Back in Maine Again

Thanks for reading this back in Maine again report. The intrepid reader will remember last week’s report came from Winthrop, Massachusetts. We spent Sunday and Monday there (and I got no more striped bass), and left for Maine on Tuesday.

Winthrop Beach.

Subscribers without photos- go to https://www.spottedtail.com/blog/, please.

The blueberries are ripe now. Time spent picking berries is always time well spent.

I’ve been spending much of my fishing time in shallow places with lots of weeds. I get lots of bites there, many from chain pickerel. I thought I’d brought a sufficient number of bass bugs, and if they negotiated the weeds well I probably did. But the face of those gurglers I like to use in Florida catch the weeds. I only had a couple bullet-shaped surface flies, and pickerel cut them off.

Some creativity would be needed to replace them, since I didn’t bring any fly-tying gear with me.

A piece of closed cell foam found lying on the ground could be cut into slider heads. Got two from it. Then another piece of foam was found and I made two more heads. Crude? Yes. Ugly? Oh, yes. I needed hooks to put them on, and something for a tail.

Ugly? Yes indeed.

We went to Bridgton on Friday to get lobster rolls. Next to the lobster place was Unc’L Lunkers Bait and Tackle. Wasn’t expecting much when I went in, but they had #2 Aberdeen hooks and some fly-tying materials, and bunches of other stuff. I bought the hooks and a green calf-tail. Larry (the owner) gave me a tube of super glue. I was ready to make some flies!

Close-up of Ugly Bug.

After a trial with carpet thread that gave unsatisfactory results, I used dental floss for tying thread for the other three flies. It worked much better. After finishing the tying, weedguards were super-glued into the flies.

Ugly Bug wurk gud.

A few bass were caught with one during the first test. No big ones, but the flies work, which I thought they would. So next I have to go to the weedy place and really fish them. I guess that will be in next week’s report.

A fatter specimen on the plastic shad, caught over a rock pile.

When I was here in Lovell earlier this summer, I caught a bass that was missing part of its gill cover. I caught it again this week. All largemouths look pretty much the same, but a missing gill cover is fairly distinctive. All this proves is that catch-and-release works.

The weeds hold lovely things, other than fish.

Dusk comes to Kezar Lake.

That’s the back in Maine again report. Thanks for reading!

Every day is a blessing. Don’t waste it- Go fishing! Go paddling! Take a walk! Stay active!

John Kumiski
www.johnkumiski.com
www.spottedtail.com
www.spottedtail.com/blog

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2023. All rights are reserved.