August 1, 2011

Yesterday I drove down to Henderson Brook Bridge to pick up a couple of kayakers who were paddling from McNally's to Round Pond.  I drove the McNally Road and across the high ground I couldn't help but notice that colors are beginning to turn, not to the red and orange of fall but the dark greens are fading and the leaves are drying up; early signs of what's to come.  Every now and then I would spot a flash of red maple leaves that have already turned.  A family of grouse hanging out on the side of the road brought  Maggie out of her summer doldrums but by the time she was done educating them it was obvious that summer was still around so back to the air conditioned truck we went.


Good News!  We have been seeing quite a few deer in our travels around the Allagash.  At least a half dozen does are residing  within two miles of camp and those are the ones we're seeing.  It has been a long time since we've had this many deer around. One nice buck was standing  in the road not far from camp.  He won't last long if he does that in November!

We still have not seen many decent bull moose.  We never do until they shed their velvet just before the rut.
Water temperature has begun to drop.  I expect that if that  trend continues we'll have some good fall fishing this year. I got a couple nice trout a few days ago.  I am sure they came up the stream from Long Lake with the cool rain we got a few days ago.  One was a nice male, hooked jaw and all the color you would expect on a fall brookie.

Our guests that are here with us now have enjoyed kayaking the Allagash and sightseeing with us in our big scott canoe on Umsaskis Lake.  Fred and Marianne have been doing the Allagash for years now with about 11 trips under their belts.  It has been awhile since they have stayed with us and it has been great fun getting caught up.   They tell us this brings back many fond memories of camping/canoeing the Allagash with their family.  Our outing on Umsaskis treated us to many great sights such as a bald eagle soaring high overhead and a loon making her call, we suspect trying to steer us away from her babies.  A good time was had by all, Maggie included. 

















Though there are some early signs of fall out there,  we are expecting more hazy lazy days of summer ahead.  August is typcially a beautiful month on Ross Stream.  Come join us.

June 17, 2011

Well, we are just now getting to the best time for canoeing and kayaking in Northern Maine so the moose hunt seems like a long way off.  Not so.  The drawing is tonight so this update will be about Maine moose hunting. 

We are hoping that some of our regular moose hunters will get drawn.  They know the score when it comes to hunting with us.  Most of our parties get their moose.  Those that don't usually have no one to blame but themselves.  We have folks who say "I passed up a bull today, it is the first day and I would like to get a trophy."  This will come back to haunt you every time.  If you pass up a bull, don't talk about it.  Murphy's law says you will not see another moose.  Virtually every season we shoot four out of five or five out of five.  Hard to do much better than that!

If you get drawn for either Zones 1, 2, 4 or 5, September, October, or November, you will likely get a letter from us within a couple of weeks of the drawing.  If you don't, or you would like to make reservations early, the best way is to contact us through our website or call 254-241-1704.  This is our satellite phone.  If you get our voicemail, please leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Layton and his son, Wes, with a nice bull they got midweek of the October hunt a couple of years ago.







Carl on the left, whom I was guiding, with my friend Dave who has had the dubious luck of being with me on several moose hunts while I was incapacitated.  Did I ever say thanks Dave for gutting out those moose?  Thanks!









Below Matt, the shooter, with his father Frank and Frank's father Marty with a nice bull that I called in opening day of the September hunt last year. 

June 12, 2011

Last thursday was hot and stickey.  The night was not much better.  Regina lay awake with her head near the window when she heard movement outside, thinking bear she became wide awake.  Once her eyes adjusted to the lack of light she was able to make out a newly born calf moose, checking out the smells around our gas grill.  The mother was down near the stream in obvious disgust that her offspring was paying no attention to her grunt calls.   Reggie got up and walked to the sliding glass doors in the living room and, by the light of a sparse moon, watched as the calf walked up to the sliding glass door and stared back at her.

The next day I was out working on the solar panels on the front of our cabin. I happened to glance downstream.  About 400 yards away I could see something very black.  It turned out to be a fairly large black bear. The bear appeared to be busy eating  We both watched it for a few minutes then it walked away. That night as  I tried to get to sleep it dawned on me that the bear could have been eating freshly killed moose meat.   In the morning, I told Reggie of my thoughts; turned out she had worried about the same thing off and on all night.  After breakfast dishes were done we got in the canoe and went downstream to see what was what. While I, with my two friends Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson, looked for what the bear had been eating  Reggie limbered up the flyrod and caught a nice 14" brookie.  The good news was that the bear was only eating plant roots and not the little calf that Reggie had seen two nights before. The other good news was that Regina had landed her first brook trout on a flyrod this season and it took all of 15 minutes.

The flyfishing for brook trout right now is holding up fine.  Forecast leads me to believe it's going to stay good for a while!

June 7, 2011

The advantages of reading glasses.

Conditions are about as good as they get for fly fishing in Northern Maine right now!  So, armed with my flyrod, I approached my favorite fishing spot when I saw two 3" minnows simultaneously launch themselves high enough to almost obtain orbit. Then there was a serious roll where one of the baitfish re-entered the water. That's what I was looking for.

So let's go back a bit. I was about to put the motor on my canoe when I noticed that one of the bolts holding the lower unit on was loose, so I hooved it back for my set of sockets, should have got the wrenches as well, so back I go again. It's muggy and hot and I'm fat and sweating.  Did I mention that the black flies were out? Yes, I was looking for dinner, I didn't want to be dinner!  By the time I had the lower unit tightened up I was being dined upon by  a squadron of the miserable.....
.
Now, I'm motoring to my spot with jangled nerves from the swarm of black flies, when a very respectable (a very respectable) brookie rolls in pursuit of those minnows. My approach was clean so I cast a short line. The fly hardly hit the water when this very nice brookie nonchalantly sucks it down.  I set the hook and all seems to be going nicely when he turns unexpectedly and comes at me.  I scramble to take up the slack but he's gone. Too big to eat anyhow, I would have let him go.  So back to casting, I lose several more trout and decide it's time to check that fly out, that's right it's broken. I can barely tie a fly on without glasses but I certainly can't inspect that fly without them.

It's raining hard now and we're supposed to get thunderstorms this afternoon, but I know where that brook trout is, I just want him in my net , I promise  I'll let him go.

That's Trout Fishing!

We said goodbye to our fishermen this past weekend when they flew out from Cunliffe Pond, which is 3 miles from camp, with Katahdin Air Service.  It was a "blue bird" day on Saturday, but unfortunately, with the nice bright sunshine, the fishing was slow.  Still......fish were caught and released, fish were lost, and they enjoyed the experience of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway.