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N.H. Weekly Fishing Report -- September 22, 2005 This week, Hatchery Supervisor Bob Fawcett gives us the lowdown on late-season lake and pond stocking and how that activity helps us count on a great ice fishing season ahead. Jon Greenwood offers tips on hooking into a big brood stock salmon this fall. Buy your fishing license and salmon permit online, any time -- at www.nhfishandgame.com. Click here to check out fish stocking information from April-July. Want to get the Fishing Report by e-mail? Click here to sign up. Fish New Hampshire and Relax... We have what you're looking for. Fall Stocking Underway Fish and Game stocks 26 New Hampshire lakes or ponds with trout in September or October. In all, we'll stock 6,237 rainbow trout, almost yearlings (8 or 9-inchers); 4,993 two year old rainbow trout (11 to 14-inchers); 2,820 eastern brook trout yearlings; 3,960 eastern brook trout Kennebago-strain fall fingerlings (3 or 4-inchers); 973 tiger trout (10.8-inchers); and 250 brown trout (13.6-inchers). Where are we stocking? The following chart lists waterbodies managed using fall stocking, and species of trout stocked:
Why stock this time of year? Fish are stocked in the fall for a variety of reasons: Most are intended to recruit into the winter ice fishery. The tiger trout take longer to reach a larger size at time of stocking for better survival and a more pleasing size fish for the angler. They are very difficult to raise successfully, because they are a cross between two different genuses and have poor initial survival in the hatchery. Those few that do survive have the potential to make up for that in growth to a trophy size with time. We also stock in the fall for research reasons -- to help the regional biologists answer questions about subsequent performance of the fish after they are stocked. Biologists mark the fish and then perform creel surveys to figure out what percentage of what fish are caught through the ice. So, if you contact Gabe Gries at Fish and Game's Region 4 office in Keene at (603) 352-9669, he will be able to tell you that 87% of the fish caught last winter at Laurel Lake in Fitzwilliam were from spring stocking and 13% were from fall stocking, and probably a whole bunch of other things, too. This data can be useful in making management decisions. Most of the fall stocking activity is simply to make sure you have the opportunity to catch some trout this winter. This is a change from years ago, when any trout caught in the winter ice fishery were just holdovers from spring stocking, and no special effort was made to stock for the ice angler. Many anglers look forward to ice fishing for trout, in waters that remain open to the taking of trout year round. Make sure and check the N.H. Fishing Digest for which waterbodies remain open, or...
This fall (2005), Fish and Game will stock the Merrimack and Pemigewasset rivers with big salmon -- about 500 brood stock Atlantic salmon weighing from 3 to 8 pounds each. You might also hook into some of the brood stock salmon stocked last spring. Expect some great fishing by the first week in October, as the fall stocking will take place very soon. Note that the brood stock Atlantic salmon season runs year-round, but all salmon caught from October 1 through March 31 must be released immediately. Brood stock anglers need a New Hampshire fishing license and an $11 Atlantic salmon permit; both can be purchased online -- click here for online license sales -- or from license agents statewide. (As of 2005, stamp and possession tags are not required for salmon anglers.) By buying a permit, you're supporting a good cause: all proceeds from salmon stamp permits support the Merrimack River Anadromous Fish Restoration Program, created in 1993 by Fish and Game, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to help restore migratory fish populations to the Merrimack River watershed. The salmon being stocked this fall are
surplus brood stock from the Warren Fish Hatchery. Brood stock salmon
are kept to produce offspring, or "fry," more than a million
of which are released each spring to in an effort to restore sea-running
fish to the Merrimack River basin. After spawning at the hatchery,
the brood stock fish are released in the Merrimack, creating the
only managed salmon fishery in New England. The brood stock salmon released in the Merrimack give New Hampshire anglers an exciting recreational fishing opportunity. This fall, the large fish will be stocked in the Franklin-Bristol area. The first good spots to try for the big salmon are below the Ayers Island Dam in Bristol along the Coolidge Woods Road, the Profile Falls Recreation Area, the access site near the Smith River confluence and below the Eastman Falls Dam in Franklin. Because the fish are migratory, anglers should also try fishing downstream as the season progresses: in the Stirrup Iron Brook area, the Contoocook River at Boscawen, Penacook and Sewall's Falls Park, and below the dams at Hooksett and Garvins Falls in Bow. For more information and an access map, click here. My gear recommendations for fly anglers include 7- to 9-weight rods with either floating or sink tip lines, depending on the height and speed of the river flow. While most fly anglers prefer heavy weight rods with 10-pound test line, nymph fishing with lighter gear has proven successful in catching big salmon. Recommended flies include traditional hair wing flies and streamers. Some patterns to try are green highlander, black bear green butt, cosseboom, soft hackle marabou and muddler minnow. As the season progresses, try the area below the Garvin's Falls dam in Bow to the Massachusetts/ N.H. border, which is open to both fly and spin fishing. The best areas include the section of the river just below the Garvin's Falls and Hooksett dams, where the river is fast flowing. Fishing success in these two areas is best angling from a boat. Excellent boat access is provided at Public Service of New Hampshire's ramp on the west side of the river in Bow and at the state-owned ramp on the east side of the river below the Hooksett Dam. Spin-casting anglers would do best to use medium to heavy 6 and a half to 7-foot rods with a minimum of 10-pound test mono line. Some of the lures recommended are: Little Cleo (chrome, chartreuse colors), Blue Fox Pixie, Trixie (silver, chartreuse), Rapala's CD model, and large in line spinners such as Mepps Aglia (nickel, green, yellow) and rooster tails. Remember that the use of lures for the taking salmon is by the use of an artificial lure having no more than ONE hook point! A solution for lures sold with treble hooks is to either cut off two of the hook points or replace the treble hook with a #6 bait holder hook. Brood stock salmon anglers can help the program by reporting their catch to Fish and Game; fishing diaries submitted by January 15 are eligible for a prize drawing. For a printable salmon diary and more information on how to send in your report, click here. So get out and enjoy New Hampshire's great fall fishing! __________________ Did you know? Protect Your Waters:
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