Maine River Guide Service

by Kevin McKay
Edited by Jennifer Bowman-McKay

It is funny sometimes how things come full circle. I learned to fly fish on the West branch of the Penobscot River around 10 years ago. What has happened since then is a story in itself. I am not sure how I was told about Greg but I am sure Kim had something to do with it. We exchanged emails back and forth in August and the next thing I knew I was heading to the West Branch to float some of the more extreme parts of the river and fly fish.

The West Branch is near and dear to my heart because this is where I casted my first fly and landed my first fish on a fly. I believe this to be one of the prettiest rivers in Maine. Then I had the opportunity to fish parts of it that most never get to see.

Being a Maine fly fishing guide myself, I was skeptical of the day. I was wondering about two guides in the same boat. We had never met before and I had no idea of who he was. One thing I do love about fly fishing is that there is always something to learn. Right away I felt we had known each other for a long time and I could learn a few things from Greg. He is patient and he knows his river well. He is a genuine good guy and loves to fly fish.

My buddy Aaron and I met Greg and his wife after lunch. We were going to be fishing the evening hatch, which would consist of caddis and big stones. It was late August and a warm beautiful day. The river was running higher than normal but that wasn't going to stop us.

Greg already had his boat at the launch. Some of his rafting buddies carried it down to the river. Greg had us repel down into the gorge below the Exterminator and he rowed the boat down through the worst part. He picked us up and we were off but didn't travel very far before we started wetting a line.

He pulled into this big deep pool with a cliff wall to one side of us. He would position the boat at the top of the pool, slowly float us down to the tail, and then row it back to the top. We are not talking some nice slow moving river, this baby was roaring! He suggested some flies to use and he was right on. I had a fallow almost every cast and picked up a small salmon and so did Aaron.

Greg had been guiding rafters for 10 years so he knew how to handle the boat well and we felt very comfortable floating the river with him. He would slide from spot to spot, most of the time with a big cliff wall on the sides of us. Places where the wade fisherman can't get to and we would pick up fish or have a strike at every spot.

As we neared the Little Eddy we could see fly lines; this was the first sign of any other fisherman. We slid to the tail end of the pool, he anchored up and fish were rising every where. We had some great dry fly action, with fish literally jumping full body out of the water to get the fly.

We landed no monsters that day but many respectable fish all from 12 to 16 inches with one monster foul hooked, so we know there are some monsters lurking in the deep. We fished mostly with 5 weight rods but I did use an 8 weight with 300 grain line on it to get the fly down on bottom when we fished the raging section. It was overkill on a 12 inch fish but would have been perfect for one of those monsters that are in the West branch.

A lot came out of this float. I have a day to remember and tell stories about. I spent the day with an old friend and made a new one.

Greg "Boz" Bostater is a Registered Maine Guide who has lead over 700 trips on Maine's Penobscot, Kennebec, and Dead Rivers since 1996. He is also the owner of Maine River Guides. The driving force behind these years in a raft has been a love for fly fishing and exploration of these unique and amazing headwaters. Through ten years of experience rafting he has developed the skills necessary to safely access remote and pristine waters where monster salmon and trout lurk. In addition to guiding in Maine, he has guided trips from West Virginia, to the Grand Canyon, and Canyons in Utah and Big Bend National Parks. He grew up fishing the many tributaries of Lake Erie, and has fished and paddled his way across Equator and Finland. He feels most at home while spending time outdoors, hiking, canoeing taking photographs, and playing guitar.

To find out more about him go to: www.maineriverguides.com