What a wild month of conditions! From high and cold water to dropping and warming water back to rising and cooling water and again to dropping and warming water starting tomorrow into the weekend. May has been a month of constant change. May has always been a month of change and we are thankful to have water to buffer these heat waves this year. As with the weather the fishing has been hot and cold. At the start of the heat wave last week we saw some good Hendrickson nymph activity and our guide Kevin Gordon had a banner day with some big browns and rainbows landed. I also had a productive day guiding with Hendrickson dries over wild brook trout. We had a few slower days on the andro later in the heat wave as water temps jumped from the upper 40’s to lower 60’s in three days time. Fish were in transition on these days but we still managed a few nice salmon, rainbows and brookies.
Photo Credit HCG guide Kevin Gordon, Client Kerry with a nice May Brown trout!
Yesterday I did a float on the Saco and we were determined to fish streamers all day. While flows were nearly ideal there was a tremendous amount of debris in the water from recent rains. And we moved only one smaller brown on a large streamer. There were a good amount of bugs coming off and I’m guessing that the browns were probably stuffed with worms and bugs and disinterested in even the best looking streamers in my box. I guess next time I’ll throw a nymphing rod in the boat no matter the plan. (As I usually do).
As of this writing flows on the Saco are at 1270 in Conway at the moment. A little to high to wade but an ideal flow to float. The Andro is a bit higher, with a good deal of rain falling in the Rangely region flows should stay above average for the next week or longer if we get more rain. This is probably better for the fish than the fishermen as it gives them more places to hide from our flies but we should start seeing some more good bug activity over the next few days and I’m hoping to find some bigger dry fly fish in these higher flows. This higher water will also help buffer the next heat wave before temps drop into the 60’s early next week. If you plan to get out and wade fish do know that the rivers like the andro are very high and depth changes can be abrupt. We recommend wearing manual waist or over the shoulder PFD’s when wading in these higher colder flows. Or better yet choose to wade fish smaller streams this time of the year. The Ellis and other tributaries should be turning on as they drop and will drop much faster than the larger rivers.
Photo Credit HCG guide Kevin Gordon. Client Dave with a find wild rainbow.
Right now we are fully booked through June. We still have dates available for July and with the high water chances are good that July will be a productive month for fishing here in the Whites. If you are eager to get out before July be sure to follow us on Instagram @hillcountryguides as we post cancellation notifications for last minute re-bookings. If you are thinking about booking a trip for this fall please let us know asap as fall dates are already filling up! We look forward to seeing many of you this spring and summer or fall.
Tight Lines,
Nate