Northbound

Monday and Tuesday I guided a couple clients in the White Mountains. The Ellis River fished pretty good, but the Pemi in North Woodstock/Lincoln continues to be a bust for me so far this season. Thank goodness for the Newfound River, even if they have been releasing high volumes of water from the lake. I stayed at the AMC Highland Center in Crawford Notch Monday night. What a deal! For $40 I got a comfortable bunk and a terrific breakfast with a fantastic view of the mist rising on the mountains. One of my clients stayed at the MT. Washington hotel, and I doubt if he slept any better or had a better view than I did. Tomorrow I throw the canoe on the truck and head north for a couple weeks guiding the Androscoggin River in the Thirteen Miles Woods section. Hopefully the river will remain at a fishable level, unlike last year when it was running at near flood levels from mid-June to late July. I have a whole box of Alder Fly patterns and another of hex. The hatches are sure to emerge and I'll be ready when it does. Stay tuned for the report when I get back on the 4th of July.

Mainely Salmon

Early this week the BSC (Bull Salmon Club - a bunch of guys who have been fishing together for 20 years or more) spent a few days fishing the West Branch of the Penobscot River near Ripogenous Gorge. We actually stayed at Nesourdnehunk Camps on the lake of the same name, alledged to be the home of wild brook trout of prodigous proportions. Well, if you consider eight inches to be prodigous, you would be happy. We weren't, so we took the 18 mile drive to the West Branch every day. In short, the fishing was fantastic. Caddis were everywhere and the fish were feeding on top from morning 'til night. The largest I caught was about 18 inches, but the average was almost 15 inches, and they fought like hell in that fast current. A few Little Yellow Sallies were around and my single most effective fly was a chartreuse Usual, although I caught fish on almost every caddis pattern I threw at them, as well as a couple mayfly patterns. This is a picture of Dick and Randy fishing one of our favorite spots.
After I got back I innoculated a couple beginner clients with the fly fishing bug and they caught a couple brown trout on the Contoocook River (the Usual strikes again!) This continuing cool weather pattern is great for the fish. I hope it holds up, since I'll be guiding in the White Mountains a couple days this week. Then on Friday I'll be heading north with my partner Jim for two weeks guiding on the Androscoggin River in the Thirteen Mile Woods section. We have one spot open for a single angler. If you are interested, here is the link for more info .

Grin and bear it

Funny how sometimes things just fall into place. Yesterday the young lady shown below with her first trout had asked me if I ever saw wildlife in my travels, specifically bears. I said, yes a couple times, but usually it is just a brief glance as they go diving into the bushes to get away from you. Well, after today I have a different answer. Yes, I have seen a bear up close and personal! I was with a couple clients today fishing the area around Lincoln, NH. We were going to have lunch near Canon Mt. and then head down to fish the Newfound River after not finding any fish on the Pemigewasset River. As we drove through the parking lot of the Canon Mt. tramway station, I was looking up at the ski slopes to see if there were any bears grazing. In the morning and evening you can usually see them grazing the sweet new grass high above you. I didn't see any bears on the slopes, but as we approached the lunch spot I had selected I saw a bear grazing on grass and flowers. This was a full-grown bear probably 3+ feet at the shoulder. We looked at it from about 30 or 40 feet away and it just kept munching on the grass, totally ignoring us. We drove up the road a few hundred feet near the Echo Lake boat launch area, parked and ate lunch. As we were eating, one of the guys exclaimed, holy cow, look at that! The bear must have smelled our lunch and was heading towards us, but suddenly it stopped, having recognized the sight, sound or smell of humans and took off into the woods. Luckily there were no cubs in sight - just a curious hungry bruin.
We finished our lunch and proceeded to the Newfound River where we found plenty of willing fish. . . but no bears!

First steps

Every year I guide a lot of beginners - usually a couple family members, husband-wife, father-son, etc. Sometimes 15 or 20, in addition to those that attend my Learn-to-fly-fish classes. Every trip is different, but every trip has the same excitement and anticipation of many "Firsts." First successful cast; first fish on a fly; first fish on a dry fly, etc. This is all new to my students and they are naturally pretty excited by all these Firsts. But sharing all those Firsts keeps me energized, as well. Every time my students score a First, I get to share it, and it becomes my First, too. This week I had a lot of Firsts. For one, it is the first time I was a 25th anniversary gift. Yes, I took a husband-wife team out to learn how to fly fish for their anniversary. If that doesn't beat a honeymoon suite in the Poconos, I don't know what does! We fished the Contoocook River in Henniker, and although the hatches have slowed a bit, there were still a few fish looking for food and we fed them. First fish on a fly, First brook trout and first brown trout - sweet!
Then on Friday I took a father-daughter to the Farmington River in CT. Last year the father had spent a couple days in September with us on the Androscoggin River in the 13-mile Woods section near Errol, NH. He caught a lot of fish, improved his casting skills and had a great time. He convinced his daughter, a BC college student, to give it a try and they both had a great time. We chose the Farmington, since they live near "The City" and it is a river they can fish from home. After a few casting and mending lessons, we caught some of those highly-educated browns that the Farmington River is known for. Can you remember the excitement of your first fish on a fly? How about your son/daughter's first fish? How about their first fish on a dry fly? I do!

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.)

Prime time on local waters

The high water is rapidly receding and the hatches are starting to pop and the stocking trucks have made their appointed rounds. What are you waiting for?!?! The Squannacook River got a good load of fish last week and the Nissitissit should get theirs this week. Water levels are great on both rivers. Monday I made my rounds scouting water for upcoming guide trips and caught quite a few in the Souhegan River in Wilton and Greenville. Woolly-buggers with a soft hackle dropper did the trick - about 50/50 on each fly. Fished right where the fast water dropped into the pools. Need some weight to get the flies down to the fish in fast water. Contoocook and Pemigewasset Rivers are still a bit high for safe wading. Smith River has been producing along route 104. Probably the best bet is still the ponds. Jim and Dick reported fast action on Willard and Stonehouse Ponds. Ron's ant pattern has also been scoring some good fish on the ponds. Still no word from anybody getting any broodstock salmon. Looks like another dud spring season on the Pemi. Word is that they dumped them in at Sewalls Falls again, rather than Bristol, where the best fishing spots are. Get out and enjoy the season and let me/us know how you are doing!

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.)

Contoocook Hordes and Farmington Hatches

The Farmington River in the upper TMA didn't offer a lot of solitude. The Hendrickson hatch is now out all the way up to Riverton and I think all the people laid off from the insurance companies in Hartford and the Wall Street financial guys were all there. In another week the hatch should be almost up to the dam. At least that will add some additional water for everybody to spread out a bit. Stan, Ron and I made the pilgrimage yesterday. We started below the TMA and caught a few fish on softhackle droppers, as well as on my favorite rootbeer woolly-bugger. Then we moved around the TMA looking for fish in relative solitude. We found both. I won't name the pools, but we caught fish on soft hackles and dries from about 11:00AM until about 6:00PM. There were plenty of small caddis, BWO and Hendricksons. We caught not only a lot of fish, but "quality" fish to about 20". Almost every fish was specifically targeted and was visible on the take. It was the best day of fishing I can remember. Here is a picture of Ron with one of the many fish he landed. Even though it got pretty windy as the day went on, we still caught loads of fish on top. We finished up using spinner patterns, although the wind was probably blowing all the spinners over to the Housatonic.
My buddy Jim reports that the flows and water temps on the Contoocook are real good, but the crowds are incredible there, too. Mid-week he said every pull-off access point had at least a couple cars and some pools had 6 or 8 people in them. He also reports not seeing anybody catch a fish. This level of pressure can't be good for the fish. Those that haven't been hooked and cooked are probably shell-shocked from everybody flogging the water every day of the week. The water levels are going down on the Smith, Bakers, Bearcamp, Saco and Ellis, among others, so hopefully the crowds will spread out and give the fish a break. Ponds are also a good bet right now.
Footnote: It has been brought to my attention that the hordes that descended on the Contoocook River were probably brought about by everybody seeing the video of Richard catching a fish there. H-mm-m-m-m, an interesting hypothesis!

Highs and lows of flows

Lately we have had more high than low flows. Last weekend the flows were pretty good. I did some scouting trips to the Sugar and Contoocook Rivers and caught some fish. Last Monday I took my friend Richard on a trip to the Contoocook River to give him a few tips and here is the little video I put together of Richard with one of the fish he hooked.


The next day it rained and the river was blown out with near-flood-level flows until this weekend. I was pretty busy anyway. On Wednesday I testified at a public hearing about the potential consolidation of a number of NH state departments, including Fish and Game, Agriculture and Parks and Recreation. I guess the Concord Monitor liked one of the sound bites I generated.

Squannacook Prime conditions

I did a little scouting on the Squannacook in W. Groton and found it to be ideal. Flow level was about 150CFS and temp was 50F - both just about perfect. Loads of insects - stone flies, midges, caddis and what looked like a couple big March brown spinners. Only fooled one rainbow, though. And a few of the places that showed fish last week were empty. I suppose the hook-and-cook crowd has found success there. Well, the stocking trucks should be rolling again soon. (A sad but true commentary on our southern New England fishery.)

Fishing Jackpot in NH

Stan and I went on a scouting expedition to see how the Sugar and Contoocook Rivers were fishing. The low rainfall so far this spring has the rivers at great fishable levels. We found more stoneflies buzzing around than we could believe. The Contoocook had so many stone flies that it looked almost like a major caddis hatch. On the Sugar R. w e caught brookies and browns in a deep, clear pool that you can see here. When I get another free minute, I'll give you the "story behind the story."

The surest sign of spring

Some would say it is the robin. Others declare it upon the last dirty snowdrift disappearing. Opening day of baseball season is the surest sign of spring for the Red Sox faithful. For others, it is still the dead of winter until the stocking trucks roll. Notwithstanding the few dirty snowdrifts, I declare spring to be officially here. I took my granddog for a ride this afternoon to search for signs of spring and found it in Townsend on the Squannacook River. The Nissitissit River in Pepperell showed nothing but suckers at the Prescott Street bridge, but spring was in full bloom near the Dunkin' Donuts on route 13. Having slung a variety of woolly buggers at them, they voted the tungsten beadhead rootbeer color as their favorite. The chartreuse variety fooled a couple, but the rootbeer was the clear winner. Must have looked like a giant hatchery pellet.
The Squannacook was 46F and running about 250CFS, just a tad high for comfortable wading. The Nissitissit was 47F and running about 225CFS, a little high, also. Both should be in good shape for fishing this weekend.

Rivers look ready to fish

I just got back from taking a ride around the local rivers. The Squannacook near the Dunkin' Donuts on route 13 in Townsend was 46F and looked clear and fishable, but hasn't been stocked yet. The Nissitissit at the Prescott Street bridge was the same. USGS gauge says Squannacook is running at 304 CFS and Nissi at244 CFS. My local wild brook trout stream was 50F. Couldn't see any fish there either.
Also, the Pepperell FD was running some kind of water rescue drill with a number of cars, FD trucks and a couple red FD trailers full of gear. They must have been pretty cold, because they consumed some large Dunkin' Donuts coffees and left the cups laying around at the parking spot. I picked them up, but if you know any Pepperell firemen, you can let them know that among their ranks there are at least a couple idiot pigs.
Some of the local rivers should be stocked this week if we don't get flooded from the rain that is coming in the next few days. Be sure to bring a trash bag with you to pick up after the idiots out there who don't pick up after themselves.
Remember, we all live downstream.

Progress made in fight against Rock Snot!

Good news! Apparently, researchers have made progress against rock snot. <Article>
Anybody check out that picture? Nasty-lookin' stuff!!

Farmington River Trip

Wednesday Stan, Ron, Richard and I made a pilgrimage to the Farmington River in the upper TMA. It was pretty brisk with a stiff breeze blowing off and on all day long. We found a few fish rising to Winter/Summer caddis, about size 20. They seemed to be rising just out of reach, since we seemed to always be casting into the wind. Nobody got any fish, but it was a fun day. I was able to collect some small caddis and stoneflies for my class this week, so it was at least somewhat productive.