Flashing Back To Summer - Mackeral Fishing - Penobscot Bay

Here are some shots taken last July in Penobscot Bay, just up the coast from Lincolnville Beach.

My sister and brother in law were visiting from Ct. and we headed out on the bay for a little action..

And we got it..lots of it..the bay was full of fish..we were hauling them in 2 and 3 at a time..and as an added bonus..the fish went to a good cause..lobster bait for my nephew who fishes and had an awful time finding bait..No herring processors left in Maine..very sad!

Then we all headed up to Grand Lake Stream for a week..SWEET!

False Start..

While finishing my 3rd cup of coffee and  standing on my front deck , looking at all the leaves that have accumulated in The Rebel Sport, I came to the conclusion that something had to be done about them. I could either sweep and then vaccum or run the boat west on Rt 3 at 60 mph and let nature have it's way with them..And since it would take me at least a half hour running time to clear them out, I may as well stop over at Lake George, as I would be in the vicinity anyways..Great idea, to take advantage of both situations and plus it seemed to be the making of a nice , mid Autumn day. I geared up.  Extra clothing, 3 different varieties of fishing rods, PFD's, camera, net , etc.. Backed up to the tongue , hooked up, fired up the Jeep and nothing except a cloud of blue exhaust smoke..After  a number of tries, the engine kicks in but won't stay running in park.

CRAP!!........

I haul out the air filter and knock it on the bumper..looks ok..Try it again, same thing..I can keep it running if I start it in Neutral and drop it into Drive with foot tweaking the gas peddle ..The little devil on my left shoulder keeps telling me..what the hell...go for it..submit to the tempation..While the little angel on my right shoulder tells me..No...do the right thing as temptations yield to nothing but trouble, such as not being able to get the Jeep started with it on the ramp and the boat on the trailer..

WELL...

As much as I wanted to go with my old friend the tempting one, I decided to give it up and make the right decision (one of the few times I might add). After unhooking the RS, I make it down to the local Irving..dump in too much dry gas and head back home..I ran the Jeep all around town with no trouble and it turns out that the wind really started to kick up, so maybe things do happen for a reason... Maybe today will be the day to take care of those pesky leaves.. Here's hoping....

I'm Gone!!

Hmmm..A FREE breakfast courtesy of LL Bean...20% off a new fly line..Back home before 9... Come the 30th..I'm out of here !

On My Way To Work

I just love Maine ... How lucky are we to live here and get to see this on the way to work...Wicked Good!

Rainy Day Doings

A nice way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon...

Hybird Boat - Belfast Harbor

Here's an interesting boat that I encountered this summer while putting my boat in at the Belfast Public Landing, for a little mackeral action..It was designed by Stephens, Waring & White Yacht Design. And built by French & Webb here in Belfast - "Zogo" would be her name. - She uses a diesel engine and a electric drive driven by solar panels set in her roof. A very pretty and interesting boat and she created quite the stir in town as well as some national publicity

Filming..didn't go well...

I just got a HD Flip Camcorder so I decided to record a afternoon fishing adventure for lake salmon at one of my local haunts..Lake St George in Liberty..Geared up my boat and together with my my Yellow Lab, Ray, headed out to the lake..Of course the town had removed the dock at the boat landing so that complicated matters somewhat because Ray was reluctant to get into the boat because he was way too content to check out all the PeeMail that had been left by his fellow canines around the landing..On top of it the wind was blowing directly onto shore causing my boat to bounce a bit on the rocks..But with a bit of conjoling and bribery using a Milk Bone , Ray finally hopped in and away we went..So..The wind is blowing..the dog isn't real happy and I get one on..I'm trying to keep my boat off the rocks..keep my dog from tripping me up , boating the fish and filming at the same time..Needless to say I have a long way to go..Here is my first attempt..



Ok..not exactly Academy Award material..it all ended well..the fish got returned..no boat on the rocks..and Ray got another Milk Bone.

Part 3 at GL

After lunch we headed into Whitney Cove. Fished really close to the eastern shore and picked up a few more bass. Kim constantly monitoring the fish finder and every now and then directing us to "take in a color boys" or "let another color out"..with me , being a complete novice at fishing with lead line, wondering how soon it will be before a underwater boulder strips all my line from my new trolling rig. I did snag bottom later on in the day but with Kim's expert canoe handling ability and Steve's running commentary, I managed to retrieve it all.

Anyways..No salmon..we fished "The Narrows" ...and on the way back to the the public landing we fished just beyond Caribou Rock in another deep spot ..no salmon.. We did encounter a party barge with 3 lovely ladies, a blond at the helm who yelled out.."Kim, how are you doing sweetheart?"..To this day Kim is still trying to ID this maid with the flaxen hair.. By this time we decided to head back to the landing..I wish I could show you some photos of some nice lake salmon but no luck on this day..But it was a great experience just the same..Fine weather..Wonderful company and a GREAT LAKE!

Back to Grand Lake...September Past

So to continue my story...We headed up lake..Kim at the controls..me mid canoe and Kim's brother Steve in the bow..We trolled around the hole at Dyer Cove for a while..nothing going on although the fish were holding very deep. Steve did pick up this massive smallmouth..just not sure where..but for the sake of argument..let's say that it was going toward our next fishing spot..Whitney Cove..but before we got there I had to find an excuse to get ashore so I could go pee..not gonna use the canoe pee bucket when I'm sitting in the middle..there is no where to turn to satisfy my need for privacy..so on the semi-rouse of needing to stretch my aching legs , I asked Kim if it would be allright to go ashore to unkrink...so we stopped for lunch..that Kim prepared..at the old Doolittle Camp..yes that Doolittle who bombed Tokyo soon after Pearl Harbor...

It was absolutely gorgeous for a lunch/pee stop..The warm September sun..no wind..a very little breeze..perfect..I just don't understand why more people don't consider this part of Maine, Paradise..Like Steve said..Lucky for us that they don't. So after knocking down a ham and cheese sandwich I had a chance to stroll up the shore a bit and took a few photos..

Kim and Steve...relaxing in the warm sun..

Looking up lake toward Whitney Cove..our next fishing destination..

Kim's Grand Laker...

2 Bulls and Cow Moose

I headed up to Grand Lake Stream yesterday to check out the salmon action. There were probably between 20 and 30 fly fishermen and women around..either on the the stream fishing or milling around..or at the store buying coffee..cold wind out of the north or northwest...but it was chilly..nothing to report for me..not even a bump..I did see a decent fish taken by a fellow fisherman who was nymphing..but that was the only one I saw..people were telling me.."you should of been here last weekend" ok..so that made me feel good....anyways..on the way up I spotted these 3 moose just off the South Princetion Rd..so that was my excitement for my daytrip..gotta get a telephoto for my Canon..I'm missing too many good shots...

Fishing Lake St George

I tried my hand at a little late season salmon fishing at Lake St. George in Liberty yesterday..Had the whole lake to myself , practically..Only one other boat out there..Didn't have any luck with the salmon..but did manage this nice trout..released it back..Nice day on the water..the leaves are only about 30%..

Favorite Places in Maine: Belfast Pedestrian Bridge - Bangor Daily News

Favorite Places in Maine: Belfast Pedestrian Bridge - Bangor Daily News

Nice little bit on our footbridge here in town..