Another change in the weather arrived in northern New Hampshire today and it looks like it might hang around for a while this time. Night time temps in the 40’s and … gasp, 30’s on Sunday morning, with daytime highs in the 50’s and 60’s. This all means good things for those of us that love fishing in the autumn, as that cooler water means feeding fish, on the move.

The salmon pictured above (thanks to Mickey Cunliffe for the excellent image) was taken and released last Saturday in the Trophy Stretch of the upper Connecticut River. Last weekend we had some really beautiful weather, with cool nights to help the water temps fall just a bit. The last few days have been summer-like with their warmth, but the cool down is on now, and that usually signals a change in the fishing.

While that salmon, and several others, took a properly presented Goomie Worm on a nymph rig, this is also a great time to swing some streamers too. The flow is remaining steady in the Trophy Stretch at 250 CFS, a perfect amount of water to swing a Soft Hackle Streamer with plenty of action to entice a strike from a large salmonid. It appears as though the temps will remain on the cooler side next week, and we only have a few weeks left in our season. The time is now, so strike while the iron is hot …

Nymph rigs of all shapes and sizes can be used at this time of year, but the combination of a beadhead with a Goomie/San Juan worm trailing can be hard to beat. If dry flies are your game, recommended patterns remain BWO (all shapes and sizes), Cinnamon Caddis and CDC Caddis, just to name a few.

We have a few openings next week if you’re looking for lodging, and give us a ring at 1-800-835-6343 if you’re looking for a guide as well …