04/20/2012 Lake Winnisquam, Laconia
Conditions: Sunny, steady SW wind, 70s
Equipment: fly rod (set up for trolling), lead core, downrigger setup
Baits: streamers, live smelt/shiners, spoons
Back to Winnisquam to troll for salmon and trout on a windy afternoon. Bright sunshine was an issue. Water temp varied widely: 52 near where the Winnipesaukee River enters the lake at Laconia, 48 on the western shore. Fishfinder marked plenty of fish on the bottom. We tried everything. Surface, suspended, bottom presentations… metal, live bait, streamers, attractor blades… No takes at all but we probably could have stayed longer into “magic hour”. Sometimes you can only take being tossed about so much… Still, I never tire of this beautiful lake.
04/19/2012 Beaver Brook, Londonderry
Conditions: Sunny, lt breeze, 70s
Equipment: fly rod
Baits: wet flies
It’s nice sometimes to get a quick break and fish close to home. A small empoundment on Beaver Brook in Londonderry had been recently stocked, so I decided I’d try a little flyfishing above and below the dam. Mad hatches all over the place and pheasant tail emergers seemed to get the most attention, but I wasn’t able to hook a fish. Practice, practice, practice…
Anglers enjoy an unusually warm April day on Pleasant Lake in Deerfield NH
04/16/2012 Pleasant Lake, Deerfield
Conditions: Sunny, breezy, 70s-80s (Really!) Water temp 52
Equipment: fly rod (set up for trolling), downrigger rod, lead core setup
Baits: streamers, spoons, spinners
One amazing, summer-like day… in mid-April! Returned here with the kayak to chase trout. Was hoping for brown trout or a big brook trout (they’re in here) eventually got into some 8’-10” rainbow trout. With the warm day, there were huge insect hatches along the shoreline. Only a few rises. Downsized from an “88” streamer on the fly rod to a pheasant-tail emerger and picked up another couple. One rainbow hit a little black/yellow Mepps spinner that I was flatlining on the surface with my downrigger rod. Tried to get down deep to chase the big ones with the lead core line later. No dice. I really like Pleasant Lake. Good launch on of Gulf road. Attractive shoreline – somehow it just looks like its further north in NH than it is.