The proverbial calm after the storm

Irene came and went. Luckily for NH she stayed to the west over VT.  Even so, there was unbelievable flooding of the Pemigewasset, Ellis and Saco Rivers.  You can check out some of these YouTube videos to see what happened:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU1I6A1zkM0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap3VqsC2HPM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLNTJ7J3KF8&feature=related

Yesterday I made the rounds of some spots on the Pemigewasset River in Franklin, Bristol and North Woodstock.  It is still real high, but the further upriver you go, the better current conditions.  I am certain the Pemi in North Woodstock is fishable today (don't expect to find a lot of fish though!)  I imagine I'll have to learn the new contours of the riverbed, too.  At least the ponds were not affected.  There were fish rising on Sky Pond, Profile and Echo lakes.
As the nights get short and cooler, the fishing in some of the rivers should pick up. In particular the upper and lower Androscoggin, CT river from Pittsburg down through North Stratford and the Contoocook and Sugar Rivers.  Hopefull NH Fish and Game still has a few fish they can put out to sweeten the fall fishing.

Too busy fishing to post?

Sorry, but too much time on the water to post - Well, that's my story and I'm stickin' too it! Here is an update for the last couple weeks:  Fished the Swift River three times with diminishing returns.  Caught fish each time, but had to work a lot harder for them each time. On two trips I explored the Bondsville section as recommended by Millerbrown on his blog.  See link on the side of this page.  On one trip I ran into Al, a regular on this blog (hi Al!)  He was also checking out the Bondsville section.  For Swift River regulars, that area is quite a revelation.  (Although the lack of crowds normally seen at the Y-pool, will be a thing of the past if all you guys head out there!)  If somebody blindfolded you and took you there without telling you it was the Swift River, you would never guess that is where you are.  Mixed pools, pocket-water, fast runs, deep slow pools, etc.  Caught some rainbows on dries and also a nice wild brooktrout.  Fishing at the usual Swift River haunts was spotty.  The hatchery pipe area was like a ghost-town!  The only fish in the entire area were tucked in behind the fallen tree about 50 yards below the pipe.  A few fish were spread out a couple hundred yards downstream near Cady Lane. Most fish are found from the route 9 bridge and upstream, and so are most of the fly fishers. With this heatwave and drought it is one of the few places to find fish.
I must confess that I have been finding some fish in the Pemigewasset River.  Had a few guided trips up there this week and last for beginners and/or out of towners.  Here is a video of a family from New Orleans, none of whom had ever fly fished, having a great time learning on the Pemi. And here are some pix/video of a trip I did today, teaching a NHer to fly fish on the Pemi.  Practicing indicator nymphing turned up some nice rainbows.  The fish were dark, perfect fins and no hook marks. Water temp was 64F in the morning and 66F in late afternoon.  Glad some freestone rivers are holding up well.
My partner Jim and friends Dick and Jerry just got back from 12 + days in Montana.  They had a great trip and I hope I can report when they will be doing a presentation about the trip at our TU chapter meeting. Jim is up north guiding on the CT and Androscoggin and Saco/Ellis rivers.  He reports that water temps are good and plenty of fish have made it through the hot, dry summer (at least so far!)
This bodes well for September and October fishing.  Stay tuned for information our September All-inclusive package trip to Errol, fishing the Androscoggin River.

So many fish, so little time . . .

Sorry for the gap in updating the blog, but you can guess where I have been. Right! Many days on the water assisting clients get into the sport of fly fishing and/or helping experienced folks find some fish to target. Mission accomplished. A good bit of time was spent with some FFNE blog regulars.Here is Matt with his second-largest rainbow of the day. He and friend Patrick caught MANY nice rainbows on dries (everything from elkhair caddis, spentwing caddis, and various spinners, to Alder Fly patterns) and some brook trout, too.

Jeff and Mike also caught a lot of fish, mostly on dries, too. Here is a nice rainbow that Mike fooled. Although we spent a lot of time fishing the tremendous caddis hatch on the Newfound River, I also hit the Pemigewasset, Smith and Contoocook Rivers last week. The Contoocook has been something of a disappointment this year. The Hendrickson hatch was weak compared to past years. The fish are still there, but spread out and require a bit of leg work to find. Fortunately, the Newfound River has fish and hatches for now, and the Smith gave up some brook trout at Profile Falls if you can find the right fly and presentation. Beginner Josh and his dad came back for another on-the-stream lesson and both caught some nice fish. Here is Josh' first brook trout on a fly (Alder fly dry.)

Pemigewasset in Bristol

Stan and I decided to go salmon hunting today in Bristol. Nice and cool and drizzly all day. No other anglers spotted. Nice having the whole river to yourself. Water temp was 42.7 and air was about 47F. We covered a lot of water and not a lot to show for it. It looks like the cold air is settling in for a while, so time to start thinking about tying some flies.