September Float

It won’t be long now. The bell is soon to be tolling on the 2020 New Hampshire fishing season, as it closes at the conclusion of fishing hours on October 15. The days are getting shorter and there is a noticeable bite to the air, as autumn is coming in like a lion this year.

The leaves are changing quickly now, and around each corner in the river lies another spectacular north country vista, seemingly made to take your concentration from the task at hand. It’s been sunny and very dry lately, certainly good enough weather to take to the river in search of a couple good fish to remember through our long northern NH winters.

Tall Timber Fishing Guide Mickey Cunliffe was the pilot for this excursion, with veteran guide and angler Jon Howe manning the casting seat up front with myself in the customary deferential seat in the rear.

A generous and somewhat chilly tailwind sent us on our way down river all afternoon, and I’ll take that over a headwind any day, but it did make things difficult for Mickey at times. He worked hard and put us on our share of fish throughout the drift.

This is the time of year when the dry fly activity can abate somewhat due to falling temperatures and insect activity, and while we saw some Blue Winged Olives and “Ghost” Caddis flitting about on the water, there were few fish coming up to take them.

Two factors contributed to the lack of surface activity for the fish. First, the wind was cranking right along, with some good gusts at times (it’s hard to notice rises when there’s white caps and rollers), and we had a high, bright sun for most of our journey. Needless to say, undesirable conditions for fish to feed on top regularly. Fall drifts can be difficult, mostly due to falling leaves. That wasn’t an issue yesterday, but it won’t be long before they will become a hindrance for anglers.

Jon was game however, and with the healthy wind, he decided on a large terrestrial pattern to entice fish looking upward. It worked pretty well for the most part. He landed at least a dozen rainbows using such tactics. He also had a number of hits and follows with streamers.

I stuck with streamers, some larger than others, throughout the drift. That also worked at times, and it was terrific when the streamer bite was on. When the bite was off, it was time for me to watch Jon’s excellent presentations to willing takers.

We had a great time hitting the river again, sharing stories, and catching some beautiful fish. Only twenty-five days left before we’re dreaming of days like this.