Fishing Report – July 30 2015

Summer warmth has slowed fishing in general here in the Rangeley area. The water temps on all but the Magalloway and the headwaters are above 70 degrees at last check. The Magalloway today was in the 60 – 66 degree range.The fish are still distributed throughout the river but the move to get to cooler water upstream is still the brookie’s first concern. There is often some surface feeding in the morning on tan Caddis which gives way to a day of nymphing as the sun gets high and bright. Rivers can warm and cool weekly depending on the weather. Ponds can be very good this time of year. Try to locate the springs and brooks that run into a pond, bringing cooler water. Also fish emergers just under the surface as fish don’t like to break the surface when the water is warm. During the warmest summer days you could do some exploring on the smaller streams and headwaters. As you get back into the woods and up in elevation the water will be shaded and cooler. While the trout are always smaller in these types of places they are often very aggressive and colorful. My favorite flies for this type of fishing are smaller high floating dries in size 14-16 like the Royal Wulff, Humpy, Grasshopper and Deer hair Caddis. You can also drop a small beadhead off of the dry. There will be high water on the Rapid again this week end.
Brett