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The 2008 Season is Officially CLOSED!
See You Next Year!
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That Ain't No Pickerel!
Oct 25, Cobbosseecontee Lake, Winthrop, ME
3#'r
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Another One!
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Leatherman Tool Required
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No Chains on Me!
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Q: When does the guy who catches the smaller fish become the larger part of the story?
A: When it is HIS website and more importantly when he catches a fish that just shouldn't be there!
John Rousselle took his son Jack and me along for a very nice late-season day out on Lake Cobbossee (as the locals call it
because it is just as hard to say as it is to spell). The day started out pretty good and after only one location change, John had two
3 pounders chomping down on his chatterbaits. Jack and I both switched immediately to chatterbaits and proceeded to get a lot
of "fishing" practice in, but no "catching" experience. We fished for about four more hours and then decided to try one last
place on the way back to the ramp. I picked a spot that was against some rock walls thinking that the rocks would act as heat
radiators under the 53 degree water.
This time it was my turn. Using a chatterbait I borrowed from John I cast to a laydown and hooked up with something that was pulling back
from the other end of the line. This was no "wood bass."
After a pretty uneventful battle I landed what we thought was a good sized pickerel. Upon inspection, it was clearly not the
typical "chain" pattern on the side of the fish. It had brown trout-like spots on its side and I knew it was a Northern Pike. The only
problem (like a growing number of lakes in Maine) was that Pike are not native to Big C.
The pike had some pretty good choppers so I used my Leatherman tool to hold the razors while I unhooked the borrowed bait.
Unfortunately for the pike I broke his jaw trying to keep him from thrashing. Later at the ramp when recalling the tale of the pike to
a local guy, he asked if we killed it. I told him that I did release it, but it would probably never eat anything again.
If these fish stories have any positive impacts on people stopping by to read them, and if one of those guys ever considers amateur
fish stocking as a hobby, please remember that once introduced into a watershed, eradicating invasive species (both flora and fauna) is
not only difficult, it is practically impossible. Just DON'T do it.
John's two fish were very respectable and we were all duped into thinking that the whole day was going to be like that since he got
his two in a matter of minutes from each other. Alas, we were all treated to a day where the changing leaves provided more action than
the fish.
BC-out.
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Memorable Quote of the Day
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I don't think he'll be eating anything anytime soon.
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A Matter of
Perspective
June 29, Little Sebago Lake, Windham, ME
Real-Size
3#'r
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Real-Size
2.75#'r
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"Jumbo-Size"
2.75#'r
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"Jumbo-Size"
3.25#'r
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Let me let you in on a little fish photo secret. Whenever you look at the picture of a fish and the mighty fisherman, CHECK THE HAND!
I didn't say SPEAK TO THE HAND, I said CHECK THE HAND. I had such a great time fishing today that I feel compelled to really capture the
spirit and accomplishments of the day, and besides, we don't have many fishing stories for this year yet due to my steenking work schedule which
keeps dragging me down to Florida every week. (Boss, if you are reading this, work really isn't that stinky, but summers in Maine are
very short!) I was considering renaming the title of this page to "John Rousselle's Fishing Stories," but I knew if I stayed in there long enough, I'd be able
to capture a few tales myself. I think we're starting to gain some momentum.
June 29 was a pretty nice day here in Maine. The sun came out, it was relatively hot (high 70's), and as usual lately
the weather forecast was supposed to be bad with thunderstorms, rain, wind, hail, dogs and cats, the usual stuff.
I spent some of the morning doing maintenance on my collection of "antique" rods and reels and when that exhausting task
was done, I started to make a few calls to see who could go fishing.
Right about that time, Don Chamberlain drove up and I walked across the street to see what he was up to. I had such
a great time fishing with Don, Trey, and Zach last week that I thought I would see if they wanted to go again. Don told me
that Trey had been talking about fishing the previous day and so he went inside to gather a posse. Zach wasn't in to it
this day, but Trey remembered that he wanted to get out on the water again so we had a quorum.
We left the driveway about 1415 and were up to the boat launch at LSL at about 1500 (for those following at home, 1500 equals
3:00PM). Just prior to us heading out I got some bad news on the marine weather radio that made me call Don to get his
opinion on "whether" we should trust the "weather." He went to the Weather Channel and did some fast analysis of the
radar reports and felt we could squeeze a couple of hours in since the nearest storm cells were still in Vermont. Since
it was his son Trey and him that would be "at risk" in case of a storm, I allowed him the option of bailing out of the
trip. He was enthusiastically excited about getting out there and we both agreed that the weather guys are right about
0% of the time, so it wasn't much of a risk. Before we left, I assured Don's wife Veronica that we would not take any
chances with lightning and if something did actually develop, we had two exit strategies to get to safety; the boat launch, and
the Rousselle camp on the lake. I'm usually over-cautious about the weather and believe in the concept that the fish like
good conditions as much as the fishermen and if things turn too windy or cold or rainy that it is best to just DD (Army slang
for the Vietnamese, "di di mau" or let's get out of here quickly) out of there to the safety of the Big Bronco.
It actually was a perfect day on the water. As you can see from the pictures it was sunny, the wind was low, and the lake was flat calm.
Perfect for tossing some stinky garlic worms at the innocent wee beasties.
True to form, Trey caught the first fish on the backside of the first island at which we stopped. He was using a spinning rod for the first time and
had to get used to not letting loops form on the spool from not applying enough line tension on the cast and retrieve. I remember another young kid (remember Trickey Pond Jack?) who took a
bunch of grief from his Dad (and only a slight bit from me) over remembering to look down at the spool between casts to see if there were any loops just
lying in wait to cause a bird's nest. Spinning reels are "reely" very simple, but they can surprise you with a nasty tangle the first couple of times
you use one or if the line on the spool is new and hasn't formed a memory to the shape of the spool yet.
He adjusted quickly to the new gadget and as he did on Great Pond the week earlier, he was the one to set the
pattern. It was plastic worms, wacky style of course. I had been trying
chatterbaits and crankbaits, but as usual (and I'm not very proud of this by now) when the fishing gets tough, I go back to
the wacky worm. It is (for me anyway) the most reliable bait in the boat.
After scraping the water with pumpkin colored worms with no additional success, I offered to take the men over to one of my
favorite spots near an A-framed camp that has a flag pole on the point in front. If you have been a loyal reader of the previous year's
fishing stories, I have already reported on success from this location before. Well, the little cove by the flag did
not disappoint. Trey caught another one (the scanning tunneling microscope was not working on the boat that day to help us take the picture) and then I hooked in to a pretty good fish. He was about 3# and gave up a pretty good fight.
Drifting along that same shoreline I hooked into an even larger one, but failed to close the deal. Trey was working the net
and he saw the hawg, but in the end, nothing but net. That might sound like a good expression in basketball, but in fishing
it only leaves you with a dumb look on your face while you shout obscenities at the fishing gods.
As we rounded the corner to drift into the next little cove, it was Don's turn to rip some lips. He landed two almost immediately and they were both very respectable and
photogenic. I wanted to do a little camera trick. As you can see from the pictures above
what is a very nice fish in its own right becomes an absolute HONEY when you hold your fist straight out in front of you and get closer to the lens.
This is called perspective in the jargon of photography. So here is the secret. The next time someone shows you a picture of their catch, take a look at
how BIG their hand is in comparison to their other hand or rest of their body. Unless they are the Incredible Hulk (with the whole green skin thing and all)
it is just an illusion. Don's jumbo-sized fish looks like a 30" striped bass. Not to take anything away from his nice
work, these fish are actually "regular-sized" Larrys but still both very impressive in their own right. While Trey and I caught our
fish on garlic and salt flavored chartreuse worms, Don stuck to the pumpkin colored "plain" worms and still managed to
outfish us with all of our fancy "condiments."
Not to throw cold water on Don's success this very day, the skies started to darken and Captain Cook made the command decision to DD (see above) back to the ramp
to beat the rain. Trey took the helm and very expertly returned us back to the boat launch at flank speed just in time to meet up with a couple who was having trouble with
their tilt mechanism on their over-powered and very loud speedboat. For some reason, they decided to effect repair ON THE BOAT LAUNCH itself, in the water, before
pulling their boat out. Um, is there anyone out there with the ramp etiquette handbook that can explain why this isn't "nice." Expecially (that's how they pronounce it in Florida, just ax anyone at any McDonald's)
with a thunder and lightning storm approaching? I went to the Bronco and returned with my trailer and started to
make turns to back down to the ramp when they finally got the hint and DD'd (you've got this one nailed by now) back up to
the parking lot so we could recover and leave.
Minutes after getting the boat on the trailer and the gear stowed in the truck, the skies opened and it was windsheild wiper time. We rode home in the rain regaling ourselves with
our own tales of fabulousity and humility. Brilliant!
So to tie this whole thing together with a Palomar knot, the real moral of this story about perspective is about the fishing itself. I'll admit, a big part of the fun is finding and catching the fish and just like,
"The Deadliest Catch" it is a team sport of friends all trying to accomplish the same thing, to make the other guys in the boat look ridiculous if they don't catch anything. Ultimately, you have to
get back to the ramp and return to civility so you appreciate the times you have out on the water. You appreciate the help you get from the guys taking care of
the boat and landing the fish. Most importantly to me however is that I appreciate sharing the thing I truly love to do the most with some really great friends who you can tell
genuinely had a great time and are developing into some pretty competent fishing buddies.
That my friends is the true meaning of perspective.
BC-out.
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Memorable Quote of the Day
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My hands smell like Bass Scampi!
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GREAT! Great Pond
June 21, Great Pond, Belgrade Lakes, ME
First Blood!
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Start out smallie
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Zach is on the board!
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I learned this from
Jimmy Houston!
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At least they're
getting bigger
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Don wrestles
one aboard
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Dad, Son, Fish
Beautiful!
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It was as big as a
Leatherman Tool! Folded!
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Lippin' old Sallie!
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My Big One
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Don's Big One
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Don's even BIGGER One!
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On Father's Day Weekend we were going to head out with Don Chamberlain and his son Zach while Don's other son Trey was ref'ing a
soccer tournament in Bowdoin. Unfortunately it was a washout so we had to wait a week to get out on the water. My wife Mary knows
a semi-pro bass fisherman in her office and he tipped us off to Great Pond as being red hot right now. When I heard this, I called
Don and asked him if he wanted to try it out. Luckily his two boys had room in their busy schedules to come along and try their
hand at what I hoped would be one of those memorable days in a kid's life. I am pretty sure we secured some long-term brain cells
for storing images of today's adventure.
Great Pond (Latitude: N44° 32.26' Longitude: W69° 50.60') is located in Belgrade Lakes, ME and although we vacation there at Long Pond in the summer, we have never gone "across
the street" to Great Pond. It has always been on my "to do" list and based on the experience we had there this day, it is on my
favorites list from this point on. Great Pond is truly great. It is large Maine lake at about 8300 acres. It's max depth is 69'
and it has a pretty diverse list of native species including Brown Trout, Brook Trout, Salmon, Smelt, Largemouth Bass,
Smallmouth Bass, White Perch, Pickerel, and the always aggressive Northern Pike (non-native).
We only covered a very small portion of the southern end of the lake, but that was all we needed to do to have a very productive
day on the water with everyone on board catching multiple fish. We caught all sizes of smallmouth bass and regardless of the size
the tug on the other end of the line was what we were all in search of.
Trey caught the first fish almost immediately. I think it was his first true cast that landed him what we all thought could be
the largest smallie we'd see all day. In between Zach and I caught a few but it was Don's "unconscious" performance that bested us all.
Don caught a very respectable smallie to beat out Trey and then while helping one of the boys untangle their line, he left his
wacky worm in the water resting on the bottom. When he went to pick up his rod again he thought he had snagged the bottom only to
find out he was into the largest smallie of the day and was adeptly helped into the boat by Trey on the landing net. Great teamwork
from the Father and Son team. Trey help Don and me land most of our fish that day while working the net.
Today's adventure only made us all that more excited about coming back up here in mid-July for our week of vacation on Long Pond.
If our stay on Long Pond this year is anything like Great Pond was today, we're in for another "Great" fishing experience, and looking forward to it
anxiously.
BC-out.
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Memorable Quote of the Day
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Thanks Mr. Cook, we had a GREAT time!
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One Down, 49 to GO!
May 31, Martha's Vineyard, MA
I'm Fishin'!
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Don't let my wife
see me kiss you!
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Bubblelicous!!!
Girls love pink!
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Am I smilin'
too much?
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Let me tickle
your belly!
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Back Home, this
would be in the slot!
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My good friend and fishing mentor John Rousselle is certainly blessed to have such a great family, especially
his wife who truly understands his love of fishing, mainly striper fishing on the fly rod. John spends a lot of time at
sea working, but it is a long cast to the water from the deck of his ship, so when he was home from his latest
“cruise,” his wife Ann Marie decided to surprise him with a trip to Martha’s Vineyard as a birthday present.
The rest of this fishing story was written by John and you can tell from the detail in his account just how
much he loved this trip and how much he appreciated the gift.
Ann read in the book “50 Places to Fly Fish Before You Die” that MV was on the list. Ann searched the
internet to find out about the fly fishing scene and came up with a real winner, Captain Phil Cronin,
owner of CAPAWOCK Charters (www.capawock.com). The tide was running out,
the sky was cloudless, and the air temperature was in the 70’s. Winds were very light. It was a perfect
day for fishing!
Captain Phil met us at the ferry landing in Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard and escorted us to
the boat in Vineyard Haven. Captain Phil fishes a Parker 21SE with a Yamaha 150 HP four stroke engine.
The boat is perfect for fishing; all the mooring cleats lie flat to the gunwales when not in use, and there
is ample room to maneuver around the center console. The boat is equipped with a GPS and Captain Phil is a
real expert on the fishing scene on the Vineyard.
We boarded the boat at the Vineyard Haven boat launch and rigged up the fly rod with an intermediate line and
a popper fly attached to a 10” wire leader. The first species we were targeting were “Blue Tarpon” (more
commonly known as Blue Fish to us non-native Vineyard folks) on the flats off the coast of Falmouth,
Massachusetts. After a quick safety rundown on the location of life jackets and first aid kits, we departed
the boat launch and headed across the bay to the flats. The ride over was about 20 minutes, and we saw a few
schools of working birds that indicated schools of feeding blue fish.
Once we arrived at the flats Captain Phil explained about “prospecting” for blues by casting a hookless
floating plug to get the fish around the boat and then casting the popping fly to get the fish to bite.
Past reports from other charter captains told of blues being in the area, but we could not scare up any
fish on the flats. We left the flats after trying the “bait and switch” technique in several areas of the flats.
On the way back to the Vineyard we stopped at a huge rip and Captain Phil began his prospecting technique again,
and this time it was successful! I caught the first fish on a green popper on a fly rod, and it was a decent
fight. I then switched to a squid pattern fly tied on a 4/0 hook to see if any stripers were hanging out below the rip.
Two casts later we had a striper on, and it was landed successfully after about a five minute fight. Captain Phil
expertly boated the fish and took some excellent photographs of the event.
Ann Marie was just itching to get in on the action, and Captain Phil rigged up a spinning rod with a 9” “Bubble Gum”
Sluggo stick bait and Ann cast the bait in to the rip. Minutes later Ann was fighting a decent striped bass and
had a great time being photographed with her catch!
I brought along some flies I had tied last winter with near hair body and great big doll eyes.
The first cast resulted in several hits but no clean hook set. The next cast brought better success with patience
being the key – letting the fish take the fly before setting the hook resulted in a nice 27 inch bass in the boat.
About eight fish were landed out of this rip, which is a very good day for the time of year we were fishing.
After the tide subsided we left our lucky rip and headed to a spot known as “Middle Ground”. Middle Ground was
about ¾ of the way back to Vineyard Haven, and we encountered many boats fishing for stripers and no one hooking
up. Captain Phil wasted no time and headed out to “Lake Tashmoo” to check out the rumors of a worm hatch.
Lake Tashmoo is not a lake by Maine standards. Lake Tashmoo is an inlet and bay that is surrounded by land and
has only a narrow inlet from the ocean. We cast a few clousers in the lake before we noticed a lot of rolls nearby.
Lake Tashmoo is famous for its worm hatch. Cinder worms leave their habitat in the mud at the bottom of the bay to
spawn once a year, and when this happen the striped bass gorge themselves on worms. Captain Phil noticed a few worms
floating in the lake, so he switched to a “worm fly” and demonstrated the slow, steady retrieve needed to mimic the
swimming action of the cinder worms. Two or three casts later we hooked up to a nice fat schoolie striper, and
had several more fish interested in the fly but could not get another hook up before we ran out of daylight.
The run from Lake Tashmoo to the boat launch in Vineyard Haven was about ten minutes, and when we got to the launch
we unloaded all the gear and I helped get the boat on the trailer and secured for the road. Captain Phil graciously
gave us a ride to our hotel (Colonial Inn).
The fishing trip was a huge success. After a slow start we had almost nonstop action and thoroughly
enjoyed the company of Captain Cronin. We will definitely be looking up CAPAWOCK Charters again the next time we
visit the Vineyard.
Thanks John for that wonderful account. The Cape and Islands definitely are a premier striper spot and if it
wasn’t about $300 in gas to drag the boat down there and back, I’d consider making the trip. These days, hiring
a guide is probably a better way to get on the water than paying for the pleasure yourself. Great report John and
we look forward to your next one as you check off the remaining 49!!!
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Memorable Quote of the Day
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Ann Marie, "Strip! Strip" does not mean you!
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14 Hours In!
January 1, Chaffin Pond, Windham, ME
Bass!
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BASS!!
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BAAASSS!!!!!
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As I am writing this, my hope is that young Jack Rousselle will really appreciate the fact that his dad John is imparting upon him a
lifetime of joy in learning to fish in all of the forms available to us here in the Great State of Maine. My dad wasn't a fisherman
and it has taken me a lifetime to learn only about half of what your dad has already shown you. Think about that Jack, and make sure
you thank him for what will become some of the best memories of your life.
Most years, cold weather is not a problem for making ice in Maine. Some years however, the big lakes don't set up to where it is safe to go out on them at all.
I don't think that is going to be a problem in 2008. As I write this story from my hotel room in Florida, it is expected to be only 20
degrees in Jacksonville!!! The farmers down here are scrambling to save the strawberry crops from freezing by spraying water on them
and hoping that the ice crust will provide protection from a "hard freeze" as they call it. Well, in Maine, when we think of an ice crust, we think of fishing.
Actually, we think of fishing no matter what the conditions are, but that's a good thing, eh?
So, while I am down here in Florida acting as a local subject matter expert on cold weather, John and Jack set off for teeny little Chaffin Pond.
To give you an idea how small this pond is, it is only 13.11 acres in comparison to their own home lake, LIttle Sebago Lake which is 3 square miles in area. Why am I bringing this up,
because John was smart enough to go someplace safe for the first fishing outing without risking the chance of going through ice that hasn't properly set up yet.
There was an intense snow storm going on at the time and the ice was already at safe levels even though just a few weeks ago, it was still open water. The smaller ponds freeze faster and are
safer to attempt early season ice fishing adventures without literally putting your life in danger. Just days ahead of the New Year
were warnings from the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife wardens that rushing out onto the ice was not worth the risk and
waiting a few days for the ice to set up was a good idea. They made the point that it wasn't worth risking your life for a fish. I guess they
HAVE to say that.
John reports that the first fish was on the ice around 1430. They stayed out there until about 1600 and then had to pack it in due to the severity of the snowstorm.
John reported that the air temperature was 30 degrees, with light winds, and water temperature was approximately 34 degrees. Refreshing!!!
In total, they got 8 flags, and landed 4 fish. They fished for the bass with their bait positioned about a foot off the bottom of the pond. All of them were released successfully.
Those ice fishing traps they were using were built by John from a very unique design. They work very well for spooky fish.
Nice report John and thanks for getting the Fish Stories started in 2008.
One thing I am going to try to do in 2008 is provide more information about the places we catch our fish so here is a short synopsis of
Chaffin Pond in Windham, ME in case you ever decide you want to recreate our adventures yourself!
Chaffin Pond is 13.11 acres in surface area and is located in the town of Windham, ME (04062) at Latitude: N43° 50.891', Longitude: W70° 26.599'
Perimeter 2939 feet, Max Depth 40 feet, DeLorme Atlas Map 5
In the 1930s, Windham grew and residents demanded running water. Authorities decided to dig wells around Chaffin Pond property
rather than take lake water, in part because the residents wanted to keep swimming in the lake. For many years most of Windham’s
water came from two wells on the Chaffin Pond property. In the 1990s, after a leak from a gas station on nearby Route 302,
tests showed the gasoline additive MTBE in the water. Now Windham residents get their water from Sebago Lake, like most of the
rest of the Portland Water District. The MTBE contamination never exceeded federal guidelines for safety, but the PWD shut down
the wells anyway.
Windham is building a parking lot on the main road, Route 302, and erecting a new gate to keep cars out of the dirt road to
the pond. Plans call for a new fishing pier to be constructed. Officials are discussing stocking the pond with fish.
As my good friend Red Green would say, "Keep your stick on the ice."
BC-out.
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Memorable Quote of the Day
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"Flag!!!"
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