The morning sun, coming up from behind the mountains on Moosehead's far shore, glinted off a serious coating of frost on Saturday morning. The front steps of our camp at Wilson's were treacherous underfoot. Even more disconcerting was the frost on the seat of the Hyde driftboat where I was expected to park my butt for the next eight hours, but our guide, the very able Chad Gray, did his best to clear off the rime before Trout Boy (NHRN) and I climbed aboard to begin the day-long float from the East Outlet dam to Indian Pond.

The day, while chilly at the start, was crystal clear. What was left of the foliage, after a Wednesday night wind-and-rain event, was etched against a cloudless blue sky. We had high hopes for the fishing, of course, but just to ride down that river on a day like that was a privilege.

We had arrived in Greenville on Thursday afternoon, checked in at Wilson's and headed straight for the water. We took a few nice fish in the run just below the dam pool before dark, and then we headed back into town for a dinner of "broasted chicken" served up by the lovely Joyce at the Flatlander's Cafe. On Friday we hit the river again, and I took a beautiful hook-jawed male salmon practically out of another angler's back pocket in the broad water just downstream from Beach Pool.

The float on Saturday was terrific even though the fishing was slow. As another river guide said as he and his two fishless clients floated past, "The river is, ah, in a transition." Indeed. Still, we managed to take a few fish, all on tiny nymphs or emergers. The real highlight was simply seeing the river as we had not seen it before, and on a spectacular Fall day.

When we plunged over the final drop into Indian Pond, Chad put away the oars and mounted his little 10-horse putt-putt on the stern for the final leg of the trip across the pond as the sun settled into the spruces on the western shore.

Only two weekends left in what has been a great Fall fishing season. The weather can't stay this good -- can it?