Pleasant River Maine Fishing Report & Options for Selecting Flies: Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Tailwater
Species
Brook Trout (Stocked)
Brown Trout (Stocked)
Size
Small
Location
Southern Maine
Nearest Towns
Windham, Maine
Season
April 1 through October 31
Access:
Good
Non-Resident License
State of Maine
Weather
National Weather Service Link
Seasons:
Fly fishing the Pleasant River is best in the early season.
Spring:
The best time for fly fishing the Pleasant River is in the Spring just after it is stocked.
Summer:
The hottest part of Summer provides poor conditions for the trout and poor fishing conditions.
Fall:
Some trout holdover and can be caught during the fall but the fishing isn’t usually all that good.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
4, 5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 to 12 ft., 5 or 6X Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Supreme Four, Superb Five
or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 4/5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Copyright 2016 James Marsh
Fly Fishing The Pleasant River In Maine
This beautiful little stream is just outside of North Windham. Highway #302 crosses the stream. Windham Center Road, Cook Road and Pope Road also cross the river and provide access.
There’s a catch and release, artificial lures and flies only section from the highway #302 bridge downstream to the River Road Bridge.
The best fishing occurs on the Pleasant River just after the stream is stocked. The water can get too warm for the trout and good fishing during the hottest part of the Summer. Some of the trout holdover.
Due to this stream’s close proximity to Portland, it can become crowded especially just after stocking takes place. It is a wonderful, picture perfect trout stream that is very enjoyable and relaxing to fish. It is easy to wade and the fish are very cooperative in the Spring.
Fly Fishing Guide to Fishing the Pleasant River in Maine
The stream is best fished by wading but some bank fishing is available in certain locations.
This beautiful little stream is stocked each stream with good size brown and brook trout that average ten inches or so. Of course the best fishing takes place just after the river is stocked. April through June is the best time to fish the stream.
This is the typical riffle, run and pool stream that is easy to wade and fish. The only problem you may have is the overhanging tree branches. It is easy to get your fly hung. May provides the most aquatic insect hatches but others occur at other times.
There are three bridges that provide access – the Pope Road Bridge, Windham Center Road Bridge, and the Cook Road Bridge. The Catch and Release section described on the introduction page is the best part of the stream.
This can be a good dry fly stream at times but be prepared to use streamers and nymphs also. At times they will be necessary. Small streamers work best. The stocked trout are not very picky at all and will take just about any fly. Those holdover trout will feed on the
aquatic insects, crustaceans and baitfish so it’s a good idea to be familiar with the hatches and use imitations that match the most available food. You never know when you are going to catch a large holdover brown trout.
Hatches and Flies for the Pleasant River Maine
Little is known about all of the aquatic insects that exist in the Pleasant Rivers. We have not examined samples of the nymphs and larvae in the stream and cannot find any local anglers or shops that are familiar with all the hatches. The following information is all we have been able to put together at this time. As other information becomes available from
reliable sources, we will be adding it to the site.
Various species of Little Blue-winged Olives hatch throughout the season. There is usually a peak starting around the middle of May through June. There is also a hatch during late August that last into September.
Light Cahills hatch in the faster water from about the first of June until the first of July. Little Yellow Stoneflies hatch from about the first of June into the first week of July.
There are several species of Cinnamon and Spotted Sedges, or caddisflies. They hatch all the way from the middle of April through September.
Ants, grasshoppers and beetles exist around the stream and many locals use imitations of them during the cooler parts of the summer and fall.
The stream also contains plenty of sculpin.
If you haven’t tried our Perfect Flies yet, be certain to do so. You will be glad you did. We have specific imitations of all the insects that hatch on this stream as well as most any trout stream in the nation. .