Dave and I went to Fish River Lodge, Eagle Lake, Maine in Aroostook County first week of June 2009 for salmon and trout fishing. Here's a summary of the trip....

Spring Fishing Trip

Friday May

29th 2009

Dave and I arrive at camp in Garland at 07:55 PM, this will be our 3rd

consecutive spring fishing trip. We are breaking up the 9 hour ride to Eagle Lake, Me.

Saturday May 30th

Left camp at 8:30 am, we got to Fish River Lodge at 11:40. We saw 4 moose on the way. We had lunch at Fiddleheads Restaurant, lobster rolls w/Aroostook County french fried potatoes, we both thought these were the best lobster rolls we ever had. We unloaded the boat and was fishing the lake by 02:30, we landed 4 salmon, I kept one 16"er. We had supper at 06:00, roast pork and veggie's,chocolate cake with white frosting for dessert. During supper we got to know our hosts Tenley and Wayne Bennett. We trolled after supper till 9:00, we saw a mature bald eagle fishing. The day ended warm with a few showers.

Sunday May 31st

We had breakfast at 8:00 a.m. and was on the water at 9:00. We trolled the mouth of the Square lake thoroughfare. Heavy winds blew so we decided to troll up the thoroughfare. On our way we caught 4 brookies, the biggest was 11"s. We ate lunch at halfway brook. An immature bald eagle followed us all the way up the thoroughfare. The weather got worse so we decided to head back. On the way we were hit by hail a little bigger than a pea. We were pelted by the hail and cold rain, ouch! We

outran a thunderstorm by ten minutes. I took a picture of the Alec Brook campsite. Dad and I visited this site in 2004 when we were scouting for moose. It rained hard for the rest of the day. We went into town and fueled up. We got back to the lodge and watched the NASCAR race with Wayne and Tenley.Jimmy Johnson won. It was still raining after supper, we decided not to go out.

Monday June 1st

Breezy and cold at 6:00 a.m. when we hit the lake. Dave got a double right off the bat, we trolled till 8:00, it was a banner start to the day with 5 salmon each, all but one were keepers. Heavy winds blew in as we had breakfast so we decided to load the canoe and go brook and pond fishing for brookies and the elusive blueback trout. We stopped at several remote brooks and streams and caught 9 brookies apiece. While fishing Dave heard a loud snap and crack which turned out to be two large trees that fell very near my truck. We made our way to Honnewell lake loaded the canoe but it was to windy to fish. On the way back to the lodge we saw a small moose. We had supper and went back out on the lake. I got a double and we finished the night with one more. Two doubles in one day, wow. Back at the dock at 9:00 p.m.

Tuesday June 2nd

5:30, another cold morning about 42 degrees. We plug fished for togue (lake trout) with live bait but had no luck, so we started trolling, I caught one Brook trout before we headed in for breakfast. Went back out after breakfast and Dave caught one salmon. Fishing was slow so we went in for lunch. We decided to stream fish, we hit the Fish River on Route 11. I caught a salmon and a brook trout. We went south to Portage and fished Beaver Brook. We saw a moose on the way and also saw lots of bear droppings on the gravel road in. Dave put up some large numbers. He caught 22 brookies. I caught 5 and kept one 11"er. The black flies were as thick as I ever saw them. Returned to the lodge and saw one moose on the way. We had a New England boiled dinner for supper. Back on the lake at 07:00. Dave caught a giant 12inch river chub. The evening was very pleasant with a nice sunset.

Wednesday June 3rd

A very calm, cold morning and on the water, again, at 05:30. Dave caught one 11 " brook trout trolling across from the lodge. After breakfast we packed some extra gear (waders and fly rods) to fish some of the lake inlets for brookies. Trolled easterly to 3 Brook Cove. Dave caught one salmon on our way. Trolled the cove till lunch and I caught two salmon and 2 brook trout. Dave caught 3 salmon and a brookie, 2 of the trout he caught in Middle Brook. Ate lunch

at 3 Brooks Cove campsite. I saw a partridge and there were moose tracks all through and around the site. After lunch we made our way across the lake to Square Lake thoroughfare. It was a rough ride in heavy wind. Dave caught one salmon and 7 brookies, I caught 1 salmon and 2 trout in the thoroughfare. We saw 2 hawks and 2 bald eagles. Returned to the lodge at 5:30 for supper. We went back out after supper and had one of the best evenings yet. Dave caught 4 salmon and I caught 7, all in about an hour and a half. Back in camp at 9:00. We ate a brookie and a salmon that Wayne had smoked for us. Both were very good but the brookie was far better tasting. A great day with 19 salmon and 13 brookies caught.

Thursday June 4th

Another cold calm morning. Yes, on the water at 5:30. I kicked off the day with one brook tout and Dave followed it with a salmon. After breakfast we went to Fort Kent in search of smelts for bait. Fort Kent was a very nice town. We took some pictures at the historic site of the fort and found a sign showing the

beginning of Route 1, mile 0, 2209 miles to Key West Florida. Canada was on the other side of the Saint John River. We didn't find any bait but I did get 4 pounds of fiddleheads for $2. We got back to camp at 11:00 and went fishing with the bait we had (dace and chubs), trying to catch a togue, no luck. Dave caught a brook trout and I caught 2 salmon in the hour and a half after supper. I missed a nice one. On our way back in we could see Wayne and Tenley had a camp fire going, we spent the evening swapping stories with a group from New York.

Friday June 5th

Frost on the boat seat at 5:30 am. Very calm with robins' egg blue skies.We went across the lake to the hazard buoy and tried for brook trout

but had no luck, just small dace. We trolled the lake after breakfast, no luck. We made our way up Square Lake thoroughfare where I finally caught a brookie. On our way back to the lodge Dave picked up a salmon at 4:15 almost 11 hours after hitting the water this a.m. A very slow day. We loaded the boat on the trailer before supper. After supper we went to Soldier Pond (outlet of the lake and Fish River) and fly fished. I caught 2 nice keeper salmon using a bead head wolly bugger. We went back at camp and packed for the trip home. This past week has been awesome and went by too fast. Wayne and Tenley were great hosts and the lodge (Fish River Lodge- http://www.fishriverlodge.com ) and camp was comfortable and rustic, just what you want when going to northern

Aroostook county Maine. The home cooked meals were top notch and we're looking forward to going back to get the "Big One". Total fish caught:

45 salmon and 67 brook trout.

Check out the pictures:(you may have to copy/paste the shortcut to the pictures)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12645068@N08/sets/72157619403331246