Southwest Maine offers paddlers all kinds of lakes and ponds in which to wet a line, with outstanding warmwater fisheries for both smallmouth and largemouth bass. The two species often live in the same lake (or pond, or river).
All tagged Fly Fishing
Striking Silver in the Sound
Of all the things you can do with a fly rod, few match the excitement of casting to and hooking a large tarpon in shallow water. Fighting one is another matter, and bringing one to hand is a significantly more difficult proposition.
A January Day on Mosquito Lagoon
The Intracoastal Waterway Runs through the north part of Mosquito Lagoon. When this channel was being dug, the diggers hit patches of limestone rock, which had to be blasted. This rock rubble was piled up with the rest of the dredge spoil, now a string of spoil islands west of the ICW channel.
On The Road Again: On My Own in Maine
After being with us in Lovell almost two weeks, Maryann had to leave on Sunday. Susan wondered what she'd do during the coming week. I suggested she go back to Winthrop with Maryann. She could visit friends and visit Boston. I'd meet her near the end of the week.
On The Road Again: A Trip To Maine’s Rapid River
“I Suck at Fly Fishing." It's a sentence on a bumper sticker gifted to me by a friend. I didn't know how much it applied to me this day, but I certainly sucked at following directions. Bob Duport had emailed them to me, along with a map. I went to the wrong place, and now I was more than 30 minutes late for our rendezvous.
On The Road Again: The Maine Pond House
Ralph moved us to the Pond House, still in Lovell, Maine. The previous cabin (the one with the squirrels) had been nice. This place was a major upgrade, though! All wood paneling and ceilings, fireplaces, comfortable leather furniture, pond views out of enormous windows, nicer than our home, certainly nicer than the van.
A Tale of Two Fish
In the Upper Great Lakes states, the end of summer marks the beginning of the fall spawning run of German brown trout and salmon. Lake Superior, the biggest and deepest of them all, is a good example of how early the transition from lake to stream fish takes place.
On the Oconoluftee, With a Fly Rod
Gentle rain fell. The brook murmured gently in some places, fairly roared in others. Tammy Wilson and Jim Tedesco waded carefully, casting flies in an attempt to fool a wary trout. We were fishing the Oconoluftee River, on the reservation of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee, in western North Carolina.
Practical Redfish Fly Selection
Most saltwater gamefish, redfish included, eat some combination of smaller fish, shrimp, and crabs. In my 40 years of fly fishing for redfish, 25 of them as a fly-fishing guide, my taste in flies has evolved. But not as much as you might think!
Choosing Fly Tackle for Redfish
Conventional wisdom says, “Use an eight-weight outfit for saltwater, including redfish.” Back when I was guiding, when I got calls about redfish charters from people who I didn’t know, and they asked me about tackle, that’s what I told them.
Alaskan King Quest: Landing a Chinook Salmon
Catching an Alaskan king salmon is like landing a tarpon you can eat. Most of Alaska allows non-residents to catch one or two kings in a season, but the Blind Slough fishery near Petersburg allows four per day. Here’s where and how to conquer the king with stick, fly, and string.
Fly Fishing for Bass in Orlando
Some of the most fun and exciting fly fishing in central Florida involves chasing largemouth bass. Almost every body of water larger than a couple acres holds bass. They're not the only species in that water, either. Spotted gar, bowfin, various sunfish species, crappie, and other fishes make every day fishing here an adventure.