Things have been heating up on the West Branch of the Penobscot this week. The caddis have arrived, the grader has arrived, the bigger fish have arrived, and the fisherman have arrived.
Road Conditions
I’m happy to report, road conditions have improved. The grader man has started filling in the many, many potholes found on the Golden Road. On the down side, the grader can turn up sharp pieces of shale which puncture the most serious tires. Please continue to take your time, even on freshly graded road.
Weather conditions, mainly rain, have been build the potholes back into the gravel rapidly.
River Flows
The river has been offering some very fishable flows. McKay has been running 1800 cfs to 2400 cfs for the past week. If you are planning to drift, the take out presents some challenges at 1800, but it’s doable. I’ve been walking the boat in, but I’ve often been there when it’s nearly dark. At 2400 cfs, the Big Eddy looks as it should and fishes as expected. The edges of the eddy from the middle of the eddy, to where it current curves out toward shore present opportunities to drift flies at rising salmon in the evening. Larger fish have been holding closer to the middle of the current.
Fish species
Earlier this month, Ripogenus Dam opened it’s deep gates, sending nearly 3,000 cfs down the river directly from the lake. During this time it’s possible some bigger “lake” fish may have been deposited in the river “bank” of fish. In the last week we have seen a lake trout caught in the river, along with brook trout, 16″, 17″, 19″, 20″ brook trout caught in the West Branch in the last week.
There have been a lot of small land locked salmon around, making for fast action fishing in the evening. I may have seen a salmon slide through the holes in the net last Friday. BUT, there have also been some hefty fish around. A 22″ Salmon was landed in Big Eddy Saturday night, and we hooked two heavy fish below Big Eddy on Friday night.
Fishing in cold water
The water temperatures have improved to 58 degrees, and the diets of the local landlocked salmon population are changing. A short time ago, fish were focused on subsurface insects and bait fish but all that has changed.
While I have not witnessed a real mayfly hatch on the upper west branch, I did see a storm of caddis flies all weekend long. There were caddis in the boats, caddis in the air, caddis floating on the surface of the eddies, caddis flying everywhere!
Dry Flies for Fly Fishing
This week I switched to fishing surface caddis flies exclusively. Most anglers I fish with just love dry fly fishing. Rather the fish are sipping caddis quietly off the surface or acrobatically leaping into the air, like bug eating missiles, the dry fly fishing action, is as exciting as it gets.
The caddis fly fishing on the West Branch can be challenging. With so much REAL food available, it’s difficult to get landlocked salmon to bite on an imitation. Matching the hatch, and a clean drift can make all the difference. Not that you always have to present as a clean drift. Caddis will dapple the water’s surface, jumping up and down, and sometimes they will skitter around making all sorts of surface noice. So, when presenting a surface caddis imitation, try everything. Dead drift, swing it like a wet fly, hold the rod up and the fly across the surface, give the salmon options until you figure out what’s working best on that particular night.
Caddis Fly Suggestions
When the water temperatures hit 58 degrees its time to start thinking caddis.
Klinkhammer
We have caught a bunch of fish on a Klinkhammer during the past week. It works well during a caddis hatch, looking like a caddis, caught in the surface film. This parachute to make the pattern easier to see as the light fades, but it does blend with the bubbles. Cast this fly right into the bubble lines and wait for a suspicious landlock salmon to sip if from below.
X-Caddis – Olive
The X-Caddis (https://www.flyshack.com/DisplayItem.aspx?ItemID=10607&LCI=X) is another great caddis hatch fly for catching fish which are wary of more common flies fisherman tend to throw. The X-Caddis has a little extra material on the back end to imitate a nymph shuck still attached. Caddis stuck like this are easy pickings for brook trout and landlocked salmon. If you like to catch fish, this fly is a must have for nearly every eastern fishery.
I fish this fly on a dead drift, in places where food is likely to accumulate. Eddy lines, foam lines in, slower current after a quick water section.
West Branch Caddis
Any time a fly is named after the waters you are fishing, give it a try. Fly fishing a West Branch Caddis on the Penobscot is a good bet any evening, nearly anywhere. From Rangley to Grand Lake Stream, landlocked salmon with attack this fly. Fished on small streams, big rivers or even remote ponds, this fly catches fish during a caddis hatch.
Give this fly some action or dead drift it. The silhouette from underwater is unmistakable. Even the most cautious fish will hit this fly.
Horizon Line Adventures
We are here for you, as your West Branch eyes on the river. Check back in each week for more information about flows, road conditions and what flies are working on the West Branch of the Penobscot. While we would love to take you fishing, or rent you a boat (shameless link Horizon Line Adventures), we are happy to chat with you about the area. If you are looking for a place to stay, hike, fish, eat, drink, we’ve probably been there already, just to scout it out of course. Shoot us an email or text. we are happy to give you the information you need to plan an amazing trip to the Katahdin Region.
