Wednesday, June 5, 2013

May flies fast - pun intended

It seems like yesterday that we fished the Hendrickson hatch on the Farmington River. That hatch is long gone. Since then, there have been a lot of new new fly anglers initiated in the way of the gentle art.
Yesterday my buddy/guiding partner Jim and I hauled a new (to us) old boat up to northern NH and dragged it on a one-way trip into a trout pond.  We bought the boat early last winter, patched it up this spring and now it resides alongside a few other dilapidated craft, waiting for a few hours of glory called the evening hatch. This particular pond is one we had fished in September from a couple of the forlorn pondside craft.  We caught so many fish that we immediately decided to find a craft large enough to provide a fishing platform for two people with a third rowing.  I can hardly wait for our initial voyage in a couple weeks.  After lugging the boat into the pond, we ran into another friend/fishing guide Dave in Errol. Having fished (and lived) for such a long time, it no longer surprises us when we run into somebody on a river 185 miles from home. It has become rare that I DON'T run into a friend, former client, student, reader of this blog or subscriber to my YouTube channel when I am fishing.
How about a fishing update?  The story I hear from a ot of people is that the fishing this spring in New Hampshire has been pretty underwhelming.  Not as many fish and smaller fish than in past years. Massachusetts streams seem to have more and larger fish.  My experience has paralleled this, with a few exceptions.  I fished the Pemigewasset River in Woodstock/Lincoln area in early and mid-May with poor results.  Also fished the Newfound River a couple times with only one decent smallmouth bass to show for all the time and effort expended. We had three Northeast Fly Fishing School classes since my last report and all the classes caught some fish, but fewer than in past seasons.  The good news is that plenty of fish are now stocked in the central and southern NH rivers and the recent rains and cooler nights bode well for June to be an improvement over May fishing. Or maybe I am just being the eternal optimist. Probably.
I have topped off my fly boxes with Alder Fly and hex mayfly patterns. Made sure my Frogs Fanny bottles are full and stocked up on 4X and 5X tippet.  I have worked on the menu and started the shopping list.  We hauled the boat into the pond and are ready to pack the car, load the canoe on top and head north next Thursday for a couple weeks on the Androscoggin River in Errol.  We have a couple spots open on June 24 and 27th, so if you find yourself jonesing for dry fly action,  check the website and get ready for epic topwater trout action. We are also starting to book dates for the September trip, too. 
For May fishing reports, scan through my YouTube channel.