This is an overview of our full season of guiding. Every month has its highlights of opportunity, so you can better plan trips.
April. “The cruelest month.” Bill Shakespeare. Traditionally, opening day for Maine is the first. Anything from a near whiteout to bluebird skies and no wind. This is a month if you’d like to dial in a new skill set. Trout spey classes are perfect for this month, as are nymphing clinics later in the month. Smelt runs are an option, also. A note on smelt runs, it’s best to be on our “will call” list for this event, as it is fleeting and somewhat unpredictable. Midge, spring Baetis, caddis, and winter stones are hatching this month (expect very few risers).
May. Water and air temperatures improve to start the bug game. Nymphing is the one technique to get on the board. The streamer bite will improve as smelt runs end and other bait fish become more active. May, in our opinion, is the best month for the streamer game. The dry fly game arrives towards the end of the month with the glamour mayfly hatches (Hendricksons, March Browns, etc.), but the caddis will predominate as the month ends.
June. Game on. One can do it all as far as techniques go. Confidently dry fly fish blind, short leash nymph, dry/dropper rigs, wet fly swings, and streamer sessions all can be used to some level of success. Some days it’s a caddis dry day, others it’s a dead drift heavy nymph. It’s June. Bring everything in the toolbox.
July. Hatches weaken. Mornings and evening sessions start to take over the midday show. Bigger patterns, both terrestrials and stones will get the look or the grab. Smaller blue lines are peaking with flows and clarity. As temps warm up, we begin the “We start in the dark or we end in the dark” routine, depending on location. Half days start this month. We can also do two halves and hit better temps in the morning and evening.
August. Water temps dictate everything. Though Maine does not have a hoot owl management tool/law. We do and we live and die by the thermometer. If this means we aren’t working, then so be it. The resource is too valuable to us. Options for August are spey classes, early morning sessions (where applicable), and smallmouth “kill a bass, feed an eagle, and save a trout” trips available. Please contact us for further details.
September. The end of the thin blue line trips this month. We tend to do more of these during this time, though larger and medium rivers are still getting our attention. Spey swing session mornings combined with a dry fly search is a pretty well-rounded day, as is a streamer day interrupted by the occasional snout. Terrestrial dry patterns peak this month.
October. Streamers or wets produce the best for us this month. Dry flies run the gamut of size and family, a few Golden stones around, some kind of caddis, and Baetis keep one entertained. The streamer game is one of constant change. Nymphing is pretty strong also.
November. Usually, the first two weeks before lockjaw sets in. Baetis and streamers, for the most part. This is a weather-dependent trip and is available as a half day. We try to hit the peak of the day for activity.
Late December through March. A plane ticket to either New Zealand, Chile, or Argentina would be our suggestion. Also, think about an early spring western U.S. trip. We can help with these. Though there are year-round waters to fish in Maine, you are better off going somewhere else.
