Placid night on Back Lake last night, but that has been the exception lately, and definitely not the norm. Unsettled weather has been hanging around us and most of northern New England, leading one to wonder why the Hexagenia hatch has been “off” this year …
So, they were a few days late arriving this year, but it looks like the Hexagenia Limbata, the largest of the mayflies, have awakened from their silty slumber at Back Lake.
Where are the hexes? Not at Back Lake yet, that’s for sure … Given our weather over the last few days, it’s no surprise either. Cool, windy, and rainy are not the ingredients we need to kick off a Hexagenia hatch. We’re looking for hot and humid weather, and that simply hasn’t happened yet.
How’s the fishing? The Connecticut River has been a bit of an enigma lately for some of our guests – water flows are stable (85 CFS at Second Lake Dam, 154 CFS at First Lake Dam, and 300 CFS at Murphy Dam), but there’s been a lot of anglers on the river (all sections, but especially the Trophy Stretch), so our belief is that the fish are hunkered down, biding their time.
I see a lot of fish pictures – live ones, dead ones, and even some that might have been technically alive when the picture was taken, but are sure to be belly up a short time after they have been returned to the water.
Just think of Bob Dylan wailing that one out. Cringe worthy.
Great pictures from earlier this week by Tall Timber Fly Fishing Guide Mickey Cunliffe. He turned over a couple of rocks in the Connecticut River to check what could be happening for insect activity and discovered this healthy looking stonefly nymph.