Simple Solutions does a good deal of business in Augusta, Maine. The good thing about spending alot of time in Augusta is that I am that much closer to Shawmut. I get outta work and I am wading in the Kennebec in no time. Tonight was one of those nights. I waded across the Kennebec to my favorite run. I knew there would be some nice fish hanging in the quick water. I was right. I tied on a cone head leach pattern and BANG! A nice Brown Trout took the fly. I took his picture and released him. I heard some sorta yelling across the river and I knew it was Greg. We fished across from each other for a bit and casted to a few rising fish. I then waded over towards Greg and we fished a nice run together. Not much was happening on top so I tied on my Killer Kennebec River nymph system. Tungsten Prince as the leading fly and march brown wet fly as the dropper. Very first cast at the top of the run, Fish On! Greg said something like, “You gotta be kidding me.” Yup, it was all coming up roses for me. I was feeling like the King of the Kennebec in all my glory. Nice Brown before and a nice Rainbow on now, the perfect night. Well, keep reading. So, Greg took a few photos of the fish and we released him. I was on my game, I was confident, I was catching fish and I was tromping through the Kennebec like a Grizzly Bear. Nothing could stop me, I was on a roll. Then, I pushed my luck. I said to myself, “I know there is a fish over ther in that run.” The logical part of me said, “Jeremy, don’t cross that section. It is pretty deep. You should stay where you are and fish with Greg.” But, I didn’t listen to intuition. I started to wade across. It was getting deeper but I knew it would come up. Well, it never came up. In fact, it went down. Way down. I was on my tippy toes and then there was nothing. The water gushed into my waders and I was swimming. I didn’t just take a little dunk. I was swimming. Doing a scissors kick right through the deep run. I felt like such a moron and boy did I look like one. I drifted right by 2 guys that were fly fishing the hole. Sorry guys, I messed up your fishing spot. I finally hit some shallow water. Soaked to the bone and tail between my legs. Greg, like like a good friend, said “I do it all the time.” We laughed about it and went back to our cars. Greg bought me a pack of smokes and a coffee. We stopped into Fly Fishing Only and Mike Holt offered to run home and get me some sweat pants. I refused and drove home in my boxer shorts. I think the lady at the toll booth thought I was a little strange, but I am sure she has seen stranger things. So it was a great night at Shawmut. But, as the saying goes, “Every rose has its thorn.”
Book
- Alaska
- Guide & Fisherman
- Guiding: Choosing Your Guide And Choosing Your Customer
- Guiding: Do It Yourself With A Guide
- Guiding: Evolution Of A Guide
- Guiding: Freshwater, More Than Meets The Eye
- Guiding: Friends For Life
- Guiding: Know Where You Are
- Guiding: More Than Just A Fisherman
- Guiding: Mystery Of The Fisherman
- Guiding: Payment
- Guiding: Saltwater, A Different World
- Rough Fish
- Fly Fishing For Rough Fish: Why Do It?
- Introduced Rough Fish: The Carps & Other Invasive Species
- Methodology: Gear & Tactics For Pursuing Roughfish On A Fly
- More Roughfish: Bullheads, Whitefish, Goldeye, Burbot & Drum
- Rough Fish Environments: Where To Look For Rough Fish?
- Rough Fish Species: The Suckers
- Rough fish: A Lifetime Of Learning
- Rough Fish: Fishing For Dinosaurs (Gars & Bowfin)
- Rough Fish: What Are They?
- The Hook: Some Common Rough Fish Fly Patterns
- Spey
- Spey: Applications, Where Can You Do It?
- Spey: Atlantic Salmon, A Significant Fish
- Spey: Defined And Demystified
- Spey: Gear, The Nuts And Bolts
- Spey: Lines, They Are That Important
- Spey: Steelhead, New Traditions & A Modern Movement
- Spey: The Energy
- Spey: The Flies
- Spey: The Swing
- Spey: Two Critical Casts
- Striped Bass
- Striped Bass: Fishing Rocky Shorelines
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Beaches
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Flats
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Reefs
- Striped Bass: Fishing Tidal Rivers
- Striped Bass: Flatwing Swing
- Striped Bass: Fly Line Options & Choices
- Striped Bass: Gear, The Nuts & Bolts
- Striped Bass: Migration Patterns
- Striped Bass: What They Eat
- The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: A Natural Drug
- Fly Fishing: A Validation Of Freedom
- Fly Fishing: Don’t Fight The Current
- Fly Fishing: It Is What It Is
- Fly Fishing: Socialization For Asocial Individuals
- Fly Fishing: The Allure Of The Fish
- Fly Fishing: The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: The Simplicity Of It All
- Fly Fishing: Time Flies
- Fly Fishing: Times You Remember & Try To Forget
At EoO today, my waders sprung a leak due to a small tear on my left calf. I wash sloshing !!! My whole left side from the waist down was soaked. Shit like this happens to guys like us who fish a lot.
I wish I could have seen you wading across that hole….I don’t think any cautions I could have given you would have stopped you though!!! jeremy c. …..fishing commando!
Nice fish, jer.
statistically – it’s not a bad deal. i wade in tough spots every time i fish. i get alot of nice fish because of that. i go to spots that don’t get heavily hit. So one or two swims a year is really not that bad – would have been better if it were july instead of mid october though.
HEY HERE IS A TECHNICAL WADING TIP FOR EVERYONE: if you use a digital camera and you get it wet do the following
1. DO NOT turn the power on
2. Take batter out
3. Put you cars defrost on high heat and drive home with the camera on the dashboard.
4. Turn the power on ONLY WHEN you are certain that your camera (internally and externally) is completely dry
Your camera should work just fine. Mine did and it got totally dunked.
great looking fish. I am surprised that with your fishing prowress you didn’t find a fat rainbow in your waders at the end of your drift through the pool.
gr3eat story, i wished i could have been there
Glad you could still tell your tale.
From my personal swimming file I got an advice for digital camera’s too.
When wading close your waterproof digital camera bag, don’t do as I did 🙂
n/c