Looks like this Kennebec River high water is going to last a while, I guess I’ll be heading south for a week of spring training. I just hope I can catch a bigger fish than my wife’s this time.
While we, as anglers, curse high water, it actually is a big help for us in the upper Kennebec and Dead River gorges. The spring high water helps bring our fish upstream from the lower impoundment where they spend the winter. Once the water drops to a normal level, the river will have its full population of trout and salmon. So, in the meantime, we’re heading to Islamorada Florida with my 8-weight and see if I can work out the kinks from a long winter.
Once I get back, we should be in great shape for the spring trips. What do we look forward to… We tend to catch the largest Kennebec River Gorge brook trout during our first few weeks of the season. Salmon will have smelt on their minds and they’ll be crashing streamers with abandon. The smallmouth bass start sniffing around for warm water and will congregate waiting to move to shallow water to spawn. The rainbow trout are also in spawning mode, so fishing an egg pattern around them is a great idea. Caddis flies tend to start showing around May 25, so dry fly action isn’t too far off. Pick a date, choose a trip or two you’d like to experience and give us a call. I’ll be keeping in touch with you from the flats boat. See ya soon. Chris