Winding Down

Only nine days left in the New Hampshire trout fishing season, and it’s lately been a challenge for anglers in navigating the weather, the river flows, and the vagaries of getting trout and salmon interested in your flies. The image above of TTL guest Charlie Massin angling is courtesy of Tall Timber guest Rich Wyman.

Of those factors, the weather has generally not played much of a role affecting anglers over the last two weeks. The weather has been glorious – the foliage was probably at its peak last weekend, and while each morning starts out frosty (anywhere from the upper 20 degrees to 40 degrees), it warms up quickly to 60 or 70 degrees and brilliant sunshine. As anglers, sunshine is generally not our friend, but it sure does feel good when it’s out, and everyone seems to be basking in it.

The second element of this equation, the river flows, has become easier to predict from two weeks ago. The river flow below First Connecticut Lake Dam and Murphy Dam at Lake Francis was reduced a couple of days ago to more angler-friendly levels. It’s now 250 CFS in the Trophy Stretch, and 400 CFS below Murphy. In both instances, wading in these stretches is quite different than a fortnight ago – less water and more spots in the river to get to. Still, crossing should only be attempted in certain places, and caution should be taken when doing so.

The flows have been reduced due to the beautiful weather we’ve had, allowing the Connecticut Lakes to be drawn further down to their wintertime levels. They still have a ways to go, and we might have another reduction of flow before the season closes, but the Trophy Stretch and below Murphy remain very wadeable, and therefore fishable. With more access comes anglers, so be prepared to change plans when someone’s in your favorite spot. Move around, and give space to those around you – no one’s going out there to stand side-by-side someone else.

As always, the most vexing question is the fish themselves. They’re there for sure – not only browns, brookies and rainbows, but also salmon that have come upstream from the lake – but they haven’t exactly been jumping on the hook. You’ll work for your fish during these spectacular fall days – the payback for an exceptional stretch of weather.

As usual, nymphs are the best way to get down to where the majority of fish are and feeding, and the rig combinations are endless. Be willing to experiment. Stoneflies, BWO’s, soft hackles, worms, and especially egg patterns are recommended, but there are many variations of all of the above, so bring a well-stocked fly box. Streamers have had their place, usually early in the day and late, but I have heard very little from successful top water anglers – dry fly at your own risk.

Just a bit left in the 2022 season – hope you’ve gotten out there to enjoy it!