Flyfishing the West Branch Penobscot - Maine |

Salmon and Brook Trout in the West Branch Penobscot River in Maine.
What a great highlight to our 2022 summer trip to Maine - the West Branch of the Penobscot River. Much has been written about this playground and it’s often a fond memory of the local salmon and brook trout fly angler. I hadn’t planned on fishing this river but as I was travelling towards Maine, I struck up a conversation with some locals who said they had the best time whitewater rafting, kayaking and fishing on the West Branch. Like most rivers and streams in Maine, fishing can be good or great depending on the time of year your fish it. If the section you are fishing isn’t producing then move to another section upstream or downstream. I started just below the Ripogenus Dam and it was dead, dead, dead. I saw one fish chase a streamer, but the rest of the casts didn’t produce. I made my way down to the Big Eddy Campground and found a spot at the campground to stay for the night. The staff was very friendly and gave some tips on where and how to fish the river. Just before dusk, I fished the section near the campground and found the Brook Trout and Salmon were eagerly slamming most any dry fly I presented in front of them. Most were 6”-10” size, but I wanted bigger. I heard stories about 20”+ fish and me wanted so I headed down stream in search of size the next morning. As I headed down the Golden Road (the road that runs along the river), I stopped and chatted with another angler who was parked at a random section along the river. He invited me to fish with him and we walked down to the river in search of sizable fish. His name was John and he had fished this river many times, so I was looking forward to learning. John was fishing streamers and after about the 10th cast, he landed a nice 16” salmon. That’ll get the heart pumping with excitement!
I tried a few different streamer patterns with no luck and reverted to my go-to setup - the dry/dropper. The Dry was the Stimulator pattern and the Dropper was a random Tungsten Bead Head nymph. After 20 or so casts and no takers, I lengthened the distance between the dry and the dropper and changed the dropper to a Bead Head Prince Nymph pattern. First cast….Fish on! After a lengthy fight, the tippet broke and was without a fish - and it was solid!. It appeared I found the nymph that the salmon were wanting, and the rest can be watched in the video.
#trout #salmon #maine #river #explore #troutfishing #brooktrout #explore #outdoors

[@dankaplan]

Nice video. Great description. Would love to camp over there for some of the fish that you were seeking.

[@wherethefishare]

That would be cool! I camped just upstream.

[@PinHeadThePopeOfHell]

I did one time on mousam lake middle of April tossed out a nightcrawler on a bobber at night. I went at 6:00 in the morning to check Pole and I have a 18 inch brook trout! I never caught a trout that big before. 😅

[@wherethefishare]

That’s a nice size Brookie!

[@user-io4ui9dr5q]

I recognized where you were fishing immediately...I can't wait to get back there. End of April through May into June, introduce yourself you'll recognize me I'm hard to miss 6'4 - 280lb can't walk very well will probably be using a chair just below the falls..thanks again for the awesome video.

[@wherethefishare]

Thanks! Hope to see ya!

[@johnszejda7770]

Mind sharing any details of where to try in the area? Headed there in a week.

[@wherethefishare]

Try all of the openings along the Golden Road. The Salmon move depending on water temp and season. I went back to that same spot a month later and skunked. Key is to get the nymphs down in the water column. I would recommend a good floating indicator with a tandem nymph rig in deeper water during the day and dries during the evening for hatches. However, some of these salmon took to my dry fly indicator during the day. Good luck!

[@bruceallen6377]

If you don’t mind me, asking, what type of flies were working for you that day? Thanks for your channel. Love your videos!

[@wherethefishare]

Thanks. Info is in the description. Stimulator and Prince Nymph. Tried the same combo 10 days later and nothing. The fish are picky and the move. Good luck! Glad you like it.

[@richardallday7387]

Nice video

[@wherethefishare]

Thanks!

[@arnoldzilban8274]

Just wondering...In your opinion, at the least, what fly rod wt. be most appropriate for big water like that?

[@wherethefishare]

I was using a 10ft 4wt Snowbee with 5X flouro tippet. I think 3wt would be too small. A 5wt-7wt would’ve been just fine, too. If I was primarily casting heavy streamers, I would’ve used 6wt-8wt. Hope that answers the question.

[@arnoldzilban8274]

@@wherethefishare You are a very experienced fly fisher! A-there were some hefty/chunky LL salmon getting airborne. And you handled them--not breaking off on a 5x tippet!? Those who know fly fishing and how fish use their bodies in big fast water current like that; we're taking our hats off to you! Before I got your answer, I took a wager with myself, almost 100% sure you were gonna say you worked the day with a 6 wt., for sure. Hey, that was great!

[@wherethefishare]

@@arnoldzilban8274 appreciate the comment. A 4wt will readily handle most fish up to 25”. The key is the tippet and speed of the water. I could’ve easily used my 8wt with 5X tippet and been just fine but the only 10’ rod I have is 4wt and it’s really good for Euro nymphing and tight line dry dropper, which I was trying to do in that video. The extra foot really helps for that style of fishing. What most 4wt rods don’t do well is cast heavy streamers. I’ll go to the 8wt on those. Best of luck fishing and I hope you catch a few!

[@John-un6qt]

What time of year was this? I see you posted it in October... was this September?

[@wherethefishare]

June 2022.