Rapid River Fly Fishing Report Updated 04/30/24
(Bottom Of Page)
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies 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. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
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
Freestone
Species
Brook Trout
Landlocked Atlantic Salmon
Size
Medium
Location
Northwestern Maine
Nearest Towns
Rangeley
Season
April through September
Access:
Fair, hiking required for most access
Non-Resident License
State of Maine
Weather
National Weather Service Link
Seasons:
The season runs from April through September 30.
Spring:
Fly fishing the Rapid River is great during the Spring months if the stream levels are okay.
Summer:
Fishing is generally good all summer long.
Fall:
The best fishing picks up again during the Fall season. September is the best month.
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.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
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.
Copyright 2016 James Marsh
Fly Fishing on the Rapid River In Maine
You can probably guess where the Rapid River got its name. The water flows rapidly due to its steep decline. It drops over a hundred feet in a short distance on its way to Lake Umbagog from Lower Richardson Lake. This is considered the best place in the United States to catch a trophy brook trout. They average from three to five pounds. Its also has the best landlocked Atlantic Salmon fishing in the United States. They average from 16 to 18 inches and run up to five pounds. The river is protected and managed by the Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust
The Rapid River is a part of the Androscoggin River system. The river flows about three and a half miles to the inlet of Lake Umbagog, dropping at a rate of about forty feet per mile. It requires some hiking or boat travel to get to its waters. There are three areas of the river – the Upper Dam, Middle Dam and Lower Dam areas.
The Upper Dam pool is between Lake Mooselookmeguntic and Upper Richardson Lake. It requires a half mile hike to get there. The large brook trout and landlocked Atlantic salmon hold in the deep water.
The water that’s below Middle Dam below Lower Richardson Lake and Pond in the River is mostly fast pocket water. You can access it from a road over the river at Middle Dam. There is a trail on the south side of the river.
About a half-mile downstream from Middle Dam is Pond in the River. It’s a small lake backed up from Lower Dam. It can be accessed from Carry Road. It also provides access to the better water below Lower Dam downstream to Umbagog Lake.
The best fishing on he Rapid River is between Lower Dam and Lake Umbagog. It’s approximately two and a half miles of pocket water and pools. It has less pressure because it requires a lengthy hike to access most of the river. The brook trout at very large in this section and the salmon are as plentiful as they get. The best fishing is in the pocket water. It requires wading slowly to prevent ripples from showing in the calm water.
Wading carefully so you don’t push too much water is a key to success on this calm water. Even when everything goes well, you may only have one opportunity to put the fly in the right place.
This stream has lots of aquatic insects including Blue- winged Olives, Light Cahills, Hendricksons and caddisflies. There are some very large brook trout in the pool below the dam. The best salmon fishing takes place hen the water is high.
Rapid River Fishing Report:
01/25/2020 The season is over but it is never too early to start planning that next fly fishing trip. Give us a call and let us help.
sales@perfectflystore.com
04/23/20 The season is open. There is still some slush and bank ice.
05/22/20 Conditions are good with good numbers of trout being caught. There are good hatches taking place.
07/06/20 The Stream levels are good, hatches are taking place, and trout are beng caught in good numbers.
08/15/20 Conditions are very good. Good hatches are taking place and our customers are sending in good catch reports.
08/31/20 The stream levels and catch reports from customers remain very good. There are some good hatches taking place.
10/07/20 Season is closed.
03/17/21 The season is closed but you can send us an email and let us help you plan that next trip. sales@perfectflystore.com
04/16/21 The season is open but there is still a lot of ice in the water. We haven’t received any reports yet.
05/05/21 The ice is gone and the water warming fast. There are good hatches of BWOs, midges, Blue Quills, Little Brown stoneflies and little Black Caddis.
06/25/21 The stream is in good condition and we are getting good reports from customers. There are some very good hatches taking place.
07/11/21 We are getting lots of good reports from customers. There are very good hatches taking place. Stream levels are okay. It is about as good as it gets.
07/18/21 The river is turning out some big brook trout for our customers. There are good hatches taking place and we continue to get good reports.
07/25/21 The stream is still in good condition and turning out good catches for our customers. There are good hatches taking place.
08/01/21 We continue to get good reports from customers. There are good hatches taking place. The stream is in good shape.
08/11/21 More good reports have come in. Good numbers of fish are being caught.
08/19/21 The stream is red hot turning out good catches for our customers. There is a good chance of rain for the remainder of this week. Good hatches continue.
08/26/21 We continue to get good reports from customers fishing the river. Stream levels are in okay shape and there are good hatches taking place.
09/05/21 The river is turning out some very good catches of trout and salmon for our customers. Conditions are good.
09/17/21 The stream is still in good shape with only 13 days left in the season.
10/04/21 Season Closed October 31st. Let us help you plan that next season’s trip and let us help you do that.
01/29/22 Plan your trip early. Call us 800 594 4726 or write us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
03/25/22 It is getting close to the time the season opens and seems to be a little warmer than normal so let us help you get your gear and flies ready.
04/09/22 The season is open but we haven’t received any reports from anyone fishing yet. The lakes still have ice but it won’t be long before the water gets warmer and the opportunity improves.
04/19/22 The stream is okay except for still being cold. It is getting a little warmer and should be in great shape very soon.
04/27/22 The ice is gone and the water warming up rather fast. There are good hatches taking place – Blue-winded olives, midges, Blue Quills, Little Brown stoneflies and little Black Caddis.
05/05/22 The stream is turning out some nice fish already. We are starting to get some good reports from customers.
05/14/22 We received two more good reports from customers fishing this past week. Good hatches are taking place.
05/22/22 Stream levels have been a little erratic but okay. We received three good reports from customers fishing this past week. Good hatches continue to come off.
05/29/22 The stream levels are currently okay. There are multiple hatches taking place. We continue to get good reports from customers.
06/06/22 Conditions remain very good. We are getting good reports from customers fishing all three sections of the river. Very good hatches are taking place.
06/13/22 The stream is still in good shape and we continue to get some very good reports from customers fishing it. Excellent hatches are taking place. Shoot us an email for a recommended fly list.
06/20/22 We received five good reports from customers fishing it last week. Very good catches are coming in. Good hatches continue to take place. It should remain very good.
06/27/22 The good fishing continues. We received four more good reports from customers. Brookies and Atlantic salmon are being caught in good numbers. Shoot us an email for a recommended fly list.
07/04/22 Conditions remain good. We continue to get good catch reports from customers for both salmon and trout. Good hatches continue to take place.
07/11/22 The stream continue to produce some very good catches for our customers, especially the lower section but throughout its length. There are a lot of hatching insects.
07/18/22 Conditions are as good as they get on the stream. We continue to get very good reports from customers. Good hatches continue to take place.
07/25/22 The stream is in good shape and we are still getting good catch reports from customers. This coming week should be another good one.
08/01/22 Conditions remain good. Good reports are still coming in. Good hatches continue to take place.
08/08/22 The stream is still turning out some very good catches for our customers.
08/15/22 The stream levels and flows are up a lot but still okay. There is rain in the forecast for the coming week days. Good hatches continue to take place.
08/29/22 Conditions remain good. We are still getting several good reports. Good hatches continue to take place.
09/06/22 Good catches of both salmon and trout are coming in. Conditions are very good.
09/13/22 Good conditions continue to take place. We received two good reports from customers fishing recently.
09/20/22 The stream still turning out good numbers of salmon and trout. Only ten more days of the season is left.
03/15/23 The season opening date is just two weeks away. Now is the time go get your flies and gear ready. Let us help you do that.
04/04/23 The season is open but we haven’t received any reports from anyone fishing. The lakes still have ice. It won’t be long before the water gets warmer and the opportunity improves.
04/15/23 Still no reports from anyone fishing. Conditions have improved and it should be in good shape soon if not already.
04/23/23 Still no reports. We will let you know as soon as we get a report. We do know good hatches are taking place.
05/06/23 The stream is turning out some good fish. We received two good reports this past week. Good hatches are taking place.
05/15/23 We received two more good reports from customers fishing it the past week.
05/26/23 More good reports have come in. It is in its prime time, so you need to get there to get in on the best action.
06/06/23 Four more good reports have come in from the past ten days. Good hatches continue to take place.
06/15/23 We received two more good reports from customers fishing this past week. Good hatches continue to take place.
06/25/23 The stream is in okay shape with good hatches taking place. Good numbers of trout and salmon are being caught.
07/02/23 Good hatches have kelp the action good on this one according to our customers fishing it. Both trout and salmon are being caught in good numbers.
07/12/23 The stream is turning out good numbers of large brook trout as well as salmon. Conditions are good. Very good hatches are taking place.
07/22/23 The stream is still turning out good numbers of both brook trout and salmon. We received two good reports from customers fishing it this past week.
08/01/23 Conditions remain good. We received three good reports from customers fishing it this past week.
08/10/23 The stream is still in good condition. We are getting good reports from customers catching trout and salmon.
08/17/23 The stream is still turning out good numbers of fish for our customers. Good hatches continue to take place.
08/27/23 More good reports have come in. Good hatches continue to take place and brook trout and salmon are being caught in good numbers.
09/03/23 Conditions remain good. Good hatches continue to occur and our terrestrials are also working good for trout. Good salmon catches are also fairly common.
09/10/23 The stream is still turning out very good catches of trout and salmon. We continue to get good reports from customers.
09/18/23 The stream is in good shape and still turning out good catches for our customers. The season closes in 13 days.
01/12/24 The season is closed but it is never too soon to be planning and getting setup for the new season. Call or email (sales@perfectflystore.com) to let us help you do that.
03/05/24 The season is still closed but opening the first of April. Now is a good time for you to order the flies, gear and other items you will need for the new season.
04/02/24 The season opened yesterday. There is still some slush and bank ice. There are good Midge hatches taking place.
04/09/24 There is still quite a bit of ice in the water. We haven’t received any catch reports yet. Midges, Blue-winged olives, little Brown stoneflies and little black caddis will be the first insects to hatch.
04/16/24 The stream is still a little high and cold. Let us hear from you.
04/24/24 The stream is still a little high. Hatches of BWOs, midges, Blue Quills, Little Brown stoneflies and little Black Caddis should start soon if not already.
04/30/24 We received two good reports from customers fishing it this past week. Good hatches are taking place.
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 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.