Upper Connecticut Fishing Report: 6/3

The fishing season is well underway here in New Hampshire’s north country. Trout are being found in nearly every body of water at the moment, whether you’re fishing the big lakes, Back Lake, any of the outer brook trout ponds, the smaller streams, and of most importance to some of us, the Connecticut River. The options are literally endless right now, and Pittsburg has plenty of fishing opportunities, in case you’re visiting for a week or a weekend.

Water temperatures in both the Trophy Stretch and below Murphy Dam are consistently in the low 50’s (perfect for trout, salmon, and the insects that they feed on), and the river flows in each section of the river have assumed their summertime levels. What does that mean? It means that the flow below each dam will not change this summer, if we receive average precipitation the next few months. Yup, that’s a big “IF”, as it has been hard to predict our weather the last few summers, but that’s where we’re at, for now …

Wade-friendly flows currently exist below each dam in Pittsburg: 50 CFS at Second Lake Dam, 150 CFS at First Lake Dam, and 300 CFS at Murphy Dam. These flows permit crossing in certain spots to access that water that you’ve always wondered about, but caution should still be taken when crossing. The water’s still awfully cold if an unplanned “dip” is taken.

Perfect water temps also mean that our insect hatches are in full swing on the river – caddis, mayflies and stones have been prevalent lately, and while not common, there have been some fish looking up from what we’ve been hearing. Emerger patterns can be especially effective right now, but as is the case most of the time, subsurface presentations can be more successful.

Nymphing is the best technique given the time of year and flows, so bring along a bunch of buggy-looking beadheads, maybe some attractor patterns, and your favorite bobber (oops, I meant “strike indicator”!). Change it up, vary your depths to insure that you’re getting down to where the fish are, and keep moving. Streamers have their place too, in certain pools and runs, but they tend to be more effective when there’s more flow.

Recommended Flies:

Nymphs: BH Prince, BH Flashback Pheasant Tail, BH Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear, Caddis Pupa, Weight Fly, Super Pupa, Caddis Larva, TB Dirty Bird, Jailbird, San Juan Worm, Goomie Worm, Anato May, Little Green Machine, Midges

Emergers: Soft Hackle Hare’s Ear, Hatching Pupa, Angus’s Red & Black, Chuck’s Swing Fly, Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail

Dries: X-Caddis, Elk Hair Caddis, CDC Caddis, Purple Haze, Purple Craze, Adams, Klinkhammer

Streamers: Black Ghost, Woolybuggers, any of Chuck Degray’s Soft Hackle Streamers (olive, yellow, white, gray)

Back Lake

The angling has continued to be very good on Back Lake, whether trolling flies or lures. It seems as though the common denominator as been the color yellow (i.e. Yellow Hornberg) for flies, or gold for lures (i.e. Colorado, Super Duper) for successful fishermen.

The smallmouth bass are increasingly hitting flies and lures right now – they will soon be out of their spawning period (if they’re not already), and need to be released through June 15. I had an unverified report of 62 degree water temperature two days ago, but it might cool down a bit this weekend, which will be good for the trout.

I also noticed a healthy hatch of Brown Drakes by the lodge yesterday evening. The Brown Drakes are a precursor to the much anticipated Hexagenia hatch, so we are on schedule to welcome those behemoths in a couple of weeks …

Stop by the Tall Timber Fly Shop (open 8 AM – 9 PM, every day) for all of the hot fly patterns, and the latest fishing gossip (there’s always gossip in Pittsburg). We have fishing boat rentals on Back Lake, so give us a call at 603-538-6651 to reserve one, if we have availability.

Tight lines everybody!