Hexamania

Our trip up north wouldn't be complete without sampling the hex hatch on a wild trout pond.  This year we not only had a wild time with the Alder Flies, but the hex were popping like popcorn.  Nothing like gliding along a beautiful north country pond with the warblers warbling and the plaintive call of the white throated sparrow echoing through the pines interrupted only by the explosive rises of wild brook trout. 

If you haven't fished the hexagenia hatch, you are missing a real treat.  Tie up some size 8 Stimulators with yellow body and white wing and white hackle. Then head to Echo Lake or Profile Lake in Franconia Notch.  Both are easily waded and have real good hatches of these big juicy may flies.  Just toss out your fly and give it the occasional twitch and hold on!  Better be quick though, since the trout want to get their high-value calories and head back down to cooler water real fast.  This time of year, the flies emerge just as the evening starts to cool - about a half hour before dark, so the action can be intense but short-lived.  What a way to relax and end the day.

Well. I am off for Labrador for a week.  Stay tuned for some (hopefully) giant brook trout.

Perfect timing, for once

That's what client John A. said about his trip with us to northern NH to fish the Androscoggin River and the trout ponds.  He hit the daily double with both the hex hatch on the ponds and the Alder fly hatch on the river at their finest.  The warm dry spring weather had the river at a great wadeable level and the caddis were hatching in epic proportions.  And the hatch on the ponds was really cranking, too.  Here is a video of the second-largest wild brooktrout he caught.
(The biggest one got away as I was netting it.) Every time I net one of these beauties it makes we wonder what it will take to have wild brooktrout like these in ponds and rivers throughout New Hampshire. John also fooled a lot of brooktrout and a few salmon skating Alder fly and Stimulator patterns on the river. When we booked the trip I thought it would be a little early for the Alder flies, but John hit it dead-on.  He remarked that when he goes on a fishing trip people usually tell him, "You should have been here last week.  The fish were really biting then!"  I think the fish will be biting next week too, but it was fun helping John enjoy a special time on one of my favorite rivers.  Glad you enjoyed being with us "Last week!"
PS. we still have a few spots open for the Alder fly and hex hatch now until July 1

Androscoggin River Alder-mania

The trip up north to the Androscoggin River in Errol, NH and the 13-Mile Woods wilderness area was fantastic. Our Androscoggin Special Package was booked full for 14 days straight. We had 17 beginners out of 27 anglers and all of them caught fish. One got a fish on his second cast with a fly and another took all of two days, but finally landed a (measured) 18-inch landlocked salmon. (See the picture)
We were really lucky dodging rain and high water. The first week we were there the river flow was low and we only had some occasional drizzle. All of our clients were relieved to find that the heaviest rain fell south of the White Mountains. During the second week we got a little more rain and they released more water from the dam, but we were still able to find quite a few fish. Jim drifted the CT River one day and had his best day this year with client Jerry D. who hooked into a lot of fish there and when I took him to a couple hot spots on the Androscoggin. We had a lot of father-son and husband-wife teams on the trip, which was a lot of fun for us and for them. Obviously, fly fishing is a life-long sport and it is satisfying to know that many of the people we taught on this trip will be fly fishing long after Jim and I are no longer around.
We target this trip for the Alder Fly hatch and this year we hit it good. I was able to get clients into fish on zebra caddis patterns starting around June 22 and continuing through July 3 when we left. Although there were huge swarms of Alder flies, the fish were not really turned on to them. Rarely did we see a fish rise to a natural, although we caught loads of fish on caddis dries. For those that haven't experienced the hatch, here is a video that will give you an idea of what it is all about.

In addition to Alder flies, there were plenty of golden stone flies, and Little yellow Sallies around also. In the evening we fished the hex hatch and our clients caught some beautiful brook trout This one was landed by good friend and client Dick Peterson. Here is a link to more pictures and videos of the trip. That is it for the June 2009 Andro-Adventure, and we are already planning the September trip. We will be offering the same Special Package the last week of September. Last year the September trip was spectacular, with crisp weather, peak foliage and lots of willing fish. Let me know if you want more info.