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Date: April 23, 2022 Body of Water: Mousam Lake - Shapleigh, Maine Moon Phase: Third Quarter Moon; waning Boat: amybaby22 With: A Target: Trout Time: 7:45 AM - 12:45 PM Conditions: Mixed sun and clouds; about 35 - 55 degrees F; northerly wind to about 10 mph; water temperatures 46 - 49 +/-; the water was pretty clear (5 feet) and stained brown with tannins The word on the street was that our last trip north/down-east was simply too early in the season. Given a couple of weeks, lakes such as Megunticook and Trickey should warm and start producing. A also wanted to see some "new" Maine instead of plying the same old roads and so we looked at our gazetteer, cross-referenced available boat ramps and fishing reports, and chose Mousam Lake for the day's trip. All went well. After an easy drive and a more-than-functional launch (with two slips and a dock!), we were on the water by 7:45. I simply picked up a shoreline edge and set the initial spread, which included a Grey Ghost trolling streamer for A, the S7 gold/black Rapala back 85 feet for me, and a new, but locally favored lure, a DB Smelt spoon in gold/purple/pink presented off a color or two of lead line. My initial approach was simply to keep the boat and lures out of trouble (rocks, weeds or unknown shallows) while maintaining speeds between 1.5 and 2.5 mph. Conditions felt right! Water temperatures were the highest I've encountered this season to date, and local lawns and bushes were starting to green and bud. In fact, spring conditions felt advanced even compared to our home in Yarmouth, never mind the stark difference compared to points further north and east. Still, our first 15 minutes went by without a touch. After crossing a weed bed in about 8 feet of water, I decided to check the S7. It came back clean, but just at the end of resetting it, I felt a distinct "thunk" and some weight. Success! Success??? It turned out to be a small pickerel. Still, this was better than a skunk, and we still had the day before us. We continued our circumnavigation of the portion of Mousam Lake south of the Route 109 culvert. This area in itself was big enough to be interesting and had enough depth to host any holdover trout. But without another hit, halfway through our second lap, I turned for the first time into the channel that would lead us into Mousam Lake, proper. This channel looked pretty good to me, and we continued our troll. On the edge of the deepest water available (and not too far from a small, unmarked reef that would claim a good chunk of somebody's prop a little later in the day), the DB Smelt (now out 1.5 colors) got engulfed. After a quick fight, a beautiful but smallish brown trout came aboard. Now, I could claim some actual success! After another couple of uneventful passes, we proceeded under the culvert and into Mousam Lake, proper. The north wind ran the length of this narrow lake, and we decided to run north and then fish our way back. This lake has some navigation hazards! We didn't have any problems, but we encountered several reefs extending well into the lake basin. These were only generally mapped and not marked at all. Local knowledge could be at a premium on this lake! Regardless, as we approached the north end, I stopped short to set lines and troll the edge of one such reef. We turned the corner into a more protected cove, and finally, the S7 awoke. Another decent shoreline brown had eaten this classic bait. Circling around for another pass, the DB enticed another, similar brown from some shoreline rocks. While I was fighting this fish, our fourth line, an F9 Rapala in chartreuse got smacked. I landed my brown at about the same time A landed a one-pound smallmouth bass. A very pleasant trip was now becoming a productive trip, to boot! We continued working our way north, and the DB plucked another feisty brown. At this point, I was sold on the DB Smelt's effectiveness, and I knew my collection would grow from two to ... ??? Oh well, I might not need any more lures, but I wasn't going to ignore local lore, either, especially if it was backed up with personal experience. Anyway, I was having having fun, and I convinced myself that the hits were becoming more violent as the day progressed and the water temperatures creeped up. We turned into a multi-cove bay and continued our troll. At this point, the wind was lessening (or the fetch was nil), and we noticed some surface activity. I turned the boat away from the shoreline edge and into 30 feet of water or so. This was a good move, as we went 3 for 4 over the next hour. The browns we landed were among the largest of the day, to about 15 inches. The one fish I lost seemed heavy, too. The DB continued its dominance for the day, collecting 3 of these hits; the gold S7, back 85 feet, caught one of these browns. All were beautiful, and I have to admit, I get a kick out of having my mini-core setup (just a couple of colors on a small trolling reel mounted on a bass crank baiting rod) jump, even if the trout are smallish compared to my Great Lakes expectations and experience. This end-of-day fishing was also super comfortable and relaxing, and both A and I left Mousam knowing that we had just enjoyed a really fine day. All were beautiful, and I have to admit, I get a kick out of having my mini-core setup (just a couple of colors on a small trolling reel mounted on a bass crank baiting rod) jump, even if the trout are smallish compared to my Great Lakes expectations and experience. This end-of-day fishing was also super comfortable and relaxing, and both A and I left Mousam knowing that we had just enjoyed a really fine day. What do I have to say about this? One of the reviews for this public launch claimed it to be the best such facility in Maine. I hope that's not the case, but it is certainly adequate for off-season duty, and there's plenty of parking for ice-fishing access, too. I'll be back, regardless, just probably not between Memorial Day and Labor Day, when I suspect that this lake gets a little crowded. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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