Category Archives: New England

The Pilgrims landed here, the first shots of the American Revolution were fired here, the Second Industrial Revolution kicked off here and these same people saved the Union during the Civil War. New England’s chilly crystal clear waters and massive forests create some of the best trout fishing East of the Mississippi. The rivers once heavily polluted by logging, dams and industry are returning to their natural states. These pages are dedicated to the hunt for Trout in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and the rest of New England.

New England

Upper Andro Part 2

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We reached our destination in Maine for our father & son fishing trip well after dark. As we drove past tiny hamlets in this desolate area, I understood how Stephen King has been able to gather ideas for his novels from here. Perhaps one of the towns we had passed was inspiration for ‘Salem’s Lot. In the morning, we met our river guide: Kate, and we immediately felt confident she would provide us with a good day of fishing.

The day was overcast, however, the day’s lighting reflecting off the river, gave the autumn leaves a brilliant hue. As I drank in the majestic view of Mt. Washington in the distance, I noticed ominous cloud cover approaching us indicating a change of weather would be upon us. In addition, I spied an eagle circling the river searching for prey. I marveled at the stoic beauty of this bird, the symbol of the United States.

For up in the sky the eagle circled silently, effortlessly, and determinedly, uncaring of us, focused only on its quest for the prey. Just as we had left the city escaping the concerns of the worlds financial, military, and cultural strife’s, in search of some memorable autumn fly-fishing. As Kate expertly navigated the drift boat down the river, just as the eagle spots its prey, I viewed an enormous red maple spreading its branches like an umbrella over the water, directly over a drop off in the river.  I instinctively realized that I only had seconds to present a cast before our drift boat would silently glide past this inviting spot.

As I released the cast, amazingly, it actually landed where I had hoped. As the eagle grips its prey with its talons, I felt a fish strike the fly, and I firmly set the hook in its mouth. From the feel of the rod I knew I had a good-sized fish on the line trying not to be pulled to the surface and into the awaiting net. Kate scooped a beautiful rainbow trout into the net and onto the boat. The rainbow’s colors blended splendidly with the spectacular colors of the Maine woods.

Unlike the eagle, which would share its prey with its young; the rainbow was released back into the river allowing it to grow. Perhaps, another father and son may again land it on their fishing trip. Kate eased the drift boat to shore, where she prepared delicious hearty soup of fiddleheads’, potatoes, and sausage for all of us to share. The meal was perfect, as the weather had turned cooler. As we sat enjoying the meal, we admired the scenery, listened to the hypnotic sound of the river, and prepared for the final hours of our trip.

Check Out Part 1

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New England

Upper Andro Part 1

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Less than four weeks ago I was absentmindedly-perusing Wikipedia articles about the 50 states and noticed an entry about Maine Guides. Fishing has been lacking in New Jersey and I have been itching to feel the tug. I telephoned Cross Current Guide Services and booked a float trip on the Upper Androscogin in the Bethel Maine area. Fellow shredders already know this locale as the home to Sunday River Ski Resort.

The first thing a weary traveler perceives about Maine as they cross the back roads out of New Hampshire is how awesomely desolate the state is. We arrived around 9PM and couldn’t see much of anything except for the moonlight-silhouetted mountaintops.
Fast forward a few hours, dad and I are meeting our guide Kate Farnham down a short dirt road to Newt’s Landing. Mary our shuttle driver gives us and the Boulder Boat Works drift boat a lift up to the put in.

I was stoked on fishing my new Kelly Galloup 7WT Bankrobber with Streamer Express Sinking line. This time of year in Maine the trout love streamers; there is very little surface hatch activity and nymphs can be wielded with only marginal success. Kate quickly tied on a Green Flash Back Wooly Bugger with a trailing brown stonefly on 3X tippet. The stonefly had these ungainly rubber arms that apparently get the Brown Trout all hot and bothered. Our strategy was as follows; Dad was set up with a floating line and a Muddler Minnow to aggressively pound the shallow bank waters while I used the full sinking line in the trough.

Right off the bat there was major fish activity, several trout rose to slurp midges off the surface film. We both had some intense fights but no fish in the boat. A few more casts and varying up the retrieves and I landed a healthy Brown, the Bankrobber was no longer a virgin. I followed this up with two more, one on the aforementioned rig and a third on the Muddler Minnow.

We continued to pound the water until fish activity ceased. A cold front was pushing through along with a light drizzle and the fish went down. We set off down the river testing various patterns in a near fruitless attempt to get the trout feeding again. Dad on the other hand was able to pull in a sizable Rainbow as we slowly meandered down the river (Story to be recounted in another entry).

Part 2: Lunch, Dad’s ‘Bow and some late day action


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