Ultimate Maine Brook Trout
welcome everyone to the new fly fisher this week we're in the remote northwoods of maine at libby's camps here we're going to be searching for wild eastern brook trout and landlocked salmon on a variety of rivers and small lakes i can't wait to get going so let's go fishing oh that's a nice size fish what absolutely fantastic the new fly fisher is supported by maine office of tourism orvis fly fishing scientific anglers trout unlimited weathertech canada this region is visually spectacular wild as it gets rich in sporting tradition and the people that live here are as real as they come join me now for a glimpse into northern maine and some of the finest fly angling in the east libby camps is a drive to facility or if you'd rather just a quick 20-minute flight from the town of millinocket located on the eastern shore of millinocket lake libby's acts as the base camp for their fishing and hunting operations and is as comfortable as it is beautiful for our first day on the water we were guided by libby's operations manager scott storey and scott took no time at all giving us a rundown on this particular stretch of water get it moving don't let it lay there okay step towards me a little bit we'll work our way right down cover the ground where these two rivers come together it hits that that large uh ledge over there and it's dug a pretty nice trench through here and the salmon will hang in here and the brook trout will hang in here it's nice water yeah it's beautiful water and we've gotten here early enough so that it's shadowed right now which is usually uh the biggest help to for things to happen in here either the overcast or the shadowing once we get down here a little bit further to the end it drops right down into a real deep steep pocket right and a lot of times especially during warmer water the fish will hold right in there but uh this is this is a beautiful spot it's one of my favorites up here and we'll have you said we'll have a combination of both brook trout and landlocked salmon brook trout and salmon in here yeah this will hold some nice salmon we've caught some pretty good-sized salmon out of here 16-18 inches nice fat salmon we can't stress enough the importance of learning to roll cast when you're fishing trout streams like we're on here in the northwoods of maine you're seldom in a position where you can get a legitimate back cast these alders here it just makes it impossible so get out on the water and just practice moving your line with waterborne casts this is what we refer to as a waterborne cast i don't have the ability as i just said to throw the line up there it's just going to continue to get caught but when you get it down you'll see automatically the importance of being being able to deliver a fly without a back cast practice your roll casting oh there he is oh nice oh that's a mighty nice sweet brook trout there there we go nice nice brook nice crooked hey buddy thanks pal hey that's a that's awesome fish wet my hands so we don't uh scuff him up too bad oh that's nice nice brook trout right there i think it was all day yeah nice looking fish huh all right there you go buddy all right nice job nice job it'd be all right trust your guide we're off it's all i can say the skunk is off trust your guide there we go oh another nice brookie looks nice nice nicely done nicely done this one's not quite as big as the last one you caught but yeah it's still a still a handsome fish yeah i mean native main brook trout right there it doesn't get any finer no it doesn't look at that guy they're just spectacular that one's not quite as fat you can see he's probably as long as the other one but that other one was a little more earthy yep yep handsome fish handsome fish yep about two casts ago i made an errand cast and i don't know that i tied a knot but it just looks like looked like it kind of collapsed check your leaders guys and girls if if you're not sure and even it even pays it even pays every half hour so to just run your run your fingers down your leader i'm fishing i think 12 pound test fluorocarbon right now so it's not as critical but if you're fishing 5x tipit and and you've got a knot in it your your your game is your game is over before it started because it will break on a hook set while the river had treated us well despite the high skies and sunshine we had the notion that when the sun came over the pool the fish would become a little more aware precipitating the need for a presentation change we'll want to start like right in here get it up let it drop right down into that trough so we we just came off of of fishing streamers through here we had a good good shadow on the far side and and on the on the heart of the run scott has recommended that we switch to an indicator of nymph rig which i love and we're gonna hit him with another presentation come on come on you're down there there that's official there you go nice there you go nice job nice we knew he was in there i love that he got the copper john on the bottom nice oh nice fat brookie look at that there you go huh that's a beautiful fish they're they're just they're so they're so pretty yeah the color the the fuchsia with the halos the blue halos it just they don't get any prettier now we continued to fish but things had slowed considerably and not even the enormous caddis hatch turned the trout on for the afternoon shift with our day nearing a close we decided to try one more beat on the way back to camp you said don't mend you don't mind that sort of swinging downstream oh there you go nice nice right all right now you want it to get that swing yeah yeah exactly right there nice nice nice rough trout one of the prettiest fish that swims yeah they really are they really are these ones that come out of moose like stream too i can show you he's not a horse but obviously they're just they're gorgeous that's a good uh look at this start though look at that colors the blue halos around the yellow and the yellows they're just they're spectacular there you go buddy there you go as the clouds began to roll in we quickly withdrew from the water as we began to hear and see thunder and lightning so we got off the water uh about half an hour ago and we drove to a new spot we got caught in a bit of a storm we got here and the head the heavens opened up even with good rain gear with the amount of of electricity in the air get off the water you don't want to be out near anything tall and especially with a nine foot conductor in your hand so point is when you see this stuff coming in give yourself some time and head for the hills for our second day on the water we were joined by toby montgomery our destination was one of the many small lakes within driving distance of the camp while toby is known by many as the moose god for his prows and big game guiding it was clear from the start that he knew more than a thing or two about the fly fishing game and i was on my way to a master class in stillwater angling just pretend like you you don't want the fish to really get a good look at that fly oh so work it a little faster yeah okay and a lot of times those fish will hit it when you're when you're letting go of the line and you'll just feel the line stop yeah there's a fish there you go nice nice nice nice nice nice step coming back at me he's dancing there we go we're on the board oh that's a pretty fish that's a good pretty chunky fish yeah 12 inches nice wild maine brook trout so basically when i'm stripping it in i aim the rod right at the fly i just kind of balance the rod i don't hang onto it very hard i drape the line over my finger so i'm just kind of letting it hang down like that i'm not i'm not gripping the rod real tight see the rod's not moving at all you can hold it above the water or sometimes i just put the rod tip right in the water sure if you rest your elbow on your knee on your leg like this you'll miss a lot you'll lose your feel okay you'll miss a lot of fish okay so i just sit more upright and it's pretty effective with streamer flies also there's one that's that's a good fish too that's a good fish too so toby toby gave me very specific instructions on how to uh how to retrieve this he said to me uh the two casts before he said don't be afraid to rip that a little faster he said they're aggressive and you're not going to spook them so i i did and and this guy took what a beauty i'm coming in i'm coming in ariel yay we're on the board with a big one how big is he about 16. uh 16 or 17 inches long and about 15 inches around this is a beast and i'm not worried about the gnat beautiful fish here's another prime example of of trusting trusting your guide i asked toby earlier about working the shorelines i mean that's typically how i would fish a lake like this just cruise the shoreline kind of running and gunning but with his years experience on this lake he's determined a couple of high percentage spots we happen to be sitting on about six feet but it's dropping at where i'm casting into about 10 feet you said toby and and there's a gradual sort of rise and those fish i i haven't hooked i haven't hooked a fish yet at the full length of my cast and i'm casting about 50 feet uh they all seem to come about midway or closer to the boat and i think what we're getting is is these fish are suspended on this hump they've still got cover which they want but here we are out in the basically in the middle of the lake and as i said toby's identified this as as a high percentage spot and uh i'd say we're doing pretty good so far come on baby come on baby pull my wire come on baby come on just give me one more big beautiful brookie a bbb that's what i'm looking for there we go there we go that's a mid mid-range fish i'd say it's nice we took a yeah there get out of there i'm not getting let me get in that rope oh boy one of the one of the difficult things when you're when you're fishing with these sinking lines in a canoe is it's hard to get that line back on your reel so don't worry about it in the beginning just just play it off the off the um handle use your finger as your control and you can still give them plenty of line these you know these fish aren't eight pounds but um don't try and and get the line back on your reel you just end up you'll just end up fudging it you know this is a six-weight rod and i'm i'm leaning on it pretty good as you can see and i'm not i i ain't in control yet he's coming up coming up oh he's doing he's doing to spin there we go nicely done toby i think my my takeaway from this still water experience is going to be a tip that toby gave me earlier or when we first got to the lake rather than when i'm retrieving this fly rather than retrieving it with the line out of the water and a lot of movement in the rod tip like this he was he was very adamant about keeping the rod tip still pointing it right at the fly basically and really reducing the movement on the rod tip and i will say that i i'm able to stay in contact far better with that fly and i'm feeling every every tap and grab not that they're tapping and grabbing i mean they're just kind of crawling on but a good tip is just to leave that rod tip in the water and you really reduce the movement and you're not compromising the feel as as you would be with the rod up here with a lot of movement in the rod tip as you're retrieving there's one this feels like a this feels like a good fish this feels like a good fish oh yeah he bulldogged him he is staying down it's hard you know fishing from a canoe it certainly gets i mean this is the only way you could fish this lake um so you you know you you got to take what you get um but it's just hard to maneuver a little bit and but i'm not complaining because we are catching we are getting we are into some beautiful fish this this is a nice fish toby this is a this is probably a 16-incher this is a uh this is a this is a six-weight and then like i said i'm i'm not giving him anything but they're strong this water is still nice and cold it's it was uh about 63 degrees the surface temperature so you know down down deep it's it's it's colder these fish are plenty healthy good gracious that is a big old brookie this is where you want to make sure that you're not bringing that fly rod or that fly line in side the guides if he if that if i'd had that happen a minute ago and that fish bolted like that you got a real good shot of that's a nice fish that's a nice fish you got a real good shot of breaking them off so keep your fly line outside of the um rod tip and you'll be far better off thanks again toby that's just a sensational trout there we go there we go oh that's a good fish nice fish that's a good fish too yeah man 100 yards of line at my feet here i'd like to get him on the reel it's coming up coming up and he's on the reel not quite as big as i thought but still a good good fish they're all good fish i'd call it better than average that hook popped out nicely look how fat these fish are he is they're just they're so girthy just so pro i just love brook trout i love them go away virtual fist pump from the back of the canoe thanks again vanda the facilities here are unbelievable it's it's been around a long time but it's really well maintained everything you need is here you can pack light i came from doylestown pennsylvania it's the first fishing trip that i've ever had by myself and the staff are just fantastic people right just really really welcoming they care that you have a fantastic time and the food is just remarkable oh 100 yeah i think i'll be back maybe bring the family it's just unbelievable you can come here and have a fishing trip or a family vacation this is day two of our still water fishing and we made the decision yesterday to come back to the same lake it was so productive yesterday that we thought why leave fish to find fish it just makes sense if you know what's working stick with it now let's get after it oh there's fish again close to the boat just as toby was saying they'll they'll follow it for a long ways it seems this feels like a heavy fish now again because this fish took so close to the boat i've got a lot of line at my feet about 40 feet of line at my feet and i'm not going to risk messing this up by trying to get that line on if the fish takes it i'm going to feather it through my through my my index finger on the rod hand and hopefully he'll take enough line out that i can then put it on the reel but i'm not gonna i'm not gonna risk messing this up just to get the fish on the reel yeah that's a good you know that's a good average maybe a little fighting big whoop watch your watch your your yep inside of the anchor i'll just see if i can coax him back out don't do that at home kids but we had to avoid the anchor rope so toby has pretty good situational awareness in his boat the fishing continued to be hot for the rest of the day due largely to toby's guidance for a guy that doesn't do a lot of still water fishing his tips on presentation and constant reminders we're the game changer for this trip i never pass up the chance to learn new things and these were lessons that i'll take with me whenever chasing fish on lakes and ponds i've been guiding in libby's camps hunters and fishermen for 30 years to be a guide you really have to love what you're doing they may say what they want to do but you have to figure out what what their expectations are and then try to make that come true for them whether it be learn to fly fish or catch a big trout or see moose or some people just enjoy being out here so you it's it's not all about hunting and fishing it's it's a lot more about reading the people and finding out what's going to make their trip you know a joy so that's that's what we try to do oh my i have a bit of a tangle i have a substantial tangle another another good fish i i'm sensing this is a big fish and i got a big tangle in my fly line that whole caveat i was telling you about earlier about having this line at your feet that is the one the one drawback to fishing from a canoe but i think i can manage it i hope i can manage it it's big fish he's staying down like a staying down like a big fish i don't have an anchor rope out the front no i'm good okay oh my god fish oh my god there you go another nice average average fish i can't see what i'm doing yeah you're on the back side now okay there hello he's headed for the other end of the pond now i'm really at a i'm really at a strange angle you can immensely get back out there got him yep thank you sir that's a little better than ever jay yep nice healthy fish nice nice it was a unique experience staying at libby's as it was evident that the camps were historically significant to the region i sat down for a candid talk with matt libby the fifth generation of the family to own the camps and he told me the story yeah the camps actually started here on millinocket lake on on an island in the middle of the lake i'd be my great great grandfather bought them from a guy named will atkins my great great grandfather actually started a few years before that in oxbow with the libby hotel beautiful hotel and they used to like rave about the place with all the fine china and the gas lamps and like the service that you find in new york city type stuff way back in oxbow back when my great great grandfather started this was a two-day canoe paddle upstream from oxbow to get here and people didn't come for a couple days they came for a couple months yeah we really pride ourselves in the customer service the fishing here is is obviously great not a ton of places you can go to catch a lot of really nice native brookies that's one of our big reasons for being here but you know at the end of the day if you if you don't have a good meal and a nice place to sleep the experience just isn't quite as nice so that's what we pride ourselves there are three and a half million acres in the north main woods and plenty of access so you don't need a float plane but it never hurts on our final morning we took a short flight to another beautiful northern mainstream casting to landlocked salmon and more brookies with guide scott's story as most mainers are scott is as laid back as it gets in his style of guiding suits all skill levels like toby he's an outstanding teacher willing to share his knowledge and also provide some good laughs my role here at libby's camp is i'm the operations manager um i it probably should just be more operational support than manager this there's not a lot to manage here we got a great staff no i mean i love it here at libby camps this has been a a great opportunity for me i come from a a 30-year law enforcement career i'm retired from that and now i get to do this i'm i tell everybody i'm living the dream up here i'm going fishing and hunting and with people and i'm flying my airplane and spending time with my dogs my wife works up here with us part time and so it's great it's i'm living the dream here so uh we're gonna do pretty much what we did the other day sort of a pseudo swing and then strip it back along the seam right right it's it's the same streamer presentation we were doing the other day get it out across the stream right just as it starts its turn go ahead but and start that strip in and we'll change the strip up a little bit it's a nice run and down below there we've got some really nice water as well so the other thing is just be ready sometimes even on the landing as it's drifting sometimes they're ambitious enough so just stay sharp i'm ready search your fish you're good i am ready a little more aggressive strip i think with these guys okay coming into this tail out here i i like the looks of it if i was a if i was a fish i'd be hanging right in that right in that tail the shelf coming across here is what you're talking about right at the end of your fly line or the yellow right now that's a huge pocket right there and that'll hold fish we just got to get them to partake in the adventure there's one there you go yep nice there you go well done fantastic yeah it is small salmon that's not a huge landlocked salmon but it's just a beautiful specimen and he's off thank you nice job thank you nice while we had some fun with streamers the action was not fast and furious so we mixed it up a bit to see if we could establish a pattern staying versatile on the water not only will increase your chances during low activity periods it will also make you a better all-around angler in the long run right in that nice fast oxygenated edge right there yep come on baby there's a fish that's a little that's a little salmon there we go good nice nice oh look at him go you called it scott it's one we were looking for i don't know if it's the one we were looking for but it's one it's one i got a long got him on that bottom too on the green yeah we just just made a fly change yep and uh you said you just wanted something a little slice free something else to look for there you go little bud nice fish i'm fishing with an abnormally long leader for for nymph fishing but there's a reason for it the river is crystal clear the sky is high i want to keep as much of the fly line away from the fish as possible but also because i have scott to net my fish i can afford a long leader the reason i say that is you don't want if i was fishing alone and had to net a fish that would mean i would have to bring my knots inside my guides and i don't want to do that but with scott being able to stand downstream of me and net the fish it affords me the opportunity to fish the longest leader that i can as our trip was coming to a close i couldn't pass up the opportunity to fool around with a dry fly and i was happy i did it was a beautiful way to end my trip to northern maine and libby camps we used a variety of equipment on this trip to meet the needs of fishing both still waters and rivers for our dry fly fishing we kept it simple with a five weight a floating line and four and five x tapered leaders we fish nymphs with fives and six weights and our specialized nymph leaders when we changed it up to streamers in the rivers a six-weight with a type 3 10-foot sinking tip served us very well and on the lake we used a 30-foot 150 grain sinking line with an intermediate running section that allowed us to get the fly to the fish at a counted rate depending on the depth i'm not going to sugarcoat this this may have been one of the finest fishing experiences i've ever had we want to thank matt libby and scott storey and all of their staff for this wonderful experience from the hospitality to the fishing everything was top notch to learn more about this destination and others visit us at thenewflyfisher.com until next time stay safe and we'll see on the water the new fly fisher is supported by maine office of tourism orvis fly fishing scientific anglers trout unlimited weathertech canada do do you
2022-04-21 00:46
