June 2006 Almanac
This Month: Take Time to Discover “Life The Way It Should Be”
With apologies to Ireland, in early June, Maine is the “Emerald Isle” for sure. This state gets as green as green can get.
Everything is happening, too:
Northern brook-trout ponds have predictable hatches and perfect water temperatures for non-stop action.
Northern rivers have runs of landlocks and brookies now.
Bull and cow stripers roam the coast.
Black bass are nesting and fishing for them is red hot.
North Country brooks and small streams are as good as they get for tangling with eager brookies.
In the South Country, trollers are still finding salmon at 20-foot depths early in the month, but by July 1, salmon and togue will be concentrating in deep holes, easy targets for skilled trollers.
North-country trollers can still be dragging lures on the surface the first week of the month.
Brown trout in Southern and Central Maine move into shallows in the night and at dawn, are still there, feeding.
Pickerel, perch and sunfish are feeding voraciously this month.
Hornpout start hitting fast now and night forays for them can fill a pail.
Mackerel arrive this month.
Woodchuck hunters sally forth now, scanning fields and looking for those distant brown dots.
Scouting for bears goes on in earnest this month for those serious bruin hunters.
Archers, smoothbore enthusiasts and rifle hunters practice in earnest.
Tender potherbs are ripe for picking now, so wild-food gatherers hit the trails. Soon, strawberries will be ripening, too.
When school closes, car camping, canoe tripping and backpacking picks up big time.
Kayaking is blasting along at full bore on the ocean and inland as people just go tripping or fishing. Not long ago, Jim Andrews, the author of our “The Self-Propelled Sportsman,” reported that a business in the Farmington Area sells 10 kayaks for every canoe.
Photographers have it good now. Wildlife photographers have baby critters and scenic photographers have stunning greens dotted with wild flowers.
June is the month former Gov. Angus King was talking about when he said Maine was the way life should be.
Next Month: It’s Hotter Now, But the Fishing’s Still Fine
In the outdoors world of Maine, life once slowed in July. Anglers put away their fishing gear, often for the year, although a handful fished September, and shooting practice didn’t start until September. These days, anglers go full bore all year.
Stripers, blues and mackerel are swarming along the coast for sure this month, and folks abandon inland waters to find action with big fish.
Partyboats do a banner business in July as the tourist season peaks.
Fly rodders look forward to July’s blue-winged-olive hatches, predictable and abundant.
Evening hatches of mayflies and caddises, often 30-minute affairs at dark, draw anglers streamside this month.
Unseasonably cold rains can bring landlocks and brookies up Northern Maine rivers from lakes and ponds and those lucky enough to hit the meteorological event can find solitude on name waters.
Togue trollers hit the deep holes and find togue concentrations.
Brooks and small streams have brookies congregating around springs and deep holes, easy targets for folks in the know.
Black bass go deeper now, but folks who know how to work weighted jigs keep their rods bent. At dawn, though, bass are in the shallows after a night of feeding. Action can be fast until full sunlight hits the water.
Clay sports pick up in July as folks practice their mount and swing.
Rifle hunters perfect their squeeze now.
Archers shoot a lot on ranges, particularly in early morning when cool air reminds them of autumn.
Scenic photographers have less vibrant green now but those softer colors create great mood shots, shots colored with a profusion of wildflowers.
