Downeast Fishing Report: September 4, 2008

As we put the unofficial end of summer behind us, we approach my favorite time of year. September in Downeast Maine gives us cool nights and comfortable days. These conditions cause water temperatures to fall and fish to become more active. This is the time of year that makes me start thinking about all the opportunities fall has to offer. Hiking and canoeing to see the changing leaves, camping with no bugs and comfortable sleeping conditions, and of course fall brook trout fishing.

In the Downeast region the month of September can provide some great stream and brook fishing for trout. In the fall brook trout exhibit beautiful spawning colors that are more striking than anything else in nature. When that beauty is coupled with the changing foliage, you can’t ask for a more memorable experience.

Every time I think about fall fishing, I am immediately reminded of a day trip I took with a college friend a few years back. We were out fishing a small stream around the Route 9 corridor on the last day of the open water season. The day was sunny with a cool breeze and could not be more picturesque. We took turns fishing for about a mile and a half of stream. We didn’t catch any great number of fish, but every fish we landed made the trip worth it. I took two photographs that day which stick out most in my mind. I have included both pictures with this weekly report and they can be viewed by clicking the link for “Photos from the field.” The first was of a beautiful male brook trout that my friend caught in one of the first pools we fished. The picture hardly does justice to the intensity of colors that fish exhibited. The second picture from that day was of my friend casting his fly surrounded by the changing foliage. Both of these images stand out in my mind and they are what drive me to get out in the fall and wet a line.

Remember, from Aug. 16 to Sept. 30 the regulations on brooks, rivers, and streams are as follows: artificial lures only and a total daily bag limit for landlocked salmon, trout, and togue of one fish. The primary reason behind these regulations is to protect fish that are beginning to exhibit spawning behavior. Depending on where you are in the state, fish may begin to move into spawning habitat as early as mid August and as late as the third or fourth week in September. These concentrations of fish can be quite vulnerable. The reduced bag limit helps prevent overharvest and the artificial lures only regulation improves the survival potential of a released fish. It is very important to protect these trout and salmon since they will be spawning in a short while.

I enjoy fly-fishing in the fall of the year. I have had great luck with various streamer flies, but the one fly I seem to always go back to is a white muddler minnow. In my experience anything that is bright and showy has a good chance of producing strikes, and if one doesn’t work, tie on something else.

Now, I know that fall is a busy time for most of us here in Maine. I certainly have enough to keep me busy with wood to be stacked and of course the list of projects I didn’t complete around the house this summer, but I recommend you take the time to do a little brookie fishing this month. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.