Saco River, NH & Mixed Bag O' Trout

With recent reports from local guides of superb dry fly fishing in the North Country, I decided to venture into the White Mountains for the day. The early week brought a few thunder showers and downpours, but they were undoubtedly welcomed in the Northeast. Prior to this past week, above normal water temperatures and below average rainfall had left many trout in the northeast struggling for cool oxygenated water. With the re-energizing weather, I drove into the heart of New Hampshire with plans to fish the Saco and Ellis rivers located around North Conway, NH.

Both rivers provide fly anglers with fairly long stretches of "Fly Fishing Only" water that are unquestionably loaded with big fickle browns, football rainbows, and feisty brookies. I arrived at the 1st Bridge Pool parking area around 0700 and surprised to already see four other cars in the lot. Two anglers were already walking out, indicating success with brookies and bows on dries. I headed downriver, anticipating a few anglers to be fishing the closer pools and runs and ran into two anglers on the Rip-Rap Run and two below the Glade as I worked my way downstream. From that point on, I did not see another angler until 1700 when I hiked out. I slowly fished at my way down to Swallow Bank Pool without worries that another angler would slide in next to me. I fished at my own leisure and although the fishing started slow, the scenery on this stretch was beyond breathtaking. I nymphed runs, swung streamers through pools, and skirted dries against the shoreline slicks, but nothing took until around 1130, when I net my first rainbow.

Water temperature started off around 56 F, but as the river level quickly dropped from the previous nights rain, it coincidently rose to a perfect 60 F. It was as if a switch was turned on because I experienced NON-STOP action from 1300-1700. Rainbows and brookies filled the net on the lower stretch, but as I worked my way back upstream, I began to hook many feisty browns. Big wooly streamers seemed to do the trick as they were swung with an across and downstream presentation. Within that four hour period, 15 trout were brought to net and at least that many were lost. Nothing like a jolting strike a few dozen times! The river was fishing so well that I never made it over to the Ellis. I guess I'll leave that for a later post.

Deerfield River Float on the Fish Cats

Float fishing a river is a very efficient and exciting method in exploring larger sections of rivers. Floating down a stretch of secluded river offers anglers the experience of the local wilderness and fish over less pressured trout. This type of fishing can provide anglers with high fish count days especially when casting prospecting nymphs and streamers. As owner of Squaretail Anglers, I only provide wade-fishing trips for clients, but I made an exception this past weekend. I experimented with my Outcast Fish Cat float tubes that I normally use for remote New Hampshire trout ponds and put them down the Deerfield. The client had no previous experience with these belly boats, but with a little guidance, he got the "drift" after 10 minutes.

Weather was perfect with sunny skies, warming to 70F ambient temperature with a 52F water temp. Fish were beginning to take emergers right below the film, which helped in locating active trout. In order to critique this idea, I floated and fished the lower stretch of the river also to determine its probability of success and enjoyment for first timers. Fish were caught from within minutes of launching to minutes of docking. The catch comprised entirely of rainbows, a couple of which were holdovers from the previous fall. All rainbows were taken on modified hare's ear nymphs and woolly buggers. Flows were alittle slow for the floats, but soaring pairs of bald eagles entertained us during the "slow water" especially when we saw one dive bomb the water downstream, then fly way with a fish.

Fishing is only getting better everyday, with plenty of active trout chasing swinging nymphs and streamers during wade trips. It is an excellent opportunities for first timers to experience the jolting strikes and lighting fast surface splashes as trout attack at the end of the swing, mostly when your fly imitates an emerging insect as it rises in the water column. Remember to let your fly swing in the current and be stripped for a couple seconds after you swing it through your target zone. More often than not, fish will follow or be feeding on tail of the run waiting for hatching insects. Long line nymphing proved deadly this past weekend especially on sub-surface feeding fish.

Smelt Running in Pittsburg, NH 4/30-5/2

The alarm went off at 4 am Friday morning, but the much awaiting anticipation for the first 2010 trip to Pittsburg, NH already found me in the shower and roasting a pot of coffee. Usually at this time of the morning during this time of the year, I would be sitting on the edge of a field clucking to gobblers that I roosted the night before, but I was fortunate enough to harvest a mature 21 lb, 9" beard, 3/4" spur gobbler in MA during opening day. With an unexpected ice-out on 1st Connecticut Lake of April 11th, it was sure to be an early smelt run in the north country, which of course would be followed by many hungry salmon.

I arrived at Lopstick Lodge at 8:30am, checked the daily flows (151 CFS 1st, 152 CFS 2nd, 759 CFS Murhpy) and bought some favorite local patterns. The smelt were in full swing with the water temperature hovering ~45 degrees. By 9:15, I was whipping a size 6 gray ghost cross current on the inlet to Lake Francis. Bright sunny skies and howling winds didn't make for ideal fly fishing conditions, but I was too optimistic for those salmon. Only 1 other spin angler was casting below be, catching 4 salmon, during the unproductive hour I was there. I journeyed up to Megalloway Road bridge, and fished the inlet to 1st lake where salmon were sporadically rising to BWO's along the shore. Using a double nymph rig with an indicator, I quickly hooked up on a beautiful 15" leaping salmon. For the next 1.5 hrs it was slow with the wind gusting soo fast that the fly line ended up in the trees more than on the water Positioning yourself for a downwind cast made casting efforts more efficient. The bite was slow, but a clear sunny day with no one else on the river except a fly fisherman in a canoe, and song birds singing the most beautiful melodies I ever heard, I was in heaven. However, there is a point where one can only go so long on a river without hearing the drag spinning from a fresh salmon swimming like a torpedo upriver.

After enjoying a quick salami and provalone sandwich on the shore, I ventured back to the Trophy Stretch to fish Junction Pool. After nymphing both seams on either side of the current with no prevail, I started swinging streamers. Second cast with a black ghost, I hooked and lost a fish stripping the pattern upriver. A repeated process proved successful the next time and actually 2 more times after that. Three brilliantly colored brookies with sharp healthy fins were brought to net, all in the range of 12 inches. With a fishless count on the Francis inlet during my first stop, I made the short trek downriver to hopefully redeem myself. The current in this section is hard for a fly angler to reach from shore. A small craft is almost indefinitely helpful for this short stretch. I was able to trick a few salmon to chase a Magog smelt close to shore, but unexpected hits resulted in poor hook sets. In hopes to work more manageable water, I headed back to the section below Magalloway road, where I saw Bill (guide from Lopstick) guiding a first timer, who looked to be having some success. He was excited non the less, which made for excellent attitudes on the river when he landed a salmon. Most salmon appeared to be in the slower water right down to the lake, but I managed a short-lived fight with a nice salmon in the upper currents. Temperatures dropped quickly around 6:30, so I headed back to Mountain View to set up camp and cook some beef stew. I considered it a successful first day.

Saturday morning, I was casting a fly on the inlet to 1st by 5:30am. Action was slow with only 2 hook-ups, but many fish were rising in the river and the lake to BWO's. The weekend warriors wandered to the river around 8:30, so both inlets became quite crowded by late morning. With above normal temperatures, I was expecting weekend crowds so I explored stretches of the river "in between" the popular pools. I caught no fish, but I found pockets of water and feeding lanes that I will revisit later in the season. I ended the evening where I started in the morning, and luckily had one salmon take a BWO parachute but my dry fly hook sets are unpracticed, thus slow to respond. The sun quickly disappeared with a dense cloud cover, and the bite began. Five hook-ups in 15 minutes brought 3 quality salmon to net.

Here is a strategic, but simple approach towards fishing popular water:

Fish the popular and easily accessible spots early. Prospect throughout that stretch of water trying to pick up fish within the vicinity. When crowds begin to trickle in, they are probably fishing spots that you have already probed which either provided you with or without action. Unless you enjoy combat fishing, this is the time to explore new or hard-to-reach areas, where the last place a weekend warrior would want to hike in to after he drank all night at the bar and woke up late only to eat a beyond imaginable "everything omelet". He's looking for the closest place from his truck to roll down the path to the river. Too bad he doesn't know you already caught those fish at 5am that morning. In all seriousness, these couple hours leading up to lunch time before those "anglers" head in for their afternoon cocktail and rib-eye steak enable you to explore the secluded stretches of river. If I plan to fish a popular spot for the evening feeding frenzy, I arrive early just in case I have to "claim" my stretch of river as unfortunate as that may sound. However, I have never run across any irresponsible anglers on the Upper Connecticut and would consider most of them respectable sportsmen/women. Sometimes, the bite won't happen until minutes before dark, so don't let the conversations of grey goose martinis persuade you to leave the river early.

With only Sunday morning to fish, I obviously hit the river early landed 2 of the 3 hookups. All fish were caught on double nymph systems floated under an indicator. Best salmon of the trip came that morning, measuring around ~18 inches, although the smaller fish were just as exciting with their leaping acrobatics. Looking forward to the next trip north when the salmon are further upriver!

Leaping Salmon in the Granite State

With the mild winter in the northeast, it was an early ice-out for much of southern and central New Hampshire. Smelt got an early start as they began to migrate out of the lakes to spawn, which of course were followed by hungry landlocked salmon. Surprisingly, many of these rivers were fishable despite runoff and numerous rain storms. Many fly fishers assumed all the rivers were blown out last week, but there were a few hard hearted fly casters out there giving me some company.

Early mornings seemed to be the ticket in landing a leaping salmon, but rainbows were hooked throughout the day. Beautifully dark colored rainbows no less than 16 inches were caught on egg patterns, while salmon were surprisingly taken on caddis pupae. The action was so consistent throughout the day on a double rig system under an indicator that I did not even try swinging smelt patterns. Able to sneak away Easter morning, I had the most action on the river thus far, not to mention the entire stretch to myself. Hopefully the water will stay cool and higher keeping the salmon in the river for awhile.

Tight Lines!

Casting For Recovery: Great Bay Trout Unlimited

On Monday, Great Bay Trout Unlimited (GBTU) hosted its second annual Fly Auction at Weeksie's Pizza in Dover, NH. Local businesses and fly fishing enthusiasts generously donated boxes of flies, reels, books, guided trips, float tubes, fly tying materials, and certificates that were sold in the live and silent auctions held on Monday night. GBTU also held a raffle for a custom handcrafted 7'8" #4 bamboo fly rod donated by D J Duggan of River Stixs Rod makers in Pepperell, MA where 50% of the raffle would be donated to Casting For Recovery, "a non-profit, support, and educational program for women who have or have had breast cancer".

Founded in 1996, their foundation has spread throughout the country, relying on local organizations to help promote their program. Scientific studies have suggested that techniques involved in fly casting gently massage the joint and soft tissue mobility. Of course, it also connects women with the natural and spiritual healing found in the outdoors.

During the GBTU event, I found some great deals on fly tying books and even won a live auction bid on 3 beautifully hand tied salmon flies in a Walnut frame dressed by Mark E. Favorite of Rochester, NH. But to end the night with a bang, I was the luckiest supporter of the night when my name was drawn for the grand prize; the handcrafted 7'8" #4 bamboo fly rod with case. Completely speechless as expected from a first time raffle winner, I awed over my first bamboo fly rod that would soon be added to my collection. To make the night even more ironic, my girlfriend picked the winning raffle ticket. I plan to contact Dan Duggan (rod maker) in the near future to commend him on his outstanding artistic creations. I will be heading down to Carlisle, PA on April 10 to fish the many famous limestone spring creeks for wild browns and brookies!

Tight Lines!

Salmon River, Pulaski NY - 3/14-3/17

After a few sleepless nights and multiple daily reports, Sunday morning finally came, marking the start of my first excursion to the Salmon River located in Pulaski, NY. This premier river is famous for its trophy salmon and steelhead runs, as well as trophy brown trout and is located approximately 4.5 hrs (285 mi) northwest of Deerfield, Massachusetts. The greatly anticipated trip made the drive out seem rather short, but it gave myself and my fishing partner plenty of time to prepare for the species we planned to pursue.

March can be an exciting but also unpredictable time on the Salmon River. The majority of the steelhead (Chromers) migrated upriver from Lake Ontario in the fall time in search of prime gravel beds for spawning grounds. They overwintered in the deep pools located throughout the river, but the majority traveled to the headwaters in the Upper & Lower Fly Zones, just downriver from the Altmar Hatchery. Although this was the target species of the trip, we were hoping to hook into some trophy browns as well. March 2010 was unusually warm this year, speeding up ambient and water temperatures, as well as snow runoff. The river remained at 285 CFS for most of the winter, but luckily they were releasing water from the reservoir at 750 CFS in preparation for the spring runoff. Prior to the trip, warm temperatures and days of rain brought the river up to ~1150 CFS. I was excited for the increased flow as it would hopefully bring some fresh fish up river, but it also kept the water temperatures low (35F).

Day 1:

We arrived at Whitakers Sunday afternoon where we checked in, bought licences, and of course supported the local fly shop. Unfamiliar with the water, we decided to drive the length of the river to Altmar to familiarize ourselves with the different sections of river. We spent the remainder of the afternoon in Altmar at the Lower Fly Zone. Anglers lined up 5 on each side of a pool was a new atmosphere for me, but I had to remind myself that this was one of the best trout fisheries in the Northeast. We hiked the water in search of a spot to fish, tossing everything from egg patterns to woolly buggers. Immediately, we saw hookups and quickly realized that these fish were strong which resulted in many observed break offs and runs down river. The catch rate to hook ups seemed to be very low. We spoke with many great fishermen, who provided tips and techniques for our next three days. Although neither of us hooked up the first day, we were prepared and excited for the next morning.

Day 2:

My friend and I arrived at the river well before sunrise in preparation for the expected busy morning. It was Monday however, and the crowds has depleted from Sunday. I started fishing a bright "suckers spawn" pattern and hooked into my first Salmon River Steelie within 15 minutes. I did not expect to land my first hookup, but multiple anglers within the vicinity coached me through the battle. I managed to keep the fish upstream and my friend netted the fine dark male steelie pictured above. He was ripe with milt heading upstream for the hatchery. I quickly hooked up another 3 times, but only managed to land 1, which happened to be a beautiful hen that recently spawned. The fish turn dark in color after over-wintering in the river, but they quickly turn silver again once they have spawned. A lull in fish activity urged us to try different stretches of water. We fished areas below the Fly Zone, which included Sportsman's Pool and Papermill Pool, where I hooked up with a monster, but after multiple runs and leaps through the rapids, this acrobatic steelie finally broke me off. It was truly the big fish that got away.

Hook-Ups: 5

Fish Landed: 2

Percentage: 40%

Day 3:

With the majority of the fish in the Lower Fly Zone, we opted to watch the sunrise from Cemetary Pool. Luckily, we arrived each morning with the pool to ourselves, but this popular area proved this atmosphere to be short-lived. Expecting rain for Tuesday & Wednesday, we were very surprised to feel the abnormally warm March sun beat down on us so early in the morning. Although the water level decreased from the previous day, fish continued to lay on the seams between the main current and absolute slack water where they voluntarily struck bright glo-bug patterns. However, the main current was still strong resulting in either a poor hook-set or fish breaking off. Of the 7 hook-ups that morning, I landed zero. In frustration, we returned to Whitaker's Fly Shop to purchase some heavier tippet. Unsure of our afternoon plans, Rob generously offered us his season passes to the Douglas Salmon Run (DSR) for the afternoon. A lower stretch of the river, privately owned by the Douglaston family cost $30/day/angler. We couldn't pass up the opportunity. We hiked the entire stretch of the lower river, but no fish would take, so we finished the evening back on Cemetary pool where I hooked up another three times on small prince nymphs, but could not land any.

Hook-Ups: 10

Fish Landed: 0

Percentage: 0%

Day 4:

The early action in the Lower Fly Zone could not be ignored at first sunrise, so there was no surprise that Ryan and I hooked-up a couple more times, but we could not coax them to shore. With plans to leave in the early afternoon, we opted to finish our trip with a visit back to the lower stretch of Route 2A to Route 81 bridge. We explored some new water and saw some spinfishers land a nice chromer.

Hook-Ups: 3-4

Fish Landed: 0

Percentage: 0%

In all, we deemed the trip very successful hooking-up more than we expected and I caught two more fish than I expected. HA! As warned by fellow fisherman, I am now epically obsessed with the SR and look forward to fishing it in the near future.

Tight Lines!

Classics Never Fail!

After spending much of the winter on the hard water chasing tip-ups and jigging for slab crappies and jumbo perch, a few days on the river for trout got my blood pumping for the upcoming spring. I have planned a trip for a month long excursion through the "Pine Tree" state of Maine in search of monster brook trout and landlocked salmon. Although the most famous rivers including the Kennabago, Kennebec, Penobscot, and Rapid will have to be explored, many other rivers will also be fished but not mentioned due to their intimate nature and importance that would jeopardize the fishery. Historical sites such as Upper & Middle Dam Pools will be on the list, but primarily for the acknowledgement of Carrie Stevens and her infamous contributions embedded in fly fishing history.

In preparation for this exciting and historical journey, I have passed the winter tying some of the more famous streamers, most of which originated in Maine. Although I should mention the "ghost" patterns at the same time, I will temporarily refrain from examining the Gray Ghost as this famous pattern deserves its own post. Instead, lets examine the Black Ghost and Royal Coachman Streamer.

The Black Ghost, more commonly tied on 4x streamers hooks, sizes 2-8 is a very popular fly in many Maine rivers. This streamer imitates small baitfish that are expected during the early season runoff occurring in all rivers. The most popular version is tied as a hackle streamer, but other wing variations include white marabou or bucktail as an alternative.

The Royal Coachman Streamer is a classic also tied on 4x streamer hooks, sizes 2-8. Hackle wings are tied as just as much as white marabou wings; its personal preference although marabou does have a tendency to provide more action as the fly is stripped through the water.

Stay tuned for more "cabin fever" solutions......