MyFishFinder Forum
MFF US Northeast => Maine => Topic started by: Jim C. on Mar 28, 2021, 11:21 AM
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March open water fishing was a grind in terms of catching (no surprise there), but it ended up in the running for my personal worst. Perhaps it was only beaten out for the golden sombrero by March 2017.
The scenery changed abruptly and ahead of schedule as the month went by. Early on it was fairly close to "normal" , although the shelf and shore ice started to break up sooner than most years. It made for some tricky going and the occasional surprise boot punch through. Spudding around with my wading staff helped, but wasn't fool proof ;D
(https://i.imgur.com/4N95m5w.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/nKMiY4h.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/qZ2sQMF.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/09kxCfR.jpg)
After mid-month, the early thaw progressed and there was a lot more ice-free water to fish.
(https://i.imgur.com/AxWVeN4.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/7etpFF2.jpg)
Unfortunately, regardless of the degree of melting, there was a common theme.....no action. Not only was I skunked 4 times in row, those trips featured no hits, no follows, and no sign of fish life. I thought I had turned the tide late in the 3rd trip in that streak when I was casting crankbaits in an outlet area. I had "something" latch onto my Yozuri Pin literally as the lure hit the water. It didn't feel like much, but pulled enough in the current that a burst optimism (or maybe hallucinations) kicked in. I even saw what appeared to be a fin break the water! I was talking a blue streak to myself even more than usual and "playing" it like it was going to put me in the lead in a derby. "Finally", "Praise the Lord", "Probably a tiny brookie, but I'll take it." As I was thinking about reaching for the net, the "fish" planed to the surface and it was back to reality. The Yozuri, had done it's job, but clearly any fin I'd seen breaking the surface was a middle finger salute from this "guy". Oh well, the open end of the glove did give a decent fight.
(https://i.imgur.com/JuQjawS.jpg)
I did finally get on the board late in the month at 2 spots either side of the tide line. Winter was done here.
(https://i.imgur.com/B7On4NU.jpg)
This spot below fooled me. It ended up being quite a quagmire. I approached from upstream and thought it was solid bank instead of a downed tree with only grass that had drifted in to hide its fingers. Made for some interesting high stepping :laugh:
(https://i.imgur.com/uIqORaK.jpg)
I came up with a few fish in these spots to break the drought. It was concerning that holdover brookies outnumbered browns. That's in marked contrast to years past :-\ I hope that IF&W's "Seeforellen" strain experiment bears fruit.
(https://i.imgur.com/V5SgNEu.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/iD1a1hU.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/X4xQmXY.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/fY7gvRn.jpg)
As slow as the month was, it did end up as an important milestone......120 months/10 years in a row with at least 1 open water trout/salmon each month in open waters in Maine. The journey started when a guy posted back in 2011 that his 45 month streak had just ended. I don't blow out the carbon like I used to back in my street racing days, but I did take a few moments to celebrate.
(https://i.imgur.com/mOj9h07.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/FlECcRa.jpg)
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The elusive “glove” fish lol. Good report Jim, as always. It was good fishing with you on the ice mid March.
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Thanks, Nick. Yes, great to fish with you. I'm glad you were able to prove that the fish we used to chase all the time didn't go the way of the dinosuars ;) 8)
The elusive “glove” fish lol. Good report Jim, as always. It was good fishing with you on the ice mid March.
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Great report 👍 and congrats on the milestone! That’s quite an accomplishment anywhere let alone in Maine!
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Jim, That was a good recap of March. That was funny that you caught a
Glove .10 years is milestone . Let’s hope the bite picks up in April.
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Thanks for the report Jim! Looking forward to a boat ride soon!
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Great report as usual. Always enjoy these. Thanks again.
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Great Report, I look forward to reading your adventures every month. Glad you kept the streak a live, and quite a streak it is. 120 months is very impressive. You are also catching beautiful fish, not just any fish. hahahaha. Hope you have a great spring and I can't wait to read all about it. Tight Lines
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Thanks for all the comments. Appreciate it.
Tomorrow the "universe" expands with the statewide open water opener. I was thinking about sitting it out with the weather coming in, but I'm starting to lean toward checking out a few spots regardless ;D
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Congrats Jim! :clapping: :bowdown: