Posted By:
Andrew-White
Field Editor
06-04-2007 15:47
Cloudy, High Winds – 45-50 Degrees
It’s kiiling me that I have not been fishing yet. I can feel my boat sulking in my driveway. Slaved this past weekend finishing up my lawn extention which included grading, stump digging and pulling. It was made easy with my fathers John Deer 950. Gotta love hydraulics! dug and tore out 7 sappling stump clusters in the front yard and spread 14 yards of loom. Just need to lyme, seed and hay it and let mother nature do the rest. After that I just have about 240′ of fence to put up and reroof my house and by that time summer will be over and I will be duck hunting. Haven’t heard of any striper action but I know they are hear, at least schoolies and some slot fish. Not sure where the mackerel are but somewhere South and getting closer.
Posted By:
Andrew-White
Field Editor
Southern to Midcoast 05-27-2007 21:00
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
Have had numerous reports of “bait sized” schoolie stripers being caught from the Mouseam River to the Kennebeck River. The offshore water temp has been reported as high as 50. 55 is what we really need. I have not heard of any mackerell showing up yet but it is still early for them yet. Have not put the boat in the water yet and this past weekend I worked. It was beautifull in Boothbay harbor. Also started a landscaping and fencing project that my wife keeps pestering me to finish. Hope to get out Mon or Tuesday either in Sebago or Royal River. Have seen many large groups of eiders doing there funky girations trying to get a piece of tail and also a lot of oldsquaw that are totally brown. I think this is a faze for them this time of year.
Posted By:
Andrew-White
Field Editor
Grand Lake Stream 05-21-2007 12:06
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 40-45 Degrees
My father treated me to a Grand lake Stream fishing trip over the weekend. Left Thursday AM an came home Sunday evening. The drive was 325 miles one way but the scenery made up for it. We stayed at Wheatherby’s Resort a 2 min walk from the stream. This resort has been around for a very long time (couldn’t find a date to be exact). Fished Tursday evening for an our at a spot above the “Falls”. Saw a couple of salmon rising, taking emergers. There was a hatch of Olive Dunns but the fish were not taking them on the surface. Ended up with no fish for the hour we fished. On Friday we fished a spot below the “Falls” called the “Bath Tub”. This was a very nice deep long tapering pool with moderate current. My father landed 3 salmon about 12-15″ and a good size small mouth bass on an olive Woolybugger and a Black Ghost (chenile body with maribou wing). I landed a huge sucker and lost 2 decent salmon on an olive woolybugger with a beadhead prince dropper. We next moved down to a apot called the “Meadow” and my father caught 2 more salmon on a Black Ghost. Went back to the lodge for a great lunch and then took a canoe ride in a Grand Lake Canoe from Big Lake to the mouth of Grand Lake Stream. My first cast into a spot called the “Brick Yard” produced a 19 3/4″ salmon. I moved to a spinning rod with a silver and purple DB Smelt and landed 2 out of 3 salmon hooked. My father landed 3 salmon as well on a black ghost. It was a cold wet day but was a blast. Saturday we fished all the way upstream from the “Falls” and caught no fish. The wheather was warmer and brighter which made the salmon a bit particular. Sunday, our last day we checked out and fished from the “Bath Tub” to the “Meadow”. I hooked a 20″ + salmon on a golden stone that had a dropper of a beadhead prince. What a fight on a 5wt. Also missed 2 more fish in this same spot. My father landed 2 salmon with the same rig. The resort was top notch. It is Orvis endorsed. There are 15 log cabins to choose from all of which had electricity, hot water, 1 full bath with a sink in each room and a giant fireplace. All meals were included. Fresh baked muffins, rolls and deserts. Breakfast made to order and a set dinner menu that was awesome. You could also order a lunch to go (in a basket) so you would not have to miss any fishing or you could come back to the lodge for a warm lunch if you wanted. Off of the diningroom was a “greatroom” with a warm stove to sit around to have your drinks. There was also a small Orvis store with the esentials and plenty of guides to choose from if you prefferd. Check them out by Typing in Wheaterby’s Reort, Grand Lake Stream. I will post up some pictures a bit later.
[Edited By Andrew-White on 2007-05-21 15:03]
Posted By:
Andrew-White
Field Editor
05-11-2007 12:24
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 45-50 Degrees
I have been doing a bit of yard work at home and trying to get some work done on the boat every day I’m off. The wife wants a fence up for the dogs. Have cut about 3 cords of 4-6″ saplings down and cleaned up the woods of dead stuff and such on my .79 acre lot. Picked up my prop at H&H Propeller in Brunswick. Had a boo boo on it from last year. All that is left is to prime and paint the lower unit on the engine and splash it in the water for a shake down. The only things left are “wants”…am/fm antenna for the radio, sporttrac bracket for the bimini top. Also waiting for a livewell timer that burned out. I have heard of stripahs in Southern Maine but cannot confirm, wouldn’t be surprised! Took Murphy to the lake yesterday. He always has a blast but just does not want to listen to me. He gets calmer and calmer everyday. He was 2 yo in Feb. His brother Kirby 4 months is evrybit a puppy and instigator. Hope to do some fishing soon!
Posted By:
Andrew-White
Field Editor
Southern to Midcoast 04-29-2007 20:26
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 35-40 Degrees
It was a good weekend to be at work. Usually it is very nice when I’m at work. It will probably happen this summer when the stripers are runing…very nice when I’m working and crap when I’m off. Lately the boat has been heavily worked on. I feel guilty that my dog Murphy wants me to train him and I need to train more with the new pup and then please the wife all at the same time. Well so far the new better cleats are installed. I actualy choked when I saw the cast aluminum/choremed cleats..$12 (the ones I took off) more expensive that the 316 SS 6” cleats $8 at Wally World. Who knows? I also figured out why my Garmin 188C chart plotter and sounder was not displaying my position on the LCD of my Standard Horizon “Quest VHF”. Spent a few hours checking and replacing connections. Talked to the techs at Garmin and they finally told me to call Standard Horizon…they told me to hold down the H/L button for 3 seconds. Sure enough that was the trick. For those out there that don’t know what I am talking about it is called DSC. Digital Selective Calling. This is becoming more popular but has been around for many years. This is a way to call other boats or alert other boats around you that you are in ditress. What you need is a VHF with DSC cabability (most radios have this) and a GPS. Next you go to Tow Boat US or Sea Tow website and get an MMSI#. This number is registered to your vessel and will list your name. contact info and description of your boat. Also if any of your buds out there have this set up you can call them on CH 70 instead of calling on 16. It’s like making a phone call. When you get into trouble you press a speacial button on th radio and it transmits your position to your GPS and to other boats. Basically it’s like having a EPIRB except you dont have to spend and arm and a leg on it. Getting an MMSI # is totally free. It took a bit of time to wire everything in but I did it and I’m no electrical nerd. So after that I added 2 more rod holders on either side of the anchor locker, armoralled the tires and the vinal seats, cleaned the decks with Soft Scrub, Got my dead battery charged, greased the outboards, ans did some patch work on the vinal covered decks. Almost done. Just need to put my custom livewell in.
All for now.
Posted By:
Andrew-White
Field Editor
Midcoast & Southern 04-17-2007 10:10
Cloudy, Snow & Rain Mix – 35-40 Degrees
The Noreaster from hell has passed. This is the worst storm I have seen in over ten years. For some miracle I did not loose power but other parts of Cumberland did. I just hope the snow is all done with. Turkey season is just around the corner and I think that it is an odd year that will start. If you were born in an odd year such as 1977 then you get first crack. Last week I got all my turkey gear rounded up and am ready to go. Need to get out and scout.
Posted By:
Andrew-White
Field Editor
Southern Maine 04-12-2007 10:00
Cloudy, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
Can’t wait fot this Noreaster to get here…not! Took a drive up to Richardson’s Boat yard off of White’s Bridge Rd in Windham. I needed some parts for the Lund. I was suprised to see that Sebago was still very much iced over. After speeking to the servive manager he told me the only part open is the North west corner and I’m not sure if you could put a boat in up there and even then drive around amongst the ice chunks. Maybe another 2 weeks or so will do the trick. I fishied the Southern part of Sebago on opening day last year. Ice is still being made on both fresh and saltwater during the nights. Meanwhile I have been getting the Lund ready for another year…replaced my livewell pump, took off old cleats to replace with nice stainless and so on. Not huge projects but time consumeing after you add it all up. The Bunny Clarke has been fishing since April 1st and doing ok on cod and haddock. Check there website out.
Later
Posted By:
Andrew-White
Field Editor
Mid-coast 04-05-2007 10:39
Cloudy, Snow Flurries – 35-40 Degrees
Lots of snow. About 12″ here in Boothbay and about 15″ around Portland. Lots of power outages. We are running off of our generator. There is a 12″ oak tree down across Mckown Point road along with phone and cable. There are lots of eiders in the harbor. Just have to wait for next season.
[Edited By Andrew-White on 2007-04-05 10:48]
Posted By:
Andrew-White
Field Editor
Mid Coast to Southern Me. 04-01-2007 13:25
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 50-60 Degrees
I am working this sunny weekend, of course. While out on the water I have seen lots of eiders and ww scoters about. Also I have heard several large groups of honkers at night overhead and seen lots of flocks near small farm ponds. Am starting to think about duck hunting but I need to focus on this years fishing season frist and make lists for wants and needs for this Fall. According to Tim Towers the owner of the Bunny Clark, the ocean temp is warmer currently than last year which might mean an earlier start to striper fishing which usually kicks off as early as May. The 2007 open water fishing season opened today. Hope to get the dogs out Mon and Tuesday for some training if the rain stays away. Tuesday, April 3 @ 9 PM on the Discovery channel, season 3 of Dedliest Catch starts. If you haven’t seen this show before watch it! Lastly April 2nd is the last day to get your moose permit applications in, in person or online.
All for now.
Posted By:
Andrew-White
Field Editor
03-29-2007 14:44
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 35-40 Degrees
Spring is oficialy here although it does not feel like it today! have seen numerous species of fowl on my morning commute to work from just North of Portland to Mid Coast. There is still quite a lot of ice on the lakes and ponds. The rivers are broken up and jamed with ice flows. Today I sorted out my sea duck strings. I bought 3 large “Round Spring type” laundry bags ($14.95) to store my strings in. Have found that I can pull up the anchor end first, place it in the bag and then start pulling in all my decoys leaving them attatched. If you keep the lines neat you can put the strings out in less than half of the time as clipping them on individually. Two strings (about 12 decoys per) can be put in the bag. I mark the bottom of the last decoy with bright orange paint and turn it “belly” up so I know that that is the start of a new string. I am happy with this system as I can set up rather quickly and take in quickly as well. When you set a string you can deploy each decoy and then drop the anchor when you have towed the string into the right spot. There is a bit of work left to do on the Lund. I just put the hubs and tires back on after changing races and bearings. Yesterday was spent at work changing out rear brakes (drum type), and both bearings. It took a bit longer after I realized I needed 2 wheel cylinders and the stores were closed. Know I just need to replace the front rotors, replace the valve cover and 2 new sway bar links. Just takes time and $. Am up to $200 just on the rear brakes. This is for a 2000 Ford Focus. I do miss the old Chevy, parts are cheaper and easier to install!
