News from Kennebago

Last week I, finally, got my chance to guide an old friend and his grandson. John and I have been friends for a long time and he had always promised to come to Maine and enjoy the vast vacationland we have. He and his wife travel the country in a motorhome and have been just about everywhere. I have always told him I was a guide and did this for others and would love to show him what I do and share what I love. John is "from away" not a Mainer. He finally decided to include Maine in their travels. The best part of their visit was that their 15 year old grandson came along. He is from New Jersey and I reckon the fly fishing around there is pretty scarce. He had experience with saltwater but that is far from fresh water skills. It was my job to teach him to flyfish and then take him to where he could catch fish, testing his new skills. It was a plan come together and I had a chance to combine teaching and guiding all in one. Of course I took them to Kennebago, where else would you go to learn the art of fly fishing. It just wouldn't be right to teach it anywhere else. The lad was a quick learner and inside of 30 minutes he was throwing a line with skill and charm. Now it was time for me to leave the educator roles and become the guide. Away we went to the bridge at 4 corners and with a few casts he had caught a trout in fact several . Now the story drifts a bit. Since he showed talent and patience I "guided" him and John to several spots I know in the area. All guides have "special" spots and I shared them with John and Eric. So over the three days he managed to catch several salmon of size and many trout. The boy is a natural talent and will spend many long hours perfecting his style of fly fishing. I really enjoyed meeting the challenge of starting from scratch and finalizing it with fish on the line. Not many guides get to do that. I also was asked to find a moose for them to see. Now we all know that these beasts are more a bother than anything else but if you are in Maine you want to see a moose. Most use can just look in the nearest swampy area and there they will be. We take seeing them as a normal occurrance but to some it is a treat. Since they were camped at cupsuptic campground, I sent them down route 16 thru to Stratton and back. Better known as "moose alley" and they saw one. I was surprised that they only saw one but he did the trick and all were happy. I guess my point here is Not to take things for granted here in Maine cause what we see as normal everyday sights are new and exciting for those from "away".
I do have good news about the road on the Rangeley side into Kennebago. It is in good condition and travelable. In fact I met a grader at about mile 7 and he was happily smoothing the road. I can't say about the Eustis side, we didn't travel it, but from what I have been told it is in good shape too. the rain has not done much damage. The water was surprisingly lower than expected and the fish were jumping all over the place. We took fish on small grey sedges and emergers. No real hatches but a few "almost" hatches, resulting in emergers. I figure that with some decent weather the hatches should come like clockwork. they have been held down for so long by the rains that the fishing should be fast and wild.
So I am going to keep this short so I can get ready to go fishing myself. My fishing partner Jim still is without wheels cause his daughter crunched his truck but as always he and I will figure a way to throw a line, we always have. Keep your fingers crossed for the sunny weather and Remember there is always time to fish. A pastor friend of mine once told me that God does not take away from your span of days for days spent fishing. Sure hope he's right then I'll live forever. Be safe all and have a great week Joe

Rain Ramblings

Noah would have been proud of all this rain. I don’t think I have seen this much continuous rain since I was in SE Asia monsoons. There is only one saving grace to this. Rain does not get fish wet, they are wet already, BUT the fisherman is another story altogether. Being wet to the skin, all your gear is soaked and you have water standing in the pockets of your vest is really not much fun. I don’t care what anyone says. Been there done that and got the T-shirt, I don’t need it. Yet all of us would be first in line if we thought we might catch a nice salmon or a 16+ trout. Right???? Fishing in the rain can be very productive and really a lot of fun. But this stuff we have now is totally ridiculous. I think it has rained for 30 + days straight. I really don’t think there is anyway anyone can even come close to matching whats in the water or experiment with a new fly. The water is roaring thru every stream, over all the banks and you cant get near the water with a big boat. The last time I was at Kennebago bridge, we sloshed thru 10 miles of mud, washouts and just plain rough road for not even a strike. We launched the canoe about 7 feet up the bank and then paddled to our normal put-in spot. Now that is insane. Is it ever going to stop raining? As soon as the sun comes out for 2 days straight you can count on Jim and I being at a few spots where we know the hatches will be happening. The hatches are way over due and even the larvas have floatation vest on right now.

To drift away from fishing for a second or two, this rain is raising pure chaos with the dirt roads coming into Kennebago for either side. The Canada road from 4 corners is in pretty fair shape so you can get to the little lake but then it isn’t traveled much except by folks who have camps on the lake. All the rain has forced the rocks up into the roadway and the ditches are flowing over the road in several places. Plus these roads are usually made out of dirt, clay, small gravel and anything else available. So when this stuff gets as much water as we have had it does not drain well and you have mud, slippery roads and wash outs. So if by some chance the sun does peek out for a day be very careful on the roads into four corners. What you think is maybe good hard pack, may in fact be a slippery mess and you end up with winches, ropes and all that spring time gear. This is experience talking here folks. I have buried my Dodge many times on lots of places on the Lincoln pond road. It sure screws up the fishing pretty quick. A friend of mine runs heavy equipment in the Stratton area and he said even his rigs are swimming and sliding everywhere. If a skidder has a problem you can pretty much figure your truck is going have a little rough time.

My truck, a 1996 Dodge 1/2T 4X4 with extra suspension and a few extra things I had added at the factory, is a great truck. Oh yes I bought it new and had it built just the way I wanted it. I don’t usually brag about any brands or anything like that but this one I really have to. I ordered it just the way I wanted it with extras that are no longer available for trucks. The best part is that it will go anywhere I want to go and want more. I have even driven up river beds with it. It’s not pretty because it has no chrome but it has no rust or anything else. From the outside it looks like a normal Dodge truck but when you head into the back country and start to get into tough going that’s where it shines. It has 124,000 miles and I take care of it faithfully. There is absolutely nothing on this truck that has anything to do with a car. It has a truck version of the 318 engine and trans, suspension from a ¾ T and it could move a mountain if I could hook on to it. The place where I bought it, have been really good about all the things I have done to it. I far from ready to trade it but even the mechanics are waiting for me to trade so they can buy from the dealership. It DOES have a reputation. Bottom Line, I do not praise or use name brands in vain nor do I advertise for them but this truck has earned its way and deserves to be mentioned. So when the going gets tough with all this rain and mud and sloppy roads, have no fear cause I will get there and all because I have a real guide’s truck. Jim has a cute little “wanna-be” truck, a Dakota. Its nice, red and comfy but for some reason when it gets tough going we always take my truck. I do have to chuckle a little about that.This is the long and short of my addition for this week so far. Got a guiding trip next week, sure hope they like the rain maybe we will go “rainbow” fishing, until then be safe, keep the camp fires burning and the fish are already wet so bent rods and keep the tips up Joe