June 14, 2008

Black fly season should be coming to an end soon. There is an old rule of thumb that black fly season is sometime between Mother's Day to Father's Day. If that is the case, they should be gone tomorrow! Mosquitoes are out and about but not nearly as bad as last year where one could not walk out of the house a few steps without wanting back in. So we are doing well in the bug category...few to complain about.

We have had some good strong weather patterns come through turning up the lake waters and pushing our chairs off of the new dock. The new dock is higher than the one it replaced and as one can see on the weather cam, the water is right up there.

Our season is looking slow probably due to gas prices and the perception of a bad economy. So I can't give too many updates on how the fishermen are doing with regards to catching fish. Fishermen last week got rained on most of the time so they had little time on the water to catch a stringer full. But one guy, an 88 year old man who was last here when he was 8 years old, caught an 18" salmon. They said it was a nice size salmon, not too fat and not to thin. "It grilled up well and tasted better," they commented.

[Editor's note: I would like you all to know Marilyn just opened a new fabric and quilt store in downtown Greenville. The name of the store is Crazy Moose Fabrics. So forget about this idea of a bad economy and come on up, do a little fishing, buy some fabric, and enjoy the Northwoods of Maine!]

May 23, 2008

Memorial Day weekend is upon us and what a cold one it will be. Lows are still in the 30's with wind and rain and an occassional blue sky. No thunder or lightning but just a bit of every other element including hail to make living in the woods a bit unpredictable at times. With the wind, there is a good side. It keeps the black flies away as well as the mosquitos. We have seen very little of them lately but when one does, it is quite noticable by the slap to the bare arms or legs.

Waters are still quite cool. Lots of wave action to keep it cool and keep the fishermen off the waters. Some of our guests were successful when they were out brook fishing. Some guests did get out on the lake here and caught a 15" brook trout not far from the dock.

Saw a good size moose this afternoon that had the beginnings of a large rack. Now if he would only stay in the general area, we might be able to watch the rack grow over the summertime.

Remember, its not too late to make your summer vacation plans. We know gas prices will probably keep some of our guests nearer to home this year but, remember, time spent here at Moosehead Lake is priceless. How about taking advantage of our weekly discount rate to help justify the travel and gas to get to Moosehead Lake. :)

May 12, 2008

After working yesterday to get the camps spruced up and the yard looking better, I realized I had yet to post that the ice was out on Moosehead Lake. The official date was May 7, 2008. The waters were up a good amount from run-off and rain but they are back down again. Not sure if it is to the normal water levels or not. With the new dock in, I used that as an indicator, it is hard to say.

We have seen a few boats head out of the marina to places unknown via the water. Hopefully they are catching some fish.

Memorial Day weekend is only 2 weeks away. Time for some fun and sun after a long winter.

See you soon!

May 5, 2008

And just after sending the last report off to my webmaster and husband, I went to town to take our daughter to a piano lesson. Picked up a few groceries and headed home. About halfway home, a 2 year old moose was grazing along the road side. The first one spotted this spring by us. We stopped and it went into the woods. We backed up off onto a side road in hopes that it would come back out to the road but it had other plans. It stayed right where it could see us. It would lift its ears, turn its head but wouldn't come out of the woods. I have seen him 3 more times since that time in the same location.

Yesterday we saw a woodchuck alongside the road and a Canadian goose that is one of a pair that seem to be setting up a nest on a little pond near Lily Bay Rd. I have told the kids we will need to watch for little geese in a couple of weeks to see if the nest is actually there. In 8 years, I have not seen any geese in that pond so we will see what comes from it.

Ice out is upon us. If it wasn't yesterday, the sun and warm temps of today should wipe out what is remaining. But I'll post it here once I know for sure as it is declared by the chamber of commerce.

Have a great spring day!

May 1, 2008
Its May Day! Opening day for fishing on Moosehead Lake. They have not declared ice out just yet. The past couple of nights there have been freezing temps and a slight layer of ice formed each night. Add to that about 3" of snow on Tuesday that cooled things down a bit as well. Temps are predicted to be in the mid 60's on Saturday so ice out isn't too far behind.

I was over to Prong Pond today. The ice shacks that were being stored there last week are gone and the ice on the lake is gone as well.

Moosemania events will be starting in about 2 weeks. I haven't seen any moose along side the roads lately so I would think they should be coming out of the woods soon. Moosemania, a 4 week celebration of the moose, has everything from moose sightings to craft fairs, events for the kids as well as informative events for adults. Following Moosemania, there is a fishing tourmament. The Moosehead Lake Fisheries Coalition will be hosting the Moosehead Lake Togue Fishing Derby on June 21 - 22, 2008. There will be cash prizes awarded to the three largest togue (lake trout) of $600, $400 and $250, a cash prize for the smallest togue (lake trout) of $250 and the Grand Door Prize Old Town Predator 160 Canoe. You can contact the chamber of commerce for more information.

Let the spring and summer activities begin!