Fly Fishing in western and southern Maine, 2014 -- A look back, and forward

Tom Welch
Registered Maine Guide

This blog is devoted to two of my passions:  my love of the outdoors -- and in particular fly fishing -- and to the Maine Guiding profession with which I have been involved for several years. I am the founder of Magalloway Guide Services, with which I have been actively guiding since its inception. This summer has been my busiest.

Magalloway Guide Services offers guided fishing trips in northwestern Maine and southern Maine. Founder Tom Welch, a Registered Maine Guide, focuses on fly fishing excursions on rivers and streams in the Rangeley, Maine, Region, and in the Cumberland and York County Regions of Maine. Clients can enjoy a range of fishing experiences, from the challenging waters of the Magalloway River to the more gentle but nonetheless productive waters of the Upper Kennebago River in the Rangeley area. In Southern Maine, clients can enjoy productive trout and bass fishing in the Presumpscot River, the Saco River and the Royal River, among others. 

 I'm excited to share my 35 years of fishing experience, as well as my knowledge of these waters as a working guide, and will supply gear, if needed, to clients for river/stream fishing. Parties are generally limited to two people. 

 In addition to fly fishing, Magalloway Guide Services offers other types of fishing experiences. Registered Guide and MGS member Dick Buffum offers guided fishing trips in the Saco River for species ranging from brown trout to bass and more.

 

With fall fishing almost upon us, it's time to make plans for the next -- and final, for the season, at least -- fishing excursion. If Magalloway Guide Services can help make your experience more productive and enjoyable, let me know.

 

Magalloway Guide Services can be reached at magallowayguide@gmail.com or our facebook page at Magalloway Guide Services ( https://www.facebook.com/pages/Magalloway-Guide-Services/713288905423592. ) Don't wait; the calendars are filling up.

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I wrote in great despair this past spring that "The Polar Vortex ... (which was in the news over the winter) sounds like a big black hole sucking everything in its path into it's bottomless gullet. It seems to be that things should be blowing in a different direction about now." Visit my fishing Blog at http://divingcaddis.blogspot.com

Well it eventually did, and the raging waters of April returned to normal in May -- though reluctantly, it seemed -- as the wet weather persisted.  Trout and salmon fishing in Rangeley-Oquossoc came to life in May and slowly flourished, just as the vegetation along Maine's beautiful rivers and streams grew and thickened. In July, the streams and rivers in Cumberland and York Counties to the south rewarded us with some productive native brook trout and stocked brown trout fishing.

Here's a beautiful brook trout I caught in the Rangeley area in May, on a sinking hare's ear wet fly. It was the first really nice fish of the season.

Now it is fall again, almost as quickly as we can say this, and I'm drawn back to the Rangeley area, stalking the wild trout and salmon, which are just now preparing for their spawn. Spring can take its sweet time getting here as far as I'm concerned.

Royal River in Yarmouth, Maine in April