Back On Track

It’s a balmy 56 degrees and rainy today at Back Lake, and while this is not typically weather that summer vacationers look for when they’re escaping to the north country, it is just what the doctor ordered for our lakes and rivers. Over an inch of rain has fallen between last night and this morning, and more importantly, the cooler weather should help the water temps moderate in the Trophy Stretch and brook trout ponds.

A freshening of the water is always good for the trout and salmon, and this should be a great relief to the salmonids as the water cools in the Trophy Stretch. The water has remained cold below Murphy Dam (mid 50’s), and even for a good distance to the south of us, but we were most concerned with the river below First Connecticut Lake Dam (the Trophy Stretch) during the hot spell we had for a couple of weeks.

We’re not through with summer yet by any means, but we’re probably well on our way to autumn and all that those fall temperatures bring for fish and anglers alike. In another week or two, the anticipated draw down of the Connecticut Lakes will begin, so the increased flows should bring some of those lake fish up in to the river, especially the salmon.

Draw down is done every year to accommodate the lake trout during their spawning activity each fall (if the lakes are not drawn down far enough, the lake trout will spawn higher in the rocks, resulting in exposed eggs if the lakes were drawn down following the spawn). In years of drought, like the last couple of years, there’s not a lot of water that needs to be released from the lakes to get to the right winter time levels. Thankfully, we have had more of a normal year for precipitation, so the draw down should last a few weeks before reaching the desired level, and that should result in more fish coming up river from the lakes.

An exciting fall lies ahead and hopefully the weather, and fish, cooperate.