Northern New Hamppshire at its best once again

    

Big rainbows in fast water - always a challenge to bring to hand

My brother Marc and I made our annual pilgrimage to northern New Hampshire June 28 - July 2, and once again the trip did not disappoint. Fishing four of five days on the wild, rugged and scenic Connecticut River will wear out these old bones pretty quickly yet we pushed our time on the river to its limit each day, knowing full well our time here is limited.  We used the Buckrub Pub & Inn as our base of operations -- clean rooms and only 50 yards from the best food and Buckrub Brown Ales.  
    

Rainbws thrive in the fast Connecticut waters

So over the five days we fished the Connecticut four. We also fished a secret brook trout stream for an afternoon (Matt you know where). We wetted a line in the Mohawk and Indian streams for a brief spell, and lastly we hit the evening hex hatch on one of Pittsburg's area trout ponds only every night.  

Big brookies on big dries during the Hex hatch

     Weather was wild and unpredictable over the five days -- thunderstorms rolled in & out with no notice and we pressed ahead rain notwithstanding.  Summer temps were scorching -- high 80s to low 90s every day.  Northern NH was experiencing a true summer heat wave. 

Beautiful brook trout

Let's get to the fishing. 

     Back country brookies video

A little rain didn't slow down the action on the Connecticut

     We'll begin with the secretive brook trout stream. Non stop action of wild brookies using 1 & 2 weight fly rods on dry flies and occasional streamers is a treasure that I hope we never lose - hence the secretive nature of not naming this stream. This stream environ is 100% wilderness -- no human footprints on the banks or sandbars though a 3 foot water snake spooked the heck out of Marc - no signs of people anywhere.  Wild game trails led in and out from the stream on both sides of the bank.  The full arsenal of tactics is in play here -- short casting into fast moving pocket water; full length casts into narrow runs, bends and pools. I used a parachute adams while Marc went with a small stimulator.  Both worked exceedingly well. As you can see from the pics and video the trout were feisty, strong and colorful. We didn't count numbers but upwards of 50 were brought to hand and gently released back to their underwater domains.  We only fished a 0.5 mile section of water; one day we hope to push further upstream to more uncharted territory.

Marc with a nice brookie on a Stimulator

Another wild brookie released back to its home

     We hit the Mohawk River but after a couple hours and only a few wild rainbows, the conditions just didn't seem conducive for great fishing as the lower water levels and clear skies with bright sun overhead, I believe, pushed the trout under the banks and away from their typical lies.  We always wanted to try Indian Stream and pushed nearly 10 miles up the dusty and windy Indian Stream Road jumping and at a couple of spots.  We found the river really, really shallow with holes separated by several hundred yards.  Perhaps in the early spring when there's more water this stream might be more productive, or perhaps another 5-10 miles upstream its character might be drastically different.  But with already-proven waters in the databank, this stream is off the list for future trips. 

Saving the best for last, I'm not sure which to choose -- the Connecticut or the still pond hex hatch as they were both memorable.

       Let's go with the hex hatch next.

Brookies on big dries - gotta love the hex hatch

     There's something seemingly unnatural about casting to rising brook trout with 2 inch long dry flies, but for this one brief period each year -- that's as natural a scene in this wilderness.  Watching the real hex flies pop to the surface, shed their wing casings, and then founder for a few minutes before lifting off into the evening twilight is a sight to behold -- especially when seconds before liftoff the water explodes with a brook trout launching like the sub in the movie Hunt For Red October taking aim at its dinner buffet. 

This 18 inch brook trout wanted back in the pond

     The hatch starts about 30 minutes before sunset and truly doesn't peak until the back side of sunset.  Armed with our 4 & 5 weights and keeping two spare rods rigged and ready we paddled our canoe to spots where trout and bugs began their rituals.  Night 1 was best for both of us as among the 7-8 landed we each caught a 17-18 inch brookie -- no fish tale.  The problem is trying to photo document these catches in the dark was next to impossible. I actually landed my big squaretail on my backup rod Orvis Superfine 761-4 -- yes a 1 weight.  Again - no fish tale - that trout towed the canoe a short ways before successfully landing and releasing.  Over 4 nights we average 6-10 trout per night.  Some were only 8-10 inches; while most were in the 11-14 inch range.  How can you beat that, especially watching the explosive surface strikes.  It's almost worth the trip up to Coos County for the hex hatch alone, but with the mighty Connecticut winding down from the Canadian border and gathering more steam and strength I had to save this description for last.

Brook trout caught on a 1-wt Orivs Superfine

     I won't say we've always had good luck on the Connecticut because some days can be frustratingly challenging.  That river can honestly giveth and taketh away your good fortunes.  That said, we've landed and lost some memorable trout and salmon in that river over the years.  Marc's 18+ brookie a few years ago in the same pool we collectively landed half a dozen other salmon and trout during a 30 minute frenzy.  The monster salmon I hooked in some fast and deep water that I tried to steer to my netman at the bottom of the run -- but steered to well when the salmon launched out of the depths and struck Marc squarely in the chest while breaking off in the process.  

We have some favorite spots, but what made this trip on the river most memorable was catching fish in new spots and new tactics.

Marc with a Connecticut River brook trout

Lots of rainbows on this trip

     Nymphing is the tried and true method of fishing the Connecticut.  I suspect 90% of the folks fishing the river are working that method - and why not as it produces.  So we nymphed using a mix of copper johns, pheasant tails and princes -- and caught lots of fish.  I managed to catch a few with streamers -- where doesn't a golden retriever work?  But the magic of this trip was the  sizzling dry fly action.  Skating stimulators across the Step Pools above Lake Francis and a few spots well below the dam drew violent strikes from brookies and rainbows.  Then one day about noon while nymphing in the Ledges, trout started rising throughout the pool.  I switched to a parachute adams and proceeded to land a half dozen  aggressive rainbows and brookies and quick order.

I caught a 16 inch brook trout in this same hole a couple years ago

I felt I could have landed several more but I ceded the pool to a young couple who looked to be not having much luck on the river. I invited them to where I was standing and proceeded to guide them to the tactics of the hole. That said -- the net day I made it a point to be in the Ledges at noon -- and again the hatch popped off right on time.  Finally our last couple hours on the river we decided to go all dries as we worked our way back up to the truck parked by the dam.  That's when it got magical.  I landed trout after trout in every piece of fishy water.  Then Marc got into the action, saving the best for last with a 14 inch brookie on the last cast on a perfect drift along the far bank.  Last cast / last fish -- big colorful brookie -- what could be any more glorious.

   

Marc landing the last fish on the last cast of the trip

Marc landed this beautiful brook trout on a #18 parachute adams

Marc releasing the last trout of the trip

Here are a few more pics and videos from this trip.

Here are the top takeaways from this trip.

1.  When nymphs just aren't working, try skating a caddis across the top or switching to streamers.

2.  Be observant for short windows of hatches -- the midday hatch started right on time when looking for it.

3.  Switch to dries in the fast pockets later in the afternoon -- that proved a goldmine.

4.  Some parking lots had 6-9 vehicles there -- there's still plenty of river you just have to hike away from the crowd.  We tried a lot of new water this year and it was productive.

5.  Know when to call it a day -- end the day on a good cast, good hookset, and good fish.

We'll be back to Pittsburg next summer!

Scott with a rainbowfrom pocket water