This page combines some of our guides reports, locals and friends reports and Mike's articles. We hope to hear from our friends often to keep this page updated! Enjoy - see you on the water!
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May 9 - The fishing has been amazing. The best early season fishing I can remember. Today's trip saw largemouth, smallmouth, pickerel, northern pike and black crappie. The bass fishing is really hot! The northern pike are done spawning and are really starting to feed hard. We had a number of big fish follow and a lot of fish caught and landed. The biggest today is on the cover of the web site right now. Water temp was 56 degrees, which is perfect! April 28 - First guided trip of the year yesterday. What a great time. Good group of people too! We had 5 guides and 13 people out. Water temps were excellent (mid 40's) and the smallmouth bass fishing was amazingly good. We also caught some nice early season northern pike too. What a great way to start the year! April 23 - The ice went out last night on Messalonskee Lake (Snow Pond) and Great Pond by the boat launch. The other lakes are following quickly. Ice Out Mainia has begun!
April 1 - What a winter it was! A great ice fishing season, although Mother Nature was not very kind to us. We got a ton of snow and ice and wind, but the true ice fishermen fights through it! This was, by far, the best winter since we've been in business (almost 15 years now). The new cottage on Messalonskee was a hit and the pike bite was pretty good for the most part. Now we are waiting for the ice to melt, which is going to take a few more weeks. There is still about 2 feet of ice on the lakes as of April 1 and that's no April Fools Joke! This year I hope to enjoy some good trout trolling and spring pike fishing. The smallmouth bass were HUGE this winter, so I think we are in for a good bass year. Also, I hope to fish for more crappie and white perch too. They sure taste good during shore lunch. If you have any questions or need any help this year planning your vacation, please don't hesitate to call or e-mail. We'll do our best to take care of you. THINK WARM THOUGHTS! ~ Mike G.
Special thanks to: Harry Vanderwide and "Northeast Journal" for their recent television show featuring Maine Wilderness Tours, ice fishing for pike in the Belgrade Lakes. The Elks Magazine for their article on the Belgrade Lakes Region of Maine Look for our next show on ice fishing for Crappie coming out in February. "Travel and Leisure Magazine" for the recent article featuring Maine Wilderness Tours - for more info on our many canoe trips, including the Kennebec River, call or e-mail us! The Family and Halmark Channels for their show featuring Maine Wilderness Tours, showing how much fun a vacation in Maine can be!
Just wanted to drop you a line letting you know what a wicked great time we had pike fishing Saturday. What a corker of day and the best early spring fishing I have ever had. We caught pike as big as my leg and bass so big I could put my fist in his mouth and not touch the sides what a day. I just
wanted to say Maine Wilderness Tours is not just for the "Flat Landers" the locals can have a great time too. Only one thing where's those
pictures so I can show my buddies that I not just telling stories. Thanks again Wayne & James
Dan from Wells, Maine - ice fishing the Belgrades The weekend was worderful. Although we didn't catch the big one, the number of fish we caught, weather, friends that drove up for the day, dogs, beer and Bob's cabin were all great. Lot's of smallmouths! We landed a 30" pike off that same rock pile off the southeast corner of Hoyt Island on Saturday and a 28" pike off the rocks next to the east side of the island on Sunday. Just can't seem to get over the 35" mark. Regardless the beer didn't freeze in three seconds like last time and the smallmouths kept us busy all day long along with a few white perch and one yellow perch. Our faces all look like bobbers now, white above the cheeks and tomato red down past the chin, because we're all to stupid to wear sunscreen. Better fishing weather would have been nice, but we truly had a wonderful weekend. Hey Mike, Our trip to Belgrade last Sunday was, well, Great!! Found a spot where a bunch of nice fish were stacked up. Caught eight pike, including a 7.5 and a 9, as well as about 2 dozen QUALITY smallmouths!! Couldn't believe how the smallies were just nailing these super-sized Mepps!! Quite a show!! I hate to say it, but the smallmouths were actually a nuisance....every time you'd get a nice hit you'd be hoping it was a good pike, but then you'd see a 3 lb. bronzeback leap skyward....actually disappointing!! We wanted PIKE!! (How often can you say 3 lb. smallies are a nuisance??!!!) Anyway....hope you're doing well too. We're probably heading back in mid May for some more fun. (How's the brownie action? Any more 13-pounders?) Take care.... Steve H. Steve, don't you just hate it when all those smallies get in the way! What a shame when you have a world-class bass fishery and huge pike all in the same lake :) As for the browns, my wife catches all the big ones! Maybe this year she'll tell us some of her secrets. - Mike
ice fishing
Hi Mike,
Everything was great!!! The cabin was excellent and Bill Swan was awesome!! Dear Mike We got back from our trip on Thurs. It was great. If Raymon could have gone earlier there would have been more snow but we made do. Terri guided us because some of the trails didnt have much snow. He was great and his equipment was very good. He worked hard to find areas for us to snowmobile in. And Margaret at 133 Main was so sweet, the house was beautiful. And we ate in the restuarant down the street from her. The food was real good. We went on to North Conway, also did sightseeing in Boston. Mike thanks so much for your help. Especially having to help us reschedule. You made our trip a great one ! ! ! ---Clarine P. S. We ate at DeMillo's in Portland - so good too. Hi Mike, I wanted to let you know what a GREAT time Andy, Mark and myself had this past week. We had two great days with Bill Swan, fishing and laughing! I would appreciate it if you would pass along to him how pleased we were! We also had an opportunity to speak with the owner of 4 Seasons. He was really nice, and gave us maps to the best parts of Great Pond. I will be emailing you again in the future, we definitely are coming back in January for some more ice fishing. We are going to try to plan a fall trip in September or October too, since one day is not enough time to explore Great Pond. I will be in touch if we can all agree on a date! Thank you again! Bob P.
Hi Mike!
You couldn't have ordered better weather for us!! Thank you. Being in this business, I know that no matter how hard you work on a project, if the weather doesn't cooperate, nothing looks good. Now, that's not to say that if the weather hadn't been so nice, I would not have appreciated all of the effort and time you put into our trip. I felt very confident from our first point of contact all the way through our day of snowmobiling that you were going to take good care of us. When we got home last Saturday night, I was just exhilarated. John and Mandy were our guides (You probably wanted Matt to do this for us, but he ended up with a sinus infection. He did come out to greet us upon our return however.) Our sleds were new and had no mechanicals. Our only mechanical problem was one of our drivers who tipped twice! Funny and long story short - his wife ended up on John (the guide's) sled. She wouldn't ride with her husband after the first tip. She had a strong scotch/soda after we got to the restaurant. It was a terrific day.
Spring Fishing Mike - Thanks so much for setting up David and me with Bob Howe for our day of guided fishing this past Saturday. Bob is a true professional, and we had a great time! We caught several (5 or 6) nice pike, a bass, and a really nice brown trout. Bob's wife Andrea even sent some cookies and brownies along. Although serious about fishing, we had a lot of laughs, and Bob explained much about the area's wildlife and ecology. Without hesitation, I'd recommend Bob not only for guided fishing trips, but for any of the outdoors activities he offers. Our thanks to Bob and Andrea for a wonderful day. And our thanks to you, Mike, for introducing us to the Howes and Pine Grove Lodge. Maine Wilderness Tours really came through for us, and please be assured that we'll tell our friends about all that MWT offers. Thanks again Mike! Yours, Steve Fitzgerald
Snowmobile Trips
Mike, Good morning, I just want you to know my mother and I had a blast, the scenery was fantastic and the snow was good. The accommodations were great and the view of the lake and Mountain were out of sight. We have decided to come back next year around mid February for at least 3-4 day stay, do not know when yet. I will be in touch with you as soon as that the time of year comes up. Again thanks for everything, talk to you later. Thanks, David W. Osborne of Germantown, MD
Hi Mike! Just a short note to tell you we had an awesome time sledding on Saturday! It was so much fun, that I know we will be doing it again. The Inn was wonderful and the hostess was the mostest! Everything was just wonderful! Thanks for all your correspondance and have a great day! Lisa
Remote Outpost Cabins Mike, Thanks for all of your help and assistance. We had a great time and the accomodations were far more than we expected. The Libby's run a first rate cabin. Fishing was still slow as it isn't quite cold or rainy enough to get the brookies schooled around inlets and outlets yet (Water temps still mid 60's). The little rain we did get provide some great action on the Allagash River (winds were too much on the lake that day so the short drive to the Allagash was ideal). I took ten nice brookies over three hours including a nice 15" male that nailed a grey ghost streamer. All total we probably caught about 30 brookies over the four days with 4 keepers- (2) 15", (2) 14". The evening hatch was like hunting bonefish on the flats. The fish were finning along on the surface sucking down spinners and large emerging moths. Just about any dry pattern got some action as long as you got it near a recent rise. Didn't have much look trolling streamers and tried every streamer pattern, depth and speed. The deep hole at the southern section of the lake showed a big school of bait at 50 feet but hours of jigging swedish pimples and airplane jigs only yielded some small whitefish. I know I'll be coming back someday and I'll definately book it through your service. I only wish I had known how well equipped the cabin was, I could have left half of the stuff I packed at home. Thank the Libby's for us and tell them that they have three new customers for life. When I get some pictures developed I'll send them along via email. Thanks again, Jim
Nicatous Lake Thanks Mike. We had a great time at Nicatous Lake. Barry was such a good host, the area was beautiful, and the cabins worked out well for us. We only caught one fish, a 5 lb small mouth, and it sure tasted good on the grill. I would recommend the place to my friends. I'm already thinking of a Winter trip up there. Things I would tell people: -Bring towels, soap and shampoo. -Bring everything you need. Don't plan on leaving to get things. It's about an hour to the closest store and back and they don't have much. I was very happy that I found you on the Internet. Thanks for your help. I'll email some pictures if they scan well. I forgot my digital camera. George
Mike, Just thought I would drop you a few line to let you know how our trip went.the weather was gorgeous most of the time the cabin was really nice and Tom the man in charge of the cabin was exceptionally nice. We saw two moose one the day we arrived there and the other the day we left. We went on two moose watches and saw nothing the moose we saw were only about 2 miles from the cabin. again had great time . Thanks Again. Barbara & Dennis
Nicatous Lake Dear Mike, I don't know if I can find the appropriate words to describe how tremendous our week in Maine was. First off, your description of Porter Points Camps was perfect. We were amazed at how well you described the conditions and the terrain of the camp. We were perfectly equipped with every thing that we needed thanks to your description. Our drive took about 12 hours due to a wrong turn here and there, but once we were at the camp I remember my friend Kenny saying," I would have driven twice as far for this!". After a good night sleep we were all anxious to start our vacation. Barry, who coincidently could not have been a nicer guy or a better host, recommended that we all take out a boat and do some fishing. Well being as impatient as we are the fishing didn't last to long. Thankfully, before going out Barry told us about a sand bar about twenty minutes out on the lake so we did some swimming. Once we got to this sand bar we were all completely blown away. The water was so crystal clear and the sand on the beach was soooo white is was like our own private paradise. Our dog, Darwin, fell in love with the place he ran and swam and chased ducks. He had the best time of his young life. We spent the next few days traveling back and forth from one oasis to another by boat, it was tremendous! Each day we went to the beach we found another great aspect of the area. For example there are some large stones that are about twenty feet from the sand and we found out quite early on the water beyond this point was also shallow and in fact you could walk about fifty feet out onto the lake and the water was still only up to the knees. I often walked out and sat down in this area and just relaxed as the waves gently broke over my back. The people staying at the cabin next to us were very nice and were quite the expert fishermen. What we didn't catch our neighbors did. They gave us some great tips on fishing for bass but this still didn't help us any, but trust me not catching a fish was not a big deal. Our neighbors had a big fish fry one night and were nice enough to bring over a few plates for all of us. So in the long run we got to eat some fresh caught Maine small mouth bass, and it was delicious!! All and all, we all had a tremendous time and are already starting to plan next years trip. Kenny and I are going to go fishing some more here in New Jersey so that maybe next year we will be able to cook the fish for our neighbors. Thank You Again, Scott & Carla Bortnick
Belgrade Lakes Fishing Here is a little note to say thank you for putting us in touch with the fishing guide, Dale Douchette. We had a very good time, and Dale is an excellent guide, who kept us entertained all day on the lake. The day we hired Dale was Saturday, May 15, 1999. I spoke to you on Friday, May 14, and you said to call you back at 2:00 P.M. in the afternoon. Again I would like to say thank you for your time and effort in putting the fishing trip together for us. If you are in the Chesterville area around the second or third week of November, look us up.
Again, Thank You: Vineland, NJ
Just a quick note to thank you for the awesome referral last weekend for our group. Bob Howe was a fabulous guide and host and really added to our Maine experience. As you may recall, I requested at the very last minute, a fishing guide for the July 4th weekend for a group of 10 or 15. While we ran out of time to fish, the 7 of us were more than happy to enjoy other excursions. Namely, we got to kayak to waterfalls, look at Maine wildlife, go on a "moose safari", take a fly-fishing lesson, and learn all about outdoor living from Bob in one afternoon! Needless to say, I was more than pleased with our trip to the Pine Grove Lodge and meeting the Howes. I am grateful for your assistance in helping me plan our trip and introducing me to Master Guide Bob. I will definitely recommend your service and Bob's lodge for my friends in the future. Sincerely, Grace R. Cheng
Wow, did we have a great time! First, Migis Lodge is a truly special place. The location and the view of the lake, the service (Tim, the owner, was extremely nice, personable and accommodating), the cottages and the food were just exquisite. Both fishing guides were also really great and a lot of fun. We were out with David Roberts from 6 am to noon. We each caught two fish (I caught two river trout!) but it was a beautiful day and just the whole experience of the hiking and learning to fly fish were really interesting and fun. He was a good teacher and very patient with us city folks. Larry has fallen in love with river/stream fly-fishing and I know we'll go again. Carl was also a terrific guide. In total, we caught about 15 fish (!!!!!), 14 lake trout and Elsa (my friend) caught a landlocked salmon. It was a really warm day and the lake was very still --the view and the boat ride alone were worth it, much less the fish! Mike, all of your recommendations were wonderful! We all give you five stars (*****) for matching our desires perfectly. We will definitely contact you again to help us with another trip. The Bath/Belgrade region looks really nice and I know that you are really familiar with that area. Thanks again, what a wonderful way for me to spend my birthday! Dawne Burrows
The Stripers haven't reached the Waterville area yet, but the alewive migration has begun. It's just a matter of weeks now before we have some of the best striper fishing of the year (and very few anglers on the river!). Largemouth and Smallmouth are agressive right now. On the marsh on Long Pond this past Sunday, we caught some really big largemouth bass and some giant pickerel too. After 2 hours of fishing, we had 24 rubber worms bitten in 1/2 from the pickerel and small pike. Speaking of pike, the big ones should be heading into shallower water now. By month's end the pike fishing will be excellent once again. The marshes of Long, Great and Messalonskee are prime spots! Next week the duck blinds go in :)
The bass fishing is still holding strong.
Smallmouth and largemouth are everywhere, although the bigger smallies are suspending during the day. They are out in 20 - 30 feet of water so trolling for them seems to be the best bet. But in the morning and evening, the bigger fish are moving closer to shore. Almost every dock, mooring and swimming raft has a bunch of bass under it! Here's Rick Card with a chunky summer largemouth caught the other day.
Blue Fish!
We've received over a dozen reports that the blues are in Maine already! We don't usually get a good blue run until August, but they arrived 2 or 3 weeks early this year. We have guided trips available all summer.
When folks visit the Belgrade Lakes chain, the number of different waters to fish and the vast diversity of game fish can be overwhelming. By focusing on the habits of specific species and knowing what time of year the fish bite best, fishermen can have consistent success for everything from crappie to chain pickerel to smallmouth bass.
The bass fishing is a different story when it comes to timing. The bass bite jumps into high gear in early June and stays hot through the rest of the fishing season. However, to consistently catch good size and numbers of fish, it’s often a matter of time-of-day, not time-of-year. Once the warm weather sets in, the bass fishing is definitely best early in the morning and again late in evening. In addition, there are often few boaters on the lake at dawn, so fishermen have the lakes to themselves. It’s amazing how our lakes look and feel during the early hours before the onslaught of jet skis, tubers and water-skiers. On a calm morning there’s silence on the water (except of course for the loons), occasional eagles in the air and fish rippling the lake’s surface. Around 10:00 a.m. the lake dwellers wake up to enjoy their sports too. Laughter, humming of motors and splashing kids take over and a different kind of enjoyment becomes king. As the sun begins to set, the lakes settle down and the fish put the feedbag on again.
Of course fishing isn’t an exact science and just when you think you’ve started to figure it out an exception to the rule comes along. When my beautiful wife caught a 9-pound brown trout while trolling for bass last year at high noon on arguably the hottest day of August, fishing theories went up in smoke! She caught that fish in about 25-feet of water when the majority of browns we were catching were suspending 35-feet down over deeper water. I met another fellow last year at Day’s Store who had a 15-pound pike that he caught while trolling for smallmouth on 4-pound test line. However, most of us don’t have enough time on our hands to fish for the exception, so focusing on time-of-year and time-of-day will help fishermen catch more fish on a consistent basis. But you can bet my wife will have me out there again this August trolling at noon-time, hoping there’s another big brown willing to break the “rules.”
The bass fishing on Great, Messalonskee, and North Pond is amazing! The Kennebec River also offers terrific smallie fishing, especially for folks with fly rods.
Trout trolling on Great Pond has been above average so far this year with 1 known 13-pounder being caught. Alewife imitations work best - suttons, rapalas, etc. Don't be shy about running larger sized spoons that usual too - the fish are eating alewives not smelts. Last week on Messalonskee I caught a 2.3-pound splake with a 6-inch alewife sticking out of it's mouth.
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