July Synoposis - Part One

First off, I would like to apologize for my extended hiatus.  I am sure that many of you thought I had both hands bitten off by a record breaking muskie and wasn’t able to type.  Such is not the case I can assure you.  I am back and a lot has happened since I last posted.  I will try to give a quick synopsis to get everyone up to speed and I am trying to put the finishing touches on both the promised article on canoes and my review on the Abu Garcia rod and reel combo, both of which should be up by the end of the week so stay tuned!

The first week in July I celebrated my birthday with an evening trip to Black Lake in Fort Kent, which was timed well with the trout taking grasshopper flies.  The mirrored surface of the water turned to a boiling turmoil at around 7:30 that evening and we were fortunate enough to pick up a couple of nice brook trout, the largest of which was over a foot long.  We had the best success with an orange grasshopper fishing the grass and weed edges close to shore.  The fishing was slow, but it was a beautiful night on the water and the occasional two pounder breaking the surface kept us on edge.

More updates tomorrow on many other adventures!

A Change of Pace

 I was reviewing my last few posts and realized that if someone doesn't enjoy looking at pictures of fish, they might find it kind of boring.  Now I don't know anybody who doesn't like looking at pictures of fish, but on the off chance that somebody like that happens to stop by here, I thought it might be nice to give them a change of scenery.  I am not particularly skilled with a camera nor am I overly artistic, but luckily I had some people with me the other night who thought this would be a nice picture.  I have to give credit to my sister-in-law Amelia for being the one behind the camera for these shots, and also to her boyfriend Brent who is usually the talented cameraman on our outings.  I will try not to get quite so caught up on catching fish, so that I can take time for a few pictures of things other than fish! 

Also the rod and reel that you see in the pictures are the ones that I will be reviewing for Abu Garcia thanks to the wonderful site called Outdoor Blogger Network!

Sunset Casting on the St. John River

Fishing Line - Almost Invisible

Two Days of Bassin'

Brent and I targeted bass last Thursday evening and we were rewarded with a few nice fish.  All told we landed four fish and lost three others in a couple hours before the sun set and left us racing the dwindling light back to the boat launch.  Most of our fish on Thursday were coming off crankbaits worked in 18-36" of water.  The fish were giving away their location by taking mayflies off the surface and allowed for us to pinpoint them more quickly.

Heather and I headed out on Saturday to try and find a few more of the fun fighting smallmouths.  We fished some new water that I had never been on before and it was a little slow on the start, but once we keyed in on them we brought 13 to the boat in a couple of hours and lost several others.  This was the day with the smallest bass of the season at 8" long and also the largest at 19" and pushing just over the 4 pound mark!  The pictures are below and I also included a video of a bass that I picked up on a current line.  We fish in a river for bass so some of our techniques and styles may look a bit unorthodox to some of you.  Take note of the canoe with the side mounted outboard, as I am working on a post about this watercraft, which is the preferred method of river navigation in our region of the world.

Bass Off the Current Line from Video

Heather with one of her many catches.

The Four Pounder!

Stay Tuned for Our Continued Outings!

Video of Muskie

Here is the promised video of last weekend's 37" muskie!

The still picture of the fish looks much skinnier than the actual fish was.  If you watch the video you will see the fish is actually quite thick for a post spawn muskie.

This fish was released to continue growing and to be caught another day!

Bass and Muskie Weekend

Memorial Day weekend allowed me to get on the water two days this past weekend and both days produced nice fish.  Saturday Heather and I went out to enjoy the weather and find spawning bass on their beds.  This time of year, under the right weather conditions, you can easily employ sight fishing techniques for these spawning smallmouths.  This provides for a very unique and exciting fishing experience.  The highlight of the day was when Heather hooked into a nice 3 pound smallmouth and when she pulled it towards the shallow water, a dark cloud appeared behind the fish which were quickly distinguished as 12-15 smallmouths in the 2.5-3 pound range.  That was a phenomenon I had never seen previously.  I have seen large schools of smaller fish and smaller groups of the large fish, but never that many, that size.  I quickly cast to the perimeter and we were rewarded with our second double of the day.  The day produced around a dozen fish that went over 2.5 pounds, which is a success in my book.  The biggest was around the four pound mark and was heavy enough to break the line right at the boat.  Again I encourage catch and release of the fish while they are spawning.

Nice Smallmouth off a Spawn Bed

Brent with a Bass

Monday was the day for muskie and Brent and I went out to try our luck.  We were rewarded with several strikes, and I finally connected with my personal best fish of 37”.  Based on the girth, I am estimating the fish to be around 12-13 pounds.  This fish fought very well and was a lot of fun.  Brent also hooked onto a fish which unfortunately gave a final headshake at the side of the canoe and managed to get away before the photo opportunity.  This was his first muskie hookup, which will hopefully be followed up by another chance where we can snap a picture.  I would estimate that fish to be in the 30-32” range.  

37" Maine Muskie

Enjoy the pictures and I am attempting to upload some video footage to go with it so stay tuned!

Coleman Products Maintain the Camping Heritage

From my earliest memory right up until present day all of my outdoor memories are centered around a crucial part of equipment, the cook stove.  For my family, the Coleman cook stove was a focal point of our long outdoor heritage.  Whether we were pan frying trout on a back country sand bar that were so fresh they were curling out of the pan, or warming our hands after a cold spring rain that made starting a fire almost impossible, or maybe just the wonderful aroma of bacon wafting across the frozen expanse of the lake that lured us back to the ice shack much like a rutting buck is pulled to doe urine in a scrape, the Coleman stove was always with us.  

The look of the stoves have changed with each generation, but all are still fully functioning no matter what age they are or how much abuse they have experienced.  My family has a tradition of fishing and hunting in a remote location known locally as Beaver Brook.  The area is only accessible by canoe propelled several miles with a setting pole or "pick poling".  Due to the work involved to to access this location, we typically spent the night.  When my great-grandfather first made the journey up to this area, he cut a few trees to make a camping site, set up his Coleman Stove and laid a piece of canvas on the ground.  Over the years our camping arsenal has grown to include many of the fine Coleman products and the camping site is much improved with such amenities as a clothes line and a fire pit, but the stove remains the focal point.  Thanks to the great products that Coleman has produced I have some wonderful memories of one my favorite spots in the world with my family members.  Words cannot express the joy and serenity that the thought of these memories rekindle.

There is something about being outside camping that requires all members of the party to each shoulder their own part of the work burden and at the same time lean on each other to accomplish everything, followed by relaxing time to reflect.  This draws people closer than anything else I know of, as well as giving each individual a great sense of personal accomplishment.

"Sponsored by Coleman and hosted by the Outdoor Blogger Network, this is my submission for the Coleman Camping Heritage Essay Contest."

Even though I wrote this article for a contest, it truly reflects my honest opinion of the Coleman line of products and I appreciate all of the work that they have done to promote camping both past and present.

Bass Fishing Teaser

I know I haven't been super active around here lately, but when the sun is shining it is hard to stay inside long enough to write something that makes sense.  Here is a quick teaser from some recent trips.  The female smallmouths seem to be starting to stage near spawning grounds, so if the weather stays constant we should see the bass spawning soon.  The fishing has been slow with a few nice fish showing up, but they have been few and far between.  I also have a new fishing rod and reel courtesy of Abu Garcia and the Outdoor Blogger Network.  I have been putting them through their paces and will continue to do so for a few more trips and then I will be writing a review of it.  Stay tuned for new updates coming soon!