Androscoggin River Fishing Trips

The Androscoggin River flows from its source, Lake Umbagog in New Hampshire, and travels 178 miles before reaching Merrymeeting Bay on the coast of Maine. As it meanders from the mountains, "the Andro" transforms from a smaller river with frequent sections of riffles and rapids, to a large, wide, and mostly flat river as it nears the coast.

In the Spring, upper sections of the Andro are sought after by fly fishers for their abundance of trout and salmon. As the river enters Maine, it holds wild rainbow and brown trout, with the occasional landlocked salmon, and is well stocked with brook trout by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Trout are most commonly sized 8-14" in length, but it is possible to pull up a hefty 20" rainbow or brown trout! Our trout fishing trips start in Gilead, Maine, at the state border with New Hampshire. Fishing is most productive in this section of river from May into mid-June, sometimes through the end of June depending on weather patterns.

As summer rolls in, water temperatures in the river rise to a point where trout become less active and are better left alone. At this point, angling adventures turn to targeting warm water fish species, particularly the smallmouth bass. Our trips in July and August are a bit further downstream from Gilead on a section of river flowing through Dixfield, Maine. Smallmouth bass are very hard fighting fish, and specimens up to 3 pounds are not uncommon. Undoubtedly, there are 5 pound monsters lurking somewhere under the surface as well!

As the season winds down in the fall, anglers are given another chance at the trout, as water temps cool and trout become more active again.