Mixed Bag

I could get used to having springs like this in the north country. It has been magnificent weather in general in the northeast, but it seems especially refreshing this year. We’ve probably had it coming after what we’ve had to deal with over the last year, and “spring” can be a very fickle mistress in northern New England – lots of sun and warmth one day, and snow the next …

Of course, it happens to be snowing lightly outside as I write this, undoubtedly payback for a warmer and sunnier than usual stretch lately. It was bound to happen at some point. Thankfully, all of the beautiful weather has resulted in a premature runoff this spring, as the springtime freshet has already taken place, much earlier than usual too. The river to the south of Pittsburg was high and dirty for a matter of maybe a week, but is at a good level and clarity now.

This has led a few of us to take some drift trips on the river in search of holdover and wild trout (no stocking has taken place yet) and also to scratch that itch of pursuing springtime northern pike in areas to the south to pass the time before we reopen in May. While the action is not always fast and furious, it has its moments for sure and can be quite exhilarating, whether it is a brilliant wild trout that slams your offering or the battle a toothy behemoth puts up in its defense upon finally hooking up.

TTL Fishing Guide Mickey Cunliffe and Chuck Degray of North Country Fly Shop dispensed some good advice and knowledge, as well as some friendly ribbing to keep the boat laughing – don’t worry, I gave as good as I got during these trips. The thing that really seemed to keep our spirits high was the weather – have I already mentioned that? Yeah, I probably did – 65 – 70 degrees, not a cloud in the sky and very little wind makes for happy anglers, day after day.

While our drift for trout was a little on the slow side, with Mickey catching and releasing the brown pictured at the top of this post, I managed to get out for a couple hours in Vermont on opening day last Saturday. The water level was perfect and though the water temperature was cold (42 degrees), it was still on the edge of providing decent conditions for trout activity. I was rewarded with a nice wild brown that willingly took an Ellis Hatch style White Soft Hackle Streamer. A good struggle ensued and in a few moments he swam off to the depths, and my opening day in Vermont was a success.

The real object of our desires however, has been northern pike, or Esox Lucius as the ancients described them. I have written several posts over the years on my struggles with the water wolf, and if this was a ballgame, it would have been mercifully called for the pike by now. However, all of this weather and the resulting rise in water temperature seems to have gotten them spawning earlier than normal and ready to strap on the feed bag after their amorous activities. This led the Esox Research Tour (underfunded but never lacking for food or drink) in to action and it was a good showing, in general.

In three sessions on the water, we managed to bring at least 15 pike to the boat (largest was 36″) and have a variety of close encounters with quite a few others. Pike that are hooked and lost or just follow your 6-7″ fly to the boat are considered as contacts, and something to be celebrated. They can put up a tremendous struggle and are generally ornery critters and taking down the apex predator of our northern waters is a triumph for the anglers that pursue them.

Only a couple more weeks until the fishing season starts in earnest up here, so we may have a few more trips left in the tank. Updates will come, if there is anything worthy of reporting …