Nice! my month was Brown trout heavy surprisingly. Got out 3 times in August believe I caught close to 15 brown trout (at least 12).
Thanks for the report I always look forward to reading them and congrats on the beautiful healthy grandson!! Here in Massachusetts we're a little more tightly packed and I get the angry property owners all too often. 99% of the time they call the cops and the cops have to explain to them that I'm doing nothing wrong by wading a river. I wish the rules on wading were a little more clear, I can't get straight answers from anyone I ask including police and EP's. For a long time I was under the impression that as long as I accessed the river legally and stayed in the water I could wade anywhere but apparently that's not the case since I was thrown off a river 2 years ago and told "if the property owner owns land on both sides of the river it becomes their property". But I've also heard conflicting things like moving water cannot be privately owned and that the town or state typically owns all rivers plus a floodplain surrounding them. And then I've also heard that the size of the river plays a roll which makes sense, I wouldn't expect to be welcomed on a 1 foot wide stream in some bodies back yard. I've basically given up on ever figuring it all out. The sad thing is that a lot of the property owners calling the cops on me are dumping trash around the river or damming it up for their kids to swim in and I'm there cleaning up trash and trying to keep the rivers intact for the next generation.
Thanks for your thoughts. The laws on this stuff vary from state-to-state. There have been court cases in some places that attempt to trace ownership back to Crown Grants from the King of England! In most cases, it seems that the stream bottom is fair game if you gain access from a non-private bridge and stay off the banks. Regardless of the law, some property owners aggressively assert what they "own" (whether it's legal or not). The bottom line on "confrontations" is that property owners don't have the right to initiate a physical assault. At that point, wading staffs, the mark of Zorro with a rod tip, etc. become fair game. I am real concerned that Maine has not set up a system of public access points like other states have.
Never a dull moment fishing with you Jim