Hello all,
I’ve posted here a few times before but not at all recently, so hello again. I’m in the proccess of planning a trip with my brother to Maine in June to celebrate my college graduation. Needless to say I’m excited.
We’re hoping to spend 5 days fishing and would like to get a nice variety of fishing in. LL Salmon, Brookies, and Stripers are our main targets.
Right now we are thinking of hitting up the Kennebec near The forks and somewhere near Bath along the coast to get into some schoolies. Could anyone point me in the right direction in these areas for camping, fly shops, and some waters between these two areas. I’m not looking for any honeyholes just a little guidance. Anything will help.
Thank you,
Ryan
There are a couple on Mainiacs on the board who can give you better advice as to where to fish, flyshops, etc.
As your going at the start of Black Fly Season, carry lots of really good insect repellent. Don’t let more than two of them land on you or you’ll never be seen again.
When you are in Maine in June, be sure to stop at the roadside food shacks that advertise their lobster sandwiches. Nothing but Lobster pieces on a piece of folded bread, drenched in melted butter…think you had died and gone to heaven!
Mantis ain’t kidding about the black flies. I went up for a weekend about 2 junes ago and had a good time. There’s a great little fly shop about 15 minutes north of Skowhegan on the road up to the forks and they should be able to help you out. Try the campground in Solon and behind the soccer fields in the forks. At that time of year, they are drawing down the reserviors a bit from the spring melt, so both the kenebec and the dead rivers have big releases for the kayakers. There is a 1-800 number for release times. From the bridge in the middle of the forks, I watched the Kenebec come up 5 or 6 feet in about 2 minutes one day, so don’t mess around.
Stoneflies up there are something to behold, at first glance, I thought they were some kind of mini ciceda. Tie them BIG!
Here are two places to contact for the information you are after. I suggest contacting Mike at the first and he will help you as his shop is on the Kennebec. He will be gone until the 14th of Feb. So you will have to wait for him to get back from Florida.
[url=http://www.maineflyfishing.com/:0e38f]http://www.maineflyfishing.com/[/url:0e38f]
This is a good shop right on the coast and will know the in’s and out’s of what is going on with the stripers. Ron
[url=http://www.eldredgeflyshop.com:0e38f]www.eldredgeflyshop.com[/url:0e38f]
[This message has been edited by RonMT (edited 07 February 2006).]
Good advice above, and not much more to add. As you drive up the Kennebec, you might want to stop in Waterville/Winslow. Stripers run to the Lockwood Dam (and there is a lift there for Atlantic Salmon, etc) at the old brick factory featured in the resent Oscar winner “Empire Falls”, and the park on the Winslow side has the blockhouse from a 1812 fort, not to mention wadable striper fishing.
Om the weekend of June 17th, the good people from the Maine bulletin board Fly Fishing in Maine have their annual conclave, this year on the Chain of Ponds. I would either go there to see them OR avoid those area waters entirely -grin. Click on their/our homepage to see the 6 pound brook trout - but remeber that its posted because these are absolutely not typical! [url=http://www.flyfishinginmaine.com:f1d9f]www.flyfishinginmaine.com[/url:f1d9f]
Make sure to bring cigars and good insect repellent for the black flies, if you have never dealt with them before. My buddy came up from Louisiana for a canoe trip in northern Maine a couple years ago and he got turned into a pin cushion by the swarming black flies. They also bit me and my other friends, but we’re used to them after years of float trips and the bites really don’t bug us anymore, if you’ll pardon the pun.
If you head up the road from Solon a little bit more (Rte. 201) you can find some good backcountry fishing around Jackman, Maine, in ponds in the area. This might be a good option if the rivers are high.
Ask around a bit and, as Kat mentioned, check out the flyfishing in Maine board.
Kat, I just finished tying 2 doz flies for our contribution from FFinNH to FFinME for the Conclave raffle. As for the Stripers. If your driving up, I would check out the MA & NH coast. Plumb Island in MA has some great Striper fishing. If the tides are right you could stop on your way. It’s only 10 minutes off of Rt 95. As for the bugs in ME, do you think those funny looking screne hats in the LL Bean catalog are just for tourist? LOL
[This message has been edited by StephenPrunier (edited 08 February 2006).]
Blackflies?? In THIS state??
Seriously, if you’re the type who reacts, and I’ll confess that I am, there’s nothing like nets, Buzz-off clothing, full bug jackets, chemicals, mud, cigars (well, not me-grin). Those little buggers kept the wild in wilderness for hundreds of years before that stuff… The subspecies up by Mt Katahdin isn’t even crushable rolled between fingertips.
But mostly, they’re cooperative. Still worth the trip!
Montauklax
Sounds like a good trip. Hey, don’t let the blackflies bother you,unless five or more gang up. If they do, they’ll drag you back in the woods and have their way! Seriously, get some Bens 100,works great. If you have time, go a little furhter north on Rte 1 to Grand lake stream and fish for some LL salmon. Great time of the year for salmon. Stop in at the general store and say hi to Curt and ask him whats biting. He has a small,but well stocked supply of flies and other goodies. BTW, they are used to fisherman stopping by with their waders on, so just go in. The stream is in their back yard. I’m from PA but I love to fish that stream
As for the Black Flies I wouldn’t worry about them to much. I was there for 12 days a few years ago fishing and got a total of 12 bites. And we were all over the state. The folks there kept telling me I was going to get hammered by them. Seems the folks that were with me got it good. For some reason they didn’t like me that much? Either that or the Maine folks are sweeter? Ron
I’ll echo some earlier comments-check the Maine boards posted above. They are loaded with good info and good people.
I did a similar trip through Maine a few years back in late June and had a great time. The Kennebec is a big river and holds some great fish if you can find them. Water levels can be an issue though from dam releases. There is a camp in Solon called Evergreens that has pretty good, affordable cabins and tent sites-best though is it’s location right on the Kennebec. Feel free to email me for details.
Thank you for all the replies. I’m pretty excited about the trip and I’ve been gathering lots of info this past week, I’ll be sure to use some of the input I got here for my trip.
As for the blackflies, I have some experience with them from fishing here in the Adirondacks. The buzz-off and insect repellent will be in full effect. That brookie in the photo would be a nice suprise but I’m really just looking to get into some fish and see a new area.
Thanks again,
Ryan
Ron