April showers - in May

The trout ponds of NH are one of the only spots to be assured of a chance at some trout (especially on dries) based on water level of the rivers and streams. Just as we were starting to get down to a fishable level from the rain of last Tueswday/Wednesday, we got another shot of rain through central NH last night. The Sugar River had just come down to a good level and then it got blown out again last night. The Contoocook was still at a high level and last night's rain delayed the fishing there for the better part of the coming week. They put the broodstock salmon into the Pemi over a week ago and the the fish have probably been washed down through the canals of Lowell, ever the Essex dam and down to Joppa Flats just in time for the stripers to greet them. That leaves the trout ponds, which for now are our best bets. Willard Pond in the Antrim/Hancock, NH area has been fishing good. Anybody been to Sky or Stonehouse Pond yet? We should start seeing some mayfly hatches there in the late morning and afternoon, which usually assures some good topwater action. In MASS the Millers River was at a good level until Tuesday, when the flow volume increased from 300CFS to 1500+CFS. The Squannacook and Nissitissit are at a pretty good level, but need another visit by the stocking truck to make fishing worthwhile. A couple days ago I checked the Prescott St bridge and there were still a few trout holding in the pool, so that might be worth a try for now. You can access the USGS river gages from my Resources page by clicking on the title of this blog entry. (I check it every morning and evening to tell me where the flows will be good to fish.)