We’ve been on the water nearly every day over the last two months. After a dry and seasonably warm June that fortunately stayed very fishy we have been blessed with a rainy July and good fishing! Flows are rising on most waters as of this writing with the Saco running at 387 CFS in Conway. Temps on the Saco have been staying below 70 over the past few days and should remain cool especially before noon most days. The Andro is still flowing below average at 1060 cfs in Gorham. Water temps are hovering between the high 60’s and low 70’s so be sure to get out early and temp the water regularly.
Year of The Moths
We have had a huge hatch of gypsy moths over the past couple weeks and with higher cooler flows and an abundance of moths fluttering on the water the larger browns have taken notice gulping down these pests on warmer cloudy afternoons. We’ve found success with a red chubby Chernobyl ant in size 10 along with a new moth pattern developed recently…I think we will call this one the “mega mothra”. If you want to catch this hatch focus on back eddies where the moths collect in abundance and be patient in searching for rises. These bugs are in high abundance and at times the fish will simply ignore them but when the density is high and cloud cover is good they will crush them with reckless abandon.
This large brown chose the wrong moth.
This moth works well as a dry on a dry dropper rig and we’ve done well paring it with a size 16 frenchie style pheasant tail, as well as prince nymphs and perdigons. In addition to moths we are seeing a variety of terrestrials and hatches on most waters, including: BWO’s, small grey caddis and stones, cahills, yellow sallies, black flying ants, hoppers and golden stoneflies.
With more rain in the forecast and cooler than average air temps, fishing conditions will remain solid going into August.
We have a few dates available over the next couple of weeks so let us know asap if you would like to get out. Also, if you are looking to get on the books for a fall trip give us a shout, fall dates are going fast!
Looking forward to seeing you on the water!
Tight Lines,
Nate