Day three dawned bright but windy. We had lots of options, but given the grim forecast for the coming days, the L&T Nancy and I decided to take a Grand Lake Canoe tour of Farm Cove while the canoe touring was still good.
The wind died but high clouds moved in, signalling the arrival of a front.
Action on topwater (poppers mostly) was slow but steady, with the final body count a less-than-impressive ten smallmouth bass in the 9â€-12†range. Still, the fish were tough and acrobatic like they always are, and one 12†fish put up a struggle so epic I overestimated his size by a good 6â€.
On top of the battling smallmouth, you’ve gotta average in the sunny weather, the picnic lunch on a remote sandy beach, and the fact that a bikini-clad L&T Nancy was playing guide all day, and you’ve got at least an eight (of ten), if not higher.
“Home” is a group of rustic cabins buried in these trees. Note the boathouse.
Later in the afternoon, the wind slicked off and the high clouds that signal a weather system started rolling in. I’ll probably wake up to rain tomorrow morning, and unless the wind is blasting, I’ll invest a little time on the river in search of landlocked Atlantic Salmon, though the prognosis is a little grim.
Apparently even the locals are face-planting on the landlocked front, but as any fly fisher knows, the only causes worth fighting for are the lost ones.
Plus, the river’s only 15 minutes away, and how could any fly fisher ignore the reality of a trout-like fish that he can’t catch at home? See you (fat & happy) on the lake, Tom Chandler.
Done? Cue the Sunset:
[tags]maine, grand lake stream, canoe, smallmouth bass [/tags]
Thanks for the pictures. What bugs me is we could be with you there. Hope you guys are having a ball.
David
Bamboo Addict(Quote)
Good fun, though lots of niggling little issues have kept me from hitting the water as much as I’d like. Still, think we’ve got those solved.
Hopefully more pictures later today.
Tom Chandler(Quote)
Atlantic Salmon are fun fish. I fished for them at Hosmer lake in Central OR when I worked on the Ochoco NF out of Prineville from 96 to 98.
Hope you tie into some of them on the river!
Brian
Heddon17(Quote)
“and the fact that a bikini-clad L&T Nancy”
What, no pictures?
Smellslikefish(Quote)
Great idea- canoedling with the L&T Nancy far away from the black fly deranged locals.
Underground readers are crying out for more pickerel and togue info, though.
Sully(Quote)
Pickerel? I caught one last year, and the whole catch & release process was so unpleasant for both angler and fish that I decided to avoid the weedy, marshy areas they prefer.
They’re hardly a force on West Grand Lake, though trailering a Grand Lake Canoe just down the road to Big Lake would likely get me into a few. (Notice my lack of enthusiasm.)
Togue? Salmon in the lake? Strictly a troller’s game right now. And I seem to lack the trolling gene – the one that makes it possible to stare at the water splashing away from boat hull for hours on end…
And no, the L&T Nancy censors photos of herself more thoroughly than Uncle Joe Stalin in his heyday. No pictures. No beatings.
It’s that simple.
Tom Chandler(Quote)