Fly Fishing Seminar weekend

Fly Fishing weekend

April 10-12

A weekend focusing on all things fly fishing. Held April 10th-12th 2026. The weekend kicks of Friday with a 3pm checkin time at Western Maine Yurts. You will be met by Alex to settle into your yurt and get a lay of the land. Onsite seminars and instruction will be held at the Gallery/Studio. Classes kick off Saturday morning and are held throughout the day. Breakfast and lunch is included. Once the day ends (early evening) fisherman are encouraged to explore the fine dining that bethel has to offer. Sunday morning starts back off with breakfast and more seminars until noon. With on water training, weather permitting.

Classes are taught by Register Maine Guides. Most weekends will feature 2-3 different guides. Keeping the instruction fun and changing.

The weekend will cover the following topics and more!

• Entomology…. bug basics, what bug is what?

• Reading Water…..where to fish!

• Rigging……untangle how to rig for different fly fishing styles

• Tactics…..what to fish, when and where?

• Casting…..You don’t cast the same for all situations…plus basics!

• Fly Line Selection…..How to navigate this confusing world!

• Ethics…..Do the right thing for the longevity of our sport!

• Safety…..Always important!

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*Class has a 16 person capacity

*Bring your own bedding

This is going to be a blast of a weekend! We will have lots of info to dive into, to help you become a better fly fisherman. Plus a good round of community to start the fishing season! Reach out to secure your spot.

-Alex

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Fly fisherman Magazine

What a pretty shot

Featured in a issue with Blane Chocklett on the cover

If you are so inclined, take a look a the Feb/March issue of Fly Fisherman Magazine! You will find an article written and photographed my Brian Irwin (www.brianirwinmedia.com) featuring me! If I was to have a “young boy dream” being featured in Fly Fisherman Mag would be it. I am very humbled and appreciative of the opportunity to guide Brian and his delightful wife Darcy. I had the joy of hosting them at the yurts for 3 days back in July. We fished for smallmouth bass along the Androscoggin River. I love these waters and I consider them home. There is no happier place for me than to row and guide clients along its endless runs, pools, and diverse structure.

Brian’s photographing is top notch!

As a guide and artist it can be unnerving to be in an article. You never know the true light an article will portray until it is written. I have an appreciation for this because I view writing the same as painting. At least the creative process and evolution that transpires with putting words to meaning. When I paint I often start with a specific vision. However as I start the painting it turns into whatever it wants. With this in mind I waited with anticipation. After what seemed like an eternity the article came out! I must say I was amazed my Brian’s thorough approach to the article. He was able to weave history, fame, conservation, nature, and how special these smallmouth on the Androscoggin really are. Without giving up the specifics of the article all I can say is thanks to those at Fly Fisherman and Brian and Darcy. Oh and go get a copy!!!

Fly Fishing for Big Pike, in the Fall, on the Androscoggin River!

Fall is here in Maine and I find myself enjoying the change of season. We had an extremely hot and dry summer and I wore tired of it. Though we had great smallmouth fishing for large fish on topwater, the recent cool mornings and crisp days feel invigorating. With the fall we all obviously enjoy the trout waters turning back on after the water cools. However, pike is an often overlooked gamefish to chase in the cold weather too. For those who love streamer fishing or fly fishing for striped bass, it is a natural jump to make. Large predatory fish lurking in the shadows waiting to intercept your offering. Takes can vary from slow chases to all out fly eating blitzes.

Pike reside in the Androscoggin River from Livermore Falls all the way to Merrymeeting Bay. They are a widely dispersed fish in the river system and their spread density lends itself to true trophy fish. The varied forage on the Androscoggin definitely makes fly selection fun. Imitating fallfish, perch, crappie, sunfish, smallmouth, suckers, and other pike make for a varied fly box full of as many colors as the fall trees produce. If you enjoy fishing large flies, fall is your time to shine. Deer hair flies tied hollow style, big Buford style heads, squimpish hair, articulated shanks, all are your friend in creating pike flies. Flies that push water, have wiggle, or erratic movements are what you need.

To better reach the pike haunts of the Androscoggin I recently acquired a new jet boat. It allows me to target hard to reach areas and have plenty of room for gear. With the large casting decks we are able to have ample room to cast large flies, heavy weight rods, and enjoy the elevated perspective when a large pike explodes on your fly. Nothing beats fly fishing from a drift boat, but a more mobile boat, capable of speed is a luxury I am happy to now offer clients.

As I write this I can’t help but have excitement looking forward to short fall days filled with morning frosts, the smell of fall leaves on the water, big flies, hot coffee, warm lunch soups, large schools of bait, friends, eagles watching, oh and pike!

Reach out if a pike trip is on your radar!

Warm Water...Low Flows...What Does This Mean To Trout?

THE JOURNEY

Let me start with my personal journey regarding fishing for trout and my growing concern with water temps, flows, and my impact. Let’s start at the beginning. My journey began at the age of 5 fishing for small brook trout in the stream behind my house. It was an amazing era to be a child and great place to grow up. I was allowed to explore the stream alone as long as I didn’t stray too far. I can remember peaking through the ferns, over the bank, to trout in small plunge pools and hiding under overhanging banks. This is where my love of fishing began. My goal was always to catch the big one and in those days I ate any keepers I caught. I knew how to gut and cook a trout at a very early age and did so often. The value of fish = food and also fish = fun was in full swing.

Fast forward to today. I am a guide and avid fly fisherman and my abilities to catch trout/fish has advanced. The negative impact I am capable of has increased due to my ability to catch more fish, bigger fish, and do so consistently. My “value” of trout has shifted from my early days. Now it is fish = fun mostly. However, I have also reached a point where fish = giving back. What does that mean? I have loved my home waters in Maine for a very long time and now I care more about fisheries health, sustainability, habitat improvement, and management more than ever. This is were the topic on WARM WATER and trout come out to play

WHAT IS WARM WATER?

Warm water for trout is whenever the temp reaches a point that stress takes place. This temp is different for the varying species of trout, but for this write up, lets focus on brook trout, rainbow trout, and brown trout in RIVERS exclusively. I emphasize rivers exclusively because cold water is easier to find in lakes and ponds that stratify. In rivers that is harder and trout rely on cold water tributaries and springs. However, below you will find a chart that shows the different lethal limits for trout species and when stress takes place.

Brook trout require the coldest water, than rainbow trout, followed by brown trout. As we see warming trends throughout the country paired with drought, these ranges are very important to note. Here on my home waters of the Androscoggin River I do not guide or fish for trout when we hit the stress range for rainbow trout. Normally this happens in late June but does vary due to weather. Thermometers are your best friend! They give the real truth when it comes to ‘warm water”.

ETHICAL PRACTICES?

So lets say that the water is 72 degrees. This is well below the lethal limit for brown and rainbow trout. Does this mean you should fish for them? The answer is no. The energy and oxygen depletion is too high to recover from. That trout may be able to live for a period of time in that warm water if left alone. But the expenditure in warm water temps like that will be too much to recover from. Many trout caught and released in warm water die. I will note we are talking rivers and not lakes and ponds. Rivers do not stratify like a lake or pond. Meaning rivers stay warm through out the water column and rely on springs and tributaries to bring in cold water refuge areas. Where as a cold water lake will stratify and have abundant cold water 15-25ft down. This makes it easier for trout to survive warm spells in a lake than a river.

Below are some examples of what cold water refuge can look like. Carry a thermometer, check the surrounding temps. If they are within the trouts stress range move on. It is important to note that even though the water they are in may be cold enough for them to survive or even outside of their stress range, leave them alone. They are in this location for a reason. SURVIVAL. You can fish for them another day, when the temps are in optimal ranges.

When trout are stacked up like this in full sun and shallow water……….it is a good indication of cold water refuge. Move on leave them alone.

Another prime example of vulnerable river trout sitting in a cold water refuge seam.

Ok now lets take this a step further. Enter the Catch-n-Release guy. I am one of them. I believe that it is a great practice in the conservation of trout. Especially when practiced correctly. Let me elaborate. When I first started the practice it was early in my fly fishing career. I had no one mentoring me at the time. I did not know about trouts lethal limits in regard to warm water. I just wanted to catch trout and catch as many as possible. I thought that if a trout swam away it was “good”. I fished all summer in my usual spots. I also found other productive areas and fished them a ton, in the hot weather. I did not know at the time that trout were there for a reason. Turns out these were some of the cold water refuge spots I avoid today in hot times. I now check on these areas to see what the water temps are doing. I also try to take note of if these areas are being exploited. Which they definitely are. My point is………Catch-n-Release just isn’t enough. You need to recognize when and where it is ok to fish and when it isn’t. I see it a bunch in the fly fishing world where people have a certain river they enjoy fishing and they won’t fish another river. They also fish it every weekend, no matter the conditions. I was no different. Now I take the opportunity to learn new species, fisheries, tactics, presentations. Here in Maine we have, smallmouth, pike, carp, sunfish, stripers! Plus other species as well. If you look in your home state, you too can find new skills and species. Who knows you could innovate fishing for a new species in your area. My point is, mix it up. Become a better more well rounded fisherman. Don’t be the tight line nymph guy who can’t cast further than 20ft. Don’t be the dry fly guy who cast cast a sinking streamer line. Try new things when trout waters get hot and you may be surprised. Surprised at your new found skills and you may find another species you love to fish for!