N.H. Weekly Fishing Report -- May 22, 2003

Greetings, anglers! This Saturday, May 24, is Hatchery Open House at New Hampshire Fish and Game's six state fish hatcheries. The open house -- from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. -- is a great chance to make a family field trip. There will be guided tours of the facilities, where Fish and Game raises trout and salmon stocked in streams and lakes throughout the state, and educational programs where you can learn all about the art and science of raising fish. For details, click here.

You may also want to mark your calendar for N.H. Free Fishing Day on June 7 -- If you have a friend you'd like to cultivate into a "fishing buddy," this is his or her chance to ply the waters without a license. (One exception: anglers fishing for brood stock Atlantic salmon in the Merrimack and lower Pemigewasset rivers still need a fishing license and a special permit.)

Want to get this list by e-mail? Click here to sign up. If you have photos or stories you'd like to share from your fishing adventures, please email them to Liza Poinier at liza.w.poinier@wildlife.nh.gov.

And don't forget to buy your license -- you can even do it online at www.nhfishandgame.com!

Three quarters of the Milford Hatchery trout have been distributed, and anglers say they're pleased with the quality of this year's fish. The usual large yearlings, plus the two- to four-pound surprises from the rainbow pond, are out there waiting to be caught. Dublin Lake fishing for Eastern brook trout is more exciting this year after the experimental fall stocking of larger fish. (That is, if you like large trophy trout...) There is an angler survey underway to evaluate the fishery this year, so don't be surprised if someone wants to ask you questions about your fishing experience.

There are a few more surplus brood fish out there than in the last couple of years, as we have built up the New Hampton Hatchery brood lines of Eastern brook trout of both the Rome and Kennebago strains. The anglers at Archery Pond are enjoying those large trout a lot. Surplus broodfish get transferred to Powder Mill Hatchery after spawning in the fall and are distributed to waterbodies in Regions 2 and 3 (central and southeast N.H., respectively) to meet the target numbers for management.

Bob Nicolson and his 6-pound rainbow trout from Crystal Lake.

There are reports of some large holdover fish being caught, which is always a good sign of survival and growth of the hatchery trout stocked in previous years. Bob Nicolson, of Jones Road in Enfield, caught a rainbow trout over 6 pounds. He was fishing from shore in Crystal Lake, Enfield late last month in the evening. That fish was raised at the New Hampton Hatchery and stocked as a yearling an unknown number of years ago. It is a beautiful trout, with vivid reddish coloration on the sides and the gill cover, and a mature hooked jaw (kype), reminiscent of other pacific salmon species in the genus Oncorhynchus. Note the spots all over, including its tailfin. I can imagine what a thrill it must have been to land such a fish.

The angler's mantra: What are they eating?
We don't know for sure how much of the pigmentation is due to today's improved trout feed quality, compared to how much came from the food web in Crystal Lake. If it is from the food web, I wonder if the yellow and pink scud (freshwater shrimp) and egg fly patterns would be effective? The effectiveness of a fly pattern or a lure pattern can change from day to day or even during the day, which is why many anglers use the strategy of "matching the hatch." Some rainbows, though, will just be cruising the shallows along the shoreline (probably futilely) following their spawning urges. Some say the fish are not really feeding at that time of year, and of their life cycle, so they must be enticed into striking out of habit or irritation. Keeps things exciting!

All of the hatchery trout are well-colored from the 50 ppm pigment (Astaxanthin) level in the Vigor trout finisher feed. The old paradigm of being able to tell wild fish from hatchery fish by the color is no longer true.

At the start of a day on the water, I usually talk with the locals to see how the fishing's been. My strategy is generally to keep it simple, using a few proven flies or lures, depending on where I am. I like brown, olive and black for dominant colors, and believe that the mix of chartreuse or the little dash of red in a pattern seems to make a difference.

New Hampton Hatchery lower station must be empty by June 1 so the dam can be repaired. The Dam Safety Engineers are concerned that erosion from the leak might create a void under the road surface of Route 132, so it must be fixed as soon as possible. That means more fish released faster than usual.

Profile Lake is stocked with NEW HAMPSHIRE'S NATIVE EASTERN BROOK TROUT ONLY, no rainbows or brown trout here! You may want to use a canoe for better access to their resting places. The lake receives yearlings, two-year-olds and three-year-olds (surplus brood fish from Berlin Hatchery broodfish population). The profile may have changed a bit, but the trout fishing is still great, thanks to Fish and Game's fish culturists, substituting hatchery capacity for the lack of natural capacity to have adequate numbers of trout and salmon there for your recreational fishing opportunity.

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