In this episode I Wadeoutthere with Nate Tower from central Maine. Nate’s passion for fly fishing began through his involvement in Trout unlimited as a teenager and continued as he pursued school and a career in the outdoors. Now, with a budding guiding career, he has no plans on leaving his home state. We discuss:
- How Nate targets trophy brook trout.
- Unique conservation issues in this wild place.
** NOTE** Podcast episode and upcoming guests appear at the end of this short article.
Subscribers have access to submit questions for future guests.
Brook trout have always been a mountain fish to me. From my early years backpacking into the Beartooth wilderness, I remember camping in meadows and along creeks. Sharing time between catching brookies and cooling my feet in the ice cold streams they inhabited. Brook trout are granite peaks and snow lingering in grey rockslides. Long sunsets in Montana’s big skies above deep green and purple grasses. Lungs full of mountain air. My mind empty of worries.
Talking with Nate, about his love for Maine and its many fisheries that hold wild, native brook trout populations, I felt connected. Reminded that these fish not only tie us to our own memories, they tie us together.
We see these fish in our unique ways and yet, they are not so dissimilar. The mountains are replaced with green forests, but there is a part that is the same. When you meet another fly fisher and see those fish through their stories the bond forms.
Key Takeaways.
- It is not all little brookies in Maine. Large brook will live in rivers as well and grow to four or five pounds.
- Maine has many stillwater fisheries as well. In the dead of summer when water temperatures rise, there is always someplace to chase trout.
- Fishing streamers is an excellent way to target large brook trout. Swinging a smelt streamer during a smelt run is one of the most exciting ways to fly fish for brook trout in Maine.
- Maine has many of the same hatches and bugs that are seen out west.
- Brook trout can be more sensitive to water temperatures that brown or rainbows.
- There are plenty of fly shops and rivers to fly fish. Finding fish is the easy part. The biggest step is simply getting up to Maine!
Learn More.
Think the perfect cast gets a bit more attention than required when chasing trout? Check out this article:
READ: WADEOUTTHERE | The Perfect Cast is Overrated.
To learn more about fly fishing in Maine check out these fly shops and websites:
https://maineguideflyshop.com
https://rangeleyflyshop.com
https://allpointsflyfishing.com
For information about the water generation schedules and Brookfield renewable dam releases in Maine visit:
https://safewaters.com/home
To learn more about Trout Unlimited youth programs visit:
https://www.tu.org/conservation/outreach-education/headwaters-youth-program/explore-fishing/tu-summer-camps-and-academies/
To book a trip with Nate or ask him a question, check out his Instagram:
@wandering_and_wading_207
Upcoming Podcast Guests.
- Brian Wise – Fly Fishing the Ozarks.
- Christian Bacasa – Dupeafish.
- Brett Svoboda – The Bow River.
Subscribers – Ask a Question on the Podcast.
If you have a question for an upcoming guest, I would love to hear from you. I will ask questions from Wadeoutthere subscribers towards the end of the conversation during “Wadeoutthere Wants to Know.”
Finally, if you enjoy the Wadeoutthere Fly Fishing Podcast, and want to help it grow, please leave a rating and review.
I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed talking with Nate. Wadeoutthere.
VR,
Jason Shemchuk
WADEOUTTTHERE
@wadeoutthereflyguy
Jason@wadeoutthere.com
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