2024 Season Review!

We had a great season in the Western Mountains of Maine.  Rain was plentiful in the spring and water levels stayed in good spots through July to keep us on the trout waters.  August was a little tough for smallmouth floats as water levels on the Androscoggin dropped quite a bit.  Fall fishing had lower levels than normal, but small bursts of rain helped bump levels enough to keep water temperatures below 67* and trout were happy in their normal staging areas.  If you're not aware, most of our rivers in the north country close on the last day of September to ensure that our native brook trout and wild landlocked salmon are undisturbed for spawning purposes.  

May and June had really great water levels.  Clients caught good sized brook trout in their paler colors on nymphs and streamers early season.  The Rapid River seemed loaded this spring with lots of 16 - 22 inch landlocked salmon, which are always a ton of fun to try to land.  The easier part is hooking them... the hard part is getting them into the net!  Dry fly action started really popping off around the second weekend in June.  By the end of the month, our regular caddis and stonefly hatches were luring bigger fish to the top.  Most rivers had quite a bit of pressure on them in June this year, but if you know where to get away or settle for smaller native brook trout you can easily get away from the crowds!  We didn't get on too many ponds this spring, but in July a couple of pond trips were really rewarding, especially later in the day.  

​The fall season had some spurts of good rain that would help bump rivers up and bring in fresh from the lakes.  We had a ton of success targeting large brook trout with tiny nymphs and bright streamers.  The fall season never seems to last long enough!

I didn't guide as much during August as I have in the past.  With 3 small children and a full-time working wife, my priorities have changed a bit.  I'm not taking as many new clients as I have in the past due to less availability on my end, but please don't hesitate to reach out.  If I'm unavailable, I know several great guides in the area who can show you what our region is all about!  We have some construction going on at "Trout Camp" in 2025, so be on the lookout for that. We're hoping to be able to offer more lodging options for clients with a little more privacy in the future!