Today we captured our 1000th salmon of the season for a total of 1009. You can see from the figures that this year’s run is on pace with 2008 and 2009. Although, in the last few days we have seen a reduction in the numbers of salmon in the trap. Last week we averaged about 50 new salmon per day. In the last the three days that has decreased to 13 per day. Water temperatures have returned to normal for this time of year (~ 19.0 C or 66.2 F).
Have a nice weekend.
Oliver Cox
Fishery Biologist
Department of Marine Resources
Bureau of Sea Run Fisheries and Habitat
650 State Street, Bangor, ME 04401
office: 207.941.4487
fax: 207.941.4443
oliver.n.cox@maine.gov
Hatch Reels-now in clear black
Penobscot River, Atlantic Salmon counts
Here is the first trap update of the year.
The Veazie trap was installed on May 3rd and our first tend was on May 4th. To date we have captured 198 new salmon (averaging 11/day). That is the largest accumulative count we have had at the trap for this time of year. Last year the trap was installed on May 4th and we had 30 salmon by May 20th, at the time, that was the largest accumulative catch-to-date. You can see in the figure below how advance the run is this year. It is too early to tell if the large numbers of returns indicates a banner year or just a shift in the run timing. I suspect that the early spring and has played a role in increasing the number of early returns. We have also observed earlier than normal smolt migration on the rivers that we monitor. Water temperatures are normal for this time of year averaging 13.7 C (56.7 F) over the last week.
Look for my next update in a couple of weeks.
Oliver Cox
Fishery Biologist
Department of Marine Resources
Bureau of Sea Run Fisheries and Habitat
650 State Street, Bangor, ME 04401
office: 207.941.4487
Meet The McKay Brothers
When it comes to fly-fishing, Tait and Jax McKay – at just 10 and 7 years old – are the reel deal.
By Deirdre Fleming dfleming@pressherald.com
Staff Writer
HERMON – Anglers who can’t double haul, be warned about fishing the waters in eastern Maine. A pair of diminutive fly fishermen are gonna show you up.
Jax casts while dad Kevin, brother Tait and dog Feta look on.
John Patriquin/Staff Photographer
They are the McKay brothers, ages 7 and 10, and they can cast like nobody’s business.
These boys may not be old enough to go boating without a life jacket. Jax still may use a child seat in his father’s truck.
But Tait and Jax McKay still can place a dry fly next to a caddis fly, sniff out a hatch and best of all: Catch Fish.
When 10-year-old Tait landed his first black crappie of the afternoon two weeks ago, his father didn’t even move to celebrate.
Neither did Tait nor Kevin McKay react when 7-year-old Jax mused out loud about his double haul, the technique that pushes the line out faster.
“There’s such a thing as triple hauling. It’s wicked fun,” Tait McKay chirped. read the whole story
The Good Life, Film review
Tait and Jax jumped into the pool outside, the steam rose into the air and Kevin waded in behind them. The temperature was a cool 40 degrees while the water must have been closer to 80. It was sunny with a crystal clear, blue sky, the mountains were watching us from a distance and I was in a lawn chair with my winter jacket on and my shades, awaiting a massage. This my friends, is the “good life.”
We were in the tiny town of Bethel, Maine on a chilly March day as we anticipated the premier of Carter Davidson’s third fly fishing movie, THE GOOD LIFE Tall Tails from the East. A dip in the pool for the boys and a massage for me at the lovely Bethel Inn, was prep time before the showing. After that, we enjoyed a great meal at the pub downstairs and walked over with Jim Bernstein, a dear friend and one of the stars of the movie, to watch it in a nearby building. Once there, we enjoyed drinks in the jovial spirit our fellow fishing bums deserved and hunkered down for the viewing. Tait and Jax grabbed their seats in the front row and away we went! THE GOOD LIFE Tall Tails from the East, By Gray Ghost Productions.
Kevin, Tait and Jax are among many anglers in this fantastic film that highlights the triumphs and even a couple of tribulations of the beginning, middle and end of an angler’s day. How each explains the world of fishing and how it meshes with, or is “the good life,” captures the audience. The Atlantic coast is the host as the tour starts with our very own Kevin McKay in the Florida Keys catching sharks and peacock bass! With beautiful footage and the right amount of humor, we are immediately drawn into one fisherman’s story if his version of “the good life.”
A moving clip of women in varying phases of recovery from breast cancer are shown as they tout the good life as the hope they feel when fly fishing at ‘Casting For Recovery’. This is a camp women attend where they learn fly casting and fly fishing techniques as well as how precious life is and how hope is really what fishing is all about each time you cast a fly!
Later in the film you see Tait and Jax shown as sneaking out of school to grab their dad’s boat to head to the local crappie and bass pond, to catch and net a few on their own. Sitting on a large rock the two boys tell their tales of what it is like to fish with each other. Of course, this makes a mom proud, what can I say!
Another fisherman in the film is Jim Bernstein from Eldredge Bros. Fly Shop in Cape Neddick, Maine. Here Jim tells of the concerning case of the change in striper population decline over the past five years or so. In addition, he is concerned about the chemicals found in fish coming out of our oceans. His passion for fishing, as he describes the early morning ocean scene, is obvious.
Each story told is different, yet tells the common theme of the good life and how simple that really is to achieve. It really makes me wonder why everyone doesn’t fish. I have my own life, and the thing about fishing is it makes you stop and realize how good you have it no matter what you have.
For me, watching THE GOOD LIFE just simply makes me want to get out and fish. The footage and scenery is fabulous. The choice moments of slow motion of that fly line paired with the aerial views from above add to the movie’s sense of peace. The music is awesome and the tales are great. I laughed and cried the first time I watched it. It also makes me grateful that my compact family of four all love to fish together and that we are indeed ALWAYS, living the good life.
Kevin and I review movies annually it seems and we have our favorite producers you could say. Carter Davidson is definitely right there. You might think it’s because my family is in this film. Perhaps. But, it is also because Carter has a gift for sharing the experience of fly fishing in a way that points straight to the heart of what viewers want to see in a film about fishing; beautiful fish, scenery, good music, some laughs and emotion.
