and flies that I purchase. The two in the video above are from S. S. Flies in Denmark, Maine. I also buy some fabulous patterns from Eldredge Brothers Fly Shop in Cape Neddick, Maine and The Tackle Shop in Portland, ME. All three of these suppliers are tying locally, producing patterns that have been tested and refined on countless numbers of Maine stripers, and creating flies that achieve desired profile and action with the minimum required materials. Check 'em out.

Fish more,

Peter

Capt, Peter Fallon

Gillies & Fallon Guide Service, LLC

 

How To Catch More Albies - Tips and Techniques For False Albacore - Use Your Binoculars

Here's a short and simple suggestion; use your binoculars when searching for false albacore. When we're covering some ground and burning some fuel, searching for signs of albie activity, it is amazing what we miss with the naked eye. Every time you stop to scan the water, and I encourage you to stop frequently, grab your binoculars and extend your vision. I'm amazed at how often we find a clue, maybe the first bread crumb, at a distance just beyond our sight limit. Those two terns diving can be tough to see, but may be the key to finding the next pod of fish or school of anchovies. If you've had the experience of scanning the horizon, looking, looking, seeing nothing and then once you use your binoculars, you spot 100 gulls diving on bait, you know what I mean.

The key to using your binoculars is keeping them handy. You need a spot where they are secure and protected but readily available. If they are buried in a tote bag in the bottom of the center console or stuffed in the bottom of a locker, you aren't going to dig them out each time you stop. When the boat is rocking, I make a triangle with my index fingers and thumbs and brace the tips of my fingers against my forehead to steady the binoculars. You can also employ tension on the strap to aid in stability.

I like to run the boat at a moderate speed when actively searching for these fish. I find I notice more when we're cruising at 3300 rpm vs. screaming to the next spot. Pause in likely places, areas where you've found fish in the past, water with good movement, and scan the horizon, first unaided and then with your binoculars. You may be astounded at what you'd been missing.

Peter

Capt. Peter Fallon

Gillies & Fallon Guide Service, LLC

False Albacore Cape Cod Week One

Week one of chasing False Albacore around Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard was filled with long runs, warm days, clouds of peanut bunker, and enough albies to keep us smiling and searching for more funny fish. We found fewer instances of wave after wave of surface crashing albies vs last two years and spent more time blind casting (and blind catching) than I ever remember. We burned a lot of fuel, covered a lot of ground, and learned a few things. And we caught fish.

A typical day would start exiting Waquoit Bay in the dark and running to Edgartown to be in place for the 6:08 bite. Once activity and tide slowed significantly there we began searching, checking the outlet to Cape Poge Pond, State Beach and then running the length of the eastern side of the island down to Wasque. Nothing happening there so back through Vineyard Haven Harbor and over to Wood Hole. A few hours in and around Woods Hole and we'd blast to the West End of the canal to work flats and beaches around Onset and Mashnee and then make the run back to Waquoit at sunset.

This past weekend required much less traveling as the albies really picked up their activity in and around Wood Hole. There were pods of fish hanging in Lackey's that were not crashing the surface or making single distinct splashed, but casting to very subtle signs such as nervous water or subsurface flashes really paid off. Wood Hole had both churning water voracious feeds and fish hanging out of sight in the strong current. A little farther down the islands towards Cuttyhunk, there were pods of false albacore happily cruising the surface of the still water. They were the most fun to fish. Make a good cast and you were rewarded.

The most consistently productive locations for us for the week were Wood Hole, Lackey's, Edgartown, and Upper Buzzards Bay. The south shore of the Cape from Falmouth Inner Harbor to New Seabury didn't produce for us, a real change from previous seasons. Of course by today it could be on fire.

When the fish were down, we spent a lot of time fishing structure, working eddy lines, casting around rocks and pilings and boats and we caught a lot of fish this way when nothing seemed to be happening. The traditional small metals and Hogy Epoxies took fish in these spots but the real workhorse was the Albie Snax from Long Cast Plastics. More about techniques and lessons learned later...

Peter

Capt. Peter Fallon

Gillies & Fallon Guide Service, LLC

Quick Maine Striper Fishing Update

Despite continued dirty water, the Kennebec River is still fishing well for striped bass from Bath through Phippsburg to Popham and around to the New Meadows. The combination of a lot of water coming from upcountry rains and some high full moon tides, has the river a mess. Once the stripers are done waking, sighting on the flats is non-existant much past the beaches on the way upriver and running in the dark is not a good idea given the lumber floating around but...the stripers are here and happy to eat.

We fished both fly and spin gear this morning. The Lonley Angler Zipster was far and away the best producer, which makes sense (surface splash, rattle) given the water conditions but we also caught bass on Hollow Flyes, Mushies, small Clousers and surface sliders. The average size of the fish was pretty small this morning, but it really varies day by day, angler by angler, cast by cast.

The guides I know who are drifting live bait back into the surf along the beaches are doing well. We've got some cloudy days on the way, good news, but also some more rain, bad news. Casco Bay should be cleaner and I expect to get over there early next week after a quick trip to fish Boston Harbor again this weekend. If you have the chance to get out and fish, don't let it pass you by.

 

Capt. Peter Fallon

mainestripers.com

Gillies & Fallon Guide Service, LLC

Good Reports on Striper Fishing in Maine

Everything I'm hearing about striper fishing in Maine is supporting what we're finding in the Kennebec River and Eastern Casco Bay. The striped bass are here and in good numbers. The bait is here and nervous, for good reason.

Schools of mixed sizes from under 14 inches to 32 inches were popping to the surface this morning, sometimes for a short burst and other times for a sustained feed. Most of the stripers we found were in 2 to 6 feet of water which was nice to see. The Kennebec is still very muddy. The bass could find the fly, but they would "miss" often and I think it was due to water clarity issues. A little surface splash went a long way in helping the stripers locate the faux meal we were serving.

Tides aren't strong right now, but that isn't a deal breaker by any means. Pay attention to water movement, look for subtle signs on the surface and don't forget to use your ears. The best feed of the day came to our attention from some distance away when we tuned in to the slaps all the way across the river.

Capt. Peter Fallon

Gillies & Fallon Guide Serice, LLC

MaineStripers.com

Striped Bass Update for the Kennebec River

I don't have a striped bass fishing update for the Kennebec River for you as the water is still high and dirty but I'll be back out there Friday evening and over the weekend. Water levels upriver in both the Kennebec and Androscoggin are down significantly from a few days ago but both rivers are running about twice as high as what we were seeing last week before all the rain. That's a lot of water.

Here are a couple of photos that I took at the Kennebec Tavern on Tuesday. Folks there said that they hadn't seen the water that high in the 16 years they'd been there. They have a lot of clean up work ahead but amazingly enough they were hosting the Bath Garden Club Luncheon at the time I was snapping these shots. If you look real close in this first photo you can just make out the pink jackets and summer blouses through the front windows. I suspect that a few extra Manhattans were consumed that afternoon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did hear from a friend who was fishing from shore around the mouth of the Saco yesterday that the water there is starting to clear. He was seeing small schools of breaking fish that stayed well out of casting range.

I expect that I'll be over in Casco Bay for some part of this weekend and for at least two of my charters next week I will fish around Harpswell. Having the Maverick on a trailer is a huge benefit when the weather throws us a curveball.

Here are a couple of thoughts that might help you deal with all of this stained water:

Try fishing dark patterns - olive, purple, black.

Remember that the incoming tide brings cleaner water and the end of the dropping tide will be the muddiest.

Make some commotion on the surface with a popper or gurgler.

If you're chucking hardware, make some noise. Searching with a Rat-L-Trap can be a trip saver.

Find the bait. Everything has been disrupted by the flood waters. As normalcy returns, you need to hit the reset button on your own understanding of what's happening where.

Be very careful out there. There are still trees and logs and stumps and broken up docks and bolts of puplwood and deck furniture floating around. As much as I love to get an early start, I won't be launching until I can see what's ahead of me and I'll be back to the dock before it's truly dark. Also be mindful that the mud flat that you have run across a hundred times my now have a 70 foot oak tree stuck in it, lurking just below the water.

The most amazing thing about this whole event is that the water will drop, and the bait will show and the stripers will eat and we'll be singing the praise of June in Maine.

Capt. Peter Fallon

Gillies & Fallon Guide Service

Mainestripers.com

Scattered Fish Thoughts

Let's play good news, bad news. The good news is that there's great fishing all across Maine and New England right now. Name the species and and it's prime time for that gamefish. The bad news is that the days are now getting shorter. Takeaway lesson: Go Fish.

Just back from an amazing wedding on the Nantucket Lightship down on Martha's Vineyard. Who plans a wedding during peak fishing season? Well, I guess I'm guilty of getting married on the opening weekend of deer season. Sorry about that. And Martha's Vineyard isn't a bad place to spend four days in June if you like to fish. We got to Scituate and decided to avoid the Friday afternoon traffic to the Cape by running my father's boat down to Vineyard Haven. Very smart move. Most travel to wedding's involves flight delays, stops at DSW, searching for a gift. We tangled with bluefin tuna on the way down and back.

I have a tuna problem. I kept it in check last season, trying to stay on task and filling dates with as many striper chartes as possible, but I just LOVE the hunt for big fish.

Do you fish Hogy soft plastics? If not, you should. Both eats from the tuna came on Hogy soft plastic baits. We used Hogy hooks as well, and they stood up well. They've been a hot striper lure for us these past couple of seasons.

The RonZ jig caught multiple scup, bluefish and fluke on Hedge Fence. That lure does it all.

Be sure you keep spare fuel filters and a filter wrench on board at all times. A gallon milk jug is the perfect container for a spent filter until you get back to the dock or ramp. Leaving Vineyard Haven Harbor the On The Fly came up on plane and then slowed to 1200 rpm's on its own. A quick change of the fuel filter and we ran back through the canal, out to Ptown, back to the Gurnett and up to Scituate without incident.

If you are in Portland, Maine, go to Harbor Fish. Even if you don't plan to buy anything. It is the most impressive fish market that I've visited, save the Tsukiji market in Tokyo. Last night we grilled two pieces of sushi grade yellowfin tuna that were spectacular.

No morning trip today. We'll fish the dropping tide this afternoon and then look for stripers pushing up onto the flats with the rising water as the sun gets low. Hope the thunderstorms pass through early or hold off for us. Very busy stretch coming up. Time to re-rig some leaders and get to the grocery store.

Cam Arnett. Seven years old. Learned how to cast a spinning rod yesterday. He loved checking out the shipyard at Bath Iron Works and driving the Wasabi back to the launch ramp. First time he felt a striper hit his lure he said "It felt funny in my heart". How insightful is that observation? I loved it. "It felt funny in my heart."

Capt. Peter Fallon

www.MaineStripers.com

Fly Fishing for Stripers: "What are you using?"

Fly fishermen tend to get very focused on what fly to use. I'm guilty. Come on admit it. You do too. Stripers on the flats, brookies in a beaver pond, browns on a big river, we often ask and hear "what fly are you using?" When we ask, "what worked", we're really asking about the fly that caught fish. The reality is that variables such as presentation, depth, movement, time (of day, of season, tide in saltwater) are usually much more important factors in success than fly selection. But...it's still fun to talk about flies.

Here are three of the four flies that worked for Roger yesterday. [Bottom to top: bubblegum hackled hollow flye, herring grocery fly and black slinky snake fly] The fourth fly was Andy's purple haze Clouser.

We started the day poling a mudflat off a salt marsh with a small creek opening. The tide was dropping but the current in the river really hadn't yet picked up steam. Zero wind and just the right amount of fog made for perfect conditions. The stripers were pushing water and swirling on bait and we could see it all. First fish came soon after we started. A small pod of a couple bass were cruising down the edge of the marsh over some flooded grass. They kindly offered us an ideal presentation as they were tracking straight towards us, set to pass down the left side of the boat. Roger made the cast and two strong strips and then bam! A big swirl then splash and smiles all around.

We played around up on the mudflat for a while. Landed another nice striper, had some other chances and lined a fish or two. Roger showed up this morning with his rod rigged with a small purple over white with pink glimmer Clouser that his long time fishing companion Andy had tied for use on the Morse River. The section of the river where we started our trip was loaded with herring and we could see and hear them flipping on the surface less than 50 yards from where we were fishing but the bass that were feeding on the flat weren't chasing big bait. The "rise form" was far too subtle, just that telltale swirl of a striper slurping something small. Andy's purple haze Clouser wasn't a fancy shrimp imitation but it worked just fine. Roger and I talked about emailing a couple of photos to Andy who was stuck in his office back in Connecticut, but decided that we wanted all of the good fishing karma that we could get.

Once the current in the river picked up the action on the flats slowed down. We ran around for a while, checking some other edges and rips. Only saw one brief blow up in about a foot of water but by the time we could pole up on the fish they were gone. We made the switch to the bubblegum hackled hollow flye and a 350 grain RIO line and started working along ledges that faced the ebbing current. Wasn't long before we tracked down individual stripers coming up to chase a herring. We picked up a couple more fish working the eddy lines and switched to the herring grocery fly just to see if we could discern a preference. Worked..but no better than the hollow flye.

We ran down river to pick up Roger's wife for the last two hours of the charter. Nothing remarkable to report from our prospecting at the mouth of the Kennebec as the tide was filling back onto the flats. We did see Chester Rowe returning from a very successful mackerel outing with two of his longtime clients. Chester kept one eye on the fishfinder screen while cranking in mac after mac but never saw a big arch under the schools of striper bait.

 Our last stop was on another mudflat adjacent to a marsh and creek. Roger was surprised when I clipped off the Clouser and replaced it with the black slinky snake fly. He remarked that he often used a black snake fly when fishing at night but never would have considered using it at noon. I'm a big fan of black, olive and purple in stained to murky water over a mud bottom at anytime of day. The wind was up and the sky still overcast, so we had no visibility down into the water but it wasn't long before we found fish giving themselves away. It wasn't quite sightcasting, but if we could get the fly in the area where a fish had just swirled it resulted in an explosion and then that sweet sound of zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. These were also pudgy stripers, dark in color and absent sea lice, just like all of the other fish we had landed.

Roger and I kept talking about how much fun it is to cast to fish that you can see and to catch striped bass in skinny water. We really enjoyed ourselves. Roger was thrilled to kick off his Maine striper season with some success. Hope you get out wherever you are. It's June and all over New England, now is the time to fish.

Capt. Peter Fallon

www.MaineStripers.com

Here's One Pattern That's Producing

Snake Fly.

Very cooperative fish in the shallow water again this morning. Maybe not as many on the flats as last Friday, but still happy to eat what we put in front of them. The north wind was just enough to influence how and where we cast but not so pesky that we were cursing it.

I notice that my box of Snake Flies is almost empty. Yikes! I've been going through them for the past four weeks at a good clip. I fish a lot of smaller (size 2) ones on the flats and will choose tiny (sizes 6 and 4) when the fish are finicky. If the stripers are in the mood to chase I go bigger. Olive is my first choice on the mud flats, but I also tie them in black, in purple and in white. The tiny ones look a lot like a Muddler Minnow.

Check out some of the other pattern instructions that  Capt. Jeff Smith has on his website. He's a great guide and innovative tier who fishes the waters around Cape Cod.

I might have seen bass popping young of the year alwives at the end of the dropping tide this morning. As Homer Simpson would say, "Hmmmmmm...alwives."

Capt. Peter Fallon
www.MaineStripers.com

Making me think

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to spend a full, fabulous day on the water guiding Kirk Deeter and his wife (she's a wicked good angler). Kirk is an editor-at-large at Field & Stream, editor of Angling Trade, author of a number of excellent fly fishing books and a guide on waters near his home in Colorado. I'll add a post in the near future about our day together and what I learned from Kirk but for right now I thought I'd post my comment to his current blog post about guiding on Field & Stream's Fly Talk:

Kirk - I really appreciate your thoughts on guiding and a guide’s responsibilities because it makes me reflect on my work, my mission, my weaknesses and my strengths.

In the last two weeks I’ve had two clients come back to fish with me, carrying new rods and reels that they had purchased after their experience in my boat. They were ecstatic about their new set-ups. I found myself thinking “that’s they way it’s supposed to work” in reference to the relationship between tackle manufacturers, guides and consumers: guide chooses gear based on personal preference and experience (not based on best discount)…manufacturer helps get that gear into guides hands by offering discounts…consumer tries gear with guide then goes out and buys what they liked.

Well, as you so clearly pointed out, that’s not what it’s all about. The ultimate goal from the industry prospective shouldn’t be just to sell one more rod but to add one more dedicated, passionate participant to the sport (or a segment of the sport new to that angler.) If a guide succeeds in that mission than all of us reading this blog know how many rods that angler will buy over a lifetime of fishing. More importantly, that angler may teach their kids to fish, join a conservation organization, write a letter to state rep, buy out of state licenses and find fulfillment in being on the water.

I know I’m staying tuned to hear more about what you think about higher standards, higher expectations for the guiding industry.

Check out Kirk's blog. Lots of good thought provoking posts. If you read Gordon's recent post "Clearing the Line..." you'll enjoy this earlier post, Reel Dumb Advice, on Fly Talk that Kirk wrote after our day  together chasing stripers. When you can tear yourself away from the computer remember to get out and go fishing. This stretch of mostly stable, south-southwesterly weather flow has really turned on the flats fishing. The fish have been agressive and not very selective EARLY in the morning. Figure out how early you can drag your butt out of bed, set your alarm clock then reset the alarm for at least an hour earlier. You'll be glad you did so once you're on the water.

Capt. Peter Fallon

www.MaineStripers.com

Shallow Water Striper Fishing

The last three days have been a lot of fun. Either the fish that have been hiding out in or off the river are becoming more active or we've had a push of new bass move into our waters. I suspect that it the latter, but until I get my acoustical tags I'll have to keep on guessing.

  We were lines in by 4:15 Monday morning. Despite our early start we didn't find any stripers until the water just started to rise at 5:00. We were perfectly positioned to have single and double waking fish pass by us as they cruised in a foot of water, up a bar and turned the corner to move onto the flat. We only took one fish just over the slot in that spot but had lots of fun for about 45 minutes. With no wind the water was glassy calm and we could see these bulges of water pushing towards us from a hundred yards away.

We prospected on a couple of other flats with no sign of fish and then moved out to cast into the surf that was rolling up on the island off the mouth of the river. Nothing but mackerel out there that we could find. About half tide we were back on fish in shallow water with just enough sunlight and water clarity to see them fairly close to the boat and get an idea of what they were up to. The water was too deep to expect wakes and we saw no swirls or splashes but could watch the stripers grubbing on the bottom in an area rich with crabs and shrimp. We couldn't spot fish way off and plot our cast, but we could get an idea of where the fish were milling and cruising and make some quick, short casts. The crab flies were the ticket. Didn't try any shrimp imitations so can't report on their effectiveness.

We finished our 12 hour marathon by working the deeper ledges on the bottom of the tide as we headed back upriver, finding fish willing to eat at every stop. The water is still amazingly muddy in the Kennebec at this stage of the tide but the bass could find what we were tossing. This wasn't fly water so we went to the  1 oz. Lunker City Pro Jig with 5 3/4 inch Fin-S-Fish. This is my stand by jig choice, versatile and effective - sinks readily, great action, quality hook, catches fish.

Tuesday was in many ways similar to Monday, without the light later in the morning. We didn't see as many waking fish. Maybe it was the tide being an hour later, maybe it was the guy who kept trolling back and forth close off our bow right in the travel lane for the fish, maybe it was just a different day. We had a number of shots but just couldn't put it together. Fishing with Roger and John is always a blast. These guys can cast, tie gorgeous and effective flies and know how to catch fish.

We messed around chasing a big lone fish on another mud flat before moving to find the crab patrol bass. They were cooperative and it was fun to see them act just as I expected. I told Roger and John to "think nymphing", that the takes would be subtle and come when the fly was right on the bottom and the bass would spit more than they could imagine. After a few minutes Roger kept exclaiming "it's just like nymphing, it's just like nymphing...that hit was nothing like a classic striper take." Roger was dialed in and took a number of fish. We haven't had many stripers in Maine that are under 20 inches and we all rejoiced at finding some schoolies. The best fish of the day spit the hook on Roger after five minutes through no fault of his. Played perfectly it was one of those fishing moments where you toss up your hands and have no thoughts of what you could have done differently.

When we lost the water movement we made a big move. Roger and John made a quick trip back to the Gun Club to check in and announce that there were more fish still to be caught. I hauled out at Morse Cove, relaunched in the New Meadows and picked up John and Roger to fish the top of the dropping tide under perfect cloudy skies. It took us some exploring to find the flat that the fish were favoring but there was no mistaking where they were when one of Roger's casts caused thirty fish to swirl and bolt. They didn't go far and four casts later the Gurgler was harassed and finally inhaled by a nice fish. We caught a few more and then...they were gone. We then found actively feeding fish under diving birds for the first time in weeks. The stripers were spread out and coming up as singles, but once again the Gurgler was the perfect call on Roger's part. Can you guess what I was tying last night after another 12 hour day (I had to do some prospecting on my own after Roger and John headed home to stay married) while sipping a Bud, listening to the Sox and trying to stay awake until 9:00?

Capt. Peter Fallon
www.MaineStripers.com

Maine Striper Fishing Info

I’m sitting in front of the Sox game, answering emails, enjoying the transition from winter to summer and thinking about striper fishing. Andrew D. sent as a question about what lures we recommend for targeting striped bass below the Topsham – Brunswick dam on the Androscoggin River. Thought I’d share my response to Andrew:

I’m a huge fan of soft plastics such as Sluggos and Fin-S-Fish and Hogys . They’re ideal baits for the swirling waters below the Topsham Dam. I fish them weighted and unweighted. I’ll add them to a bare jig head or onto a bucktail jig and work the entirety of the water column. When I fish them without any significant weight I’ll occasionally crank them fast so that they skitter and splash across the surface but usually like to dead drift them. I’ll cast across the current and let the lure swing downstream, occasionally adding a twitch. I’ll also cast up current and reel up slack as the bait comes back towards me.

I use all sizes of the above lures over the course of a season. I’d focus on imitating the big bait that draws the bass to the Topsham Dam in late May and June. Even though the Hogys and Sluggos  aren’t shaped like the alewives, they work really well when the stripers are focused on such large bait. I’d sling the 10 and 14 inch Hogys and the 9 and 12 inch Sluggos.

Rubber crank baits such as the Storm Wild Eye Shad also take some really nice fish at Topsham. There are lots of different brands and colors to choose from. Again, go big.

When the water’s dirty I’ll spend some time casting a large Rat-L-Trap. The vibration and noise can lead to some ferocious takes. When the tide slows or when you see fish follow you lure but not commit to eating it, try a big spook style top water plug. I’m partial to the Lonely Angler Zipster but fish a variety of spooks. Watching the fish slap, toss and inhale a top water lure is hard to beat.

Hope you weathered the winter well. Won’t be long before the alewives start running up the Kennebec and Andro and the stripers will be right behind them.

Send us your questions. We'll happily share our insights and opinions. See you on the water before long.

Peter

Capt. Peter Fallon
www.MaineStripers.com

Plug Of The Year

If you follow our reports or send us questions, you know that we spend a lot of time striper fishing in 6 feet of water or less. Last season this passion for chasing Maine stripers in shallow water became a necessity, as our focus on the flats was absolutely the most consistent ticket to success. Both Gordon and I swear by soft plastics, tie our own jigs and carry boxes of various crank baits but our go to lure in the skinny water is a spook style plug made by Lonely Angler.

Fishing top water is a blast. Combine the visual stimuli of sight casting with the surface eruptions of a striper tail slapping, charging, and inhaling a floating lure and you'll be addicted. This is light-tackle spin casting at it's best.

Your casting accuracy is rewarded and there are times when this can be pretty technical and demanding fishing. Blind casting a spook can be a fantastic fish finding technique (I'll even remove all the hooks and prospect with one for fly anglers when sighting conditions are poor and the fish aren't waking or swirling on the surface) but key to success on the flats is training yourself to spot fish. Land any plug 2 feet beyond a 28 inch striper that is cruising in 28 inches of water and that fish is gone, in a hurry. We all talk about the importance of not "lining fish" when we're sight casting with a fly rod. You'd be amazed at how quickly a pod of striped bass flee when 10 lb. test braided line (diameter of 2 lb. test mono) lands on the water above them in these environments. Some days the bass charge the spooks from thirty feet away and swallow the whole plug with abandon. Other days your cast needs to land much closer ( but not too close) and at the proper angle to the approaching fish and you've got to convince that fish to eat it. Twitch, twitch...pause...twitch, slam.

Can you discover the pattern that drives the fish to eat on that particular flat on that particular day? Do they want a quiet, constant retrieve? Is fast and splashy the ticket? Will they hit the floating baitfish imitation again and again until you succeed at setting the hook or is it a one-and-done day? Can you tell the difference between a tail slap and a big bass trying to eat the plug? Do you have the patience to hold off on setting the hook until you feel the weight of the fish? Can you do all this an hour before dawn or an hour after sunset? How about when you spot a bass over 40 inches in 2 feet of water swimming towards the boat?

Every top water addict has their favorite spook-style lure. They all catch fish and they all entertain. If you've been dependent on poppers for surface action, you owe it to yourself to expand your repertoire. If you need to buy some tackle to help you through these early spring days of waiting for the bass to return, check out the Lonely Angler website. If you'd like to learn more about how and where and when we fish these incredibly productive lures, give us a call or send us an email to book your outing.

Capt. Peter Fallon
www.mainestripers.com

Sluggos on the ledges...Maine Striper Fishing Update

No trip yesterday and too nice to not to be on the water so my wife and I went exploring and relaxing in Casco Bay. We didn't fish hard. My next charter isn't until Tuesday and it is back in the Kennebec, so I've got Monday to work to find fish. We stopped at Holbrook's Lobster Wharf for lunch, anchored in the lee of Ragged Island to read the Sunday paper and swim and worked a number of the islands and outcroppings looking for stripers.

There are plenty of pollack off the ledges. With the mackerel much more scattered, the pollack are the easiest live bait to find right now. I didn't put a circle hook through any yesterday, but the swell rolling up onto the islands was too tempting to pass up so I spent some time tossing Sluggos into the whitewater.

I tend to start with a white 7 1/2 inch Sluggo rigged with a tru turn baitholder and a 5/0 60 or 90 jig hook. I'll wrap solder around the shank of the hook and sometimes add Lunker City insert weights towards the tail of the Sluggo. If I have two anglers fishing Sluggos, I'll mix up the color to see if something else will out-fish the white. I keep a supply of 7 1/2 inch white, black, alewife, Arkansas shiner and bubblegum colors on the boat. Lately I've been experimenting with limetruse and the new squid colors. I find myself using the 7 1/2 inch size in place of the 6's almost all of the time. I like the 9's when I'm targeting bigger fish as opposed to prospecting for fish.

Yesterday afternoon some of the fish hit just as the Sluggo started to sink into the green, foaming water. Others whacked it after letting it drop with no retrieve. All of the fish that I caught where tight to the ledges. There was enough of a breeze that I often couldn't see if the fish were following it off the rocks but not taking it. By 6:30 PM I was finding fish that would chase the Sluggo as I twitched it right across the surface of the water.

After a week of mostly fishing deep (1 oz or more jigs or 450 grain lines with a cement Clouser) it was nice to be back working visible structure and whitewater.

Rain and Runoff

No drought concerns here in Maine. With all of the runoff from recent rains the rivers are murky, clouded with silt. The fish remain active and when you find surface action they will find your fly or lure. Fishing away from the blitzes or below the smaller fish the challenge is getting your offering noticed in the coffee with cream colored water.

A lure or fly that incorporates a rattle transmits vibrations that the bass detect with the sensitive receptors of their lateral lines. A jig or Clouser bounced along the bottom also appeals to senses not handicapped by the turbid water. Flies featuring spun deer hair heads are thought to "push water". A gurgler or popper can be an excellent fly for these conditions.

Chartreuse is always a popular color on the Kennebec, no matter the water clarity. In these poor visibility conditions I like the following color combinations: yellow/olive, chartreuse/olive, olive/black, purple, purple/black. I'll also try patterns tied entirely out of flash material such as angel hair.

Don't let the stirred up water hold you back. As I write this, I am watching fish busting on the surface out in front of the house. Gotta go...

Capt. Peter Fallon
www.mainestripers.com