April 2010 - Tall Timber's Fishing Blog

It’s On!!

It’s time to get up here! Water levels are good and there are salmon in the inlets.

Suggested fly patterns;

Streamers–

Gray Soft Hackle Streamer,

Putt’s Favorite,

Gray Ghost,

Marabou Royal Coachman,

“93”,

Red Gray Ghost (OMR’s favorite)

and whichever streamer works best for you. I know how we all have our personal favorites. By all means use them.

Nymphs & Emergers– BH Pheasant Tail, BH Prince, Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail, Hatching Pupa, Jailbird, Snowshoe Emerger BWO, and a Flashback Pheasant Tail in sizes 14 to 18.

Dry flies– Parachute Adams, Brooks Sprout BWO, CDC Baetis, Traditional BWO, and a CDC Caddis Dun in sizes 16 to 18. You can go larger on the Parachute Adams and drop a small nymph behind it.

These are a few of the flies we’ve found work well. We fish two nymphs a lot, along with a strike indicator. A typical setup might be a BH Pheasant Tail ( we like Tungsten Beads) as the lead fly with a Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail or Hatching Pupa as the dropper, say 15 to 20 inches behind the lead fly.

It looks like the weather will be good this weekend. Salmon time is on! Jon has openings next week for guiding and the Rainbow Grille opens next Thursday, May 6th. Great fishing and great food. What’s better than that?? Nothin!

Good luck and see you on the river.

April 30, 2010

We’re Back!

OMR and I just returned from another fantastic trip in Montana. The weather was great and the trout cooperated most of the time. We did a couple of drifts on the MO, a day on the Yellowstone and a day on Depuy’s Spring Creek. If you’ve ever contemplated heading West for some really incredible fly fishing, you should checkout our cabin on the Missouri River. It sits right on the river and the views, wildlife and fishing can’t be beat.

Checkout the link for more info.http://www.thetroutshop.com/booking/view/26/95

But now it’s time to hit the Connecticut River. We’ve heard the salmon are in the inlets and we can’t wait to get out there. It’s beautiful here today, 55 degrees, sunny and some wind. Saturday is calling for sun but Sunday overcast and maybe some rain. Sounds like good BWO weather to me. See you on the river.

Cindy

April 30, 2010

Opening Day at Back Lake

It’s rare that our lake is ready for opening day on the fourth Saturday in April. Either we still have ice covering the lake, or the ice is on it’s way out, but usually we aren’t fishing when opening day approaches. Due to our early spring and ice out, we were ready this year, and very willing. The guests that we had here this weekend took advantage as well, as all of our boats went out on a bright, sunny day that reminded us of an autumn day instead of April 24. NH Fish and Game also helped out by stocking Back Lake (and a number of other ponds) over the last couple of weeks.

While we saw several fish landed (mostly brookies with a few rainbows thrown in), the largest was a 3 lb. brookie caught by Michael Pazdon. It didn’t take him long either – I think he was only out there for an hour before he came rolling in with this lunker. The other good news is that our beautiful spring has led to the opening of some of the gates to the outer ponds. As of right now, it is possible to get to Middle Pond, Moose Pond, Round Pond, Conn Brook Bog and Big Brook Bog. We’ll let you know as the other gates are opened. All in all, it was a great opening day to enjoy the peace and quiet of Pittsburg and Back Lake.

April 25, 2010

Just Getting Started …

Well everybody, it’s only a matter of time now. River levels are coming in to a reasonable range and water temps in the different stretches are slowly climbing – 42 degrees as of today at Magalloway Bridge and also 42 degress two days ago at Lake Francis Inlet. A few more degrees, and we’ll be in business.

There is fishing, and some fishermen around, of course. Some salmon are being brought to justice, but the real “run” has not taken place quite yet – it should be this week we think. Being the inquisitive type, I was the guinea pig to get the real scoop on what’s happening out there (O.M.R. and The Bride are off on a junket to Montana, harassing the local whitefish population for the month of April. Word is they’re doing well.)

Myself and an unnamed accomplice fished Lake Francis Inlet the other day, braving marauding loons and unsettled weather – in other words, perfect for fishing. We each landed a salmon and lost several more, so there were a few fish in the Inlet, but it was somewhat difficult, as the salmon were not “jumping in the boat” …yet! Beadhead nymphs with caddis emergers and pupas were doing the trick, so try some of those when you come up.

April 23, 2010

Not So Fast …

If only the fishing would match the anticipation of the fishing, we’d be in great shape! The last four days of cold weather (yes, it snowed for about three days straight) has put a small damper on our movement toward spring. River water temperatures are hovering around the 39 – 40 degree mark, so the hatches and the fish are a little slow at the moment.

But, all is not lost. There is the encouraging news that opening day for NH trout lakes and ponds is this Saturday, so we have that going for us, and NH Fish & Game threw Back Lake it’s first load of trout (size and type to be determined on Saturday) last week. It’s almost here fishermen! First Connecticut Lake and Lake Francis are both open for salmon and lake trout and there have been some positive reports from First Lake. We need a few days of nice weather to bring the water temps up and we should be in good shape on the lakes. The Connecticut’s flowing fast right now, but the fishing will turn on when the flow is lowered.

As soon as it is, we’ll let you know so that you can get your season started!

April 19, 2010

Learn, improve, have fun!

Our first Fly Fishing School presented by Broadside International is right around the corner. Here is the Tall Timber 2010 Fly Fishing School Line-Up. June 4 – 6, Simplified Fly Fishing

July 9 – 11, Stream Tactics & Techniques

Join instructors of Broadside International on the productive upper Connecticut River during the peak of our trout season. All aspects of the sport are covered in both the Simplified Fly Fishing and the Stream Tactics and Technique programs. Each of the Weekends will include fly fishing excursions to nearby waters during “peak” times, great accommodations at the lodge and fabulous meals at the Rainbow Grille. Our instructors, Angus Boezeman and Alan Erdossy bring over 40 years of teaching experience to the Tall Timber programs.

For all the details go to http://talltimber.com/Fishing/Schools/flyfishingschools.html.

Call the lodge to reserve your spot today.

April 7, 2010

Fly Fishing NH's Connecticut Lakes Region