Fish New Hampshire and Relax... We have what
you're looking for.
In Southwest NH, trout are fat 'n' sassy By Gabe Gries, Fisheries Biologist, Region 4/Keene
If this spring is any indication of what
awaits anglers during this summer and fall, all I can say is, "Hold on!" Despite
lots of rain, cold, and a bit of warm weather thrown in here and
there, the fishing in southwestern NH has been great during the
past month or so.
A father and son team (Andy Jones and
his 10-year old son Kyle) got the ball rolling by landing a 39.5-inch
lake trout on April
17 (click and go to the Big
Fish page
to see a picture).
If that picture doesn't encourage you to take some kids fishing,
I don't know what will. Speaking of trout, Dublin Lake (Dublin)
is once again producing some nice brook trout, including a 20" fish
that was stocked into the lake two springs ago. Shore anglers are
doing as well, if not better, than boat anglers this spring. Fish
are being caught on night crawlers and power bait. Trolling can
also be productive during this time of year at water depths from
10 to 30 feet. (It can also be exasperating, as I can attest after
trolling for three hours without a hit... as they say, that's why
it's called "fishing," not "catching"!) Anglers
fishing Silver Lake (Harrisville) report catching and releasing
20-30 rainbow trout on some days.
Milford Hatchery staff have once again outdone themselves. I was
at the hatchery about a month ago to clip fins on trout for a study
at Swanzey Lake, and the girth of the rainbow trout is unbelievable.
These fish looked like footballs and average about one pound apiece.
Some of the fish are so large that it was impossible to get my
hand around them to clip a fin. In addition to fishing for rainbows
at Swanzey Lake (Swanzey), I would suggest trying your luck at
Center Pond (Nelson), Gilmore Pond (Jaffrey), Spofford Lake (Chesterfield),
Ashuelot River (Surry, Gilsum, Marlow), Cold River (Alstead, Walpole),
Warren Lake (Alstead), Firehouse Pond (Bow), Frenches Pond (Henniker),
Souhegan River (Greenville, Amherst), Contoocook River (Bennington,
Hillsboro), and Franklin Pierce Lake (Hillsboro).
The walleye fishing in the Connecticut River was excellent this
year. I heard of many fish being caught from 16 to 28 inches. Although
walleye should be getting near the end of their spawning season,
the fish are still around and are hungry. Good fish are still being
caught below the Bellows Falls Dam in North Walpole and around
the mouths of tributaries to the Connecticut River.
The black crappie fishing has been hit-or-miss this spring, due
largely to the alternating hot and cold weather we have been having.
The crappies started schooling around shore in the Connecticut
River setbacks about a month ago, and some days you can catch one
on nearly every cast while other days you are lucky to get a bite
(just ask my friend Ed who has been frustrated more than once this
year). However, as we continue to get more consistently warm temperatures,
the crappies should come in in full force to spawn.
Black bass anglers have experienced a similar situation to those
fishing for black crappies, as the bass fishing has been hit or
miss. I have had reports of some big largemouth being caught in
the Connecticut River setbacks and some nice fish caught in Pool
Pond (Rindge). With the warmer weather approaching, the bass fishing
should quickly be heating up.
We hope you enjoy fishing this year in the Monadnock/Upper
Valley Region and don't forget to take a kid fishing anytime you
can!
We are always happy to talk to you about fish and fishing so please
contact us at Region 4 (603-352-9669; reg4@nhfgd.org) if you have
any questions.
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