Androscoggin River Report May 30th 2005
Water temp 46 F Flow rate 9000 CFS
Weather! You just can’t win sometimes! The fishing was going very well and then, after several days of rain, it looks like we’ll need an Ark! At nine thousand CFS you’d need an ounce of lead just to keep a fly in the water, let alone make a presentation. As with all things, this will change and fishing will improve.

I guided two parties at Grant’s Camps this weekend. Both were novices. The first party was a doctor and her uncle She was in her late fifties and the uncle was eighty-one. We worked on all the basic casting, knots and terminology. We fished the lake shoals on the north shore and took a couple nice trout on weighted streamers. One trout was a fat fifteen inches that helped seal my client’s fate as a fly fisherman.

The other party was a father and two sons aged 15 and 13. We worked on casting and then moved up on the upper river above the logons. The river was clear but still running fast. We fished and worked on reading the water. I would ask the boys where they should fish and why. If they didn’t know, I would point out an eddy or seam line in the current, a rock that would provide a cushion in the current so fish can hold with less or little effort near their food source.
Both boys caught trout fishing on an elbow along a seam line. The first was a 15-inch male brookie that the 13 year old, Nick, caught. Mike, the older brother took a 13-inch brookie ten minutes later out of the same area. It’s great fun to watch the enthusiasm and excitement that young anglers show!

I really enjoy the times that I teach fly-fishing. If you make the learning a fun and positive experience, especially with children, you add to our ranks. I am seeing more and more women and baby boomers wanting to learn fly-fishing. I hope this trend continues because the only way to save or protect water quality, fisheries and wildlife habitat is if people have a vested interest in them. Fishing, hunting and all the other outdoors sports
Give people that investment. Please make it a point this season to take a non-fisherman fishing. Make it fun for them so they want to help us protect our heritage.