After the Flood

Okay, we didn’t just have a flood in northern New Hampshire, but the rivers and lakes are high after a couple days of hard rain that we just had. Over three inches of rain fell between Monday and Tuesday in Pittsburg, and the corresponding actions of the dam company to restrict flooding downstream have limited the fishing options the last couple of days.

When you get three inches of rain in two days, especially at this time of year, a couple of things happen at once. Obviously, the major tributaries flood from the rain that we’ve received, so any point on the river below the confluence with these tributaries will quickly become impossible to fish. Simply too much water for the average angler (or fish) to deal with, eliminating a sizable amount of water for us to enjoy.

Above the tributaries, one of two things could be happening below the dams. Either the flow has been dropped to prevent downstream flooding (i.e. what’s happening at Murphy Dam at Lake Francis, where the flow was reduced yesterday from 400 CFS to 100 CFS), or the flow is raised so that the lakes don’t fill again (i.e. what’s happening at Second Lake Dam and First Lake Dam, where the flows were raised from approximately 250 CFS to 300 CFS in both cases).

Below Murphy Dam, the major tributary is Indian Stream. There is a flow gauge below their confluence, and making sure that the total flow here is below 1600 CFS is imperative to make sure that flooding does not occur downstream. In other words, once Indian Stream approaches 1000 CFS (normally its anywhere from 50 – 150 CFS at this time of year), actions may be undertaken at Murphy Dam to restrict the flow of the river. Now that the flow at the gauge is under 700 CFS, the flow at Murphy Dam will likely go back up tomorrow to continue lowering Lake Francis.

The problem in the Connecticut Lakes is related to lake levels for safe lake trout spawning, which has been addressed in this blog elsewhere.

Either option affects how and where we can fish. In the case of below Murphy Dam, 100 CFS is a tough flow for fishing. Not enough water to keep the fish from being spooky, so it would be an exercise in futility, IMHO. In the other two stretches, where the flow has been raised, it may limit where we can fish (soft edges, back eddies, inside corners of pools and runs) and how we get there as crossing might not be a viable option for most anglers. Definitely bring a wading staff and be careful when fishing in these conditions.

Nymphs are obviously the best choice to get flies in to the strike zone. Dries might not really happen at all, and it might be difficult to get streamers where we (and the fish) want them. Tough times for those anglers up here this week to be sure, but at least the water temperatures are falling in to optimum levels for fish (low to mid-50’s).

It’s not all doom and gloom, however. Rain events like we just had can be recovered from relatively easily by the secondary streams that are the source of the problem in the first place. Once the flooding recedes in the major tributaries in a day or two (i.e. Perry Stream, Indian Stream, and Halls Stream), the river often comes back in to shape pretty quickly. The fish might take a day or two to get comfortable again and resume feeding activity once the water levels get back to normal.

If the river is proving to be impossible to fish, the brook trout ponds in our area are a great back up plan. Catching beautiful brook trout in full fall spawning colors is always a wonderful way to spend time. While the flow below Murphy Dam should come back to normal in another day or two (back to at least 400 CFS), I anticipate that the flows below the other dams should remain similar to what they’re at now. That should bring more salmon in to both systems, and that’s always a good thing.

Bring the split shot, nymphs, and wading staff, folks …