Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Blue Steele
Right?
There's little chance that a trout would hold in water looking like that, right? Not even behind that stump, where there's a little slack water, right? Right. But what about on river left, in that tiny little eddy? There isn't a holdover over there saying to himself, "This sucks, I'm hungry," right? Right.
But what about on the other side of the bridge? There's that big eddy there. No fish holding on in that eddy waiting for anything to float into their 1.5" visibility range, right? Or what about at the tail of the eddy where you can get a nice swing right in front of that tree? Not even a little bass holding there, right? No fish holding next to the undercut bank, right? Right.
No catching today, right? Right. No bumps, right? Right. Can't even see your own fly, right? Right. Definitely not worth staying at home though, right?
Right.
Monday, June 29, 2009
the old man cometh
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
G Dubs: Scourge of the Sea
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Salmon Confessions
Occaisonally trips come together on a moment's notice, and occaisonally you take advantage of those trips despite your schedule. These trips, the trips where little forward thought is put into the details, are the trips that produce big fish. Some of you have traveled to this destination with and without me, and we've all seen some big fish in this stretch.....cough...Robbins....cough.....
This 18" fish broke the ice for us around 2 p.m as we fished within the spray of the mighty waterfall (late arrival as we fished upriver in the morning)
After nailing a few small ones, we moved downstream to some slick water and essentially observed the surface until around 5 p.m when the fish began to rise, slowly at first, and then with more frequency, until finally it was an all out Salmon blitz. You had your choice of the 20" fish three feet to your right or the 25" fish 15 yards in front of you....it was rediculous.
We fished until it was too dark to see the rises, our arms tired from endless casting, and our spirits high from nailing so many fish. It was easily a 50 fish afternoon between the two of us, and the stretch of water we fished after 5 p.m produced fish from 17-23" consistently......an epic evening!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Huh??

Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
a few things from the season
on a side note, he is a surgeon, and after boiling down what was left after the fillets were removed he went in there and picked out enough meat to make himself a chowder thick with stiper. without touching the fillets! really good meat he said, rich, like lobster.

and here is a frind with a very big fish. his boca grip told him 52 lbs. early the next morning it tipped the scales at 50.8 lbs. as it flapped about my mind could only express itself in one or two words followed by a long pause as it tried to wrap itself around the presence of this fish...still not sure if it has done so yet...
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Fishing in the Far East

Recently I had the privilege of finding out about this blog, via Mr. Robbins, and couldn't help but want to share my own fishing experiences in the Far East. Recently I took a trip to China where I witnessed two methods of fishing I had never seen before, and one I had never even heard about. Neither method involved fishing in the traditional sense, with lures or nets, but both were intriguing none the less. Both were witnessed in the river and bogs of a rural part of China known as Yangshuo, about an hour and a half bus ride outside Guilin. The first involved the use of tamed Cormorants tied to a pole held on the back


Wednesday, June 10, 2009
the merits of the spin rod
the spin rod is a straight up fish catching machine. spots previously explored with the fly rod shrink within the scope of these things. depths become readily probeable. distance becomes easily covered. current speaks many new languages with the spin rod. readily accessible pockets of potential abound.
from the various types of plugs to the various types of jigs to the dropper fly and beyond, the spin rod has much to offer the curious fisherman. using the spin rod i have found fish in places i did not previously know they were. i have caught fish in ways i did not know they could be caught.
and i can honestly say that this season i have caught far more 20+pound stripers than i have less than keeper size fish. i can't really fathom it myself, but this is true. in my experience, when you hook a fish with the spin rod, it could more than likely grace your table that night. and i am not even a very good fisherman. but i am learning, and my understanding of the ways and means of these fish has grown considerably since consistantly fishing the spin rod.
the spin rod did not always tickly my fancy. it appeared not to hold much gratification. they seemed bland and clumsy and just so regular...i felt as though i was fishing with my feet.
but at that point in my development as a fisherman i was in fact fishing with my feet. not literally of course, but looking back at my previous fishing self i was trying to pluck fish from the water with my toes or throw a ball with my left hand. the fly rod offered me an opposable thumb on a dominant hand with which to pick through the ways and means of the waters with method and precision. it opened an avenue for me to exercise my will on the water.
the spin rod took that state of mind and had it chug a sparx...
for the past month and a half i have consistantly been catching the biggets fish i ever caught. it happened again last night.
the spin rod is an amazing fishing tool that quickly covers many bases. but the fly rod is still a superior presentation instrument. and i feel that soon i will take what i have learned from the spin rod and put it back into the fly rod and then we shall see what happens...
in any event, i would highly recomment the spin rod and its many manners of lure to any angler who wishes to expand their understanding of the ways and means of, in my case, the striped bass. the jig is an absolutely amazing method for finding the exact location of holding fish and now i know where some very large fish gather. now after them with the fly rod...
Deadly Eight Hour Dead River Caddis Hatch: 6-2-09
Several respectable Salmon up to 18" came to net. Not bad I thought, given the way the morning had started, and given that I never had truely given any respect to this spot. Only thing that could make this better would be to have a few fish rising......wish granted.
After losing a couple of fish in the swift current, I started getting into them hard. I landed a handfull of really nice 16" chubby brookies, followed by at least a half dozen brookies and salmon in the 12" range.
It was getting on toward 3 p.m, the caddis were still exploding, and I figured I would move back upstream to the original hole, fish for an hour or so, and then hop on the bike for the 60 mile ride home.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Dip Free is the Way to Be

Saturday, June 6, 2009
Spencer Lake 5/22-25
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Trekking for Trout 5-30-09
After a long slog out in sweaty waders we finished our day at this location, a pond where large wild brook trout and salmon lurk and often feed on the surface this time of year. The winds unforunately did not cooperate until the last half hour or so of light, and even then they were still a little too present.
We chased a handfull of rises, alternately taking the roll of "guide". "Wilkie, there's a rise over there" paddle, paddle, cast, cast. "Oh shit, Robbins, 15 feet to your right at two o'clock", cast, wait, cast, wait.
Eventually I hooked and battled a beast of a salmon of around 20" as Robbins cursed at it from the bow of the boat......"thats right bitch, don't mess with us or your ass will get stung" or something along those lines, as he aggressively made hand motions at the jumping fish.
The fish made a run at the boat, still tight on my line, and it made a quick leap within striking distance of both of us.....we watched as the fly floated from the mouth of the great native, and Robbins' salmon insults were quieted. A couple of fist bumps, some smiles and a few laughs, who could be upset with this day, the day that the trout and salmon had tired us so much that we cared not about losing trophy salmon......hell, what an outing.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Fly Fishing Film Tour; This Thursday.....
I'm damn certain that there will be a host of fly fishing characters from Maine that we have known virtually through various blogs and forums attending this event, and I think it would be pretty solid to have a big BFC presence.
Hope to see some of you fools there; I will be fishing Friday if anyone is interested.
To purchase tickets visit: https://www.flyfishingfilmtour.com/Tickets/VenueTicketQuantity.asp?VId=ILLL