We launch the canoe in the large pool across from the retaining wall
Panther Run (a.k.a. Jordan River) is formed by the outlet of Panther Pond in Raymond, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 C2). The river starts at the dam on Mill Street and flows for one or so convoluted mile towards Jordan Bay in Sebago Lake. The big pool along the retaining wall by the dam is an accessible and popular brook trout fishing hole (click here for details). The river in the immediate vicinity of the dam flows briskly in early spring and has a substrate consisting of coarse sand, gravel and cobbles. In fact, the water flow and substrate composition are such that landlocked Atlantic salmon migrate up from Sebago Lake every fall to lay their eggs in this stretch of the river. But don’t be fooled… The character of the river changes dramatically no more than about 1000 ft downstream of the dam: the current slows down considerably, the banks widen up and become severely eroded, the water deepens in many places, and the substrate is made up entirely of fine white sand. The bottom is also carpeted with branches and other woody debris.
The character of Panther Run changes considerably further downstream of the Mill Street dam
My son Joel, 13-year old nephew Christian, and I are spending a lazy evening fishing for bookies on Panther Run well downgradient from the busy pool by the dam. We bring Joel’s big 18-ft square-back canoe to the edge of the water by the pool, load it up with our gear, and quickly paddle away. We are experiencing our very first warm day of 2016, with air temperatures in the high 60’s even though it’s already 6 pm! The mosquitoes have also noticed the balmy weather and are eagerly buzzing around us in the hope of snatching a quick blood meal. We paddle downstream for about 10 minutes until we reach a “secret” spot on the river where we know from past experience that bookies tend to congregate in the spring. These fish are all 10” stocked trout that were released by the state earlier in the week (click here for the latest fish stocking report) and somehow gather in this area. We paddle slowly and quiet down as we approach the spot. Sure enough, we see dozens of trout lazily swimming in circles (just as if they were still in the hatchery!!) at the appointed place. They’re at their post! All three of us start fishing with #2 Mepps spinners. Joel and I hook and land 3-4 trout each in the first ten minutes. Wow, what a bonanza. Christian, on the other hand, immediately runs into difficulties. The casting in this stretch of the river is a bit “technical” because the brushy shoreline and the abundant sunken wood on the bottom love to snag lures and require pinpoint accuracy and precise retrieval. He loses two spinners in no time.
Christian finally catches his first (but only…) brookie of the evening
The bite stops shortly after we start fishing. We seem to have spooked the brookies with all the commotion of three excited fishermen jammed in one canoe… So, we paddle about 150 ft further downstream and find another school of trout circling around. I gently release the anchor. Joel and I go about the business of catching another half a dozen trout with our spinners. Christian finally lands his first – but only – fish to great acclamation. And then the bite stops again. We paddle back to our original location and see the trout swimming right in front of our canoe. But they too steadfastly refuse to even look at our lures. Fortunately, Joel has a solution (he’s really good at that!). He assembles the ultra-light fly fishing rod that he brought with him and ties a large bead-head emerger fly to the end of the tippet. He catches three trout in his first six casts! It’s clear what’s going on down there: the fish are no longer turned on by flashy noisy spinners but can’t resist grabbing a tasty-looking little morsel of food. He passes the fly rod to me and tells me to make a couple of casts. I too fool several more trout into grabbing the emerger fly.
Good thing that Joel brought his fly-fishing rod!!
It’s now close to 8 pm and night is quickly closing in. The mosquitos are also turning into a real nuisance, more so since we forgot to bring insect repellant… The emerger bite is still on but we need to paddle back to the launch area. Joel and I had a great time catching brookies this evening, even though they had no size to them. Christian, on the other hand, experienced frustration with the inaccuracy of his casting and retrieval. He’s learning that fishing comes in multiple flavors and a variety of colors and that each technique requires mastering a specific set of skills. Working through those frustrations is all a part of him becoming a well-rounded fisherman. It’s also Life! I’ll end by saying that our target area would be perfect to fish with waders. Joel and I promise ourselves to paddle back to this spot with waders at a later date this spring and really focus on fly fishing it. Stay tuned!
The results: Joel and I each caught ten brookies, whereas Christian only landed one trout in one and a half hour of great fishing.
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