05/13/12 Soucook River, Loudon
Conditions: sunny, breezy 70s-80
Equipment: flyrod, ultralight rod
Baits: dillies, various flies
Late morning I decided to leave Tower Hill Pond and run up to one of my favorite stops, the Soucook in Loudon. At the dam in the village, I worked above and below searching for trout. There were splashy rises at the head of the dam, but the fish were being highly selective, even refusing worms. I managed some takes by sinking some wet flies in this area, but brought no fish to hand. From conversations with passersby, I was told large browns could be found in deep channels under the bridge by the Sewalls Falls Dam, on the Merrrimack river in Concord. Will have to try that soon! Of course, the Winni Derby will get most of my attention next…
05/13/12 Tower Hill Pond, Auburn
Conditions: sunny, breezy 60s
Equipment: flyrod, ultralight rod
Baits: dillies, various flies, Mepps spinner
No kayak today! Traveling light, I hiked into this picturesque pond from the access, maybe a quarter mile walk or so. Working the steep rocky scree at the end of the impoundment, I worked a spinner deep in hopes of bringing up brown trout. I also tried the fly rod, sinking some flies with no results. I finally switched to sinking dillie worms using the ultralight, picking up and releasing a nice largemouth bass.
Beautiful Lake Nubanusit, just outside the classic colonial New England town of Hancock NH
05/12/12 Lake Nubanusit, Hancock
Conditions: early – sunny, lt breeze 40s-50s; aft – sunny, windy 60s-70s
Equipment: fly rod w sinking line and long leader for trolling, lead core set up
Baits: streamer flies, Top Gun and DB Smelt lures
This gorgeous deep lake in Hancock NH has yielded some of the biggest lake trout in the state – fish to nearly 25 lbs! Took the kayak here to see what I could turn up. The lake also holds brown, brook and rainbow trout, plus warmwater species like smallmouth bass. I tried running a line on the surface while dragging lead core line deep for lake trout. The sunny day quickly drove fish down, but I did get a nice smallie on the fly rod. An interesting thing to keep in mind: Nubanusit is shaped somewhat like a fishhook. At the point of the hook, Spoonwood pond, which is about 5’-6’ higher in altitude, spills into the lake. At certain times, this area is almost sure to hold fish because of feed and extra oxygen going into the lake. Stay to the deeps and underwater structure of the “shank” of the lake for lakers.
At the boat launch on Nubanusit, a rather direct warning about driving on the ice. A number of vehicles have gone through the ice in recent years, with one incident ending in tragedy.
