As I wrote last night, I didn't expect the fish to jump all over our offerings. I learned months ago that Salmon Falls River is trout stocked, so I expected a fairly heavily fished run. We found water deeply stained by pine needles, that black coffee look of tannic acid, and at first I couldn't help but feel we would get skunked. I've fished tannic Big Flatbrook a number of times, and though I've heard of smallmouth bass, I have never encountered one of them. But Matt hooked and caught an average stream bass pretty quickly, just before a heavy rain shower had us running for the car after we had made a fairly arduous effort at finding positions to cast just outside of Lebanon.
We drove on to find more access.
Salmon Falls River marks the New Hampshire/Maine border here in the south of the two states. It flows out of 271-acre Milton Pond. It's a small river difficult to wade with lots of big, slick rocks, but where you can access it on foot, you can manage. We saw some tubers and rafters, so for anyone who wants to try that approach, it could be the best choice. You could get a small canoe on it, but where you might have to get out, the rocks under foot could be a problem.
That first access we found is in the middle of town, whatever that half-Maine, half-New Hampshire town with U.S. Highway 202 running through it--like a side road up here--is named. Not a bridge access. There's marked parking and some seats made available by public money. A trail leads down. Just don't trespass on the property downstream a little. I was very careful about that. I'm not sure what some people in this rural state, which I greatly respect, might do.
The second access we found, at a bridge, has a very worn and beaten path, compared to the first access back in town. We had viewed the water from atop that bridge, and it looked too shallow. (Later we learned that was illusory, if because of the tannic stain. Water we thought a foot deep was at least three feet.) We followed the path downstream, and when Matt chose a spot, I continued to another. The bass photographed above struck my Senko as soon as it hit the surface.
Our regular readers know I have fly fishing for smallmouths in mind this summer. I spent over a hundred dollars on flies and gear for that. And Jim Holland at Shannon's Fly Shop in Califon kindly gave me three sculpin flies with helmet weights, a value of about $15.00, if I were to buy them online and pay shipping. He's caught South Branch Raritan smallmouths on these very flies. Thus far, none of the spots we fished allowed room even for roll casting. The only exception was a spot just downstream of where I caught my first bass, and third and fourth when we later retuned. There a deep hole seemed promising but yielded not a hit. My bass came from three, four feet at most. A little further down, people were swimming, and the trail ended.
From under the bridge, Matt cast upstream and a bass was on his Senko in a flash. He lost it, a pretty good fish. He said another bass trailed his. I resolved to retrieve my Senko meticulously, and soon caught my second.
Upstream a couple of miles, we found more bridge access. Matt had a big crawfish jig tied on. He had plumbed the depths of the hole near the swimmers. He caught another bass under the bridge. I missed a hit, and then missed another downstream. It was evident we could have waded further downstream, but not only was the river smaller here, and the bass probably likewise and fewer; we had only so much time. We had left after noon and needed to be back by five or six.
Matt felt very interested in finding Milton Pond access. Very little of it exists. But we did find some especially for the dam and below it. Both spots hold bass. You can tell that's so just by looking, if you're experienced. And a kayaker told me he caught nice smallmouths earlier both above and below. I felt there was too much sun on the water. but true to form, a smallmouth hit Matt's spinner in plain view below, though he missed the hit.
River bass impress me as more willing mid-day hitters.
Back when we fished the headwaters of Milton Pond, my former favorite Penn 430ssg finally gave out. The internal gear broke. So not only was I forced to fly fish; I found plenty of space to do it below the dam. I saw some sunfish took interest in a Haggerty's Hell Raiser, but though I gave them a good try, I didn't raise a single bass.
Matt caught the first.
Matt played a bass from under the bridge.
Upper reach of Milton Pond where we found access but only one small largemouth that didn't hit.
Milton Pond Dam
https://littonsfishinglines.blogspot.com/2014/08/mount-desert-island-smallmouth-bass.html
