MFF US Northeast > Maine
November.........Full Throttle
Jim C.:
November was a month of transition. Wild swings in temperature, bursts of rain, high winds, and plenty of snow if you went far afield. At times, the fish seemed off balance, MIA., etc. On the other hand, there were windows of fast action if you could do the right place- right time thing. Even on the slow days, I was able to grind out a fish or two.
I started the month chasing the egg pattern bite, which was heavy on the brookies, with a few splake in the mix.
Once river flows subsided to reasonable levels, I was able to chase some fall browns. There were a few bigger fish hiding in the swarms of 12-14" browns.
After early month, river flows were often higher than I prefer. Ponds were ready to be a fine Plan B. Splake were real cooperative, if not big in the size department. 2022 has been a fine splake year overall.
My son Jimmy and I planned a trip for mid-month to fish a group of lakes in the Southern Tier of NY. The week before we were there saw record warmth. All that tumbled on our trip out there. Cold temps and with plenty of snow, but we missed the strongest of the lake effect. However, the rain that came before it put a serious case of the muddies on even the lakes and ponds. It was going to be a grind. I was proud of the way Jimmy kept after it in the adverse conditions, and I showed him that his old man also has his own share of ground in stubborn. :laugh:
Jimmy was the first to score with decent surprise largemouth after only a handful of casts in the stained water. While not a target species, it was nice to put the skunk behind us quickly.
The quick start didn't last, but quality brookies and browns made up for the lack in numbers.
The action can change a lot this time of year, which was evident when I returned to Maine after the NY trip. The prime egg pattern bite was over. The fish ended the month far less active, but with bursts of action that you had to be there to believe. Fish went from tentative hits on small jigs suspended under a bobber to aggressive hits on spoons seemingly at the flip of a switch. Some days, it was the brookies that dominated. Other days it was splake that stole the day. On "Black Friday", I had real successful shopping trip for fish. The best deal of the day came when my PB splake took a liking to a white jig and popped my bobber under. This 23" fish was cruising darn close to the exact same spot where I landed another big, but a couple inches smaller, splake in late October. The lake has a lot of sand and soft bottom. By trial and error, bottom snags, etc., I located a rock pile within casting distance of shore. I hope that this continues to draw big fish in the future. For now, I'll take any PB I can get after 60 plus years of fishing 8) As I said earlier, 2022 has been a great year for splake. This fish added an exclamation point.
I fit in one trip to the salt when the wind dropped enough to make it enjoyable to be out in the wide open on a breakwater. It was so nice, that I spent much of the time using my old 6-weight, Medalist, and full sink line with streamers. The bite was non-stop within 2 hours of high tide, with scrappy pollock in the 8" to 13" range. Marine fish pull hard on light gear.
December can also be a great month. It may be one of those years when it doesn't get consistently cold till after XMAS. Tough on the diehard ice guys and gals I know, but good for the soft water options right now.
Raquettedacker:
Great stories and pictures as always..👍
NBourque:
Another good report Jim! A good time with your son I’m sure. Is he a diehard like you? Haha
The splake definitely dominated this month and I know you’re fine with that lol. That sandy bottom looks awful familiar :o ;D
zwiggles:
Awesome all around, but I really liked the portion about the NY trip. Looks like you two had a great time!
Bartman44:
Great collection of fish, your brook trout photos are always my favorites as I don't see many that size down my way.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version