Maine has wolves, this one had the misfortune of being on display at L.L. Bean.
MKFF last visited the wilds of Maine during a 2011 float trip with Fly Fishing guide Kate Farnham. Depending on where you are headed to in Maine, the drive is in excess of seven hours, a distance by any measure. It would be quicker and simpler via floatplane, bush plane or some other awesome means of transportation. Having not attained enough wealth at this point in my life for such luxuries, we hopped in the FJ on Friday after jamming the truck full of gear and headed up.
The FJ rigged, loaded and climbing.
Pleasant River Campground
I prefer to camp in a primitive setting, doing so allows you to disappear far away from civilization at no cost. In addition, its more fun to escape in the woods and imagine you are Danielle Boone. Either way, you leave civilization and its burden’s for a short time and check out high quality cold-water fisheries.
The tent site, Pleasant River Campground, Bethel, Maine.
The Pleasant River Campground features secluded wooded sites along the Pleasant River, a tributary of the Androscoggin. The bathrooms are of high quality and the place is generally quiet. The owner rents out Canoes and Kayaks while providing popular amenities like a swimming pool and horseshoe pit.
Upper Andro Scenery
Mount Washington
Mt. Washington is immersed in clouds most of the time, this is the valley view before ascent into the cloud.Going through a cloud, not in an airplane…
“Home of the world’s worst weather,” Mt. Washington, at 6,288 feet, is the highest peak in the northeastern United States. Mount Washington holds the record for highest wind ever recorded by man, a speed of 231MPH on April 12, 1934. This record was surpassed in 1996 though a human being did not actually stand there and record the wind speed as was customary in 1934. At one time, people were stationed on top of the mountain all season to record the weather.
Building chained to the top of Mount Washington.
In present day, anybody can drive to the summit on the Mt Washington Auto Road. The auto road is a 7.6-mile road that climbs Mount Washington. The road was completed in 1861 to serve carriages. The roadway has an average gradient of 11.6%; it is so taxing on your transmission that the road operators have created certain vehicle restrictions. In a future expedition, I think actually hiking Mount Washington would be interesting.
View down the Presidential Range in New Hampshire.
The Androscoggin
View of the Upper Andro looking downstream in a kayak.
The upper Andro is a big east coast stream that consistently delivers larger than average sized Trout. Based upon Sunday’s float, there is also a population of Smallmouth Bass and Chub during the summer months. I floated the river with a kayak and used a Rapala floater on my LL Bean spin rod. The total catch was one Rainbow Trout, three Smallmouth Bass and five Chubs. I also had an air jaws on the line during a sudden summer thunderstorm that blew through. Eagles are common in these parts, they feast on the Trout and we did see one of them enjoying a meal.
This is the largest Chub I have ever caught.The Thunder Rolls
Freeport, Maine
The Mandatory Boot Shot
Home of L.L. Bean, the giant boot and a collection of outlet shops; Freeport, Maine rose to notoriety starting in 1912 when Leon Leonwood Bean created the Maine Hunting Shoe or Bean Boot.
L.L. Bean Hunting and Fishing Store Atrium.
L.L. Bean has grown into a global retailer and manufacturer while remaining one of the last US retailers to maintain a manufacturing presence in the USA. Its reputation for quality and customer service is unparalleled and often studied in business school.
L.L. Bean Fly Fishing ArtifactsThese snowshoes are beautiful, someone buy me them for Christmas.
Portland, Maine
J’s Oyster Lobster and Steamer platter.
The largest city in Maine has the 19th century industrial ambiance common throughout New England. The city is a change from the lakes, rivers and forests of Maine while still maintaining the New England small town ambiance.
On the ride up it was agreed that we would all order the largest Lobster available in Maine. The cab driver recommended J’s Oyster; I ordered a heaping pile of Steamers and a Lobster. The platter was delicious although the sizes of Lobsters were fairly consistent.
Bull Feeney’s assures us that, “Lobsters Love Guinness”
The next stop was Bull Feeney’s Irish Bar; I was enthralled with their slogan and sign, “Lobsters Love Guinness.” Another excellent point about Bull Feeney’s is that they have, “Maine’s most extensive selection of single malt Scotch and Irish whiskies.”
The Long Ride Home
The trip home always seems shorter than the haul up. The problem with this is you are leaving the beautiful scenery, camping and fishing of Maine and New England in general. The drive provides ample opportunity to stare out at the many fish filled rivers of New England and hope for more good days of fishing. I hope to get back sooner rather than later!
The outside temperature throughout the Fourth of July weekend has been a balmy 90 plus degrees. The high humidity and heat has been driving a cycle of strong thunderstorms. One storm was so intense that it caused a tornado in Berkeley Heights, NJ. Several rivers in the area are flowing at significantly greater CFS than is considered normal for this time of year.
The MKFF crew headed up to Block Island for the holiday weekend, unfortunately, I was unable to attend the festivities. This week I will be travelling to Savannah for a conference; my responsibilities required a little bit of work over the long weekend.
Pulled this Brown Trout out from a natural spring. Unhooked under water to prevent undo stress on him.
I anticipated the Smallmouth were biting on the Paulinskill. Finding a few hours to take a break from my projects, along with the thankful cooperation of the weather, I wet a line in the Paulinskill. A couple of minutes of dead drifting the Woolly Bugger was all that was needed to confirm the Smallmouth were out in full force. As it is summer time, the water temperature is above 78 degrees, all the fish are lined up at cool springs or holding in fast water. When you locate these springs, it is likely you will locate holdover Trout as well.
Until Next Weekend: Town Tinker Tube Rental and the Esopus Creek in Phoenecia, NY.
Almost a quarter of a century ago, Brenton and I learned to fish on a babbling brook in Mamakating New York. Gumaer Brook, a freestone stream, originated high in the mountains, meandered past our farm, down a one lane-dead end dirt road; peacefully nestled at the base of the Shawangunk Mountain Range.
1993 – Christopher, Brenton and our neighbor Little Nick.
Uncle Joe (Zombo), Keith, Mike and father would take us out by the rickety bridge across the brook for Trout or over on the old D&H Canal to catch Bullhead and Pickerel. If we were lucky, Bandit (German Shephard) or Oliver (Black Lab) would avoid cooling off in the water and the fish would bite.
1994 – Christopher, Brenton and Little Mike demonstrate the Trout they caught. Credit to Big Mike for his culinary skills.
“The past is never dead, it is not even past.” ~William Faulkner
1999 – The Lazy K Ranch, Kuhn and Marello families.
Similarly, Fly Fishing in America kicked off about twenty miles north of the farm where we learned to fish. In the early 19th century, New York City developed into the financial and cultural center of the United States, along with this rapid expansion came an influx of immigrants and urban strife. The invention of the Steamboat and Steam Locomotive gave the wealthier residents an option to escape to the bucolic bliss of mountain life if only for the weekends or the entire summer. The city was a cesspool of garbage, disease and humidity during its long summers.
The abandoned Paramount Hotel, a remnant of better days.
In the early days, weary travelers had to brave rugged stagecoach rides to access the remote northern section of Sullivan County, the land where the Beaverkill, Willowemoc and Neversink flow. The New York Ontario and Western Railway erased the difficulty in transport, offering service from Weehawken, NJ through Orange County, Sullivan County and beyond. They even went as far as to develop a publication, “Summer Homes” and offer the free transport of building materials for new summer home construction.
Covered bridges of Sullivan County.
People and access to rugged terrain was not the railroad’s only contribution to American Fly Fishing, they worked to pioneer stocking programs in rivers along their lines. In 1878 O&W Management stocked over 1.5 million Trout. Their commitment to Trout fishing went as far as to spend over $4,231 in 1891 to build a Trout car. A replica of this car is now parked at the Roscoe, NY O&W museum.
Long closed this acid factory used to cause havoc on the Trout population.
Sourced broadly from: “To the Mountains by Rail,” by Manville B. Wakefield
Present Day – Livingston Manor, NY
The Willowemoc Wild Forest is a 14,800 acre protected track of land encompassing nearly the entire headwaters of the Willowemoc. There are five spring fed lakes and ponds along with wild Brook Trout streams. Camping accommodations are available at Mongaup Pond, lean tos and other primitive camping areas. Further note, there is the Willowemoc Campgrounds at the confluence of Fir Brook and the Willowemoc. Every available option leaves you in peaceful serenity within two hours from Manhattan.
Hemlock Bogs are great habitat for Brook Trout.
Friday Night
On the ride up, Mark and I stopped in at Fur, Fin and Feather Sport Shop on Debruce road in Livingston Manor to purchase fishing licenses. What a pleasant surprise it was to find that last weekend was free fishing weekend. Next on the way was a quick pit stop at Peck’s Market to purchase some firewood, Summer Shandy and Sam’s Summer Ale. I love the opportunity to explore all the little businesses located on the roads less travelled; my search for authenticity is a ceaseless quest. Soon enough, the two Toyota Trucks (#truckyeah) were bumping their way up the dirt mountain roads in Willowemoc to a primitive campsite. Unfortunately, as soon as we arrived, storm clouds were blew in fast over the mountains, the radio was blaring warnings storm warnings.
Wild Turkeys were everywhere.
Mark and I quickly threw up the tent and lit a smoky fire with what dry wood we had. At least camp was made before the thunderstorms rolled through. The air was thick and hot, a little rain felt good especially combined with the summer ales. Once the rain ceased, I whipped up a chicken stir-fry on the camp stove and settled in to a few more summer ales before bed.
The Greatest Campsite Ever! Another reason why we love America.
Saturday
The feeling of waking up to sunlight on beautiful day with the sounds of a wild Brook Trout stream in the background is unparalleled. With so many fishing options available to us for the day, I opted to fry up some Taylor Ham and Eggs for protein, coffee for energy and get a head start on the day of hiking. The strategy was to hoof it around the park looking for Trout in the tiny head-water streams. After a cup of Cowboy Coffee (percolate and add American Whiskey) we were off.
Pork Roll and Egg Sandwich, the breakfast of a New Jersey champion.
Wild Brook Trout hit aggressively, they are especially driven to strike traditional attractor patterns or terrestrials in the summer. This is Dry-Dropper or Hopper-Dropper season and you need to take advantage of that! I rigged up my virgin L.L. Bean Pocket Water 3WT 6’6” rod with a 7ft 5X tapered leader. On the end of the leader I tied on a #14 Royal Coachman, trailing 15 or so inches behind was a Brassie. I intermittently would change up the Brassie with a Bead Head Hare’s Ear.
Colorful wild Brookie
The key to locating the wild Trout is to find well-oxygenated water between one and two feet deep. Anything shallower and the Trout cannot find adequate cover, deeper and the run is too slow, in the summer Brookies enjoy running water. We found some great pools and runs under the thick Hemlock understory.
Tiny but amazing.
After a strong morning, the fishing died off by midday. Mark and I began a “forced march” up through the Wild Forest on a quest to locate Long Pond. This “walk” was much worse than I had led Mark to believe. When hiking with other people, I like to use a Kuhn mile; this being a unique measure, one Kuhn mile equals two normal miles. I find it drives people to follow for absurdly long distances. Eventually we stumbled into the Long Pond Lean To and laid down flat to deal with the pain. Later we made the final three-mile trek to camp and sat/laid, for an hour. All told, we marched between 12 and 14 miles.
The “Forced March” gets the best of Mark. “The Baton Death March was much worse!” said I.The infamous Long Pond, 14 miles later.
The onset of dusk brought a renewed quest in catching another wild Trout. Due to the difficulty in spotting a Dry Fly in the prevailing light conditions, I switched over to my Brown and Coffee Woolly Bugger. Dead drifting this deadly pattern down the deeper runs pulled out another wild Brookie from under a bridge.
We walked from Willowemoc to Denning and back.
We returned to camp, located the firewood and set to the evening festivities. Other campers across the road were juggling flaming sticks to a laser light show, a strange sight to say the least, deep down this dirt road in the woods as we were. Another kid was driving around seeking his buddies in a Kia that had no business down the trail he was on.
Campfires of Summer
Sunday
This pond, next to the acid factory site, held many Pickerel.
The sky was clear and the sun bright in the morning, this was going to result in shadows being cast on the water. Today was a day that the fish could see the angler that sought after it. As expected, fishing was difficult; I only had a few hits before the thunderstorms blew in. Mark was able to land a nice Brown Trout on the Panther Martin. Further in one of the feeder ponds he landed a few Pickerel on the same lure. We eventually cleaned up camp and headed out.
Located across a bridge from “Wulff Run,” the Catskill Fly Fishing Center has a wealth of classic displays celebrating the yesteryear of Fly-Fishing. Historically the Catskills was home to the original 19th century celebrity anglers including Theodore Gordon, “Uncle Thad” Norris, Edward R. Hewitt and George LaBranche.
Art Flick’s Artifacts
Later in the 1930’s another school of famous Fly Anglers included Herman Christian, Roy Steenrod, Reuben Cross, Hiram Leonard, Preston Jennings, Art Flick, Winnie and Walt Dette, Elsie and Harry Darbee, Ray Bergman, and Sparse Gray Hackle.
The classic Darbee sign.
Modern contributors to the museum include Joan and Lee Wulff, Poul Jorgensen and Mary Dette Clark coming of age in the 1970′s; these individuals donated many of the materials on display.
Joan Wulff Gear
Final Thoughts
If you are a Daniel Boone at heart, anchored in the New York Metro area, by gainful employment, a pretty girl, and enjoyment of the big city life or all of the above, the Catskills are a fine place to let your inner spirit out. The land is semi-wild, the water so pure, it is not even filtered before it flows downstate.
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