Well, summer finally came at last this week, at least for a few days. It was simply gorgeous, and that good weather led to decreasing flows at First Lake Dam and Murphy Dam at Lake Francis. The river is back “in shape”, and is now at its most wade-friendly and angler-friendly level since late June. It is shaping up to be an exciting final month and a half of the season.
The title of a favorite Toots & the Maytals song is also appropriate for our change in the weather this weekend. The recent stretch of summer-like weather is over for the moment, and we can look forward to daytime temps in the 50’s and 60’s for the next week. It was HOT this past week, reaching 85 (perhaps even higher) several days in a row, making for challenging conditions for the anglers that were with us.
When you live and recreate in northern New England, you look forward to the sun coming out. It seems like there’s some months when it rarely, if ever, makes an appearance, so when it’s out you tend to take advantage of those occasions. If you’re an angler though, the sun can be a hindrance to your fishing pursuits. It usually results in wary fish, afraid to be discovered by predators, both aerial and on two legs.
I’m not big on endings, and never have been. The finality of an ending is something that my personality has a hard time dealing with, so I prefer the French saying, “à bientôt” much more – “see you soon”, when dealing with friends, family, dogs, etc. I’m not sure when I’ll see you, but someday I will. Sadly, yesterday we bid “au revoir” to the New Hampshire trout fishing season, but in two and a half months, the 2023 fishing season will open, and we’ll be back at it again.
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.
More rain fell today, folks – nearly another inch of it, which is making it difficult to not only fish, but to predict when the river might get back to normal. There’s good news however, as it looks like things are headed in the right direction in the next few days.