July...It All Depended on the Rain

[Jim C.]

This month flew by for me.  Some flow carried over from June early on, but after that the landscape was parched.





Stranded debris provided ample evidence of how these flows can blossom and even rage.



For most of July, this was not  to be and brook fishing was pretty much off the table.  With that said, Maine is blessed with nearly unlimited "Plan B's". 

There were some tide water surprises, where up to 7 different species hit my shad darts.





And dozens of warm water fish hit my flies at a number of spots.









To beat the heat and humidity, I even got into some fishing after dark with dry flies to work on my night moves.  "Workin', workin' and practicin' "  It was mixed bag fishing, with any number of species joining in.  Smallies with dry flies in the dark were big time fun.  They sip off the surface, but things blow up and the 5-weight gets yanked around when you set the hook







It took nearly till the end of the month, but the rains came and the brooks came back to life.  I got out with a buddy from my old job.  The waters we fished were by no means large.  However the native trout rewards they yielded were numerous, colored up, and able to bend a flyrod down throughout the day.











The forest canopy that shaded the waters and resulted in trout-friendly water temps of 58-62* also created enough darkness for my flash to go off for several brookies.



Fishing should only get better as summer burns itself out

[TightLinesMaine]

beauties! I heard a meteorologist say August will be rainier than average, hopefully they're right!  I can count the number of times I went trout fishing in July on one hand.  Not a great month but this recent rain surely helped.  That first pickerel is quite large!

edit: I've never caught a smallie on a trout sized dry fly, that is very cool!

[Jim C.]

Thanks, Randall.

I fished trout waters 3 times in July.   It was good the 1st, low and slow by the 8th, so I fished warm water until the 29th after rain came back.

The biggest pickerel was 25".

Smallies on dries....there is a white fly hatch next month where winged patterns outfish poppers and they will key in on BWO's in the Fall.  I ran into a batch of selective fish below Jay one September-October that forced me to get into the dries.  They wanted a BWO in Size 18 or smaller.

beauties! I heard a meteorologist say August will be rainier than average, hopefully they're right!  I can count the number of times I went trout fishing in July on one hand.  Not a great month but this recent rain surely helped.  That first pickerel is quite large!

edit: I've never caught a smallie on a trout sized dry fly, that is very cool!

[fish wayniac]

Jim, Great post like always. July was really dry until the last week. You still managed to hook into some nice fish. Awesome!

[taxid]

Jim,

Thank you for sharing and keep those pictures coming!

[SHaRPS]

Way to get after them jim.

[franklin fisher]

  Nice pictures Jim.  The mixed bag of fish is really cool.

[jacksmelt]

nice fish Jim! been real dry up here too. Devon was home and went out a few times. he got some but the slack water made it hard to sneak up on them. one day we went to cross lake boat launch and caught a ton of big yellows and fallfish on the u.lights, 2in tubes and slip bobbers! was a fun afternoon!

[SHaRPS]

nice fish Jim! been real dry up here too. Devon was home and went out a few times. he got some but the slack water made it hard to sneak up on them. one day we went to cross lake boat launch and caught a ton of big yellows and fallfish on the u.lights, 2in tubes and slip bobbers! was a fun afternoon!

Keep an eye out for shrooms on any upcoming adventures.

[Roccus]

awesome tutorial... I still think native brook trout are the most beautiful fish on the planet.. thanks for sharing!

[JDK]

A very nice month yet again.

[Jim C.]

Sounds like fun, Steve!  Devon must be grown up big time.  He was well on his way when I last saw him 7 years back!

nice fish Jim! been real dry up here too. Devon was home and went out a few times. he got some but the slack water made it hard to sneak up on them. one day we went to cross lake boat launch and caught a ton of big yellows and fallfish on the u.lights, 2in tubes and slip bobbers! was a fun afternoon!

[jacksmelt]

Keep an eye out for shrooms on any upcoming adventures.

the boletes usually flush this time of year but its been so dry i haven't seen any.

[MG39]

Good to see you on the run as usual Jim. I wish I had your ambition to beat the brush like you do.

Nice variety of fish, no browns?

When I get to see you, I have your bottle.

[Jim C.]

Thanks, Bob.

Browns have been in pretty short supply overall, but I'm looking for a turnaround in the Fall.

And I have some empties for you

Good to see you on the run as usual Jim. I wish I had your ambition to beat the brush like you do.

Nice variety of fish, no browns?

When I get to see you, I have your bottle.