(Click on Picture to see the entire scene)

The lore and romance of limestone evades me. I prefer the brackish springs of swamps and tannic waters. I look for my trout to hide in the same places I hunt for moose. If you look at my picture above you can see what look for. Don’t think you can walk into this place. This is an anglers Eden in the middle of a swamp with a great brook flowing through. This area has deep water, springs and lots of shiners. But the barrier around it keeps most anglers out.

To find this place you go out in the woods and run the logging roads. Locate a trickle that crosses the road, and follow it for a few miles, in a canoe. Through the undergrowth and overhanging branches that try to block your passage. Be careful not to cut too good a trail to get through. The next guy by may see where you went.

Now imagine you have just cleared the underbrush and this is your upstream view. Little fishes scatter about ahead of you. The rapid exit of trout mixes with skittering baitfish. You carefully cast out a leech pattern and strip it back in. A flash, a tug and a hefty Brookie explodes to the surface. The bruiser fights the hook all the way to the gunnel. The 13 inches of glistening trout netted and creeled. A good trout for home and to savor later.

This is my life, and I love it. I feel more satisfaction from my Lewis and Clark style fishing than the usual “public” waters. If everyone can fish it than it will be a lesser experience for me. Preferring to “rediscover” waters lost or forgotten. Not to mention I hate stock trout!

These trips are a source of many articles for me as I try to share the experiences with you. I have been taught much of this “voyageur” style of discovery fishing from my woodsy Uncles. Under their tutelage I learned to read a map and a compass. The Prentice and Carlisle maps show the current roads. So I cruise the roads in a given area looking for the brook the maps say cross the road at a certain place. Upstream or down from the road. I know there is a beaver pond or dead water.

Now to navigate these waters you need hip boots or waders, a light canoe and a long rope. A saw is handy and a partner to help paddle and pull on trees to get up through.The bulk of the time you will be towing the canoe, as you wade. But be aware of black mud. Step into this stuff and you can sink out of sight, permanently.

I usually tie a rope to my waste and tow he canoe that way. Keeping my hands free to move branches and navigate the canoe up through the tangles. If I get into a soft bottom I can haul the canoe to me in a hurry and use it to pull myself out. This is where it helps to bring along “Clark” to your “Lewis”.

The biggest reason these waters are untapped is the treacherous mote of blackwater swamp that encircles them. No pedestrian is going to fish these waters at all. You must have a canoe, but how to get it in there? You can come at it from upstream or down. Sideways is not accessible because of the swamp. In most cases these brooks appear out of nowhere and lead nowhere. Just spring fed flows from one swamp to another. They can be short little puddles, or long rivers of trout water.

The use of aerial photos and satellite images is strongly suggested. Why spend a day going into a puddle? When you could find and claim a beautiful river? But it’s all good. The adventurous fisherman will reap the greatest rewards.

If you think you are up to it try my style of trout fishing. But be cautious and take a friend. Do your homework. Never forget to let others at home know where you are heading. Above all else plan for the worse, and expect the best.

Don’t worry I will be posting more helpful tips as time goes along. If you have a story to share. Please email me at aroostookbasser@yahoo.com. I will post it here for all of us to enjoy.