50 Best Places Fly Fishing the Northeast. Bob Mallard
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sculpin, fallfish, and smelts—which are found only below the Harris and Wyman Dams. Insects include stoneflies, mayflies, and caddis. Hatches on the Kennebec are strong and predictable. Mayflies start in mid-May and run well into June. They hatch intermittently in the summer and pick up again in the early fall. Caddis overlap early mayfly hatches, peak in the late spring and summer, and continue into the fall. Stoneflies can hatch pretty much anytime.
Below Wyman, Williams, and Abnaki; the Kennebec is a classic dry-fly river. It is one of the few rivers in the area that offers season-long dry-fly fishing. Even in the heat of summer, most evenings will see a caddis hatch. Fish are also regularly caught on nymphs. On overcast days, fish will take streamers—including some of the largest trout.
Pteronacys.
Bob Mallard
John Vacca with dry-fly caught rainbow. Bob Mallard
BOB MALLARD has fly fished for over 35 years. He is a blogger, writer, and author; and has owned and operated Kennebec River Outfitters in Madison, Maine since 2001. His writing has been featured in newspapers, magazines, and books at the local, regional, and national levels. He has appeared on radio and television. Look for his upcoming books from Stonefly Press, 25 Best Towns: Fly Fishing for Trout (winter 2014) and 50 Best Places: Fly Fishing for Brook Trout (summer 2015). Bob is also a staff fly designer for Catch Fly Fishing. He can be reached at www.kennebecriveroutfitters.com, www.bobmallard.com, [email protected], or 207-474-2500.
Closest fly shops
Kennebec River Outfitters
469 Lakewood Road
Madison, Maine 04950
207-474-2500
www.kennebecriveroutfitters.com [email protected]
Closest lodging
Inn by the River (B&B)
Route 201
The Forks, Maine 04985
866-663-2181
www.innbytheriver.com [email protected]
The Evergreens Campground & Restaurant
Route 201A
Solon, Maine 04979
207-643-2324
www.evergreenscampground.com [email protected]
Hawk’s Nest Lodge
Route 201
West Forks, Maine 04985
207-663-2020
www.hawksnestlodge.com [email protected]
The Belmont Motel
273 Madison Avenue
Skowhegan, Maine 04976
800-235-6669
Closest restaurants
Heritage House Restaurant
(fine dining, reservations recommended)
182 Madison Avenue
Skowhegan, Maine 04976
207-474-5100
www.hhrestaurant.com [email protected]
Old Mill Pub
39 Water Street
Skowhegan, Maine 04976
207-474-6627
Northern Outdoors
(pub-style lunch and dinner)
Route 201
The Forks, Maine 04985
800-725-7238
The Evergreens Campground & Restaurant
(dinner and breakfast buffet on weekends—
see above)
6 . Grand Lake Stream
Long known for its fabled landlocked salmon fishing, Grand Lake Stream has been a popular destination with fly fishers since the mid-1800s. West Grand Lake—the headwaters of Grand Lake Stream—was home to one of only four native populations of landlocked salmon in the Lower 48, all of which are in Maine. The Grand Lake Stream fish hatchery program began in 1868, making it one of the longest-operating fish hatcheries in the country, where this strain of salmon is still raised today.
The community of Grand Lake Stream is well known for its guides, sporting camps, and the Grand Lake canoe, which has been used for more than a century to
guide anglers on the large lakes in the region. Grand Lake Stream was the setting for the fictional characters in The One-Eyed Poacher of Privilege and game warden Tom Corn, charged with trying to outfox him. Edmund Ware Smith, whose short stories were published in The New Yorker magazine, created them in the 1940s.
Glaciers carved out the region during the last Ice Age, creating deep, crystal-clear lakes with shorelines dotted with large granite boulders, interspersed with fine sand and gravel beaches. Grand Lake Stream is also home to active faults, which intersect the stream in a couple of locations, creating significant waterfalls that make the stream difficult and dangerous to navigate with boats.
Grand Lake Stream is approximately 3 miles long. It runs between West Grand Lake and Big Lake. The upper stream is defined by deep clear pools interspersed with riffles and gentle rapids. Wading is generally easy here at
most flows. The middle stream runs fast, with a steep elevation drop for roughly a mile. This section is fishable at lower flows only, and offers tremendous small pool and pocketwater fishing under the right conditions.