Mr. Hexagenia Limbata (a.k.a. Mr. Hex) is back in town for his two week vacation on Back Lake. There were a few spotted a couple of nights ago, and the sparrow fly has worked below the surface when the duns haven’t been spotted, so the trout are keying in on hexes now. This is, without a doubt, the best time to be up here on the lake.
It had been awhile since my last time on the water, and with the sunshine I just had to wet a line. I’m glad I did. Not only was it a beautiful day but the trout and salmon were very cooperative too. Lots of rainbows, several small salmon but a few in the 15″+ range. My best fish was a gorgeous brook trout about 2+lbs.
Being by myself I tried to take a picture but that just didn’t work. After I released her I took this shot as she rested. I think it’s a pretty cool shot. Interesting how the water distorts things but the brook trout features are still visible. There were several different mayflies coming off and tons of Caddis around but I picked up everything on a non-weighted Pheasant Tail, Para Adams and Snowshoe BWO.
OMR just returned from the Andro, and had another good day nymphing. Tomorrow he’ll be on the Connecticut, and me, I think I’ll going fishing again.
OMR hit the Androscoggin today after the Connecticut turned out to be high and muddy, with some great results. Nymphing most of the way, his people landed quite a few nice fish, with the jewel in the crown being a 20″, 4 lb. brown landed by Bruce Pilch (one of our River Helpers from the C.F.R. retreat!). A beadhead flashback pheasant tail lured this big boy to bite, but there’s plenty more out there for sure.
That’s Tim Poole’s hands with a big brookie taken on the Trophy Stretch yesterday. Tim used to be, prefers to be a dry fly fisherman, but he’s learned that nymphing pays dividends too. Nice job Tim! Hoping you’re surviving the sweltering conditions better than some of us are – it’s just too darn hot! But, we know the alternative, so we’ll take the heat for now …
Our sixteenth annual Beginners Fly Fishing School, taught by Angus Boezeman and Alan Erdossy of Broadside International, kicked off this weekend, with many grasshoppers trying to learn the ways of fly fishing. The picture above shows the instructors netting insects to determine what the fish might be feeding on – it must’ve paid off, as one of the students landed a nice salmon on a golden stone nymph, based on the evidence that came up in the net – knowledge is power !