Atlantic Salmon Brood Stock Fishery Access Opportunities along the Merrimack
and Lower Pemigewasset Rivers
WHOA NELLIE! Big brood stock salmon are tagged for release in N.H.'s Merrimack and Pemigewasset rivers.
Did you know that New Hampshire has the only managed Atlantic salmon river fishery in New England? The N.H. Fish and Game Department, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service, offers a unique sport-fishing opportunity in the Merrimack
and Pemigewasset rivers -- the Atlantic brood stock salmon program.
October and November are prime months for fall Atlantic salmon fishing in New Hampshire. Expect some great salmon fishing by the first week in October. This fall, New Hampshire Fish and Game will stock the Merrimack basin with about 800 brood stock Atlantic salmon, averaging about 2 to 3 pounds. Fisheries statistics suggest that the success rate for catching salmon is higher in the fall than in the spring season. Salmon are in no hurry to leave the river as the water temperature cools, plus lower average river flows provide better access for anglers.
To fish for brood stock salmon, anglers need a current New Hampshire fishing license and an $11 brood stock salmon permit. Scroll below for an access map of the fishery and more information about this exciting program. The permit is good for the calendar year.
New Hampshire's brood
stock Atlantic salmon season is year round. Spring fishing for brood stock salmon peaks during late April
and May, and extends into June as long as prolonged hot weather doesn't chase them downstream (salmon are migratory; once
water temperatures rise in mid-summer, they head for the ocean). An additional
stocking takes place in the fall, providing another brood stock salmon season in New Hampshire in October and November. All salmon taken from
October 1 through March 31 must be immediately released. The brood stock access opportunity map is posted below at right.
Two ways to
download the Atlantic Salmon Fishing and Access Opportunities
Map:
Permit
Required
Any person taking or attempting to take Atlantic salmon from the
Merrimack River or parts of the Pemigewasset River (and their tributaries
to the first upstream dam) must have a New Hampshire fishing license
and an Atlantic salmon permit, available online (click
here to purchase), from any authorized license agent or at Fiish
and Game headquarters in Concord. (Note -- the salmon "permit"
is a checkbox on the fishing license application.)
Cost of Salmon Permit:
$11 for adults age 16 and older. Children under age 16 are not required
to hold a fishing license or salmon permit.
Bag
Limits
The daily limit for
salmon is 1 fish, except in Area 1a (below Eastman Falls Dam in
Franklin), which is catch-and-release only.
The season limit for
salmon is 5 fish.
The minimum total
length for salmon is 15 inches.
Identification
of Legal Salmon
Anglers can identify brood stock salmon by a T-bar anchor
tag attached to one side of the base of the dorsal fin. Only
salmon marked with a T-bar anchor tag may be kept. The tag must
remain attached to the salmon while on or leaving the water.
Any salmon not identified
by a T-bar anchor tag must be immediately released.
SALMON SEASON:
Year-round. Exception: Salmon taken from October 1 through
March 31 shall be immediately released.
NOTE:
A public health advisory sets the following guidelines
for consumption of brood stock Atlantic salmon: Adults ages
16 and older can safely eat one half-meal (4 oz.) per month. Children
ages 15 and younger and women who are pregnant, nursing or may become
pregnant should not eat brood stock Atlantic salmon.
SUPPORT
THE SALMON PROGRAM! A limited edition print of
Joan Wulff -- the world's most renowned fly fisher woman,
formerly of New Hampshire, who with her late husband Lee
founded the Wulff school of fly fishing -- is available
for purchase to benefit the Merrimack River Anadromous Fish
Restoration Program.
All proceeds from the sale of this
print support the salmon restoration program. Artist Arthur
Taylor is well-known for his paintings of Atlantic salmon and
their environments.
Salmon
Program Outlook The brood stock program, operating since 1993, is part of the
Merrimack River Anadromous Fish Restoration Program. Before they
are released, these brood fish provide eggs for the restoration
program's fry-stocking efforts. Each year, N.H. Fish and Game, the
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service and conservation
groups stock over one million fry in the Merrimack River and its
tributaries.
While the brood stock
program has generated a lot of enthusiasm among anglers, the sport-fishing
opportunity is secondary to the overall goal of restoring salmon,
shad and river herring to the Merrimack River. Once wild salmon
return in significant numbers, the brood stock program will be phased
out.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service provides Federal funding that helps support the Merrimack
River Anadromous Fish Restoration Program, which includes the Merrimack
River Brood Stock Fishery. The brood stock salmon are raised at
the federal hatchery in Nashua.
You can help support
this cooperative state-federal restoration effort by purchasing
a salmon permit-- whether or not you fish -- or by marking
the fisheries donation box on your license application. Thank you!
<Return to Top>
Where
to Fish: Method and Area Designations
Download the
Atlantic Salmon Fishing and Access Opportunities Map (two
formats available):
I. Merrimack and Pemigewasset
rivers from Garvins Falls Dam in Bow to the Ayers Island Dam in
Bristol and their tributaries to the first upstream dam -- salmon
shall be taken by FLY-FISHING ONLY.
"Fly-fishing"
means casting with only fly rod, fly reel and fly line combination
with an artificial fly attached, to which no additional weight has
been added to the fly line or leader, and does not include the use
of spinning, spincast, and casting rods and reels and lead core
lines.
A fly shall be a single-
or double-pointed hook, unweighted, and shall not be baited.
A fly is defined as a hook dressed with feathers, hair, thread,
tinsel or any similar material to which no spinner, spoon or similar
device is added. The fly is unweighted if the material is added
to the fly as an attractant only and will not make the fly sink.
EXCEPTIONS/Closed Areas
include:
Eastman Falls Dam in Franklin
to a point approximately 150 ft. downstream is closed to all fishing.
Ayers Island Dam in Bristol to
a point approximately 300 ft. downstream is closed to all fishing.
MANAGEMENT AREA 1a: 150 ft. downstream
from Eastman Falls Dam to the Rte. 3 and 11 bridge is CATCH AND
RELEASE ONLY.
II. Merrimack
River from the MA/NH state line to the Garvins Falls Dam in Bow
and its tributaries to the first upstream dam -- salmon shall only
be taken by:
fly fishing; or
by an artificial lure
that only has one hook having no more than one hook point.
NOTE:To
be consistent with long-term existing Atlantic salmon fisheries
in Canada and Maine, New Hampshire's regulations for taking Atlantic
salmon will be moving in the direction of angling by fly-fishing
only in the future. <Return to Top>
Rotational
Fishing and Salmon Angling Ethics
A concept honored
in all great salmon waters, rotational fishing gives all anglers
an equal opportunity to fish a salmon pool or a popular section
of a river. To rotate properly, the angler should start at the
upstream limit of the pool, make a few casts, then move downstream
several steps before casting again. Maintain a safe casting distance
from other anglers. Repeat the rotation by starting again at the
upstream location.
Respect another angler's
raise. If someone stimulates a rise from a salmon, allow them
time to switch flies or to make additional casts to the fish.
Respect a salmon hooked
by another angler. Reel your line in until the fish has been landed
by the other angler. This will ensure your line will not get tangled
with that of the angler who is playing the fish.
Help land a fish when
asked.
Avoid disturbing salmon
in the pool by being careful as you approach the river.
Be a role model for
others. If you're an experienced salmon angler, give advice to
the novice who requests it.
Practice catch-and-release
fishing and use barbless hooks. Atlantic salmon are a limited
resource. By releasing the fish you catch unharmed, you will provide
angling opportunities for others.
Respect private property,
and keep the river and adjacent land free of trash.
Observe all fishing
regulations and report all violations to Operation Game Thief,
1-800-344-4262.
This publication is
a summary of the regulations pertaining to the Atlantic salmon brood
stock fishery for the Merrimack and Pemigewasset rivers. This is
not the full law or rules. For more detailed information concerning
regulations, consult the N.H. Fish and Game Law Book. The rules
are available and may be viewed at Fish and Game Department headquarters
and Legislative Services in Concord, N.H.
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