Northern New Hampshire fishing in July

 Blasting up to northern New Hampshire to beat the Florida summer heat meant spending some time at the family camp in Ossipee, seeing family and friends, and oh yeah, spending time on home waters chasing (mostly) trout.  

Carole and our grandson Zane spent a few days at Duncan Lake, and we spent a few hours trolling for brookies and/or rainbows.  With tempered expectations - July trolling has not historically proven highly successful - we pressed ahead.  In two evening outings, Zane caught 4 rainbows and I caught one, but one pushed 14-15"! 

They flew back to DC and Florida, not without hiccups in the flights on July 9th out of Manchester, and son Eric flew in from Houston same day in Portland so I had some hopping around.  We planned to do some bass fishing to one of our secret local ponds and we also gave Duncan a shot trolling.  Archers Pond is a great place to catch fish - any fish.  The pond holds largemouth, chain pickerel, yellow perch, bluegill and crappie.  We caught'em all! Eric used this wonky crayfish lure that I never would have thought using and he caught all five species (need to come up with a name celebrating catching all five species?).  He caught a couple big pickerel, a big perch, but not the big largemouthhe was hoping for.  I caught a couple decent bass casting poppers and a few bluegills.  

We spent a night trolling Duncan and the bite was on! We caught six - all rainbows - and after a nice 14 incher, Eric landed a a beast that pushed 17-18 inches.  A black Wooly Bugger was the hot fly, and they hit everywhere - in front of Browns' camp, off the point, in front of the boat launch, down by the public beach...

After Eric left, I spent three nights trolling for an hour each night before sunset and picked up 2-4 each night, and several nice rainbows once again. Go figure!

Finally, I had the chance to head north to Pittsburg.  Marc couldn't make it so I ventured up solo. I did some research on potential new areas to fish and one caught my eye.  A feeder stream into the Mohawk River was my target.  After checking out several access (and non-access) points, I found a spot to jump in.  Three casts with a Golden Retriever netted three brook trout so I switched quickly to dries and the bite stayed on.  An Elk Hair Caddis worked well and eventually became waterlogged so I switched to a Parachute Adams and that kept it going.  I landed about 15 in 2-3 hours.  Nice water, I hope it stays that way in the future.  

The next day I went to the Trophy section of the Connecticut, but found 18 vehicles in total at all the pullouts... are you kidding me?  So I ventured for some new waters - the river between the 1st and 2nd Connecticut Lakes.  After hiking about 30 minutes from the dam downstream I jumped in.  Over the next few hours I hit lots of pocket water and caught 20 brookies and salmon - all on dries (Parachute Adams and Caddis). Nothing big. After a short lunch break I headed to the Trophy section for a couple of hours in the late afternoon.  I caught a beautiful rainbow in Doc's Pool on a stimulator (pic below), but failed to get a pic. I caught a gorgeous brookie in the Judge pool (pic below) and caught a few others as well - all on dries. I caught a couple more working up to the corner pool.  They opened the dam and the flow was a bit too much to hit the home stretch leading up to the dam.

The next day I headed to Colebrook to fish a favorite brook trout stream, but after three hours and 1.5 miles of wading upstream, I walked out skunked! That stream just isn't the same anymore - the water temp felt much warmer than it should have and the trout were nowhere to be found. I did see a group of 4-6 small trout sucking the oxygen and cooler water flowing from a bit of water trickling into the stream.  Too bad.  After being physically worn out - the deer flies were non-stop, I decided to take a break and play nine holes at the Colebrook Golf Club, a course that includes a Par 6 625 yard uphill hole (I got a 7 on that hole)! Feeling rejuvenated, I headed to where I fished the day prior, but walked downstream a ways before starting - am I glad I did.  I caught 10-12 brookies (Adams) in 3-4 pools right from the start. I fished the last pool, which was the first pool from the day before and landed 5-6 from that one hole.  Great water... and cold!  Only 5 miles from the other lifeless stream, but the temp had to be 8-10 degrees colder.   I jumped in the truck and fished part of the stream Marc and I had good luck a few year back... and although it didn't look promising, I caught another 10 brookies, including 5 in one hole before calling it a day.  

All of which brought me to my final day in Pittsburg.  Truthfully, I was pretty worn out and unsure if I'd fish on my way out of town.  My go / no go decision would be the number of fishermen parked at the cemetery on Route 3.  I left Lopstick at 10 am and saw there was only one truck, so I stopped and loaded up.  I rigged two rods, my 5-wt with a dry, and my 10ft 2-wt Euro nymphing rig, which I have yet to crack the code on. I had low expectation so I thought - why not. I started nymphing at the pool above Doc's pool, and in the first five minutes hooked a huge salmon that skyrocketed out of the water and spit the #18 red copper john.  I did catch one smaller salmon with the copper john, but never felt I was Euro nymphing the way I see it done on YouTube by others.  

So I walked down to Doc's Pool and began with a dry - a stimulator.  The sunshine and water clarity allowed me to see several trout come up and turn so I was encouraged dry fly fishing might be on but that I had the wrong fly.  BINGO! I switched to a Green Drake that I had success with last year and added a #16  Light Cahill about three feet behind.  The next 45 minutes were arguably the best fly fishing I've ever experienced on the Connecticut, maybe anywhere for that matter. Big rainbows and big salmon - 12-16" continuously across the entire pool.  A second person could have captured unbelievable video and pics but I managed to snag a few pics with my phone while worrying about dropping it in the river.  Awesome.  After the bite finally cooled, i walked down to the Log Pool.  The water looked terrific, but nothing on dries.  I did Euro nymph another salmon so that was encouraging.  

At that point I was ready to call it a morning, and as I walked back out I told myself if the Judge Pool was open I try that for a few minutes otherwise I'm done.  It was open and so I jumped in.  Yikes! I lost another big salmon right off that bat when it spit the Cahill, but I caught and landed several nice rainbows when the skies opened and a downpour ensued for about 15 minutes.  I hung out in the trees until it stopped and caught one more rainbow (no rain no rainbow!) ending my trip trip with a nice fish on my final cast.  

Not the same rainbow as above!

And this is not the same rainbow as above!

I'll be fishing some more, but this is plenty of fish action for now.... tight lines.

Minnesota - Wisconsin back to back

My wife Carole had a business trip to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. and I was quick to saw I'm in as I hoped to be able to break out for a Driftless fly fishing adventure in either state or ideally both.

April weather was unpredictable but I was going fishing come hell or high water.  Having never fished Minnnesota, I dug thru my old Fly Fishing magazine articles I had cut out over the years, and found some water only about 30 minutes from Rochester.  The afternoon I arrived in Rochester Carole was in meetings all afternoon so I punched out and found some trout water.  Once I got to the stream I quickle geared up and headed upstream casting a black wooley bugger initially. I picked up one Brown trout and went back to the bridge, reassessed and walked downstream and fished back up.  I tried everything... I picked up one on a pink squirrel, one on a caddis and one on a parachute adams before calling it a day.  Four Minnesota trout - nothing to brag about, but another state to cross off the list for having caught a fish.  

States I've caught trout now include Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, California, Oregon, Idaho and Utah.  I hope to add a few more states one of these days.

The next day I made a 2+ hour drive to my old stomping grounds in SW Wisconsin.  Weather wasn't great, it was raining off and on and I was worried the rivers could get brown and muddy with a good thundershower.  I hit up Knapp Creek and caught about a dozen browns on streamers below the bridge I parked at.  No big ones though. 

After a couple hours, I headed to Avalanche to fish the West Fork of the Kickapoo but the road was blocked and I couldn't fish the stretch I was hoping to.  I parked in a new spot and decided I wanted to nymph as I haven't done well nymphing for the past couple of years.  I'm glad I made the switch.  In my first run, I landed four Brown trout on pink squirrels, and over the next couple hours caught about 15 total on the squirrel and pheasant tail.  The action was steady and productive.  The rain picked up just as I got ready to head off the water. 

Hard to tell a Wisconsin trout from a Minnesota trout !

Connecticut River Grand Slam

Brown Trout, Brook Trout, Rainbow Trout and Landlock Salmon -- the Connecticut River Grand Slam. It requires some skill and equal parts luck to achieve it on a trip. But that's where the luck comes into play, and on this eventful trip, I managed to get the slam during a single afternoon, and all on dry flies.

Blue Ribbon Trout Stream is no joke - Provo River, Utah

I'm not sure if I have ever fished a "Blue Ribbon" trout stream before. Rivers like the Pere Marquette, San Juan, Henrys Fork, Davidson are all well known by their reputations as premier fly fishing destinations. I've just never been a blue ribbon guy, until this afternoon when I spent a couple of hours on the Provo River in Utah. As Carole and I had wrapped up our couple of days filming for The Chosen season six, we had some down time before flying home. She graciously gave me a hall pass to go fly fish for a couple hours. No waders or boots; I packed only the minimum as I really didn't have any expectation of fishing. I packed my 3 weight rod that I made back in my Project Healing Waters days, dry line, one fly box with a smattering of streamers, nymphs, wet flies and dries, and that was it... hindisght - I wish I had packed better!

Weather was 50s and water temp was probably high 40s. I ended up wading wet in a pair of sneakers as fishing from shore wasn't happening -- too tight for casting. I started witha streamer and prince, and saw that I was spooking a lot of fish... big fish too. I laned a little brown trout on the prince, then proceeded to lose both flies. Switched to a another streamer and pheasant tail, had a nice short hookset, then lost both those flies to a tree. You get the idea - I was quickly running out of flies - streamers and nymphs were gone. After a while, and partly due to no better options, I switched to dries. And about that time, I saw some fish sipping on the surface - tiny BWOs. I only had aabout 3-4 dries so I first tried a 14 mosquito but it was too big. I put on a griffiths gnat and had a nice hit, then lost that fly. No parachute adams... would have been the ticket. I put on a caddis even though there were no caddis anywhere to be found, but the fish were pretty active still on the surface. I had a narrow tight line to cast upstream as trees had gotten several of my other flies. I laid one cast up to the top of the run and BAM - fish on! It was a big Brown. I worked him away from the bushes and submierged branches to the back of the run and saw that he was hooked solid in the lower jaw. What a fish... about 17", and fat. I saw many fish bigger during my couple hours on the water. After a couple pics, I released him unharmed. Last cast - last fish. Perfect way to end on a high note. With the right gear, I have to believe some epic days could be had on that river... definintely a Blue Water stream.

Idaho never disappoints

 It's been 15 years since I last saw Brad Hinken.  We served together in the Coast Guard in Milwaukee where he was the Aids to Navigation Officer when I was CO.  We used to fish the Driftless Area of SW Wisconsin regularly, and even had a memorable trip together circumnavigating Lake Michigan visiting all 21 field units and casting a fly whenever the opportunity presented.  After I transferred to DC in 2006, we reunited in 2008 in Idaho of all places where we had an amazing trip again. 

Exploring new waters with my old friend Brad

Fast forward to 2024 and we met up once again and hit some of America's finest cutthroat waters in Central Idaho.  This trip we hit some new waters - the Big Lost above Mackay Reservoir and the North Fork of the Big Lost, as well as an old reliable - Camas Creek.  We passed on the Big Lost below the dam as the water was ripping at 370 cfs - I was dumb enough to attempt wading at the bridge and nearly got swept downstream (but I did catch several brookies and rainbows beforehand so it wasn't for naught). We passed on Big Creek, which is my favorite dry fly paradise for cutthroats and bull trout, as well as Challis Creek.  Just not enough time this trip. 

The trip produced lots of cutthroats, many rainbows, and a handful of brookies - mostly all caught on dries.  Swinging streamers and wet flies resulted in a good number of hooksets while nymphing , which hostorically was money really didn't produce this trip.  [Maybe my nymphng technique has been lost, but experienced the same result on the Connecticut last summer.]

The North Fork was the most productive water.  My dad and I explored this river 20+ years ago - he always liked to just drive and see what was at the end of the road.  We found cutthroats then and I always wanted to revisit the area, but never seemed to work it in.  I'm glad we did.  In addition to spectacular scenery, the winding creek was packed with bends, runs, riffles and small pools... one right after another.  The cutthroats were big for this small water: 10-14" was the norm.  The stream laid out well, allowing for long, unimpeded 30-45 foot casts with dries.  The stream also produced a new highlight - moose sightings... up close and personal sightings!  While walking upstream around a bend I came across a mama and calf about 50 feet away.  I'm sure they saw me first and didn't move.  I didn't move either, creating an old fashioned Mexican standoff.  After a few pics, I worked back out and around before reconnecting with the stream.  Six hours later I ran into them again - at close quarters this time as well!  In addition to incredible fishing, the moose encounters made the North Fork memorable.

Beautiful cutthroats on the North Fork of the Big Lost

The Big Lost on Trail Creek road fished as advertised by the fly fishing shops in Sun Valley -- nice pools but you need to hike a ways in between each one.  We didn't catch many fish, maybe about 10 between us on dries, but Brad hooked the monster of all monsters - a 20+" cutthroat that he fooled with a green wooly bugger drifted beneath a log.  

Camas Creek yielded its share of 13"-15" cutthroats as well -- on hoppers.  The scenery on the drive through this deep back country showcased severl healthy does and 2-3 sturdy bucks alongside the roadway.  We witnessed half a dozen spawning salmon that successfully made their final trek from the sea.  Amazing how they return from the Pacific, up the Columbia, up the Snake, up the Salmon, up the Middle Fork of the Salmon, and fuinally up Camas Creek where they spawn and ultimately die.  Tell me God's works aren't of this world!

The town of Mackay remains a personal favorite for me to serve as a base of fishing operations.  The charm of a small town (population 600), the friendliness of the townspeople, and the numbers of deer (does and bucks) wandering the neighborhoods every evening at dusk, including the front yard of the Beer Bottom Inn where we stayed.

Every Idaho trip is always too short, too memorable, and too much of everything I love about 'fishing in the great outdoors.'  That's why I'm already looking forward to returning in the not so distant future.   

Pittsburg on the fly

 

There was a time when fly fishing the Connecticut River in Pittsburg meant nymphing with indicators, split shot, Copper Johns, Princes and Pheasant Tails.  As the years went on, we began catching trout and salmon on streamers, mostly Golden Retrievers and Wooly Buggers.  A few years later we started picking up a few on dry flies.  Fast forward to 2024, and this year 90% of all trout and salmon caught were on dries, a few on streamers, and none on nymphs.  Funny how that goes...

Marc and I headed up for three nights at the Buck Rub and hit the river ahead of the 4th of July holiday.  Last year when we fished the river, we saw the largest crowds ever on the river, nearly every hole had someone fishing, and it made for a less than enjoyable outing.  Surprisingly other than a few cars/trucks at the dam, cemetary and bridge, the crowd was manageble and we were able to fish all the runs and pools we wanted. 

I began with dries - tying on a Purple Parachute Adams #14 and was soon into small salmon on Day 1.  We both caught several more that afternoon and I lost (sounds familiar) a big, really big salmon in the Ledge Pool on an ugly home-tied  Black Crystal Wooly Bugger after the fish made multiple airborn leaps.

The next day we travelled down to what had been one of our favorite native brrok trout streams, but after about an hour and no fish, something just wasn't right about the feel of the water.  Hmmm?

We fished the Connecticut in the afternoon again and again all action was on dries, mostly working from the Judge and Jury Pools up towards the dam.   A mix of rainbows, brookies and salmonbent our rods - no brownies on this trip. 

Our last day was more of the same.  Watching and talking to other fishermen on the river, they were all in nymphing mode as we once were.  And though they were catching the occasional trout, none of them (including those with river guides) had the action we did.  As it was raining, I started my day nymphing with no success.  In betweeen the raindrops, Marc was picking up several nice rainbows and salmon so I switched and was soon in the game.  I was amazed that the bite was on with dry flies in the rain.  Tuck that lesson away for the future.  One quick sidebar - I was fishing the Judge Pool and swooshing over my head from upstream was a bald eagle that exploded into the Jury Pool, wings a flutter, and popped up into the air with a nice trout firmly nestled into its talons.  The eagle's wingspan had to be 6-8 feet -- a huge magnificent bird. 

About 4:30 pm, Marc headed back to the lodge for a couple hours of rest before the evening hex hatch.  I stayed on the river and fished a couple more hours.  Turns out if was the best dry fly action I'd ever experienced on the river.  Twelve salmon and trout were brought to hand, and I lost (I seem to do that often) a big rainbow that I horsed in too quickly (I caught him in the exact same hole I hooked this rainbow from last year. Same fish maybe? 

A Parachute Adams #14 seemed to be the best fly in all the pocket water as I worked my way upstream.  Although I spent about an hour in the Judge Pool working a number of rising trout.  They didn't want the adams, nor it seemed anything else bigger or smaller in my arsenal.  I caught one of the real flies that was popping off the water and it resembled a Green Drake... I big fly that I've never caught a single fish with in my life.  I had one drake in my box, tied one on, and as it typically goes, the very first cast in the same area I had placed a hundred other casts - boom - a nice rainbow brought to hand.  

I love fishing the Connecticut.  The river can break your heart, frustrate the devil out of you, and make you question if you even know how to fish.  You can go several hours without so much as a bite... and that happens fairly often.  But when it's on, oh my gosh, that river and the fish in can bring more fulfillment and joy in a split second.

I hope to make the trip back up in September toward the end of season and get my last "trout fix" of the year. 

Semper on the Fly Top 10 Fly Fishing Moments of 2023

 This past year brought some terrific fly fishing opportunities to Semper on the Fly.  Many awesome fish, adventured and moments, but in narrowing it all down, I came up with my ten favorite fly fishing moments of 2023. 

#10.  Israel River, NH.  (July)  Fishing new waters for the first time is always a step into the unknown.  While driving down a dirt road taking a shortcut across the White Mountains I came across a fishy looking piece of water.  I pulled over to the side, rigged up, and jumped in... Swinging a Golden Retriever, I proceeded to land 6-8 feisty rainbows while working upstream through some gorgeous water with deep holes, river bends, riffles and rifles.  I'll definitely add this river to my New Hampshire summer rotation.

Adding to the awesome experience from the Israel River was the surprise of seeing the North Woods Law game wardens waiting for me when I climbed out of the river.  I really thought I was in the middle of nowhere fishing down this dirt road.  I guess it shows the game wardens can be anywhere at any time.  I did have my license! 

#9.  Nameless feeder stream, Route 16, NH.  (June)  I was looking for new waters on a picture perfect summer when I passed over this non-descript little stream.  The water was running cold, had a decent flow and was 2-3 feet deep on the far bank.  I grabbed my Orvis Superfine 1-wt with a Parachute Adams dry and jumped in right below the bridge.  Thirty minutes later I had brought to hand 25 native brook trout in the 5-8 inch range - all on dries, all in the same run (maybe 50 yards in length).  I brought my brother there a week later and gave him a taste of this special little spot.  

 

#8.  Hidden spillway, Pittsburg, NH. (July)  After fishing a remote pond where we caught a handful of tiny brookies, and while loading up the NuCanoe, my brother Marc walked over to a spillway at the end of the pond.  He decided to give it a go for a few minutes.  That mini tail water proved lights out for hungry brook trout and a Parachute Adams was the ticket for non-stop action.  Nearly every cast  resulted in a hookup. 

#7.  Duncan Lake, Ossipee, NH.  (June)  My family has had a camp on Duncan Lake since 1960.  It's where I hang my hat when I travel to NH for a couple weeks in the summer and/or fall.  Duncan used to be one of the state's best designated trout ponds.  But over the past several years, the state stocks fewer and fewer trout here and put them in other waterbodies across the state.  My dad used to fish the summer evening mayfly hatch in the 1960s and 70s, but it kind of disappeared after the pond was reclaimed.  This year, a new hatch was back in force.  Two distinct areas had the bugs popping off the surface.  One was by the point on the island and the other was a rolling hatch that began around Brown's camp and came right down the shoreline past our camp.  These were big mayflies - size 8 or 10!  I used a Yellow Stimulator because it floated high and was easier to see at dusk.  I fished the island a couple nights and climbed up our family raft and fished the rolling hatch as it passed the camp.  2-3 rainbows were brought to hand each night along with a horned pout of two (nuisances).  I think a Hex Fly would be a good fly next summer.  I know my dad would love to have seen that hatch. Who knows, perhaps he ordered it up from on high! 

#6.  Ellis River & Ammonousoc River, NH guiding. (June) Guiding is a passion I really enjoy from my days working at Orvis.  It's not just seeing people catch fish. That's part of it, but there's the fly casting instruction, knot tying, reading water, and best of all the camaraderie of guiding for lifelong friends. Ed and I have been best friends since 1979! We talked about this trip for several years and finally made it happen.  We spent several days hanging our hats at Duncan Lake, and after we worked on casting it was time to catch some trout.  There is a nice stretch of the Ellis River heading up toward Mount Washington that often produces wild brook trout on dry flies.  We walked a bit further downstream to a new spot and in a matter of minutes Ed was on to his first brookie.  He landed several more before we hit the road for some new water.  There is a spot on the Ammonousoc River that has been money in the past and I wanted to get Ed into that section of water.  It was fire! Swinging a wet fly down and across, Ed landed 8-10 nice brookies in about an hour's worth of fishing.  We're already planning our 2024 trip. 

#5.  Hex Hatch, Northern NH. (July)  Marc and I made our annual pilgrimage to hit the magical hex hatch in early July.  Once again, we landed many brook trout with some pushing 16 inches all caught on dry flies... big size 6 dry flies.  We even had a couple of doubles which is always exciting.  Casting big dries for big brook trout has to be one of the most incredible fishing experiences I've ever experienced.  Pittsburg is a long drive, but well worth the effort.

#4.  Connecticut River, Pittsburg, NH (October)  I realize I mentioned above how exciting it is to catch a 16 inch brook trout on a big dry fly, but that really doesn't compare to the epic moment I had on the river this fall.  Towards the end of our final day, I decided to switch up to a size #14 Parachute Adams for the last hour.  In a little piece of pocket water by the bank, in a scene reminiscent of A River Runs Through It, I cast my dry fly along a seam edge.  As clear as day I saw the trout come up from the bottom with its mouth open.  Boom! Fish on.  Five minutes later I landed the biggest rainbow trout of my life - 20+ inches and 4-5 pounds. The interesting thing worth noting is about five years ago I caught a 16 inch brookie in the same spot... on the same fly.  Fishing the Connecticut in the fall is pretty amazing as the salmon begin making their way up river for the fall spawn.

#3.  North Fork Big Lost River, ID. (September)  It had been five years since my last trip to Idaho.  The Big Lost was unfishable because the state was draining the reservoir to repair the dam and the water was ripping.  So I decided to take a look at the North Fork, which I had never paid much attention to.  I will start paying attention to it now.  I jumped in at a bridge crossing, and figuring the hole under the bridge gets pounded I planned to only make 1-2 cursory casts.  Four rainbows later (courtesy of a Golden Retriever) I was sold on the North Fork.  I caught a few more working upstream.  I could definitely spend an entire day or two working this river.  It seems that good.  Nice holes, runs, bends... looks to have it all.  

#2.  Big Creek, ID.  (September)  So Idaho became my second best friend guided trip of the year. Spike and I have been best friends since... 1979 (a good year for forging best friends).  Spike had been wanting to learn how to fly fish for several years and we've always talked about a trip to Idaho and 2023 we finally made it happen.  The Bear Bottom Inn grass lawn was our teaching ground and soon we were catching fish in Challis Creek, the Mackay Reservoir and Camas Creek, but the best day was clearly on the dry fly crystal clear waters of Big Creek. True story, on the very first run I recommended we fish, Spike was fish on with a Westslope Cutthroat Trout in minutes.  We caught 5 in that first run, and the stage was set for an incredible day taking turns landing fish going hole to hole upstream.  Small grasshopper patterns seemed to be the right fly on this day.  Spike even had his moment of zen (after three takes!). 

#1.  DIY Fly Fishing Bahamas. (May)  In 2022 I messed around a bit with some DIY Bahamas bone fishing and was able to land two bone fish off the beach at Sandals.  I figured it couldn't get any better than that... until this year.   In one section of the beach near some rocks, I seemed to get into a school of bone fish on a couple different days.  It was awesome.  Mix in some Jacks and the fishing was pretty intense throughout the week.  But the highlight proved to be hooking into a big snook right in front of the main beach at Sandals.  I watched to take -- he was in only about a foot of water, and the fight was on... and on.  Bringing that amazing fish to hand was the highlight of 2023.  

 

I can't wait to see what 2024 has in store... New Hampshire, Idaho. Virginia, Bahamas and beyond... stay tuned. Tight lines my friends.