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.

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! 

Low and Slow at the Squannacook

A fellow angler kindly offered to take this photo. Thank you Jack!

       I hit the Squannacook River for a couple hours earlier this evening. Flows are up slightly and the water is cold. Bugs were popping everywhere when I got there despite the overcast skies but there was no surface action. I started off the day nymphing every likely looking area. I really had to work to get the fish to commit but as soon as I figured out the pattern, the fish were really committing. The major producer earlier was a #16 olive partridge soft hackle and a #18 tungsten midge. Later on as I lost a couple of set ups to break offs and trees, I switched over to using a #8 olive wooly bugger. All strikes occurred at the end of the swing after a jigging motion was added. Afterwards, I briefly returned to nymphing and caught and released one final fish before calling it a day. All fish caught today were brookies from 9-12 in. Approximately 2000 such brook trout from 9-13 in. were added to the Squannacook yesterday as well as Thursday. For more information on where to fish that river and what flies to use, visit Evening Sun Fly Shop and talk to Charlie!