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Date: May 12, 2024 Body of Water: Hancock Pond - Denmark, Maine Boat: amybaby22 With: Alone Target: Brown Trout Time: 8 AM - 12:15 PM Moon Phase: Waxing crescent moon Conditions: Starting cool, clear and bright, but with clouds developing; flat calm with a weak, intermittent northwesterly breeze developing at 10; 45 - 60 degrees. Water temperatures 54 - 57 degrees F (+/-); thick midge hatch! With stripers on their way, I knew this could be the end of my Spring Trout Season. It's been a good one, and I accepted the challenge of a difficult pond on what looked to be a difficult day; there was always the chance that I'd learn something, or connect with another fine (or finer!) brown or two. Lines were in by 8 AM; I went with a pair of "Old Faithfuls" including a top-lined Thomas Eel (200 feet back!) and an orange DB Smelt off two colors of lead. I chose to troll with the main motor and cover water at 2.0-2.5 mph in search of that first, elusive bite. I concentrated on major structural elements and depths between 15 and 30 feet of water. It took 45 minutes for the first strike. The DB Smelt got ripped over 25 feet of water. The hit was violent, but the hooks did not find flesh. Still, I was glad to see that I remained in a zone where something good could happen. The same presentation got hammered about 45 minutes later, this time in the same area but a little shallower, perhaps 16 feet of water. This fish pulled some drag before the hooks pulled, before I could even get to the rod. With two solid strikes in 90 minutes, I couldn't really complain, and I still had plenty of time make something happen. All the while, I varied the top-line presentation. I introduced another "Old Faithful", an F9 Rapala in gold/black (a stealthy 200 feet back) and also swam an orange Arctic Fox tube fly behind an action disk, top-lined 150 feet back. I was seeing plenty of trout feeding on the midges just sub-surface; I had quite a bit of faith that a surface-feeding trout might fall for the top-line. At 10 AM, I made a move to the "reef" area that had produced a trout the previous weekend. A mild breeze had started, and I wanted to cover some new water. In 45 minutes, this area showed nothing, although I did learn that last week's trout may have been associated with a hidden hump topping out at 3 feet and dropping off quickly into 30. I switched tactics to Gulp! and electric trolling; and when the first couple of passes in this reef area produced just a couple of "taps" (perch?), I moved back to the main point where I'd encountered my two biters earlier in the day. On my first pass here, moving at 1.7 mph over about 21 feet of water, a heavy fish simply pulled back the Gulp! rod. It seemed to be moving the same speed as the boat, with the rod just slightly loaded. I held the rod and wound down; I half expected the dead weight of weeds, but a few long head-shakes belied the presence of a fish. And just as I settled in for the fight, the hook pulled. Now 0-for-3, I continued the search for another 45 minutes. The breeze died and the midges became insufferable. I thought I could outlast the trout, but I'd struck out. What do I have to say about this? I hate striking out, but it does happen. And I'd been so close to something good! Foul balls and missed swings are just part of the game. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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Date: May 11, 2024 Body of Water: Worthley Pond - Peru, Maine Boat: amybaby22 With: Alone Target: Trout Time: 8:45 AM - 4 PM Moon Phase: New moon plus four days; waxing crescent Conditions: Clear and bright to start, but with increasing clouds and some very light rain by session's end; ENE wind < 10 mph, swinging around to the south by day's end; 40 - 55 degrees. Water temperatures just a degree warmer than last week, 53 - 56 degrees F (+/-). With an entire day in front of me, and motivated by the big fish I missed last week, I decided to return to Peru's Worthley Pond. I was treated to the entire lake by myself for most of the day. Despite the very marginal ramp condition, I really enjoy this pond! I expected a tough bite; the sky was high and the lake was glass. Fortunately, a light breeze developed shortly after setting lines in the southern basin. My plan was to go fast, cover water, and find fish; and if that failed, fall back on going slow with Gulp! My first presentations included a top-lined J7 orange Rapala and a gold Thomas Eel off two colors of lead. Speed was 2.0 +/-, and I went through my high-confidence path from the previous week without a touch, so I then started varying baits. DB Smelts, a couple of different Rapalas and a top-lined fly all were ignored, and I moved to the lake's north basin. This new water revealed more of the same (nothing). So, after two hours of covering water and searching from 10 to over 30 feet of water, I fell back onto Plan B; trolling slower and with a Gulp! pinched crawler presented off a couple of colors of lead. I started tracing the south basin's 15-foot break at about 1.5 mph. The orange J7, 150 feet back, crawled on the surface while the orange pinched crawler rolled below. I'd bumped the targeted speed to 1.6 and then 1.7 mph. Over 15 feet of water, the top-lined rod faltered and twitched; twitched again; and then bent over to a fish. It had taken about three hours, but I finally hooked up! I avoided the skunk with a pretty, 15-inch brown trout. This hookup was pretty close to an offshore hump; I'd drifted over deeper water while fighting the fish. I pulled the other line, moved to the north, and set up for another pass across this hump and continuing south to the new waypoint. Once I was in position, the sonar revealed lots of fish activity in this area and between 12 and 15 feet deep. Gulp! quickly produced two more browns between 16 and 20 inches. Things were looking up! The next half hour produced a yellow perch and a decent rainbow, both on the Gulp! I continued to rotate through various top-lined lures (including a yellow Powerbait grub), finally throwing my lot in with a gold Thomas Eel. By 3 PM, I had wandered back to the north basin, and at 3:15 or so, just as some sprinkles set in, the top-lined eel got whacked! Brown trout No. 4, the smallest of the day, came to hand. I hoped another feeding window had opened; but apparently not. I had a couple of taps on the pinched crawlers, but no other chances. What do I have to say about this? I'd met many of my goals for the day (a few trout, including a nice one; and some productive flexibility in doing so); and I'd enjoyed solitude, loons, and a bald eagle. I think I even saved enough energy for another adventure the following day; perhaps some more big browns await at Hancock? Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Date: May 5, 2024 Body of Water: Hancock Pond - Denmark, Maine Boat: amybaby22 With: Alone Target: Brown Trout Time: 9:30 AM - 1:30 PM Moon Phase: New Moon minus two days Conditions: Cloudy with sprinkles; 10+ mph southerly wind; 50 degrees. Water temperatures 51 - 54 degrees F (+/-); clear but tannic. I had heard rumors of good fishing for brown trout at Hancock Pond in Denmark, Maine. Like every other pond of interest, it's an hour or so away from home, and the ramp is marginal. Off to a late start and with rain in the afternoon's forecast, I decided to give it a try. The ramp was clearly designed to minimize boat traffic, and the small lot barely accommodated my rig alongside four others. But it's a pretty pond, and just barely waking up from Winter; I was enthusiastic despite the "slow" report from a boater coming off the water as I left the ramp. With little else to go on, I focused first on water temperature and secondarily on structure. I selected a shallow, protected bay that I thought might have warmed up a bit. My initial spread included a J7 Rapala (orange), 150 feet back and running on the surface; and an orange DB Smelt off 1.5 - 2 colors of lead. Using the main motor based on the already-present wind, I circum-trolled the small bay and edged out towards the main lake, attempting to trace the 15-foot break. I was hedging my bets based on the biting depth from the day before, and also based on previous experience for Spring Browns; at least on Lake Michigan, they love the shallows at this time of year. I was only 30 minutes into the search when a fish grabbed the J7 Rapala off the surface. I noted that I was trolling slowly (for spoons, less than 2 mph), cross-wind, and the hit had taken place while I was temporarily over deeper (25 feet) water than I had been "targeting". I continued my troll along and around this major point, including a couple of strafes over extended shallows. Despite my bolstered confidence, nothing showed any interest. I changed spoons on the lead core and also switched from the J7 to an orange/white Thomas Eel for the top-line. I had moved over the deeper main lake basin to change lures, but was still adjacent to this prominent point. Trolling slowly into the wind (< 2 mph), the Eel got hammered over 25 feet or more of water! I could tell this was a nice, hefty fish, and was delighted when it jumped and showed itself near the boat. In typical brown trout fashion, it resisted coming to the net with several runs to the depths, but finally yielded. Easily over 20 inches and perhaps four pounds, it was the kind of trout I've been seeking since I left Michigan! It was a bright and beautiful specimen, too. With something of a pattern now established (orange top-lined lures 150 feet back, structure-adjacent but over 25 feet of water), I kept looking for more fish. The orange Eel remained in the spread while I varied my second presentation; usually presenting another top-line on a slightly shorter length or a bright spoon off a shallow core. With no further action, at about Noon (and for the second day in a row) I made a major switch to another part of the lake. After trying another shallow, protected bay, I worked my way out. I decided to try a gold Thomas Eel off two colors of lead. Sure enough, adjacent to a main-lake reef (future boaters, beware!), this rod went off and I collected another nice, although smaller brown. Now confident in both presentations and in my perceived "pattern" of 25 feet of water near major structural elements, I circled around, fished the reef again, and then expanded my radius in search of a final fish. Using the depth-based color-coding on my Garmin mapping, I was able to keep the boat near my targets. I continued on the troll towards the ramp, working my speed hard (staying below 2.3 but faster than 1.5 mph) in the increasing wind and deteriorating weather. Fortunately, another really nice, 20-inch brown came to play, eating the gold Eel off two full colors of lead. That seemed like a great way to end the day. I got off the water with no real problems. I'm glad I decided to try this new-to-me pond! What do I have to say about this? I don't know if the "patterns" I've noticed the last couple of days are real or not, but they do help me narrow down my presentations while promoting confidence and focus on the fishing. I do think that starting with a plan, but then reacting to conditions and making purposeful adjustments is the way to build on one's success. Not just for the day, but for the season and beyond! I noticed a few spots that I'd be glad to ice-fish, too. I'll be back, regardless. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Date: May 4, 2024 Body of Water: Worthley Pond - Peru, Maine Boat: amybaby22 With: Alone Target: Trout Time: 9 AM - 3:30 PM Moon Phase: Waning crescent moon, New minus three days Conditions: Cloudy; generally calm; 50 - 60 degrees. Water temperatures 50 - 55 degrees F (+/-); water clear but tannic. Perhaps I had missed the main portion of breakfast; just moments after setting the second rod, my orange DB Smelt, swimming over about 15 feet of water and presented off 1.5 colors of lead, got crushed! With a 15-inch brown trout in the net so quickly, it looked as if it might be an epic day! But all my presentations went untouched for the next 2.5 hours. Breakfast was over! Conditions seemed fishy, for sure, but I continued to blank despite steadily rotating through presentation options (including spoons, Rapalas, flies, action disks and small plastic worms!) and expanding my range. By 11:45 AM, I'd already explored both the southern and northern portions of the lake and all my previously successful locations, without another bump! While it's always difficult for me to take a DB Smelt out of the water when trout fishing in Maine, I decided to do some bad science and made several changes simultaneously. I returned to the lake's southern basin (I had, after all, caught a nice fish and had marked some likely bait; and the water was a degree or two warmer), but with a new plan to now go slow (1.7 mph) with the electric motor, present a finesse Gulp! pinched crawler off 1.5 or 2 colors of lead, and add an orange J7 Rapala, crawling across the surface, to the spread. When the Gulp! rod quickly bounced, hard, over about 15 feet of new water as I began my troll, my confidence in this new plan rose, even though the strike had not resulted in a hookup. Shortly thereafter, things really picked up. The top-lined Rapala got smoked, and the first of several steelhead-esque rainbows (in attitude and spawning coloration, if not stature) came to the boat. I blew the net job, getting the Rapala's treble hung in the webbing at the net's rim. I torqued the fish off and said goodbye to a beautifully colored, 3- or 4-pound male rainbow. Fortunately, the bites continued for the next 45 minutes or so; and all on the orange Gulp! as presented above. These all came from about 12 or 15 feet of water, or perhaps a little deeper as I tracked the primary break. A few of the hits were brief drive-by's, but I connected with and landed a couple more rainbows in the 16-18 inch range. The day's tide had turned, and I even scored a couple of photos! This action was concentrated in the lake's southeast portion, and I continued making passes through, so long as I got touched. One waypoint about 200 feet from my primary ice-fishing spot produced multiple bites/fish, including the fish that will get me to return to Worthley Pond. This fish buried the short lead core rod and throbbed with long, heavy head shakes. Unfortunately, the light-wire hook partially straightened and pulled before I caught a glimpse of it. I bet it was a big brown; it didn't seem to have the panicked urgency of a rainbow. I continued working the area and did get a final rainbow (Gulp!, again) before deciding it was time to head home. What do I have to say about this? This was my first Spring Effort on this lake. Despite the slow start, given the pleasant conditions and ultimately landing four rainbows and a brown; including a bigger-than-average fish to the net and another large fish lost; this was a good day! I am glad I switched gears and got something going. I am especially glad to have successfully incorporated some California Tactics into my trout fishing. I've used Gulp! pinched crawlers very successfully for walleye, but now I firmly believe in them for trout, too! Every hit was on orange; nothing else elicited any interest. Not even chartreuse Gulp! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Date: April 27, 2024 Body of Water: Collins Lake - California Boat: FHS Pontoon With: K and Captain W Target: Rainbow Trout Time: 7:30 AM - 3 PM Moon Phase: Full moon plus four days Conditions: Too nice! Post-frontal; clear and calm, with a mild breeze, intermittent breeze developing from the south. 50 - 70 degrees, water was stained and 64 - 67 degrees. Weekend crowds, too. Day 2 of our adventure (https://www.fishhuntshoot.com/product/collins-lake-guide-trip/) greeted us with "perfect" weather, which meant the bite might be tough! The lake was more crowded on this beautiful weekend day, and there was a local derby taking place to boot. We met Captain W at the stated time and location, and were soon setting lines over the lake's main basin. We had a good starting point from the day before, but we were still determined to find our own fish. Given the calm and bright conditions, we looked for comfortable fish a little bit down from the surface. Our starting point included a stacked spoon and naked worm off the downrigger, down to about 25 feet; and a couple of presentations off two colors of supplemented lead, ending in a dodger/crawler or a small plastic worm behind an action disk. Targeted speed was about 2.0 +/- 0.2 mph. All initial interest was in the crawlers, and the bites were tentative to start. The spoon was pulled, a turbo flasher added to the rigger's worm, and the plastic worm/action disk was replaced with a naked Gulp! pinched crawler (orange over natural) presented off two colors of supplemented lead. Most bites continued to be be very tentative, but a few were aggressive, and after the first hour, we had landed at least five nice trout! Not bad for a "tough" day! Late morning and early afternoon were slow, and we rotated through a series of dodgers and flashers on the leadcore/crawler combo. We continued the pleasant grind and added a metal-head fly way back (225 feet) on top, looking for a trophy. A few more fish came to hand, including a gorgeous and pugnacious Lightning Trout on the naked Gulp!, and the fly got smacked hard (and broken off!?!) once. Action continued to be "best" over the deeper portions of the lake's basin and the structure near the northeast corner. Once again, FHS was generous with their time and effort, and this paid off with an uptick in fish action between 2 and 3 PM (or so, I lost touch with the exact time...). The downrigger caught fire for a bit, now tracking 23 feet down; and we quickly added several trout to the the day's tally. This included a couple of very nice rainbows and lightnings over three pounds. As we called it a day, three of the four rods produced fish! Only the long-lined fly went untouched, but we had given it an extra-long soak, and we knew it was time to go. So much for a tough/slow day; we'd landed at least 15 trout and had probably connected with at least as many trout as the previous day! Tactics were generally the same, and yet different; we'd gotten there by a different path under different circumstances. What do I have to say about this? Good job, Captain W, you provided another excellent, productive and enjoyable day on the water! I know how difficult it is too put together multiple consistent days under variable conditions, and how much work goes into that. I didn't want to leave; and yet I even enjoyed the busy drive back to San Francisco and the long flight home. Thank you, K! What a nice long weekend! What a fishing buddy! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Date: April 26, 2024 Body of Water: Collins Lake - California Boat: FHS Pontoon With: K and Captain CK Target: Rainbow Trout with Lightning Trout, too Time: 7:30 AM - 4 PM Moon Phase: Full moon plus three days Conditions: Alternating clouds, sun and morning squalls; wind from all points and up to 15 mph or so; 50 - 65 degrees. Collins Lake was "full" and spilling over the dam, the water was clear but stained, and surface water temperatures were 65 - 68 degrees. K was so kind to arrange a visit to the San Francisco area, and especially one where we could camp and fish together! After a bit of research we settled on https://www.fishhuntshoot.com/product/collins-lake-guide-trip/ , and we were not disappointed! Captain CK offers guided "teaching" trips on a small reservoir at the base of the Sierra Mountains, and I thought (correctly!) that this would provide a pleasant platform for K and I to relax while re-living our glorious past of trolling for trout (and salmon) on Lake Michigan. The accommodations at Collins Lake looked good, too, and I spent a good share of the winter quietly looking forward to a respite from the Maine weather and getting into some active fish! We left K's home on Thursday morning and wandered our way to Collins Lake. We snacked and saw sights along the way, and when we arrived mid-afternoon, our cabin was clean and ready for us. We poked around, unpacked, and enjoyed some local ice cream with our hot dogs roasted over our campfire. We went to bed relaxed and slept well! We hooked up with Captain CK right on time, and after brief introductions and based on our trolling experience, we were able to skip "class" and go right to the fishing! With surface water temperatures climbing to 65 degrees or more, Captain CK had deployed his downrigger for the first time all Spring the previous day, and many of the reported biters were settling in, deeper, to eat "meat", i.e., crawlers. Our initial spread included a surface line, 175 feet back, with a small white worm/action disk; two colors of lead (supplemented with a small, in-line weight) with a pink dodger and pinched crawler on a Slow Death rotating hook; and a naked, rotating pinched crawler 44 feet behind the rigger ball set at about 20 feet down. The morning's weather was funky but very fishy. Skies were gray, it was breezy to windy, and scattered, intense showers were visibly around us. (Occasionally they would find us, especially mid-morning). I was surprised to find depths over 100 feet in the lake's basin, and we settled into a pattern of searching for and collecting bites over this deeper water, especially along the lake's western shore and northeast corner. (Structure likely played a role in the northeast area, and I told myself that the predominant wind was pushing any food into this corner, too.) Everything got hit, but the pink dodger off two colors of supplemented lead clearly elicited the most action. We added the same dodger to the downrigger, and pretty soon we had switched to a pink worm on top, too! Target speed was 2.0 mph +/- 0.2 mph, and we were very comfortable on the pontoon platform. Bites came in flurries, and the numbers started racking up! After the first fish (which came on "my side" of the boat), we tried to alternate turns on fish, and there was plenty for all to do (or not, as one's mood might dictate at the moment). Soon enough, Captain CK was comfortable with me running the back of the boat (I let him thread the crawlers, just because...), and I was happy to net fish and monitor, tweak and adjust our presentations. I especially enjoyed converting drive-by's into hookups by "feeding" the bait to following fish. This was remarkably effective! We took a break for lunch with ten or 12 trout landed, and the afternoon was just as productive, even though the wind veered to the northwest and skies cleared. We spent some time heading up the river arm, where we added a spotted bass to our catch, but when we returned to the basin we finished strong, including our largest trout of the day (six-pound rainbow) and most beautiful fish of the day (a solid four-pound Lightening Trout for K). Captain CK and his dog friend, Lucy, were very generous with their time, and when we called it quits at about 4 PM, we agreed that we'd landed at least 19 trout in addition to the bass. We'd missed and farmed out a few, too, but that didn't matter; we were fishing again, the next day! What do I have to say about this? This was so pleasant and relaxing, and I can't thank K enough for making this happen. I also need to thank Captain CK for enjoyably hosting us, adjusting to our competence, sharing stories, and his enthusiasm. He and Lucy provided for a unique experience, and it was the one I'd envisioned! I also appreciated his rods, reels and lures, as they felt great in hand and performed well. For some odd reason, K seemed to specialize in the golden Lightning Trout while I caught just about all rainbows. They are the same species, but I still felt like the rainbows fought harder. I lost a lot of the details, but that comes with having had so many strikes and fish landed. Still, I enjoyed a number off firsts, including first freshwater fish in California, first Lightning Trout, first trout on a soft plastic, and first use of rolling crawlers for trout. Obviously, this will work in Maine, and this has been added to my list of tricks and presentations. Here's how I ended up finding FHS.com. In the mid-to-late 1980s, I was new to Lake Michigan and trout trolling in general. My only chances for trout and salmon were either from a river mouth pier, or in the years to come, from my small, shore bound boat. The local prize was a Spring Brown Trout, and they ate trolled Rapalas or casted spoons near shore. I was all in! But I still recalled a specific television show where a western troller was pounding big rainbows on his trolling flies. These didn't exist in Michigan, and this was before the Internet. I couldn't get those flies, and so I turned to local tactics. I didn't think about those flies again until a couple of years ago when I landed in Maine. One of the staple approaches to trolling for trout and salmon here is a double-hooked trolling streamer fly. I've integrated them into my local tactics and have generated some strikes and several by-catch smallmouth bass to date. When K proposed the idea for this trip, I started thinking about those big rainbows and flies! I found the original video (or remake) of the show I recalled, and it featured Jay Fair and his system for trolling his flies (see www.youtube.com/watch?v=syMj8laWyLM .) I found his flies for purchase and got some! I rigged a couple of rods with his hybridized floating flyline/leadcore-tipped presentation. But I also found www.fishhuntshoot.com/shop/ and their flies, gear, and guided trips. I'm glad I did! "Fish on!" Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Date: April 15, 2024 Body of Water: Upper Range Pond - Poland, Maine Boat: amybaby22 With: A! Target: Trout Time: 9 AM - 12:30 PM Moon Phase: Waxing quarter moon Conditions: Clear and bright; calm to mild southerly breeze < 10 mph; 50 - 60 degrees. Water temperatures 44 - 46 degrees F (+/-); very clear water. With the day off (Massachusetts and Maine both celebrate Patriots Day!), A and I arrived at a quiet ramp just before 9 AM. It was great to have some help launching the boat, and we were soon setting our first line near a rocky reef along the lake's northeastern shoreline. It was sunny, calm and peaceful; a great way to start the third day of our long weekend. I'd just placed an orange Thomas Eel 150 feet behind the boat and placed the rod in the holder when it bucked heavily and the drag slipped aggressively. A kept both her calm and the rod bent, and a few minutes later I scooped up a beautiful, 19-inch rainbow. Nice! I turned the boat around to reset lines over this same water, and this time I was able to set all three without interruption. With some eating fish obviously high in the water column, I offered the following: top-lined small orange Thomas Eel 150 feet back; orange and black DB Smelt off two colors of lead; and an emerald shiner DB Smelt spoon off a single color of lead. I deferred on adding a fourth presentation to avoid tangles and provide a more relaxing trip for A and myself. Targeted speed was 2.0 - 2.2, but I bumped between 1.6 and 2.5 mph while also adding many twists and turns to activate our lures. We continued our search through known productive waters, focusing on about 20 feet of water adjacent to rock structures. Nothing happened for a half hour or so. Instead of continuing along the shoreline break, I turned towards the main basin with the intent of searching that while returning to our original starting point for more of the same; it had worked the previous two days, after all! The boat had just touched 38 feet of water when the top-line rod bent over again; A landed her limit rainbow (it was released, of course), a cute 14-incher. I circled around and re-set lines, and now the rod with two colors of lead jumped, hard! After the apparent swing-and-miss, the fish came back almost immediately and buckled the rod over. I was hooked up with a tenacious brown trout that surprised me with its modest size (16 inches or so) when it hit the net. This fish and a subsequent pair of hard strikes on this same set-up kept us in the area for a while as I bounced between about 20 and 40 feet of water. A couple of rocky hillocks provided some interesting structure in this basin area, too, and in my mind provided another reason for the fish to be concentrated here. When the action had obviously slowed, I picked up lines and ran to the lake's south end. We completed our day with a leisurely troll along the lakes western shoreline and adjacent basin, all the way through my favored inside turn at the north end. Despite changing everything up and rotating through a bunch of spoons (while also maintaining the same basic presentations), I could find no other biters. By 12:30 PM we were hauling the boat, on our way to a nice lunch at Pineland Farms! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Date: April 14, 2024 Body of Water: Upper and Middle Range Ponds - Poland, Maine Boat: amybaby22 With: AD Target: Trout Time: 8:30 AM - 3:15 PM Moon Phase: Waxing quarter moon Conditions: Clear and bright for the most part, but with some clouds and squirrelly wind, backing from NW to SW; about 50 - 60 degrees. Water temperatures 41 - 44 degrees F (+/-) and generally a couple of degrees cooler in Middle Range as opposed to Upper. The previous day's quiet launch was just a distant memory as I arrived to a crowded and chaotic ramp. Still, I was in place and with enough time to re-rig a pair of rods with two or three colors of lead core before my new acquaintance, DA, arrived for a morning of trout trolling. Between the crowds and the weather, conditions had obviously changed a lot from the previous day. We couldn't rely on yesterday's tactics for any success, and I gave DA the option of Middle vs. Upper Range. While Upper offered more familiarity, the allure of quieter conditions for different fish on Middle proved to be the allure. Our initial four-rod spread included the following:
We set lines and trolled Middle's eastern shoreline, moving north, and bouncing between about 8 and 30 feet of water. I noted the cooler water temperatures, but the additional prospect of togue from this lake offset my opinion of this development. We blanked in the first hour as I rotated through some baits while preserving the approach. We were coming off a 12-foot flat when DA reported that the one-color rod had been hammered. It looked quiet to me, but I checked the line for weed or debris. I then felt some weight and caught a flash; and realized we'd broken our skunk. I handed the rod over, and soon enough DA was gazing upon his first Maine rainbow trout, and his first-ever trolling fish. It wasn't too exciting, but it was something! After another half-hour of searching, we decided to try something a little different. We moved over the lake's basin and exchanged the Jay Fair system for a spoon off the downrigger. We moved nothing while scratching bottom from about 50 - 70 feet of water, but definitely pulled a few fish off bottom when I pulled the ball up 20 or 25 feet. All rejected the spoon, however, even while I changed this presentation out several times. They were just too cold or too lethargic to pull the trigger and eat! By 11 AM, we were headed into Upper Range Pond, where DA wanted to try throwing a large swim-bait over rocky structures for bass. We tried several spots (and I enjoyed a half-dozen casts with his beautiful equipment), but raised no interest. Returning to the ramp to drop DA off, we noticed that just about all the trollers and many of the bassers had already left for the day. It was proving to be a tough one for many! I intended to save the day with some trout from Upper. I began my search with a top-lined spoon and a DB Smelt behind two colors of lead core. As I traced my productive path from the day before, the lead core rod got buried, and I happily landed a mature, egg-spewing rainbow trout of 16 or 17 inches. I continued looking for more with some optimism, but I'd almost run out of time before I got my next hit. Despite changes in lures and locations, I was almost immediately over the waypoints of the previous day's double when the two-color rod jumped again; and I was pleased to finish with another bright, 15-inch brown trout. What do I have to say about this? It took a bit more perseverance than expected, but it turned into a great day on multiple accounts. Sharing a buddy's "First", even under modest circumstances, is always worthwhile, as is having three nice trout swung over the gunwales. A tough bite makes one appreciate easier times, and it was satisfying to have the "extra" time to explore some new water and presentations. It just wasn't quite as "fishy" a day as the previous, but I was already looking forward to the next, Patriots' Day! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Date: April 13, 2024 Body of Water: Upper Range Pond - Poland, Maine Boat: amybaby22 With: Alone Target: Trout Time: 8 AM - 1 PM Moon Phase: New Moon plus five days Conditions: Mostly cloudy, but some sun and ending with a heavy rain shower. Calm to 10 mph SW wind; 45 - 50 degrees; water temperatures 43 degrees F (+/-) and a little cloudy from lots of recent rain. A large group of swallows was dipping the water's surface near the north end of Upper Range Pond, and so I started my search for trout in this area and near the surface. I started with an S7 Rapala (silver/green) on one rod and a "Jay Fair" system-presented green metal-head fly with the other. Working from about 6 to 25 feet of water, I had put in a solid 20 minutes without a hit. I rotated through some new baits (flatlined Trout Whisperer spoon 150 feet back, DB Smelt on two colors of lead, blue S7 Rapala, white Arctic Fox fly behind an action disk) and covered some water over the main basin (where the swallows were most active) as I continued my search. Speeds ranged from about 1.8 to 2.4 mph. Between 9 and 10 AM I found a group of very active fish. All ate spoons fished over 15 - 22 feet of water but immediately adjacent to a weedy boulder reef. It might have helped that the wind was pushing any "warm" water and midge larvae/pupae/adults into an inside turn. I ended with just 3 browns landed for 6 solid strikes in this area, with a couple of lost "doubles", including a lost rod and reel, pulled from the holder as I landed the nicest brown of the bunch at about 18 inches. I had a couple of brief drive-by's, too; I barely capitalized on this opportunity, but was still grateful for the first three trout of the season! The hot baits here were a top-lined 1/8 ounce Trout Whisperer spoon (green and blue) and a gold/black/purple DB Smelt on two colors of lead. Flies and plugs remained untouched, as they would for the remainder of the day. I seemingly lost my mojo along with that favored rod and reel. I tried to scrape the depths with the downrigger where I'd lost the rig; but the bottom proved dangerously sticky and after ten minutes or so, I resumed fishing. I tried to locate another pod of trout and covered lots of water, generally concentrating on edges (especially with rocks!) I donated a couple more favorite lures to the bottom, but scratched out the final (and perhaps best) fish of the day on a small, top-lined, gold Thomas Eel. This scrappy rainbow hit hard, pulled drag and was vividly colored during the fight. It had an interesting spotting pattern, too, and capped off my better-than-pretty-decent day of fishing! I continued my search for the next hour without a hit, but still looking forward to the next outing! What do I have to say about this? Maine 4 California 0 Traditional Maine tactics and spoons produced all my bites and fish, while the "California" presentations went untouched. I'd spent a good chunk of the winter day-dreaming about fly-eating trout on the troll, and I was enthusiastic about trying some new-to-me tactics. A small streamer behind an action disk is just something different (here), but I was most excited by the "Jay Fair" trolling approach. Developed at California's Eagle Lake, this involves a streamer presented off a floating fly line tipped with 15 or 18 feet of lead core; the fly will be just a couple of feet below the surface while the fly line provides a lot of visibility as to where the fly is. The no-stretch presentation also allows one to "pulse" the fly with a simple roll of the wrist; I was excited to try this locally! FYI, I'd run across a video (TV show) in the mid-1980s where Mr. Fair illustrated this technique and featuring some beautiful rainbows on his flies. I thought that'd be a fantastic approach for shoreline Lake Michigan Spring Browns, but without access to the flies (and with nobody apparently using such techniques in Michigan), I instead learned to troll for trout with Rapalas and then spoons. I found this same video this winter on You-Tube, and cross referencing other interests, decided to give it a go. While California took the defeat on this 2024 "Opening Day", I am sure it will provide some victories in the future. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways Date: November 12, 2023 Body of Water: Sebago Lake - Maine Boat: amybaby22 With: Alone Target: Togue (Lake Trout) Time: 9:30 AM - 3:00 PM Moon Phase: New moon minus one day; waning crescent Conditions: Clear and bright; northerly, double-digit wind calming over course of day and swinging to WNW; 33 - 38 degrees. Water temperatures 47 - 49 degrees F (+/-) . Could I have possibly screwed myself over again? I arrived at the Standish ramp at Sebago's south end only to stare into the teeth of a stiff and long-fetched north wind. This was way stronger than forecast, and so I was a bit disappointed that I would be struggling with the wind again. Still, it looked to be safe and quite possibly, fishable. I had all day in front of me, so I headed north from the ramp. I decided to go as far north as possible to allow myself to ride the wind back and cover as much new water as possible. I'd at least learn during this trip! Mid-way up the lake, a view directly to Mount Washington opened up. On such a clear day, it was a beautiful reminder that I now have the good fortune of living in northern New England! I continued north, until I reached the shallow bar that separates Frye Island from the wester shoreline and that defines the extent of the northern Great Basin from the southern end of the lake. Here, I set my initial spread (full core of ten colors and a downrigger) and started the day's explorations. The graph was relatively devoid of targets as I trolled over new-to-me water. I focused on 55 - 85 foot depths and paralleled a sunken hump topping out at 55 feet. As I crossed the southern extent of this bar and entered deeper water (105 feet), my lure trailing 350 feet back got smacked. The lure was probably over 80 feet of water when it got hit. Unfortunately, the hooks immediately pulled, but this was still a hopeful start to the day. I ended up doing a completed circuit around this bar and repeating this pass before moseying off to the east, but I found no other willing fish. The wind looked to be relaxing and the familiar waters north end of Frye Island weren't too far away, so I pulled lines and headed that way. I set the same spread in about 130 feet of water as I trolled south, over the extent of the sunken bar and through some familiar waypoints in 70 - 80 feet. These didn't pay off, but I continued my meanderings and hooked up (finally), once again over about 100 feet of water with my lure coming across 70 to 80-foot depths. After landing this 20-incher, I replaced my downrigger with the 150 Copper equipped with a white/Bloody Nose spoon. The lead core produced another (small!) togue in similar water, while the copper rig went untouched over the next hour or so. I made the 4-mile run to the Northwest River humps for my final explorations of the day. I reverted back to using the downrigger, but of course the Easter Egg spoon still continued to tail far behind ten colors of lead line. My pass through the entire stretch of waypoints along these humps produced minimal action. The full core went untouched, while I picked up another small togue on the rigger. This fish might have hitch-hiked a ride for a bit as it did not pull the release, but I generally tried to keep the ball 5 - 10 feet off bottom; I had increased the leader length from the ball to about 30 feet. At 3 PM, I was through my waypoints and had a 20-minute run to the ramp in front of me. I pulled lines, perhaps for the last time in 2023. What do I have to say about this? While the fishing wasn't great (was I stuck on previous patterns due to a modicum of positive feedback? Had I not searched shallow waters enough, or indeed, fished shallow enough?), this had been a pleasant-enough session while I soaked in the sunshine. The run back to the ramp was downright fun in glass-calm water, and back at the ramp, I was stricken by an awareness of why it had been such a relaxing day; other than the sporadic call from a loon or gull, it was dead quiet. There was so little human-made noise. I wasn't too far from home, but at this time of year and with Mount Washington looming, this was approaching a true wilderness experience! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways |
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