Fishing has been holding up on the Newfound River. Lots of people and not a whole lot of fish at the usual spots near the dam, but if you are willing to expand your horizon and fish pocket water and other non-frequented locations, you will find fish. Yesterday I took the old friends of my old friends (what a great bunch of guys!) to teach them to fly fish in anticipation of a trip north to fish the
Alder Fly hatch on the Androscoggin River. Everybody caught fish (once again, many "firsts" were experienced.) Fish caught were brookies and rainbows, mostly fooled by skittered caddis and Stimulators in the pocket water - and a few took the every-faithful woolly bugger.With the skills you learned, you guys are well-prepared for your upcoming trip. I look forward to seeing you up there!
Fishing has been holding up on the Newfound River. Lots of people and not a whole lot of fish at the usual spots near the dam, but if you are willing to expand your horizon and fish pocket water and other non-frequented locations, you will find fish. Yesterday I took the old friends of my old friends (what a great bunch of guys!) to teach them to fly fish in anticipation of a trip north to fish the Alder Fly hatch on the Androscoggin River. Everybody caught fish (once again, many "firsts" were experienced.) Fish caught were brookies and rainbows, mostly fooled by skittered caddis and Stimulators in the pocket water - and a few took the every-faithful woolly bugger.With the skills you learned, you guys are well-prepared for your upcoming trip. I look forward to seeing you up there!
Hi Gerry
ReplyDeleteI was just wondering after looking at your video of catching those atlantic salmon below the smith on the pemi. How far down you were yards or miles i have watched the video a thousand times and could not tell how far down it was. Also i found a nice hole near the ayers dam around the bend it gets real deep and there is some nice fast water leading into it (i am talking heavy rapids) i am sure you have fished it and was wondering how productive it has been for you. I have fished it a few times but no luck. And when is the best months for the salmon because i have fished all this month and the month before on the pemi looking for salmon but have had no luck do they get fished out quick or am i just not going to the right holes?
Thanks for you helpful info on your site
My experience has been that it is a waste of time fishing for the salmon in the spring. Fish and Game is very vocal with their press releases announcing the release of the salmon, but in practice they are very inconsistent about when and where they are stocked. I have always had good luck in October and early November. Also, salmon are where you find them. That spot you mentioned is a good one, but so is the big granite ledge pool downstream from there; and under the bridge and along the Coolidge Woods Road. Also the area above and below where the Smith River enters the Pemi. Forgive me if I don't divulge ALL my secrets, but if you fish in these areas in October you will likely find fish. Also in Franklin below the dam there and also at Sewalls Falls in Concord. In fact, the last couple years it appears that more fish were put in at Sewalls Falls than any other location. Glad you like the blog - Tight lines!
ReplyDeleteGerry
Thanks for the info
ReplyDeleteI have to concur with Gerry.
ReplyDeleteThe spring atlantics on the Pemi are a bust. I went up and down Coolidge Woods 3 times and didn't even see a rise. In October though, I caught 6 and hooked into another dozen in 2 trips up there. The largest one was around 4 lbs and 24". It was a blast on the 5 wt. If you want springtime salmon, head to Pittsburg. We hit the upper Connecticut on a saturday. My buddy Mark landed 4 out of 6 hookups- including a nice 4+ lb'er. I went 0 for 4- but did have one that was kicking my butt for a good 5 minutes. It is much more worthwhile to hit Pitt than waste your time on the Pemi in the spring.
And Gerry- you are right- people need to stay away from Newfound... It's horrible right now... LOL
-Eric
Gerry--that's pretty cool bringing those guys up to speed like that before a trip to the Andro.
ReplyDeleteNice!