Fishing Megunticook

Every year I make an effort to fish on each of the waters I guide on at least once before guiding clients there. Not bad duty on a nice day. Yesterday I fished Megunticook Lake in Camden for the first time this spring.

The most notable part of the afternoon was the weather. It was warm and sunny when I left Union but at the launch there were clearly showers on the horizon. As I headed down the lake I passed other boats beating it back to the launch ahead of the showers. Sometimes when the showers are scattered like they were yesterday you can simply move out of the way and miss the rain. I was lucky this time and was able to do just that. It was fun to watch the rain pouring down a half mile away while standing in the sunshine. Each squall brought plenty of wind with it though which made for some interesting boat handling.

The fishing was pretty good for this early in the season. Several pickerel and a few bass managed to take the lures and flies I offered. The water temperature is still too cold for bass to be on their game. I had several follow or swim alongside the bait and not take. After I figured out that they were just too cold to be aggressive I tried stopping my retrieve and letting them take. Even when hooked though there is not a lot of fight in a fish that is still too cold.

The weather forecast has us warm for the next several days so I expect improving conditions over the coming week.