Start of the Fishing Season?

That is the question that is most on angler minds at the moment, and while it definitely feels like spring is here to stay, it will take a bit of time for our fishing to heat up.

However, as the saying goes, a bad day of fishing still beats a good day of work …

So what’s really happening in the north country? Most of the runoff from our melting snow is gone, but there’s still more to go in the northern reaches of Pittsburg. The Connecticut Lakes are full for the first time in a few years, and to keep them at that level without going any higher, the Connecticut River is being allowed to flow high right now.

The current flows look like this at this moment:

2nd Conn. Lake Dam – 777 CFS. That is a lot of H2O folks – tres beaucoup for our Canadian friends. Considering that we normally fish this section when it’s running anywhere from 200 – 350 CFS at this time of year, this section is currently unfishable at this flow. Watch for a drop in the next week to ten days, and there should be salmon coming upriver. By the way, the water temp was about 35 degrees two days ago …

1st Conn. Lake Dam – 412 CFS. This is higher than we like as well, but not too far off of the 200 – 300 CFS that we like at this time of year. It appears that Perry Stream’s spring runoff is mostly over, and the water is clean at the moment. There may be some holdover trout and salmon here, but we’re pretty sure that the Trophy Stretch has not been stocked by NH Fish & Game yet. The Pittsburg Anglers Association’s stocking will take place on Sunday, May 7. That, in combination with salmon eventually coming up from Lake Francis should make for some good mid-May fishing.

Murphy Dam – 1007 CFS. Better bring a heavier sink tip, if you’re going to fish this section right now. It’s not uncommon for it to be this high during runoff, so this flow isn’t shocking by any means, but that doesn’t make us feel any better as fishermen. Be patient and wait for this flow to come down to 600 CFS or so (that could take a while). The fishing should pick up once we get in to the 400 – 600 CFS range, but take into account that the water is mighty cold coming out of Murphy Dam as well.

I don’t want to be the bearer of bad tidings, but the river probably isn’t going to be your best option if you’re venturing north this weekend. You want to wet a line, but where can you do it?

Bring a canoe, kayak, or row boat and check out one of Pittsburg’s outer brook trout ponds. Middle Pond and Moose Pond are both open (no motors, fly fishing only on Moose Pond), and Clarksville Pond in Clarksville, NH is open as well. A couple of fish stocking trucks were seen in town this week, so you can put two and two together, can’t you?

Additionally, we’re not sure about the status of Round Pond’s ice situation, and you can’t get to Coon Brook Bog, Big Brook Bog or Terrell Pond as of right now.

Back Lake’s ice went out yesterday, April 27, so that is a good option for some ice out trout fishing. Bring a boat with motor, and you’ll be in business (we at Tall Timber will be doing our part to get some boats in the water for this weekend, but please call ahead first!). Brightly colored flies at this time of year are best – the Mickey Finn, Yellow Hornberg, and Golden Demon are traditional favorites for ice out fishing.

The First Connecticut, Second Connecticut and especially Third Connecticut Lakes are not options for fishing right now – too much ice, but it shouldn’t be too long for First Connecticut Lake.

Lake Francis is an interesting possibility right now. We launched the drift boat and fished the Inlet yesterday, with a bit of hard earned success (heavy sinking line, gaudy streamer). Prior to launching our boat, a  couple of laker / salmon fishermen launched their boat to troll out toward the main part of the lake. We could see ice out there, and they had to go around a good section of it to get where they wanted to go. They made it, but an hour later they were back at the launch, loading up their boat. Perhaps the fishing wasn’t very good, or the water was just too cold. We took a surface temp of 40 degrees yesterday at the Inlet – a few more degrees and we’ll be in business. Lake Francis will be out very soon, so for those of you that like to troll, that will be a great option.

The Rainbow Grille opens on Thursday night, May 11, so save all of those fish stories to tell over a libation or two … More updates to come when time allows.