I have enjoyed keeping detailed fishing records for decades. They are great reading when I feel like reminiscing or looking for patterns that I can usually rely on. The downside of records is that you can observe how many fisheries have declined in recent years. I recently read an interesting article that got into this topic. One central point is that fisheries can be on the decline much earlier than we think. As anglers mature, gain knowledge and experience, and apply technology to their game, they gain a better skill set over time. As these skills are applied, catch numbers can be maintained and can hide the fact that a fishery has been headed downhill for quite awhile. By the time it's plain to see that a fishery has tanked, it was probably headed south for years.
September was not all doom and gloom. A trip to NY to visit to see my Dad produced good salt water action and fueled what ended up being a 16-species month. Going back to where grew up is memory-rich, some good, some bad. The county wasn't always able to straighten the roads where so many of my friends left this Earth in GTO's, Impala's, Camaro's, and other flying machines in pieces on the ground. Driving over stretches of road where I cruised with these guys is like walking through a cemetery. The late 60's and 70's were tough on my group. To this day, I'm thankful that I walked away from my badly wrecked machine and lived to fish another day. All this aside, it was great to see Dad (at 93 it's a day at a time) and I have zero complaints about the fishing. Nothing big, but excellent variety on a 5-weight with full sinking line or spinning with small jigs or spoons. Snapper blues were the most frequent catch, and other wildlife moved in to pay me a visit.
There was no shortage of scup (aka porgies) either and I enjoyed their color variation.
Throw in a few other species (fluke, hickory shad, sea bass, and 1 last fish that I have no clue what it (any ideas??)
Back in Maine, September continued a year where trout and salmon fishing has been a struggle. No browns (unreal), but I didn't fish in any spots where they were a likely catch. I did manage to get into some decent native brookies during a couple bumps in stream flow. First, at a spot close to tidewater.
Then in an upland spot. Flows were in the trees, but decent trout were holding in current breaks. The water rushing by outside the calmer water gives the pics a funky effect. These fish were feeding well in the higher water judging by their girth and the last one burping up a nightcrawler.
My last trip in the Maine General Law open water season was to a small local brook where brookies hide out in undercuts and snags and are often as dark as tar.
I got out one time to fish the night ebb tides for a few stripers. Unfortunately, no white catfish so far.
The Fall is my favorite season for some big days. I have one out-of-state trip planned and a second in the works. I have to say that much on my 2021 highlight reel has come from such trips. We'll see what the fishing in Maine holds.
