Androscoggin River Summer Fly Fishing report
Sorry it has been awhile since I have provided a report and checkin. The guide season has been a blur. We started off the begining of the season chasing mostly pike in the mid sections of the Andro. The spring fishing was great. We had a reprieve in large flows and when the pike came off the spawn they were hungry and willing!
The beauty of spring pike fishing is you don’t have to cast as big of flies as in the fall! It is a great time for new casters who want to try their hand at the pike grind, to get their feet wet. We had great luck with Bufords, Hollow Flys, various buck tail swim flies, and other unique flies featuring dragon tails and squimpish hair. I love tying predator flies and seeing first hand how they swim and the fish react.
In May we began targeting trout primarily. We had a great spring and early summer guiding and hosting clients at the yurts. It was great seeing folks take advantage of our fish-n-stay discounts and is always fun to pull up in front of a clients yurt on fishing days! We saw a good mix of trout species and a nice mix of wild fish. Their was a shift in IFW’s management this year and they stopped stocking brook trout in the main stem of the Androscoggin River. This was nice to see, as all the supporting tributaries have wild brook trout and stocking over them does no service to them. AP specials, hornbergs, stone nymphs, champagne caddis, pheasant tails, adams, mini cougars, all produced! The beauty of the Androscoggin is you can catch fish in so many ways. On an ideal day we may nymph, catch a hatch, and find fish on streamers as well! The river is large and expansive and at times requires searching techniques, but we stop to enjoy the nymphing runs and dry fly hatches as well.
June always marks a split month species wise. Smallmouth trips start to trickle in at the beginning of the month and we stay on trout as long as water temps allow. This year marked a cooler June and we were able to focus on trout until the last week! But ever since than it has been all smallmouth! “Save a trout, catch a smallie” I always say around this time of year. It is great to see others alike giving trout a break and fishing for our hard fighting partners in crime….smallmouth. This season has marked a great year for size class. When abilities allow we fish the river in different ways to target the larger fish on the hunt! Every river is different and the Androscoggin offers some unique structure and layout compared to other bodies of water. The large fish are smart and use the river in creative ways to ambush their prey. We have had great luck targeting fish using poppers, foamies, naturals, streamers, and even tightline streamer fishing (think euro nymphing on steroids)! The great news is there is great smallmouth fishing still to be had!!!! I anticipate fishing to be top notch and include topwater action until the river temps cool in September. This however, is the time that large streamers bring big fishing fattening up for winter through october, when they will school in the deeper impoundment sections of the river.
I am looking forward to the season that is left! Smallmouth fishing will remain good, trout will be picking back up toward the middle of September, and pike fishing will be getting hot come October! I love the changing of seasons and variety that the Androscoggin gives me guiding. I enjoy the challenge of different fish and their own unique characteristics. To all those who have spent time with me in my boat so far this year….THANK YOU!!!!!!!!
-Alex (A.L.) Poland