Hey all,

Returned from a short Memorial day weekend fishing/camping trip up in the Grand Lake Stream area. The good news is the owner of the Pine Tree Store says that he has had more reports from fisherman that there are more fish in the waterway than in the last 15-20 years!!!!! I was not one of the lucky few, wrong time of day, wrong techniques, wrong flies...???
I heard everone was catching fish on very small nymph patterns. I'll try again in June when the wife, son, dog and I go for a trip.

As for all the brookies......well far and few between. The water levels all around were low, very low. Some places were beaver dams usually hold things back was at least three feet low. I fished from one stream side area that in the past five years I have never been able to fish from shore. It has always been a put in, get wet to your knees, get in the canoe and don't get out again until you leave.

Other smaller streams were about a foot or more low. The beaver dam I spoke about a few months ago was GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After a good 1/2 mile hike I caught one chub and had a brookie, 7" maybe, follow a nymph within a few feet of shore and was stripping a little to fast for it to take. Lesson learned.

The folks I were camping and fishing with did not have much more luck then I. I caught plenty of 6"-8" trout, nothing to come home and share with people. I feel if you want to give people a good feed the brookies have to be at least 10" or more, Maine 6", 5 trout limit. I don't eat them but 6" and 8" are not worth keeping in my eyes.

Besides having a good time the only thing I did do was canoe a new piece of water that I had been looking at on the map all spring long. With a buddy and his girlfriend, we paddle this new section of stream, him in the front and her in the middle. It would take two good fishing partners five hours to really cover the stream...it took us two. Well the girlfriend had us in a pinch. Sitting on the bottom of a canoe she went through eight or twelve small rifts, I lost count, we had to pull across, getting back in with wet feet. I'm sorry I won't even dry my own feet for my wife in my canoe! Great fishing holes...one place I was elbow deep 4 1/2 foot paddle in the water and no bottom....right before a 20' wide beaver dam. I'll fill you all in to what creeps those lower bottoms later this June.

Any advise I have for anyone heading to this area... Wait for some good rain, give it a day or two and than fish hard. Good Luck!

Scott

Good report Scott, So is Maine in a drought ? I know what that is like, Not this year though. We had flash flloods Sunday. It rained so hard I couldnt see through my winsheild, Cars had to stop on the highway. Three teenage boys were rescued from Rapid Creek , A thirteen year old boy got sweep down stream they found him clinging to a branch , He was very lucky. Its raining again today. Might try some fishing later today. Dave V