best, and most popular, fly fishing available in the Northeast.
The Northeast’s primary saltwater species—striped bass or stripers—can be found up and down the coast. I have chosen a few destinations based on their overall quality and reliability.
Smallmouth bass are popular gamefish in the Northeast. In many areas they are the only game in town. They also offer season-long fishing in areas where the trout fishing falls off in the summer due to warm water. As such, they deserve a place in the book, and they get one. So do pike, which have gained in popularity over the last decade.
Last but not least, while clearly not as popular with today’s fly fishers as moving water, lakes and ponds deserved to be covered to at least some degree. I looked at stillwaters across species, giving coverage wherever I felt it most warranted.
So this is how the list, and by default the book, came to be. I hope you enjoy what is presented and find the information useful for years to come.
Note that waters are presented from north to south and east to west by state, and then north to south and east to west within states. This was done to provide some level of geographic continuity so that readers could easily locate the waters closest to them, or closest to a given area.
A Quick Word on Infrastructure
In a sincere attempt to provide the reader with some level of help in regard to locating fly shops, outfitters, guides, lodging, and food, we have included some general contact information pertaining to each.
This is by no means an all-inclusive list, nor necessarily even a best-of list—just what was available to us at the time the book was written. Lack of inclusion does not imply anything about a given business—just that we were unable to include it due to space, access to accurate contact information, knowledge that it existed, or that we simply forgot it.
It is also important to note that businesses come and go—especially these days. Businesses that have been there for decades can close overnight and without warning. New businesses pop up to take their places. Addresses, phone numbers, websites, and email addresses can change as well. Businesses change hands. And like fisheries, businesses can go through good times and bad times.
Be sure to contact businesses ahead of time to make sure they will be there to serve you when you arrive. In addition, it never hurts to search around the Internet a bit to see if any new businesses have come to the area since the book was written, or were missed by the author, editor, or contributor, or were left out due to space limitations.
Below. Kennebago upper river moose. Rangeley Region Sport Shop
Overleaf. Bob Mallard on the Kennebago River. Diana Mallard
1 . Maine Arctic Char Ponds
Maine is home to one of the rarest salmonids in the country—and by far the rarest salmonid in the Northeast. Formerly called blueback trout (and Sunapee trout in New
Hampshire and Vermont), these fish are now collectively referred to as Arctic char. Self-sustaining native Arctic char are now extant in no more than 12 waters in the continental United States—all of which are in Maine. Two of these have recently suffered introductions of invasive baitfish, forcing costly reclamation efforts to restore the fisheries and preserve the unique genetics.
There are several other viable—albeit introduced—populations of Arctic char in Maine as well. A few more waters are rumored to have char, with no record of them ever having been stocked. Of the roughly 20 waters where native Arctic char still exist, have been introduced, or have been documented as having a presence, no more than 10 are places where you could reasonably expect to encounter one while fishing. The rest are long shots at best.
According to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, there are 14 lakes and ponds in the state that contain Arctic char. This encompasses nearly 10,000 acres of water. Twelve are considered relic—or native. Two are the result of introductions involving fish trapped from Floods Pond. Nine are classified as Principal Fisheries, meaning that an angler has a reasonable chance of catching an Arctic char there. There are no plans for the further expansion of char.
Green Lake near Acadia National Park is a unique case. It has what is classified as a native Arctic char population. It is also one of just four native landlocked salmon lakes in Maine—and the only one where char and landlocked salmon historically overlapped. Green
Lake is a native rainbow smelt water as well. Smelt introductions have been responsible for the demise of Arctic char populations in other waters. The char in Green Lake are smaller than those found in other waters. This makes some question if they are not in fact dwarf Arctic char, which would make them arguably the rarest salmonids in the continental United States.
Big Reed Pond, in the northern part of the state, is ground zero for native char in Maine. The Nature Conservancy owns the land around this jewel of a pond,
Big Reed Pond. Bob Mallard
which also includes an equally rare stand of virgin, old-growth mixed forest. Unfortunately, Big Reed Pond was one of the two waters that recently succumbed to an introduction of invasive smelts. As part of a multi-agency effort that included The Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, and the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, along with support from local sporting camps, guides, and anglers, workers were able to trap char from the pond, isolate them in a hatchery, hatch and rear enough fish to use as seed stock, reclaim the pond, and successfully restore this invaluable population of rare fish, all while keeping the genetics intact.
One of the most intriguing things about Arctic char is that these rare and beautiful fish are found within a few short hours of Boston and only an hour’s flight from
Bradford Camps’ Outback Camp on Big Reed Pond. Bob Mallard
New York City. That this remnant of the Ice Age has survived this long is actually quite amazing. Equally astounding is where some of these char populations are found. Bald Mountain Pond in Somerset County is just over an hour north of the state capital in Augusta. Floods Pond is located on the outskirts of bustling Bangor. The former is open to fishing, the latter is closed to protect a public water supply.
Most of the remaining Arctic char waters are located in the northern part of the state. Almost all of them are found off a network of unmarked—and often unmaintained—dirt roads. Most are also outside the power grid. This means that gas, food, conventional lodging, and general supplies are often an hour or more away, and subject to business hours that are conducive to profitable commerce in rural areas. As is the case with regard to Maine’s remote brook trout ponds, this can create something of a problem for the traveling angler.
Fortunately, there are a few traditional sporting camps that are located on, or near, char waters. This gives those seeking to fulfill a bucket list item (catching