Kayak's Partner

Two Old Town Vapor 10 Angler kayaks fit nicely atop my car and are easy to load, opening an huge number of waterways to fishing/photo outings.

Last fall I got I got a fishing kayak, an Old Town Vapor 10 Angler, and I've been delighted with everything about it. It's stable, comfortable and well set up for fishing, and I can easily load it atop my car. In fact, it's simple enough to tote that I'll toss it atop my Outback for trips to other areas, "just in case," even if I don't know of a specific kayak need on that trip. Owning one has left me longing for a second one, though, and I fixed that when I was in Maine a couple of weeks ago.

Several times since I got the first boat, I've pondered outings to mountain lakes, cypress-filled backwaters, tidal creeks or other waters, but ultimately have decided to stay home. A productive outing to me is one where I get a lot of good photos, so I just can't justify going fishing alone. Selfies and fish close-ups certainly provide some value, but that value is miniscule compared to what can be done with a couple of boats and with both anglers carrying a camera, and it would only frustrate me to hit a good fishing day in a beautiful spot and not be equipped to make the most of it photo-wise.

Cool view, behind the scenes, at Old Town Canoe!

Because I like my first Vapor so much, I couldn't think of anything I would like better than another boat of the same model, and since Old Town, Maine and the Old Town Canoe headquarters are only a few miles from where I would be fishing with Northridge Outfitters, it only made since to plan a visit and pick up the new boat while I was so close. I had explored the retail store at Old Town before. In fact, it was the first stop Asher and I made when we fished in the same area a couple of years ago. This time, though, I got to tour the facilities with Old Town brand manager David Hadden, and I cannot begin to convey how cool it was getting to see all those canoes and kayaks being formed and prepared for shipping. I was super impressed by all the processes used to ensure that every boat a customer buys is exactly what it should be in appearance and performance and that it will remain that way for many years.

The Old Town visit and pick-up took place on the final morning of my trip, and plans were to begin my 1,260-mile trek home when I left. However, I couldn't resist the opportunity to get the new boat wet and run both kayaks together, so Doug Teel and I went straight from Old Town to a spot along the Penobscot River that David Hadden had suggested and slid the boats in the river. We didn't fish long, but we did both catch fish, so the second Vapor had been rightly initiated before I got more than about 5 miles from where it had been built. After catching a few, we re-loaded the boats and secured them atop my car, where they road nicely all the way home.

I left for Florida a few days after returning from Maine and just got back from that trip, so I haven't gotten the two boats out together around here yet. You know it won't be long, though!

The first fish caught from my new Old Town Vapor 10 Angler, caught by Doug Teel of Northridge Outfitters, illustrates perfectly the kind of photo I'm excited to be able to get far more of now that I have two kayaks that I can take out together!

Marvelous Maine

Continuing with fishing travel updates before returning to "favorite destinations" posts, I drove directly from the Pennsylvania Crappie Camp to Maine to spend a few delightful days with Doug Teel of Northridge Outfitters. I also got to visit the home of Old Town Canoe and even picked up a new boat while I was in Maine, but that's another story for my next post.

Doug operates a modern lodge in rural Penobscot County and outfits adventurers year-round. He guides hunters for everything from rabbits to bears to moose, but from mid-May through the end of summer, he turns his attention to fish. Smallmouth bass are the main attraction, but Doug also fishes good waters for pike and largemouths and occasionally, he'll hit beautiful backwoods ponds and flowages for native brook trout or lead other types of fishing excursions. This was my fourth time fishing with Doug, so I admittedly arrived with high expectations.

I wasn't disappointed!

Doug and I squeezed in big variety for only 3 1/2 days, spending one full day running ATV trails and backroads for colorful brookies and splitting the rest of the time fishing two vey different sorts of lakes and the Penobscot River. The river, which is where Doug spends the most time during the summer, was the one "must do" part of the trip, and as a spoiler alert, you'll learn more about it if you continue to follow my list of favorite fishing destinations. Smallmouth fishing is crazily good and highly predictable, with lots of topwater action.

One lake we fished was new to me and about two hours away. Doug promised it would be worth it and was right. Of course, I never doubted that as I've learned to trust his judgement. We spent the whole day catching and releasing chunky smallmouth bass from ultra-clear water and only saw one other boat on the lake while we were there.

I guess my favorite outing was a short, early-morning river stop on the final day. I had plans to be at Old Town at 9:00, so we hit the river from about 5:30 till 8:00 and caught oodles of smallmouths in that short time, mostly on topwater, without ever running anywhere. Doug dropped the trolling motor as soon as we launched, and we just started fishing. If we even got out of sight of the boat ramp, it wasn't by much!

Of course, we ate well. You're supposed to do that in Maine. And if anyone ever asks, I can say without hesitation, that if you have haddock chowder to dinner, lunch the next day is not too soon for all-you-can east fried haddock, and the leftover chowder makes an excellent dinner that evening!

Favorite Fishing Day of 2017

Last year brought many fabulous fishing days in many different settings. My favorite day, though, had to be the one I spent with Doug Teel of Northridge Outfitters on Maine's Penobscot River catching smallies at a sometimes fevered pace. We started at 100, counted down to zero, and left with the fish still biting. I told the whole story at the time on Rebellures.com.

Our top producing lures that day were Rebel Wee-Crawfish, especially in the new Flaming Junebug color. We also caught several fish on top on Baby Torpedoes and Crazy Shads.

Beyond the great bite, a day on the river with Doug is always big fun, and our smallmouth catchfest capped three days of fishing and was part of a super stay at the Northridge Outfitters lodge.

Species 30, I Think

I've been somewhat slack in recording species as I've caught them this year (and even slacker about recording interesting catches), but if my 2016 tally is complete, the fallfish pictured above is species No. 30 for the year. As I understand it fallfish, which are basically giant minnows, are fairly commonly caught by stream fishermen seeking other species in the Northeast. However, I think they much more commonly grab fly-fishing nymphs drifted close to the bottom than crankbaits. This one came from the Penobscot River in Maine while Asher and I were smallmouth fishing with Doug Teel of Northridge Outfitters.

Looking down the list my "firsts" of any give species for the year, which are the only fish I record, they have come from eight states. Arkansas has added the most species, with seven that all came from a single trip during April. Georgia and Florida are close, though, so with one third of the year remaining, one of those two could take the lead. Looking down the list, my favorite inclusions would have to be the Guadalupe bass from Texas and the Suwannee bass from Florida, both of which were all-time first catches for me.

I'm fishing in Georgia and Alabama next week. I wonder whether the list will grow.

Smallmouth Bass the MAINE Attraction

"Moose!" Doug Teel called out, pointing everyone's attention to the massive, dark-colored animal that was right beside the truck for an instant and then crashed into the thick Maine woods and disappeared.

Teel, who operates Northridge Outfitters & Guide Service, was driving David Hart, Lawrence Taylor and me from the Penobscot River to his lodge after a day of fast-action fishing. Spotting a moose only added to the whole Maine experience, as did the loons we saw and heard on the water, the steamed lobster we'd have for dinner the next evening and the black bear we would also spot while riding Maine backroads.

Smallmouth bass, however, were the "Maine" attraction, and the clear but dark waters of the
Penobscot did not disappoint. Heddon Torpedoes, XCalibur Zell Pops and Rebel Pop-Rs prompted crushing surface strikes for two full days. Top producers beneath the surface included YUM F2 Dingers an XCalibur Square Lips crankbaits.

Teel's two favorite lures, by far, are a Bullfrog-colored Torpedo, which he presents with patient pauses and steel nerves, an a Bumblebee Swirl YUM Dinger, which he rigs wacky style and weights with a small bullet weight. A Zell Pop, fished the same way as Teal works his Torpedo, was the top producer for me.