Mattawamkeag River Fishing Guides
A big, slow eastern Maine river draining the Mattawamkeag lakes to the Penobscot, and one of the best smallmouth bass float trips in the state.
Guides on the Mattawamkeag River
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About the Mattawamkeag River
The Mattawamkeag is the river that convinces visiting anglers that Maine is not only a trout state. It drains a broad, lake-studded basin in eastern Penobscot and southern Aroostook counties, gathers itself through the two branches above Kingman, and runs west in long slow reaches broken by ledge drops before meeting the Penobscot at the village that shares its name. It is a substantially bigger and warmer river than the mountain streams to the west, and that is exactly the point: it holds one of the most reliable smallmouth bass fisheries in New England, and it does so in near-complete solitude.
Smallmouth bass are the fishery. They hold on every ledge, every boulder garden and every current seam through the lower forty miles, they average a decent size, and in a good year the river produces numbers that would be newsworthy anywhere further south. The ledge drops through Mattawamkeag Wilderness Park are the classic water. Brook trout hold in the colder tributary mouths and the spring holes, landlocked salmon run in from the Penobscot system, and chain pickerel, white perch and yellow perch fill the slower flats and the dead water above the ledges. American eel are abundant and the river is an important migration corridor for them.
The gauge reports discharge and stage with no temperature series, so flow is the number that matters, and on a river this size it matters mostly for the float. A moderate steady flow makes the ledge drops runnable in a canoe and keeps the bass on their stations. High water pushes the fish to the banks and makes some of the drops genuinely serious; low late-summer water turns the long flats into a drag and concentrates the fishing entirely on the ledges and the deeper holes.
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Access
Mattawamkeag - the gauge village at the confluence, the usual take-out and the best place to read the river.
Mattawamkeag Wilderness Park - the campground and the classic ledge-drop water, the heart of the smallmouth float.
Kingman - the upstream village near the forks, a common put-in for the long float down.
Penobscot confluence - the downstream limit, where the river joins the main stem and the fishing changes character.
East Branch - the upper tributary draining the lakes country, colder and smaller than the main stem.
West Branch - the second upper tributary, worth fishing when the main river is high and stained.
Baxter State Park region - the larger destination an hour west, useful as a weather alternative.
Seasons
Spring: high and pushy, with the smallmouth not yet settled but the trout and salmon fishing at the tributary mouths strong.
Summer: the prime season and the reason to come, with smallmouth bass on the ledges through long warm days and almost no competition.
Fall: excellent, with bass feeding heavily before winter and the hardwood colour along the river at its peak.
Winter: closed in practice by ice across the whole reach, with ice fishing the only option on the connected lakes.
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Questions
What is the current flow on the Mattawamkeag River?
As of Nov 2, 7:15 am, the USGS gauge Mattawamkeag River near Mattawamkeag, Maine reads 72 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.
What species can you catch on the Mattawamkeag River?
Anglers target American Eel, Brook Trout, Chain Pickerel, Fallfish, Landlocked Salmon, Smallmouth Bass, White Perch, Yellow Perch on the Mattawamkeag River in Maine.
Where can you access the Mattawamkeag River?
Mattawamkeag - the gauge village at the confluence, the usual take-out and the best place to read the river. Mattawamkeag Wilderness Park - the campground and the classic ledge-drop water, the heart of the smallmouth float. Kingman - the upstream village near the forks, a common put-in for the long float down. Penobscot confluence - the downstream limit, where the river joins the main stem and the fishing changes character. East Branch - the upper tributary draining the lakes country, colder and smaller than the main stem. West Branch - the second upper tributary, worth fishing when the main r...
When is the best time to fish the Mattawamkeag River?
Spring: high and pushy, with the smallmouth not yet settled but the trout and salmon fishing at the tributary mouths strong. Summer: the prime season and the reason to come, with smallmouth bass on the ledges through long warm days and almost no competition. Fall: excellent, with bass feeding heavily before winter and the hardwood colour along the river at its peak. Winter: closed in practice by ice across the whole reach, with ice fishing the only option on the connected lakes.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Mattawamkeag River?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Maine agency site: https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fishing-boating/fishing/laws-rules/index.html