First Trip North

      Since the flows on the Westfield river went up (again), I decided to travel north instead. Since I got a fairly late start, I decided to fish the Newfound since that was closer than any of the white mountains streams. This river is fairly short but is renowned for its fly fishing only area that supposedly fishes well through the spring, fall, and even winter months. It does not receive a fall stocking so late season fishing is supplied by lake drawdowns which may or may not add large bows, salmon, and lake trout into the mix. It apparently also gets hit hard, hence why I haven't made a real effort to get out that way. Since I had heard good things, I decided to chance it and give it a try instead of fishing more reliable local spots (wanting a little more of a challenge).
      When I got there, it was getting cloudier and it started to drizzle while I was setting up. The weather report first indicated overcast weather so I was feeling a little nervous since the river was already quite high. Having driven far enough already, I decided to fish it. As I was eyeing a likely spot, I saw a couple fly fishermen come in and take it. Bummer, but it wasn't the end of the world so I worked downstream. The first thing that struck me was the clarity of the water. Even though the water was high, I could practically count the number of pebbles on the bottom of some runs. In the first couple of runs I fished, I wasn't able to see any fish nor register any bites in the faster, broken water, which started to worry me a little. I was straight up panicking when I didn't register any bites in a larger pool. In hindsight, it seemed better fished with a weighted streamer on sink tip or sinking line, since the best water was fairly inaccessible. To make matters worse, I went over my waders trying to cross the tailout so my trip was really off to a spectacular start. At this time, the rain started to pick up so I was wet, cold, miserable and fish less. Nevertheless, I decided to continue upstream in the hopes of picking up a fish or two before reaching my car. In the next run, I actually spotted a fish! A nice rainbow that went for... my indicator. Unfortunately, there was so much overhanging brush that it was almost impossible to roll cast or even effectively mend line so I left and worked upstream.
      The next run was a nice bend where multiple currents met and created multiple seams, effectively making it a nymph fisherman's paradise! I worked the seams thoroughly, and bam! The indicator dove down and I was hooked into a nice bow. It ran and bulldogged its way to a terrific fight but oddly enough, no jumps! I snapped a photo thinking I wouldn't land it but ended up getting it to hand, only to have it muscle its way out of my hand and make off with my hot fly (BH hare's ear soft hackle). It was between 12-14".

      After working that run for some more time, I decided to get back to my car and drive to another spot. I drove downstream to the lower end of the fly fishing only area, where I ran into a couple other anglers. By this point, the river had swollen up even more because of the rain (mountain streams tend to swell up fast) and it made maintaining a drag free drift very difficult. That, and the rain were stifling me at this point because I was soaked through my clothes, skin, and bones. I ran back to my car, tied on a streamer that I picked up and tried a few casts but gave up when I wasn't able to get a deep enough swing (I feel it was more of a sinking line game at this point).

      When I got back to Nashua, I saw no evidence of rain! I might have been better off sticking local but at the same time, I was glad I took a risk and succeeded even though it wasn't a great day by any means. Overall, I liked what I saw with the Newfound river. The state certainly puts in some nice fish and there is always a possibility of getting larger drop down fish due to the rain so it has potential. I might have just picked the wrong day to fish since the river was still very high and got even higher with the rain today. Now that I know the river better, a follow up trip may even be more productive. Does anyone have any input on this river or been out lately?

Memorial Day Weekend (Part II)

      I had a little time to get out this afternoon after cleaning up my house so I decided to check up on the Nissitissit river in New Hampshire. This section is stocked almost weekly from mid-April to late May with rainbow, brook, and brown trout. I haven't done too well there in the past (especially last year since it got very low) but since I didn't have too much time, I decided to try it anyways. The water was pretty high but fishable but somewhat warm. There was a new lay down in one of the roadside pools so I started off chucking streamers. Immediately, I got into a nice fallfish which popped off at my feet. I worked my way to the head of the run where I got a couple nice tugs and got another fallfish in full spawning dress. I figured it might be this kind of day since the water was warm but I continued to work my way upstream through some pocket water. In one such pocket, I pulled out a decent brookie, which got my spirits up.

      The rest of the pockets were chock full of chubs, shiners, and sunfish but they were fun to catch between trout. There were sulfurs coming off but nothing was rising. I should note that many of the fish came on the hare's ear soft hackle since it was a perfect imitation of the emerging mayfly nymphs. As I worked upstream however, the bites got less and less. Eventually, I worked my way up to a bridge to another stocking point and found a nice run. It was a little high for nymphing so I switched back to streamers. I got one really nice tug here but didn't manage to get it (darn reflexes!). Unfortunately, I got my streamer snagged in a tree so it ended that. I switched back to nymphing and worked my way upstream to a nice run where I got into another brookie and a brown.

      The photo of the brown came out a little blurry but didn't find out until after the fact. Unfortunately, that was it for action as I worked further up without much luck (just a whack at my indicator). I got a call from home at around 7:30 and had to get back for dinner. Part of me thinks I should have gone down to Pepperell and tried to land a rainbow and earn my first triple crown but maybe that's in store for another day.....

Memorial Day Weekend (Part I)

      I went out for a few hours this morning to a local native stream. The flows were down from Friday but were still on the higher side. I stuck to high stick nymphing for the most part today since the currents created too much surface drag for surface indicators. It worked perfectly as I caught over 10 brookies, 2 dace, and 1 creek chub and I was able to feel the strikes directly. This was also the first trip this year where I have surpassed double digits for trout so it was a long time coming. I fished a hare's ear nymph and a soft hackle hare's ear variant in tandem. Most fish took the soft hackle but some took the hare's ear nymph.

      This was one of the 2 dace I caught. Not the desired species but still looked beautiful with its orange fins!

Scouting Trip

      Yesterday, I went out on a scouting trip to the South Branch of the Ashuelot River. This river features an extensive fly fishing only area in one of the most scenic areas in southern New Hampshire, which is fairly rare in this part of the state. The first spot I fished was in Swanzey near a set of power lines. It has great looking runs and deep holes and clear water but unfortunately I didn't see very many fish and didn't get any hits. The only fish I saw were tiny dace fry and one brown under a bridge that slunk away into the depths as soon as it noticed it was being watched.
      Overall, the spot was a disappointment so I drove upstream to Route 12 in Troy. The water here was promising, lots of plunges, pocket water, and small pools. It looked like a typical mountain stream but it seemed to be virtually devoid of fish as I worked every single seam without as much as a nibble. As I walked upstream, I ran into another fisherman with his girlfriend who said that he caught a nice brookie up near a bridge. I worked my way up there but didn't get anything there, I figured that they may have not stocked it yet or not stocked it very heavily. At this point, my confidence was pretty drained so I decided to hit my back up spot on the way back home.
      This is where I should have spent the day! I caught 3 native brookies and one creek chub in just 30 mins before I had to head off to other commitments. This is the result of fishing home waters, you know where the fish are and you know where to go. Scouting trips help add to that list of "home waters" and in some cases they work and in others, they don't.

      It might appear unusual that I'm calling these fish native since they are the same size (as is indicative of stocked fish), but I have a few ideas for my thinking:

1. These fish have par markings. Stocked fish tend to loose these pretty early. I've caught 4 in. stockies in the Souhegan River without any hint of par markings. For the most part, these seem to be a wild fish thing. 
2. They have a glossy coating. This is a strange argument but I've noticed that wild fish tend to have a a very clean and reflective coating. That and they don't have the earthy smell to them that some of the hatchery stock do. 
3. They had perfectly formed fins (well...mostly). Many of the hatchery fish (particularly in New Hampshire) appear to have very beat up fins (particularly the tail, anal, pelvic, and pectoral fins). The second fish I took a photo of had a missing left pectoral fin! Normally, I would write this off as a stocked fish but I caught a 3-4 in. fish last time out with a missing right pectoral fin. The loss of a fin may be due to redd digging during the spawning period. Forward to 1:30: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xH4XPFP1tWo 
4. I've caught fish from 2-12 in. here. So why not?

      I've heard the SB Ashuelot River is a good fishery and that it supports native brookies and wild browns in addition to stocked fish. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find out for myself but it may have  just been an off day for me and I don't want to take anything away from this river without learning it more. Has anyone else fished here and would like to give me pointers? Thanks in advance.

Redemption

      My original plan this morning was to head out to a designated trout pond to try and get onto some larger fish with Colby. Unfortunately, he didn't wake up in time and I fished it alone for a couple hours. It was almost good he didn't get up since the fishing was a complete bust as I only caught 2 fish on my first pass trolling before action completely shut off. I noticed some small brookies rising near the boat launch and as I was about to try for them, I got a call from Colby asking to meet him at a second spot. I had a little time to kill before heading there so I gave the brookies a try but they really confounded. I missed 3 fish, one on a wooly bugger, one on a soft hackle, and one on a griffith's gnat. They seemed much more interested in the actual thing than my presentations. Either that or I really have to work on my still water fly fishing.
      Soon after striking out on the brookies, I decided to try the second spot.  It was a spot where a local river dumped into a reservoir and as such, had large section of moving water near the inlet. This is where I should have spent the day! I borrowed a streamer from Colby and went to work. As I was setting up my kayak and rigging my gear, Colby hooked up with a large brookie on a muddler minnow! Unfortunately, his phone was out of charge and I was far away so we couldn't get a photo. He soon caught one around the same size on a spinner, which I did get a photo of.

      I hooked up shortly after and pulled out a white perch, not what I was looking for but OK, a start! I was getting really excited when I pulled out another couple in short order. After that, the action seemed to lull until I crossed to the other side of the rapids. It was a tough paddle in the high water and I may have been a trifle too bold but I made it to the other side. After experimenting with my retrieve, I found the low and slow was the best, letting the fly sink before bringing it back slowly. I hooked up with several crappie and a pumpkinseed and Colby got a decent larry, but again, wrong species. We started drifting down to the main lake, casting to likely structure and retrieving slowly while letting the fly swing in front of me. Finally, I got a nice tug near the main lake. After a nice fight, I pulled in this beauty:

      Our spirits now raised greatly, we continued drifting further towards a pod of rising fish. I let Colby try and tempt them and suddenly, he was hooked up on a massive brookie! Unfortunately, it broke off just as he was about to land it! We were both bummed since it was easily the largest fish of the day. We continued to fish on, with only one white perch brought to hand before I decided to go back upstream to the head of the run. On the way, I hooked into a smallmouth bass and yellow perch which added to my list of species for the day. When I got back to the head of the run, I worked my way slowly downstream back to the launch. At the very head, I swung the fly down and across and hooked into my personal best brookie! The fight wasn't too great although the fish looked healthy and beautiful none the less. It seemed resigned when it came in as if it knew the routine. I snapped a quick photo, unhooked it, and it shot back to its feeding lie. 

      On the way back, I hooked into another brown, which I released boatside (no photo). The browns seemed to fight much better than the lone brookie of the day, throwing in head shakes, short bursts, and even jumps! I met back up with Colby, who hooked a brown, yellow perch, and smallie. All in all, it was a day well spent and a definite step up from my original plans.

Back at the Bench

      I tied up a couple bead head soft hackle Hare's ear variants last night. This fly work great and there is no secret to fishing them; they work well dead drifted and swung down and across like a traditional wet fly. My favorite way to fish this fly is dead drifting under a traditional nymphing set up. The hackle pulsates in the water and drives fish (especially native brook trout) absolutely bananas. It can be fished just as well as the top fly or the dropper. When fished as a dropper, it can be fished on the rise as this imitates emerging insects. To tie this pattern, use a traditional scud/ emerged hook in sizes #12-20. The larger the fly is, the better it fishes in high water since it sticks out like a sore thumb (which is great in these situations). In high water, the strikes are ferocious so hold on!

First Souhegan Trip of the Year

      I finally made it out to the Souhegan River today for the first time this spring. The Milford gauge read 57.0 ˚F, which got me excited. My first stop was a local stocking site in Milford where I've had luck before. I managed only one take over there, a small brown which got off after a very brief battle. I saw it come up for my indicator twice until I changed the angle of my drift and leader length. By the time it took, the indicator was close to me, resulting in a weak hook set. The spot must have been cleaned out since all other likely holding areas did not produce any further action for me. I quickly changed pace and headed upstream along Route 31 in Wilton. This area has many pullouts and is characterized by long stretches of riffles, runs, pockets, and pools. I stopped by one such pullout ahead of the DHZ (delayed harvest zone). I fished a small stretch near the pullout and I was just about to leave until I saw a nice pocket slightly deeper than the surrounding riffles. Bingo! I hooked and landed a nice little brown on a san juan worm. Before I continued fishing, I decided to pause and take in the scenery.

      I continued fishing this spot for about an hour or so, working downstream to some nice holding water but I couldn't stir anything else so I decided to head to the lower DHZ before heading home. I started off fishing pocket water downstream of the Route 31 bridge with the same results and headed up to the large run below the bridge with the same results. I worked my way upstream to an area where I had luck last year. I found a likely looking pocket and spent some time working it. When I hit the perfect seam, I had a bow come up and hit my indicator. Frustrating, but definitely a change from getting nothing. I worked the seam hard, added weight, and switched my dropper for a large soft hackle and finally, I broke the silence with another brown! I think with the high water, these fish are actively keyed in to large flies or anything flashy to get their attention.

      I worked that seam even harder to try and tempt another fish but no takers. I worked upstream to some more nice pocket water but turned around after I took a dip trying to cross the stream. It wasn't the greatest day I've had but it wasn't terrible considering the fantastic views punctuated by the occasional fish. 

Heading for the Hills (Almost)

      When its hot out, you have limited options to fly fish in moving water. One is to fish a tailwater with stable temperatures due to bottom release, fish early/late, or head for the hills (literally). This time around, I decided to hit a tributary of the Squannacook known for its native brook trout population. While I won't divulge the name of this brook in this post, I will say that it does get stocked annually in the spring by the DFW and it looks remarkably similar to a north country stream due to the high gradient and ample pocket water. I wasn't expecting a whole lot due to the devastating drought of last summer that dried out some streams down to the river bed but I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. First pool produced nothing so my expectations were really low but next pool produced 2 small natives, which really got my excitement up.

      Unfortunately, as excited as I was to get onto beautiful wild fish, the bugs (mosquitos and black flies) were horrendous so I skipped a lot of water in the interest of not getting eaten alive. At one point, I actually had a cloud of biting nastiness following me around. I spotted some major pools and pockets and some of them produced a couple fish or at least some bites. I even caught this bruiser of a native in one of the large pools:

Releasing it back to the depths!

       Not all bugs were bad after all, evidenced by this beautiful (Hexagenia?) mayfly adult that briefly landed on the vest to dry its wings out. 

     At first I thought it was stocked but after further examination of its colors and the perfect shape of its fins, I decided that it was indeed a native and a large one at that! It is absolutely amazing to see how resilient these guys are, especially considering how low and slow the water got this past summer. I hooked into a couple more decent fish in this pool that popped off fairly quickly unfortunately before I moved upstream. The further I moved upstream, the worse the mosquitoes got, to the extent that I couldn't stand next to the stream without getting swarmed. I skipped a very nice stretch of pocket water where I did reasonable well last year and went back to the road to avoid the bugs. Eventually, I spotted a nice series of pools up near the bridge that I decided to try for a few minutes before leaving. I found one nice pocket where I lost one and landed another. I tried the pool above it for a few minutes before calling it a day, having other commitments to fulfill. Around this time last year, the flow in the pool was much lower, to the extent that I could sight nymph for several brookies, chubs, and dace. The bugs were also almost non existent last year but I guess that is the trade-off for healthier stream conditions. Hopefully it should get better as the season goes on. 

      With the higher water conditions, it seems like larger nymphs or flashy attractors (such as the SJW's pictured here) have been working better. My hare's ear got no love today but I don't think the fish were selective, they just saw the SJW better.

Update: My first 2 trout of the day were caught tightline nymphing. While it wasn't an ideal set up considering leader length and lack of a sighter, I was able to feel the strikes at the end of the line. It is a fun technique and works very well on wild fish.

First Trip to the Q

      I went out to the Quinapoxet for the first time yesterday. I had heard very good things about it so I decided to try there since some of the larger rivers were still blown out. The first spot I tried looked really nice with ample pocket water and very "trout" pools and runs. Unfortunately, fishing was a little on the slow side as I was only able to find fish in one pool. I landed two rainbows and missed a few more, including a huge fish that broke me off, but that was it for action. One of the bows was a 10 in stockie but the other was substantially larger. It didn't put up much of a fight and came to hand fairly quickly. But man was it beautiful! It was completely covered in spots but I wasn't able to get a great photo since I dropped my phone in the water trying to land the fish. My phone is waterproof so it was okay but wet lenses and good photos don't often go hand in hand. I let it go but it swam away slowly; either it had been hooked a fair number of times or it was just too warm out. In general, I was surprised at the lack of fish in the river since I didn't catch any creek chubs or shiners to pass the time.

      I decided to try another popular stocking point to try and catch some of the brookies and browns they stocked a couple days ago. Unfortunately, this spot didn't produce at all and I got more bug bites than fish (mosquitos and black flies were horrible last evening). I talked to a spin fisherman on the way out who reported no success so I knew it wasn't just me. Disappointed, I left to make it home for dinner. I checked the USGS website when I went home and saw that the water temperature in the Q went up to 70 ˚F. While this is certainly tolerable for bows and browns, it is on the upper end for brookies and might have explained why the fish were so sluggish and unwilling to bite. Overall, my first impression of the Quinapoxet was mixed. While it has potential due to the amount of awesome looking holding water, it seems like it will be better in April or in the Fall since it seems shallow and small enough to warm significantly in the summer. It certainly wasn't as good as I thought it would be but this trip might have been an exception rather than the rule. Maybe I'll have to try again early in the morning? If anyone has fished this spot and would like to give me pointers, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

Note: I just wanted to clarify from my last post that I don't want to ban bait in my highlighted rivers. I just want stricter regulations and smaller bag limits. I've heard stories of poaching where people leave with garbage bags full of trout and I consider that wrong. I feel that lowering bag limits in large rivers is a step in the right direction to eliminate poaching. 

Time for Change

"When trout are stocked anywhere, they practically stay in the shape of the bucket until they are all fished out."

      This was one of my friend's observations while we were reminiscing about trout fishing. This is unfortunately the case with fish stocking the way NH Fish and Game does it. More and more, stocking seems to pander to bait boys who are just there to "limit out." Most of the stocking involves dumping fish in at major crossings and leaving them to the parade that follows the trucks. This is fine in many of the smaller rivers where survival is minuscule to nonexistent anyways (leave these places to the bait boys!) but is pointless in larger freestones or tailwaters where there is a LOT of good water that trout can inhabit. I think stocking of these rivers should be conducted by bucket brigades or float stockings. If volunteers are needed for these stockings, ASK for help, I know many willing fly anglers (including myself) who would be willing to help out. In lieu of the state's efforts, some private groups such as the Pittsburg Anglers Association and Three Rivers (which I know uses state fish) work hard to improve opportunities for fly anglers. I also feel that the rivers listed below should be subjected to a 2-3 fish daily limit (rather than the traditional 5) to preserve quality fisheries. The 2-3 fish limit should be implemented in areas that don't fall under strict catch and release or other regulations. They are as follows:

Lamprey River

Cocheco River

Isinglass rIver

Souhegan River

Piscataquog River (and all branches)

Contoocook River

Ashuelot River (and all branches)

Cold River

Sugar River (and all branches)

Mascoma River

Merrimack River

Pemigewasset River (and all branches)

Winnipesaukee River

Newfound River

Smith River

Baker River

Swift River 

Saco River 

Ellis River

Androscoggin River

Diamond River (and all branches)

Ammonoosuc River (all all branches)

Gale River

Upper Ammonoonus River 

Perry Stream

Connecticut River

      New Hampshire has many amazing fisheries and a lot of potential. I know Fish and Game stocks to appeal to the people that buy licenses but they should realize that FLY ANGLERS also purchase licenses. If the reputation of the state's fisheries go up due to stricter regulations and management, then out of state license purchases will go up which will help funding, you see where I'm going with this, right?   

      On another note, I've recently learned that the DFW has stocked the Nissi and Squannie without notifying Evening Sun Fly Shop. For those who don't know, Charles Shadan of Evening Sun Fly Shop organizes volunteer groups to assist the DFW in the stocking of these two rivers. This helps foster an intimate connection between the angler, the fish, and the stream since these fish are spread out in all the amazing holding spots and anglers can see the fish that they may soon land. I was very disappointed to learn that volunteer stockings wouldn't take place this year since I was hoping to finally participate. Talk to the DFW and voice your complaints. Any thoughts on this matter are appreciated since this is a very controversial post. Thanks for the read. 

The Start of Summer

      It sure feels like it with all the warm weather! I got out for a few minutes on Tuesday with Pete before he had to move out. We stopped at the Old Durham Reservoir since we had less than an hour to fish. Unfortunately, the fish did not cooperate at all. I just managed one bite in the time we spent there and we didn't spot any in the shallows like we usually do. We were about to switch spots but Pete got a call and we had to head back to the dorm to move out.
      After helping him move out, I had about an hour before my next commitment so I went out to the trout stream we originally planned to hit. Within my first 5 casts, I managed a small brookie, which got me excited. Next cast, a creek chub, not what I'm looking for but not terrible either. The rest of the day was a complete blank which was very puzzling. Upstream, I ran into a father and daughter duo who said they got a few bites and hooked a few fish under a bridge. They also said that there was a derby this past weekend, which may or may not explain why the place was cleaned out? After talking to them for a few more minutes, I found out that the daughter was also a college student (at a different school) who had just finished finals that day! Of course, we spent the next few minutes chatting about how "terrible" finals week is before heading off our separate ways.

      After moving out yesterday, I hit the Nissitissit River in Mass. since I heard that they had recently put some browns in there and I had yet to catch one this spring. I also hoped to try for a trifecta since all 3 species had been put in recently and I have yet to catch all 3 species in a single day of fishing. Well 2/3 isn't bad at all. I got into 3 browns, 1 bow, and 2 chubs, going 4/5 in the trout department. All fish except for one chub came on a large cased caddis soft hackle dead drifted under an indicator. Unfortunately, it was more a day of fish stories rather than proof since these fish were less than cooperative for the camera. Still at large: 16 in. bow that "stole" a soft hackle as I tried to land it. I did snap a decent photo that really shows unusual brookie-like striations on the back of one of the browns. Apparently, this has been pretty common in Massachusetts brown trout this year since I've heard reports of brookie-like brown trout from the Cape ponds (not tiger trout, my buddy verified with the DFW).

On another note, I met a fly fisherman on the way out who reported catching one nice bow nymphing. It was nice to meet you Carl! The DFW has really put in some great fish this year and they have spread out very well and are absolute fighters! Get out there before the bait boys and herons do! 

A Relaxing Day

      Today was one of those days where things just sort of come together. Instead of going after fish, I was content with just getting out. It was a perfect day, no wind, somewhat overcast, and not too warm or cold. The flows had lowered to a safely wadeable level so I decided to fish one of my favorite spring time spots near school with no expectations and I was not disappointed. On the way there, I passed a local freestone that had two cars parked at the access suggesting it had been stocked recently. Not wanting to be part of that circus, I stuck to my original plan and was relieved to find my spot empty. I hiked for a couple minutes downstream and proceeded to work my way back upstream, systematically covering water. Within 10 minutes, I hooked into and landed a 15+ in. sucker! When I stuck it, it flashed with such ferocity I thought it was a huge bow. Needless to say, I wasn't as happy that it was a sucker but considering how well it fought, I really wasn't upset at all. A few minutes later, I hooked into my first brookie and followed it with 5 more and a couple of small shiners (good to see that they are more active- a sign of better fishing to come). All fish but 3 came on #18 BH flashback hare's ear, the other's falling victim to a #20 black zebra midge.

      One of the brookies (pictured below) was significantly larger and fought much harder than any of the other stockies. I first thought was that it was a holdover but then I found it hard to believe that anything could have survived after last summer's drought. Maybe it migrated all the way down to the deeper holding water downstream then came back up when conditions were more favorable or it got washed downstream during the last heavy rain. However compelling these ideas are, it was more than likely an early plant assuming they stocked it again recently.

     For those of you who want to get out, the flows are coming down but are still high in some places. Be mindful as you wade and don't cross a spot where you think it looks too risky. With the flows as they are now, fishing is actually fun and challenging. The challenge seems to be finding the fish as there is more water to fish now. When you find the fish and present the fly in the strike zone, the strikes are unmistakably aggressive since they have to decide within a couple seconds whether or not they want it.
      On my way out, I ran into a spin angler who also did well. We chatted for a while before we had to go our separate ways. If you are reading this, it was nice to meet you Frank!

On a side note: the alewives and herring haven't moved into the river yet in full force. This time last year, you could have walked across the river on their backs!

Study Break

      Hey guys, I'm kinda swamped for time right now since I should be studying so I'll quickly rifle out a post. I went to the Cocheco this morning for about an hour and a half. I had heard good reports of a caddis hatch coming off and nice holdover fish being caught and so, I wanted to try to see if I could build off my last successful trip out. Unfortunately, the fish did not cooperate in the hour and a half that I was there. The temperature was a little on the cold side but reasonable and the flows were perfect but I couldn't make anything happen. Didn't see any fish rising so I deduced they were feeding on nymphs (unfortunately none of mine!). I fished the same pool I fished in the previous trip as well as a couple other spots before heading up to the big pool. Since there was already someone fishing the run at the head of it, I decided to pack up and head elsewhere instead of crowding him out. I pulled up the stocking report and found out that my favorite regional freestone had been stocked last week so I decided to head there and try to catch a few fish instead of beating up the water where I was.
      It turned out to be the correct move! Things started off a little slow as I was fishing a nice pool that gets stocked heavily. The first 15 minutes or so, I went bite less as I was working up from the tail out to the head of the pool. Usually when there are fish, they stack up in the tail end so I was getting a little worried that they may have been fished out already. However, when I got to the fast water at the head, my indicator jumped upstream with such vigor that not even the most distracted fisherman would miss it. I soon pulled out a nice bow on a hare's ear.

After pulling out this fish, I was not too surprised to find the next few fish stacked up in the fast water. I caught 4 bows and a nice fallfish on wooly bugger and missed a few more including a couple further upstream. Having fished this place last year and catching mostly brookies at the tail end and middle of the pool, it was interesting to see that the bows were stacking up in the fast water. I left soon after a couple locals pulled up and started fishing there. They were very nice and respectful fisherman and I hope they got a couple as soon as I worked upstream. On a side note, the black flies have moved in and were BAD on this stream.

Could not have asked for a better day to come out and enjoy nature! I can't wait until finals are over so I'll be able to enjoy more days out before work starts.

Blue lining

      I went out for a couple hours this evening. My first stop was a popular fly fishing only pond (which for the sake of backlash will remain nameless). When I got there, another angler was heading out as well. After chatting with him for a couple minutes, I found out that we had a mutual friend who goes to UNH. After assembling my rod, I met him down at the pond and we started fishing. Unfortunately, the fish were extra finicky today, which I've heard can be the case for this pond considering that it is highly pressured and tiny, and neither of us got anything. Fortunately, my new friend tipped me off about a small blue line stream where he'd caught a few natives earlier (Thanks Matt!).
      I drove out to this spot and found a nice little freestone creek in the middle of the woods. Casting my flies and getting a good drift was somewhat challenging in this stream due to the amount of deadfall in the water as well as the overhanging branches but I was able to make it work. While it was far from spectacular in the numbers department (2 fish in a little less than two hours) and nowhere near the quality seen up north, it was a fun experience and I was glad to have caught native brookies rather than the stocked variety. In fact, I was quite surprised to find surviving natives in the southern part of the state considering last year's drought, which speaks volumes about the resiliency of this fish.

      As far as size, most of the brookies in that stream were less than two inches considering how many strikes I missed. Still, it was great to see wild fish in such an otherwise populated area. Hopefully healthier flows this year should have fish in that stream reaching up to the 3-4 in. average length. Thanks again for the recommendation Matt! Your secret is safe with me.

Note: I found an empty nightcrawler box next to one of the pools. Great to see that some people have such a "profound" respect for nature! Idiots. 

Live and Learn

      I fished one of my favorite designated trout ponds on Saturday hoping for some action. This was my first time out on my kayak this year which was odd considering how early I was fishing open water last year. Unfortunately, conditions were none to favorable when I got there. There was a massive pressure change that day, which brought forth the unusual mix of wind, rain, sunshine, clouds, etc. Plus, the water was frigid compared to my last still water trip, which was slightly more concerning. Having driven an hour, I stuck to my plan and trolled a flutter spoon (yes, I spin fish too) without much attention, except for one half hearted bump on the first pass. I did notice a pod of brookies in a sheltered cove were rising to something so I paddled back to the launch to assemble my fly rod. By the time I got back to the cove, a spin fisherman had occupied the cove but left soon after striking out there. I immediately occupied the area and tied on a #10 wooly bugger to start. That got only one reactionary bite when I cast it near a rise ring and an additional follow but nothing else. I sat back and watched the brookies and figured that they were rising to midge emergers, judging by the aggressiveness of the rises and the fact that I couldn't see what was hatching. I soon put on a zebra midge but this also didn't produce as I had a fish on for a split second that got off. Feeling a little disconcerted, I went back to trolling without much luck.
      By this time, I saw another troller hook up and land a decent bow so I had a severe case of FOMO, which kept me trying repeatedly to get a bite. After making many passes with no luck, I went back to the cove to try my luck again, this time fishing dry. When I got there, I saw a couple who I noticed were fly fishing earlier, land a decent bow, making me feel even more disconcerted. According to the husband, who had landed the fish, they were having luck with streamers. Again, I tried, but no takers. This time, really losing confidence, I made multiple more passes (trolling the spoon as well as my wooly bugger) and decided to try some new water on the opposite shoreline. As I was making a pass, I saw a fish boil the surface (as many stocked fish do- not to be confused with rising). Seeing a fish within casting distance, I decided to stop and take a few casts, having absolutely nothing to lose. The first couple of casts yielded nothing but on the third cast, I decided to really slow down my retrieve to a crawl. BINGO! On my second strip, I saw a flash, felt a tug and was hooked up on what felt to be a good fish! A little while later, this came to the net:

      Can't say its the smallest bow I've ever caught but I can safely say that this thing punched above its weight class. I let it go and watched it swim back into its lie. The same couple that I saw earlier was fishing nearby and had landed another bow since we last talked but didn't tempt any of the surprisingly finicky brookies in the cove. I fished on for a little while longer, testing whether I had stumbled upon a pattern. Turns out that I had, as a small brookie soon came to net.

      Afterwards, I got a couple of strikes but that was it considering the day was almost spent. I think the sudden change in temperature had made the fish really lethargic and quite finicky to strike. As a result, many of them were hugging the shoreline and sitting on structure and cover or tight to the bottom. Most of the people, with the exception of the fly fishing couple, that had luck that day were bait fishermen. Hopefully, a few degrees rise in temperature should improve the bite and make for some more exciting fishing. Moral of the story, always talk to people who are having luck, you may learn a couple of things to take away. Feeling more than happy to have avoided the skunk after such a hard day, I rested a little easier that night, but not for long since I was up early target lakers. Let me tell you, the cold may shut down stocked bows, brookies, and browns but it has no bearing on lake trout!
      

Busy Week

      I haven't had too much post this past week due to the fiasco associated with the end of the semester but I was able to go on a couple of short trips. On Monday, I hit the Old Durham Reservoir at the edge of campus with Pete. It was a short half an hour trip so Pete and I managed a few fish each composed of the usual assortment gills, pumpkinseeds, and bass. This pond used to have a reputation for producing huge bass but the size has gone down since they drained it a few years ago. Still, it is nice to catch a few bass only a stone's throw away from my dorm and with the lack of predation, it has given the gills in there a chance to grow fairly large. They've even started to put on spawning colors.

      I got out once more on Wednesday and hit a local designated trout pond after hearing good reports. Unfortunately, I was stuck to the shore since my kayak is at home but I was still able to find some fish in a small cove. In a short amount of time, I landed one bow, hooked into a couple more, and missed several strikes. I didn't realize how tough their mouths actually were until today since I didn't have any sort of current to assist me. Still, it was nice to get out for a few minutes before the wind chased me out. After leaving, I stopped by a local fly fishing only pond on the way back to school but I only saw a couple rises well past casting (and wading) range. I could only watch as the fish were taunting me. I think they were rising to midges since I couldn't see any bugs above the water. Still, all in all, nice to get out.

The flows are still REALLY high in some places but they are starting to come down thankfully so I may be able to hit the rivers this week. Hopefully the high water should have dispersed the fish, making for a more enjoyable experience.

Persistence pays off

      I had a few hours to get out yesterday so I decided to head back to the Cocheco to try my luck. The flows had fallen back to almost normal levels so I figured I would have a good day. I went back to the same pool that I was having luck in the day before to see if I could land any of the fish I lost. What a difference a day makes. I was using the same flies and the same set up but besides a couple half hearted takes, I spent the hour or so "practicing my dead drift." In the run upstream of me, I saw a spin fisherman pull out a stockie on an oversized spoon so I figured I would try something larger and more aggressive. After spending some time swinging and stripping a wooly bugger, I decided to go back to nymphing and use an oversized anchor fly to get the attention of an aggressive trout. My fly of choice was a #8 soft hackle cased caddis nymph since I had heard rumors of a caddis hatch setting in. Let me tell you, it worked! Second cast, I hooked into a large holdover bow that fought more like a brown, peeling off a couple of long runs and burying itself in the whitewater at the head of pool. Luckily, I was able to land it and snap a couple of great photos.

      I fished the pool a little longer with no luck before moving to the run above, where I caught a small stockie bow on a #18 BH flashback hare's ear before calling it a day. The biggest thing I noticed was that the water was a lot less turbid in the run above, which probably explained why the smaller dropper worked here rather than the large anchor. All in all, it was one of the slower days I've had so far this season but it felt satisfying to adapt to the current conditions and come away with a couple of nice fish.
Update:
With the water flows still up, keeping a dead drift was tough, especially with an indicator set up. I know in these instances, euro nymphing outshines all since nothing on the surface is dragging or pulling the flies out of the zone. If anyone knows a good euro nymphing set up or where to get started in building one, please let me know in the comments or via email. Thanks.