Trout are being stocked for your Memorial Day weekend fishing enjoyment! Looking ahead, plan to take a friend along on Free Fishing Day – June 7 (no license needed in fresh or salt waters; except for brood stock salmon). State Fish Hatcheries are also open for visitors on June 7 – http://www.fishnh.com/Newsroom/2014/Q2/free_fishing_day.html
Access note: The boat ramp at Stinson Lake in Rumney remains closed for repairs http://www.wildnh.com/Newsroom/2014/Q2/access_Stinson_Lake_closure.html
Learn to fly fish at a free weekend workshop in New Hampshire’s North Country – two opportunities in June: http://www.fishnh.com/Newsroom/2014/Q2/LGF_FF_No_Country_052214.html
Fish stocking report: http://www.fishnh.com/Fishing/Stocking/current.html
Fishing licenses: http://www.fishnh.com. Kids under 16 fish free in N.H.!
Find us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nhfishandgame
And on to this week’s report from our fisheries biologists:
North Country
As I look back on my work details for the last two weeks, I realize that stocking fish has occupied a large part of my time. I have always enjoyed stocking fish and, like many of our biologists, started my career in a fish hatchery. Today, I put 2,500 rainbows in a North Country pond and loved every minute of it. I imagine this weekend some young people may be fishing from shore – enjoying the opportunity that I just created. I also imagine a family in a boat trolling around on an early morning watching these fish rise around them. Often, these fish provide good angling for a whole season, and they are caught in the fall or even through the ice in winter.
There are also times that I stock fish and know that they will survive and grow for several years. When I put brown trout in the Connecticut River, for example, they may be much older and larger when they are finally caught. Last week, I was sampling the Connecticut with our electrofishing boat and caught the fish in the picture posted in the online version of this report at http://www.fishnh.com/Fishing/Fishing_Reports/2014/052214.html. Certain characteristics allowed me to determine that it was stocked as a hatchery-born fish many years ago. This was one of eight fish I caught of similar size! It is great to think that our stocking program can create such awesome fish.
Water temperatures in our trout ponds have not hit 60 yet, and fishing is as good as it gets. Mirror Lake in Whitefield has been great, with lots of fish being caught. Dummer Pond in Dummer has also been great, with one angler reporting a 20-inch brook trout caught on a dry fly. I saw the picture, and it was no fish story. Look for this early season success at Akers Pond in Errol and Success pond in Success. May is also a good time to look for trout in our rivers and streams. When water conditions cooperate, I love casting an ultra-light rod into waterbodies such as the Israel River or Stearns Brook. Generally, I use a small spoon or in-line spinner like a Rooster-Tail and find fish very eager to feed.
As our water temperatures climb, bass fishing is beginning to pick up. Moore Reservoir and Lake Umbagog have been giving up good numbers, and fish are being caught in shallow water around structures. Remember that all bass must be released from May 15 to June 15 and live bait is prohibited. Good spring bassin’ can also be found at Forest Lake in Whitefield. – Andy Schafermeyer, Regional Fisheries Biologist
Lakes Region
River flows and lake levels have stabilized in the Lakes Region. Lake temps are in the low to mid 50 degree range. Smallmouth bass have begun nest building, with some of the warmer coves already showing nesting bass. The recently held Winni Derby was a success, with a 3.9-pound salmon winning the major prize. Anglers reported high catch rates of salmon during the three day event. Congratulations to all the anglers who participated in the derby, and we hope to see you back on our beautiful lakes this summer!
My recent trip on Lake Winnisquam produced a mixed catch of lake trout, salmon and bass. Trolling small streamers in the 30-40 foot shoreline zones produced a number of strikes. Fisheries biologists Matt Carpenter and Ben Nugent are in the process of stocking river herring (alewives) into Lake Winnisquam. We will monitor the progress of this species, as the YOY (young-of-the-year) alewives grow throughout the summer and into the fall as they prepare to leave the system on their journey back to the Atlantic Ocean.
Trout pond fishing is fantastic now, with some great brook trout in the mix, some up to three pounds! A recent trip to Saltmarsh Pond/Gilford with my daughter Holly produced some great aerial displays from the rainbow trout that craved our heron flies! Although trout were sipping on tiny chironomids (phantom midges), they were quick to strike the attractive heron flies, fished on sinking and wet fly lines. Just about all our trout ponds have been stocked, with the exception of some ponds off the Sandwich Notch Road, which remains closed due to culvert replacement. Those ponds should be stocked soon after Memorial Day.
Aerial pond stocking will occur the week of June 9. JBI helicopter services of Pembroke, NH, will again be guiding us across the New Hampshire landscape as we stock fingerling Kennebago strain brook trout into 48 remote, high-elevation ponds. Approximately 110,000 fingerlings are stocked in this one-day event. If you have never fished these ponds, you are missing out on some fantastic fishing, in remote, wilderness settings.
Don’t forget that Saturday, June 7, is free fishing day in New Hampshire. Take advantage of this day with a friend and enjoy the wonderful outdoor opportunities we have here in the Granite State. – Don Miller, Regional Fisheries Biologist
Monadnock/Upper Valley
I had an opportunity to take a youngster fishing for pre-spawn largemouth bass last week and had a great time. We targeted shallow backwater coves that were a full 6 degrees warmer than the main lake. It seemed like every bass in the waterbody was crammed into a half acre, taking advantage of the warmer water, and we caught about 20 in a little over an hour. Wacky-rigged Senkos were all we brought for tackle and were all we needed for a shallow-water situation with spooky fish. Don’t forget that the catch and release, artificial lures only season for bass runs from May 15 to June 15.
Trout anglers have been doing well in southwestern New Hampshire, although it seems as if not as many people are out fishing as they are during most springs. Silver Lake (Harrisville) is giving up lots of rainbow trout, and Noone Falls on the Contoocook River (Peterborough) has been a trout hotspot as of late. Smith Pond (Washington), Beard’s Brook (Hillsborough), and Whittemore Lake (Bennington) have all been fishing well. I also received a report of several holdover brown trout being caught in Sand Pond (Marlow), and even if they don’t bite for you, the brook trout likely will.
If you have a canoe or kayak, Spoonwood Lake (Nelson) is a great place to try for brook trout and smallmouth bass. It is accessed from Nubanusit Lake via a short portage. The lake has no development of any kind on it and makes you feel like you are fishing on a lake in the Canadian wilderness. There are camping sites available, as well, that can be reserved by calling the Harris Center in Hancock. – Gabe Gries, Regional Fisheries Biologist
Southeast NH/Merrimack Valley
We get a lot of calls with questions about trout stocking this time of year. Some people are excited to get back on the water, and they are just looking for a tip on where to fish. Others are disappointed that they did not catch any fish in a spot that they can usually count on. The target numbers for trout for every river, by town, are prescribed by the Inland Fisheries Division biologists, but trout are stocked by hatchery staff usually partnered with a Conservation Officer (CO). The officers typically have the most local knowledge about popular fishing spots, and they know the best places to access a river or stream.
Trout Fishing Secrets Revealed
There is actually nothing secretive about trout stocking. CO’s and hatchery staff are doing their best to get the fish in the water as efficiently as possible, so that anglers have plenty of time to fish before water temperatures warm up in the summer. Here are a few things to keep in mind when trout fishing in streams:
– Stocking usually takes place a few net-fulls at a time, anywhere that a river and stream can be accessed from a stocking truck. Bridges, places where the road parallels the river, parks, boat ramps, and short hiking trails, all make good stocking locations. If you are not having success at one location, move to another.
– Stocking locations can change. Sometimes a veteran hatchery worker or Conservation Officer will retire and their replacement may do things a little differently. If a CO’s patrol area temporarily increases in size due to a vacancy, the number of waters they need to stock also increases, possibly preventing some waters from getting stocked as quickly as they have been in the past.
– Use the stocking report on our website as a guide. Once you know that stocking has been going on for a while, you will have much better luck if you go to a river and explore various locations than you will if you stay home and wait for your favorite area to show up on the stocking report.
– Fish do spread out. Often the pool right next to the bridge will be quickly fished out, but the larger pool about 300 yards down river may get less pressure and hold more fish. Don’t overlook the more subtle holding area behind a large boulder in riffle habitat or downstream from the old bridge abutment that causes a break in the current. You will probably have more success if you keep moving up or down river than you will by continuously casting into the same spot.
– Some days fish just don’t bite. That doesn’t mean they weren’t stocked. The fish may be stuffed from feeding on invertebrates that washed into the stream during a recent rain. A sudden temperature shift or change in weather may have affected their behavior, or you may have simply spooked the fish as you approached the bank. You can always try a different bait/lure/fly or come back another day.
In other words, don’t wait until you know the exact timing and location of stocking before you decide to go fishing. Just get out there and see what you can find. – Matt Carpenter, Regional Fisheries Biologist
Seacoast Area
Waters are still high and turbid, but things are starting to warm up in Great Bay and surrounding tributaries. Today the water temperature in Great Bay was 59 degrees, while the coast remained a little cooler at 54 degrees. The river herring continue to pour into Great Bay and surrounding tributaries, so the larger striped bass can’t be far behind! There have been mixed reports from anglers catching schoolies, but I have yet to see one myself.
I did recently witness, aboard one of our local head boats, some mackerel caught for the first time this year by anglers fishing 3+ miles from Hampton Beach! The last few days, lobstermen have reported large schools of mackerel offshore 10+ miles, so the large schools should be in close to shore any day now.
The party boats have been groundfishing consistently for a few weeks now, and are reporting above-average catches of haddock, cod, redfish and pollock. As of May 1, there have been changes made to groundfish regulations. For anglers fishing in federal waters you can look at the posted link for a list of length and bag limits for species in the Gulf of Maine at http://www.nero.noaa.gov/sustainable/RecFishing/regs.
Winter flounder fishing season should be starting up as well. I have not heard any reports from anglers yet, so if you go, let us know how the fishing is! (reg3@wildlife.nh.gov) This year it seems everything is behind, so I would expect the flounder fishing to pick up any day now! – Shane Conlin, Marine Biological Aide