Posts
Mother nature has finally smiled upon the Inland Northwest. Hot Sunny weather and declining flows mean that it's GO TIME for Cutthroat fishing. John spent last weekend on the Thompson and Jesse spent three days on the NFCDA (Check out our fishing reports page to see how they did).
Team Westlslope is about to make our first trip to the Klickitat. So check in soon for a report and pics.
Fishing Conditions
Rivers in our area are about to go "off the charts" as they are dropping and clearing , the added heat has also brought out the Golden Stones and Caddis Flies on most rivers , Cooler temps will equate to Green Drakes and P.M.D.'s .
The last few days where spent out in the West Kootenay's on the Columbia and Slocan Rivers ,both fished well especially the Columbia where are clients where hooking into large Rainbows that are essentially Landlocked Steelhead ,Caddis are the name of the game , swinging Caddis Pupae imitations then when the first adults are spotted fishing Caddis Dries is the M.O. on this river .The Slocan produced fish on big foam Golden Stone patterns,although the fish are not as big as the Columbia, they are also very hot !The Elk River is also dropping ,clearing and fishing well also on Golden Stone Fly Patterns ,The morrow of this post is that our rivers are shaping up so go fishing
now !
Pond X.2
Bass, Carp, and Gills.
Another ninja fishing adventure, Aaron and i today decided to check out a pond I have been to 2 times before. First time I went alone without trying to fish, i just wanted to see what the pond was like and see all the signs posted everywhere. Apparently as in Aaron's words, if we get caught, "We the violators will be Prostituted"....... thats right not "Prosecuted"!
Thinking right now Aaron may not know how to read, or on second thought he must just have a good ol' hooker on his mind..... like normal.
Now me being armed with my sage launch that I have not caught a fish on yet, My new goofy ass terminator reel, ok its a Airflow Balance 7-9 reel, and this things looks funnier than shit I flipped a shad colored zonker into the base of the reeds and pulled this little beauty out. The carp where everywhere but nothing wanted to take our delicious zonkers. Aaron however managed to pull about 10 gills out in the hour, hour and a half of our fishing. Sometimes where the fishing is good, and you dont want to leave, you have to quit while you are ahead. Though I must say getting Arrested for fishing would not be all that bad. Not like I stole a car or some shit.
Aaron and Kyle- We think trespassing is cool
Another ninja fishing adventure, Aaron and i today decided to check out a pond I have been to 2 times before. First time I went alone without trying to fish, i just wanted to see what the pond was like and see all the signs posted everywhere. Apparently as in Aaron's words, if we get caught, "We the violators will be Prostituted"....... thats right not "Prosecuted"!
Thinking right now Aaron may not know how to read, or on second thought he must just have a good ol' hooker on his mind..... like normal.
Now me being armed with my sage launch that I have not caught a fish on yet, My new goofy ass terminator reel, ok its a Airflow Balance 7-9 reel, and this things looks funnier than shit I flipped a shad colored zonker into the base of the reeds and pulled this little beauty out. The carp where everywhere but nothing wanted to take our delicious zonkers. Aaron however managed to pull about 10 gills out in the hour, hour and a half of our fishing. Sometimes where the fishing is good, and you dont want to leave, you have to quit while you are ahead. Though I must say getting Arrested for fishing would not be all that bad. Not like I stole a car or some shit.
Aaron and Kyle- We think trespassing is cool
Maine Striper Fishing Report: Kennebec River, June 28th, 2010
Striped Bass Season Begins Thursday July 1st, 2010 On Maine's Kennebec River
The special catch & release, artificial lures only season ends this coming Thursday July 1st, 2010. Our catch rates should soar now that we'll be able to pitch lives in addition to flies & artificials
Reservations have been coming in steadily and we're already having a very busy season...Call us if you'd like to join us for a day or two this coming season. We offer multiple trips every day typically a morning trip and an afternoon evening blitz trips for those anglers who'd rather not be on the water at the crack o'dawn...If fly fishing isn't your thing...no worries we're well equipped for light tackle & live bait fishing too!!!
Maine Striper Fishing Guide
Capt. George Harris
207-691-0745
www.superfly-charters.com
The special catch & release, artificial lures only season ends this coming Thursday July 1st, 2010. Our catch rates should soar now that we'll be able to pitch lives in addition to flies & artificials
Reservations have been coming in steadily and we're already having a very busy season...Call us if you'd like to join us for a day or two this coming season. We offer multiple trips every day typically a morning trip and an afternoon evening blitz trips for those anglers who'd rather not be on the water at the crack o'dawn...If fly fishing isn't your thing...no worries we're well equipped for light tackle & live bait fishing too!!!
Maine Striper Fishing Guide
Capt. George Harris
207-691-0745
www.superfly-charters.com
In need of rain...
Come on, you can't complain really - everyone loves the warm, sunny weather... However, it's probably better suited to Glastonbury than fishing. The rivers are in need of some water - both to bring the levels up and give the rivers a well-needed flush through. It's times like this when the fish become sluggish and unwilling to move.
Late evening fishing is the only worthwhile option, hoping that Blue Winged Olives put in their usual late-in-the-day appearance.
However, having cancelled my fishing on Saturday due to extreme heat, I must confess I'd like to see just a little rain. A deluge this week and then a warm, muggy weekend would be perfect. Am I asking too much?
Thinking back to last year (such is the beauty of a blog, you can remind yourself instantly of what the fishing was like) Glastonbury weekend was warm but with some substantial rain... perfect: June 25th 2009
~Dave
Late evening fishing is the only worthwhile option, hoping that Blue Winged Olives put in their usual late-in-the-day appearance.
However, having cancelled my fishing on Saturday due to extreme heat, I must confess I'd like to see just a little rain. A deluge this week and then a warm, muggy weekend would be perfect. Am I asking too much?
Thinking back to last year (such is the beauty of a blog, you can remind yourself instantly of what the fishing was like) Glastonbury weekend was warm but with some substantial rain... perfect: June 25th 2009
~Dave
Visit The Virtual Fly Guides Bulletin Board
The Virtual Fly Guides Bulletin Board are now #8 on the "Activeboard" Fly Fishing Forums. Whether you are posting reports, photos, and videos, or planning your next fly fishing trip, the VFG Bulletin Board is a resource for sharing information about ALL things fly fishing.
Click on this link to visit the Virtual Fly Guides Bulletin Board.
Shooting Trout TV on the North Platte
This summer my worlds are colliding. My two professional histories in television news and fly fishing guiding smacked into each other recently when I was asked by Bob Asbury from Columbia Country Television to co-host a new fishing show called Trout TV alongside the lovely and talented Rich Birdsell, owner of Northern Rockies Outfitters. The show is a fly fishing-only video festivus of the most interesting, beautiful, plentiful and nutty fisheries in the West. We hope to venture south and east next season...but for now we're mostly in the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain region. We're shooting 18 episodes this summer and fall, and the series will start airing on 35 network affiliate channels in February.
This past weekend I got to go on my first shoot for Trout TV. And, in true cliche fishing show form, I must say it was "a dandy." And we caught some "real pretty trout." The truth is that we are trying to steer away from traditional fishing shows in which two big 'ol guy pals slap high-fives all day and seem to re-catch the same whopper over and over. However, I have to admit that when you actually are catching "real pretty trout" it's hard not to fall into the cliche and state that fact every time it's brought to the boat.
We drove 14 hours from West Glacier, MT to Casper, WY to fish the North Platte with Ryan Anderson from Wyoming Fly Fishing Guide Service at the Platte River Fly Shop. We put in west of Casper at the Grey Reef access in Alcova. When I first looked at the river, I thought, "no stinkin' way is this going to produce." The river was cruising at 7,000 cfs; the most water those banks have seen in 30 years, thanks to huge snow melt out of Colorado. Apparently I don't know much about tail waters or the strategy therein...because despite my doubtfulness, Ryan got me into some amazing fish immediately. (The pictures below are only of the small ones, because shooter/producer Bob wouldn't let me get out my camera for the biggies--we have to save those for the tv show, you know. So, the pics below represent the smallest fish of the day.)
We fished a long leader and double red rock worm/San Juan rig. I caught two 15" "dinks" but the rest of the day yielded 19-22" rainbows. So yeah, more than once I said, "that's a real pretty trout."
I was so impressed by the North Platte River and its lovely rainbows. And I understand it fishes that well all year 'round.
Thanks to Ryan and Wyoming Fly Fishing Guide Service for a great two days and an amazing experience.
cattle tank
In the mid-summer fishing doldrums when the sun slaps you around and the bass down south refuse to look at anything popping around on the top sometimes you just have to take desperate measures and try not to step in cow shit or twist your ankle on the rough, dry used-to-be muddy banks of the place apparently known as Fagan Tank. I don't know how to feel about it. Probably a good place to dump a body, though.
lunker.
Maine Striped Bass Fishing Report: Kennebec River 6/23/10
Maine Saltwater Fishing Report: The Fish Are Here So Get out And Fish
Wet conditions greeted us this morning as we left the dock in Bath, but it didn't dampen our spirits...nor did it dampen the spirits of the stripers we had set out to catch. We landed on fish at our first stop, just a few minutes of leaving the dock, a pair of 10 pounders crushed the soft plastic herring imitators we pitched into the boiling current.
As the flooding tide filled the river we went to work on the rocky structure that has been holding most of the fish we've been catching. Sporadic surface blitzes popped up here & there and were enough to get every ones adrenaline flowing...however, most of our fish came off striped bass's favorite habitat, rocky structure.
Late morning everyone had their fill of stripers and we headed for the dock fully satisfied with our efforts. Although it was wet out there this morning we were fully prepared for the conditions and everyone stayed warm and dry.
I have severel sets of quality raingear aboard for guests that do not have their own...so don't let rainy weather keep you off the water...the fish don't care...they're already wet!!!
Reservations have been coming in steadily and we're already having a very busy season...Call us if you'd like to join us for a day or two this coming season. We offer multiple trips every day typically a morning trip and an afternoon evening blitz trips for those anglers who'd rather not be on the water at the crack o'dawn...If fly fishing isn't your thing...no worries we're well equipped for light tackle & live bait fishing too!!!
Maine Striper Fishing Guide
Capt. George Harris
207-691-0745
www.superfly-charters.com
Wet conditions greeted us this morning as we left the dock in Bath, but it didn't dampen our spirits...nor did it dampen the spirits of the stripers we had set out to catch. We landed on fish at our first stop, just a few minutes of leaving the dock, a pair of 10 pounders crushed the soft plastic herring imitators we pitched into the boiling current.
As the flooding tide filled the river we went to work on the rocky structure that has been holding most of the fish we've been catching. Sporadic surface blitzes popped up here & there and were enough to get every ones adrenaline flowing...however, most of our fish came off striped bass's favorite habitat, rocky structure.
Late morning everyone had their fill of stripers and we headed for the dock fully satisfied with our efforts. Although it was wet out there this morning we were fully prepared for the conditions and everyone stayed warm and dry.
I have severel sets of quality raingear aboard for guests that do not have their own...so don't let rainy weather keep you off the water...the fish don't care...they're already wet!!!
Reservations have been coming in steadily and we're already having a very busy season...Call us if you'd like to join us for a day or two this coming season. We offer multiple trips every day typically a morning trip and an afternoon evening blitz trips for those anglers who'd rather not be on the water at the crack o'dawn...If fly fishing isn't your thing...no worries we're well equipped for light tackle & live bait fishing too!!! Maine Striper Fishing Guide
Capt. George Harris
207-691-0745
www.superfly-charters.com
Small Stream Fun
D.B.O. Guides Andres and Derek ventured out for R&D work on one of the many small streams in the area , despite the high water the fishing was off the charts for large Westslope Cutthroats . Nothing eating dries but the subsurface action was non-stop ..and for big fish !
Good day fishing today
Guess Who's Not Going To Get A Tip....
UPDATE - According to the PilotOnline.com, the team was disqualified.
Forget being a good law abiding citizen and all that...forgetting to buy your fishing license could cost you big time...
The Charlotte Observer reports that one angler might be out almost a million dollars because a mate on his boat failed to buy the North Carolina Recreational Salt Water Fishing License.
A record-setting blue marlin that would have won almost $1 million in last week's Big Rock was on the verge of disqualification today as tournament officials investigated whether one of the boat's hired crewmen failed to purchase a license.
Andy Thomasson, hauled in the record-setting 883-pound blue marlin aboard the Hatteras-based Citation last Monday, the first day of the week long tournament. He waited all week for a bigger fish to be caught. None was, and the Citation claimed $912,825 in prize money.
But there was no presentation during Saturday's awards banquet and Sunday morning, the Big Rock released this cryptic statement: "The Big Rock board of directors withheld presentation of blue marlin prize money until an alleged rules violation by the top team has been totally researched and a decision made regarding this alleged violation."
British Columbia
The D.B.O. crew and myself have been busy gearing up for the 2010 fishing season ,We are excited about the conditions and our new location which is at Fernie Fly-fishing located along the Highway south of Fernie .The location is awesome ! Fernie Fly-fishing is the newest shop in town and promises to be the best.Lots of goodies from Orivis ,Simms and Echo plus the best fly selection in Southern Alberta and South East B.C.Of course we we have been conducting R &;D missions on area lakes..tough job but someone has to do it .
How low can it go?
The rivers are now very low thanks to persistent scorching weather. It's making things incredibly tough for any salmon fishers, but the river trout anglers are still fairing well with June's total now approaching 700 for the month. The sea trout catch is up to 18 off hotel waters, with 7 landed last week. With the difficult conditions, smaller flies fished carefully have been tempting most fish by night. Some warmer night-time temperatures wouldn't hurt and a drop of rain would be most welcome!
Hard work but not impossible - a Lyd sea trout caught last week.
Hard work but not impossible - a Lyd sea trout caught last week.
Maine Striper Fishing Report Kennebec River June 20th, 2010
Maine Saltwater Fishing For Striped Bass Is In Full Swing & Super Fly Charters Has It Dialed In!!!
The Kennebec river is still filling in nicely with fresh, ocean bright Stripers. All of the usual June spots are fishing well....also some of the spots that I fish in late season are covered in fish...That's a great sign that we're in for a great season here in mid coast Maine.
A lot of the local fishermen/guides that I've talked to recently have only been finding good numbers feeding fish during the lower light hours of the morning and evenings and while that might be true along certain stretches of habitat....it is definately not the rule for Striper fishing in general.
Going back over the last couple of weeks we've been finding good numbers of Stripers feeding aggressively in bright sunlight during the mid day hours...we've been able to accomplish this by changing our tactics once the sun gets high in the sky. Don't get me wrong, I love chasing big stripers on the flats but that has it's time and place, after all..we're fishing for Striped Bass not Permit. Lately i've been abandoning the shy, easily spooked fish that are up in shallow water in favor of the better numbers of the heavy current deeper water fish that feed heavily on the thick schools of herring located over rocky structure. This type of fishing is still every bit as technical as fishing on the flats, it just presents a whole different set of challenges....anyone whom has ever fished deep water structure that is awash in a ripping current can testify to the challenges presented...proper boat handling is extremely important, as is understanding how upwellings, eddies and currents travel over and around rocky high relief bottom contours...some of this structure may only rise three feet off the surrounding bottom other ledges tower as high as a 7 story building!!! Many times there are acre sized blitzes taking place on this structure...however, most times they're just not taking place up on the surface...rather, they're taking place 20-30 feet below, where the vast majority of anglers will never even suspect it...more often than not these all out submarine blitzes are taking place during the broad daylight conditions that most anglers find unproductive...We've been fishing these daylight subsurface blitzes for years and have it dialed in. 
Yesterday was a perfect example of what i'm talking about....I had Ed & Steven Petrilli aboard for a fathers day guided striped bass marathon fishing trip...around mid day we had bright sun, a ripping incoming tide being pushed by a stiff SW 20-25 knot breeze....not what you'd consider ideal conditions for Striper fishing. Right?....Wrong!!! We were fishing classic fall blitz conditions during the 85 degree heat of summer...Welcome to Striped Bass fishing in Maine!!!
Flats Guide Capt. Eric Wallace reports that great things are happening on the sand flats of Casco Bay.
Oh yeah the Bluefish have started arriving in the Kennebec also...we haven't caught any yet but severel anglers arrived back at the dock in Bath with a cooler full of chunky blue dogs.
Call us if you'd like to join us for a day or two this coming season. We'll be happy help you plan your Maine vacation!!! If fly fishing isn't your thing...no worries we're well equipped for light tackle & live bait fishing too!!!
Maine Striper Fishing Guide
Capt. George Harris
207-691-0745
www.superfly-charters.com
The Kennebec river is still filling in nicely with fresh, ocean bright Stripers. All of the usual June spots are fishing well....also some of the spots that I fish in late season are covered in fish...That's a great sign that we're in for a great season here in mid coast Maine.
A lot of the local fishermen/guides that I've talked to recently have only been finding good numbers feeding fish during the lower light hours of the morning and evenings and while that might be true along certain stretches of habitat....it is definately not the rule for Striper fishing in general.
Going back over the last couple of weeks we've been finding good numbers of Stripers feeding aggressively in bright sunlight during the mid day hours...we've been able to accomplish this by changing our tactics once the sun gets high in the sky. Don't get me wrong, I love chasing big stripers on the flats but that has it's time and place, after all..we're fishing for Striped Bass not Permit. Lately i've been abandoning the shy, easily spooked fish that are up in shallow water in favor of the better numbers of the heavy current deeper water fish that feed heavily on the thick schools of herring located over rocky structure. This type of fishing is still every bit as technical as fishing on the flats, it just presents a whole different set of challenges....anyone whom has ever fished deep water structure that is awash in a ripping current can testify to the challenges presented...proper boat handling is extremely important, as is understanding how upwellings, eddies and currents travel over and around rocky high relief bottom contours...some of this structure may only rise three feet off the surrounding bottom other ledges tower as high as a 7 story building!!! Many times there are acre sized blitzes taking place on this structure...however, most times they're just not taking place up on the surface...rather, they're taking place 20-30 feet below, where the vast majority of anglers will never even suspect it...more often than not these all out submarine blitzes are taking place during the broad daylight conditions that most anglers find unproductive...We've been fishing these daylight subsurface blitzes for years and have it dialed in. 
Yesterday was a perfect example of what i'm talking about....I had Ed & Steven Petrilli aboard for a fathers day guided striped bass marathon fishing trip...around mid day we had bright sun, a ripping incoming tide being pushed by a stiff SW 20-25 knot breeze....not what you'd consider ideal conditions for Striper fishing. Right?....Wrong!!! We were fishing classic fall blitz conditions during the 85 degree heat of summer...Welcome to Striped Bass fishing in Maine!!! Flats Guide Capt. Eric Wallace reports that great things are happening on the sand flats of Casco Bay.
Oh yeah the Bluefish have started arriving in the Kennebec also...we haven't caught any yet but severel anglers arrived back at the dock in Bath with a cooler full of chunky blue dogs.
Call us if you'd like to join us for a day or two this coming season. We'll be happy help you plan your Maine vacation!!! If fly fishing isn't your thing...no worries we're well equipped for light tackle & live bait fishing too!!!
Maine Striper Fishing Guide
Capt. George Harris
207-691-0745
www.superfly-charters.com
Happy Father's Day
My Dad when he is not fishing.
and when he is fishing.
The Editorial Offspring when he is not fishing.
and when he is fishing...
Happy Father's Day to all fishing dads and fishing kids.
pour one for pops
 |
| The old man Landeen himself |
Happy Father's Day.
-Alex who is mucho grateful for everything. Thanks dad.
A few more from last weekend:
We found some fish lying at the back of a substantial hatch pool which required long and accurate casts. A few inches from the bank, along a seam of water was the essential position for a take - right in the food lane.
Gustav powering a longer cast to a rising fish:
Some of the fish were small. Not our target, but a healthy sign:
I was also encouraged to see a good number of salmon parr feeding over the gravel.
A fish for me, returned:
Well done Gustav - you fished really well and it was a pleasure to guide you. I very much hope you enjoyed your first visit to a chalkstream.
~Dave.
We found some fish lying at the back of a substantial hatch pool which required long and accurate casts. A few inches from the bank, along a seam of water was the essential position for a take - right in the food lane.
Gustav powering a longer cast to a rising fish:
Some of the fish were small. Not our target, but a healthy sign:
I was also encouraged to see a good number of salmon parr feeding over the gravel.
A fish for me, returned:
Well done Gustav - you fished really well and it was a pleasure to guide you. I very much hope you enjoyed your first visit to a chalkstream.
~Dave.