March Madness

March Madness

For a fishing guide March is a Chaotic, but productive month. A time of lengthening days and duties. The ice shelves on our rivers are still feet thick in places, but they are receding. This week I plan on getting the boat out of storage and on the water at the first possible opportunity.

Before then, there are many preparations to be made for this upcoming season. Half of my weekends have been filled with fishing shows. On March 6th and 7th I presented on Fly Fishing the White Mountains at The New Hampshire Fly Fishing Show in Pelham, NH. This was a solid event with standing room only during my Saturday seminar. During the show I had a great time trading flies with good friends and met some cool future clients who I look forward to guiding this season. This past weekend I attended the Western Maine Fly Fishing Expo in Bethel, ME. This was another great show with many familiar faces in attendance. I got to catch up with clients both new and old, and shared stories with Guides from Maine. Coming in April The Saco Valley Anglers will be hosting the first annual fly fishing show in North Conway. The New Hampshire Fly Tying symposium and F3T Film Tour will be held from 1pm- 8:30pm on Saturday April 11th at The Theater in The Woods in Intervale, NH. This event is open to all ages and will feature fifteen of the regions best fly tiers and authors. There will be a break between the tying symposium and film tour for pizza and a silent auction. I’m looking forward to this event more than any as it could be the birth of a very cool tradition.

When not attending shows I’ve been attacking other tasks. I recently put in an order to Orvis to completely refresh my fleet of waders and rods. Among the list of new gear are: Five weight recon outfits with access reels and lines, six weight recon outfits with access lines, reels, and spare spools coupled with fifteen foot sink tip lines, 3wt superfine glass outfits, silver sonic convertible waders (size medium to extra large), and new clearwater wading boots. If you took a trip with HCGS last season thank you for helping me pay for these upgrades! I look forward to outfitting many of you with this state of the art gear.

Other tasks include updates to the website. I’ve recently added photos from a shoot with professional photographer Matt Kalinowski www.mattkalinowski.com (look Under Trips and Androscoggin to see a full slide show). I’ve also added a paypal button to the rates page to make your booking experience much more efficient.  Along with updates to the website HCGS will be updated as well with a new guide! Steve Bowman, of Wolfeboro, NH will be joining the Hill Country team. Steve has worked in the fly fishing industry for many years, in locations from Lee’s Ferry, Arizona to Madison, Maine. He is a true professional and I couldn’t be more excited to have him on the Hill Country team. With the addition of another guide the company name will be changing to Hill Country Guides.  With this we have new HCG hats, business cards and brochures on order. I’ve already got a prototype of the hat and it looks slick.

Between all of these preparations I have been booking trips like crazy. IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO BOOK A TRIP IN 2015 LET ME KNOW ASAP. There are still dates available throughout the season but they are filling fast, especially in June. As for the fishing, my first explorations will be on the Androscoggin in late March and early April and then onto the Lakes region tributaries to target lake run rainbow trout and salmon. From there the brook trout ponds and streams should light up in May. Then, in June, the Saco, Ellis, and Androscoggin will really turn on with the first mayfly hatches of the year. Look for an early season fishing report soon! Until then enjoy these photos from early last season!

Early December Report

Well the thermometer read -5 degrees at the bank in Gorham this morning. Far colder than the fifty degree temps we had two weeks ago. On our last warmer day I was able to get out for a few hours of fishing I landed one brown trout pictured below on a double bunny streamer. A few days prior to that some friends and I did a bit better out of the boat landing some bigger browns (one also pictured below). This cold weather has slowed things down, and I wouldn't recommend fishing the andro unless we get a good thaw. If we do it could trigger a midge hatch and a streamer bite. Fish are now seeking the slower deeper sections of the river. Think fallfish water if you want to catch trout this time of the year. Right now brown trout are going into post spawn mode and can be aggressive feeders given the right conditions. Rainbow trout will still be focused on egg patterns as well as streamers.

January 1st will mark the opening of all other trout waters in the state and will be a good time to explore for lake run rainbow trout and salmon. This winter fishing is more about finding one good fish than finding numbers of fish. Fish metabolisms have slowed and a well presented nymph by a highly focused angler will ensure detection of the occasional soft bite of a large trout. The nice thing about these lake fish is that they run from 15 to 20+ inches with thick girth. If you plan to try this winter fishing be sure to suit up with extra synthetic layers. I prefer wearing insulated ski pants right under my waders while others wear neoprene bootfoot waders, or long underwear and fleece pants. I always carry a few pairs of gloves for these trips as it is common for your first pair to take a soaking, especially while landing a fish. Hand warmers are a must in these conditions and I place them inside my wading jacket pockets where I can reach for warmth when needed. A wool hat is also imperative and I prefer the ones with ear flaps for the coldest days. Lastly don't leave home without your buff. Hope you are all enjoying the Christmas season and that you get all the fishing gear you've been wishing for. I've been booking trips for next year as Christmas gifts. If you're interested I'll send along my rack card and business card  for you to place under the Christmas tree. 

Tight Lines,

Nate

November 1st Report

Well October is now over. The fishing was productive till the very end with fish eating black and orange midges on Halloween.

Wild rainbow taken on a black and orange midge 10/31/2014

Over the past few weeks I've had some time to get out in the boat and do some exploring. I've been finding productive water with large trout caught on streamers, nymphs and even dries. It has been fun searching for  browns which are aggressively chasing large streamers this time of the year. The key to finding these fish is locating the water types where they prefer to spawn. We've found fish laid up in riffled water close to banks, as well as in mid river riffles, flats and side channels, where there is appropriate spawning gravel. Rainbow trout can also be found in these water types and will chase streamers this time of the year. Rainbows will also strike egg patterns and a variety of nymphs as they focus on feeding behind spawning browns. 

Brown trout caught nymphing from the inside corner of a riffle. 

This 17" brown chased this large articulated streamer on two consecutive casts before engulfing it. Was laid up on a piece of slightly riffled water in an otherwise slow moving section.

Slow moving eddies are another water type worth exploring this time of the year. Here fish will hold to feed on bugs trapped in the back flow and seams. A nine foot four weight with a soft tip is your ideal weapon for this water type. Large fish will come up slowly to suck down small BWO's and midges. A softer rod ensures good tippet protection when fishing these smaller flies. 

This brown measured 21" and was found in the seam of a deep fast moving riffle.

Areas below dams are also a good bet as fish will move to this area of deep aerated water to hold through the winter months. I prefer using large weighted streamers on a sinking or sink tip line to effectively fish this water. If you are not having success be sure to vary your retrieve. Sometimes slowing things down can result in increased takes this time of the year. 

So what will November bring? Fishing will continue to be productive in the areas mentioned above. Dry fly fishing will be most productive on warmer, calmer days with streamers being your best bet when temps drop. Egg patterns and larger nymphs will become even more important as fish continue spawning and try to pack on weight for winter. While it gets a bit colder this time of the year there is no reason to stop fishing. Being prepared for the weather with extra warm layers, hats and fingerless gloves, as well as a thermos of hot coffee, or soup, will ensure that you stay comfortable enough to hook and land fish. I prefer fishing with ski pants under my waders this time of the year. I find them less restricting than long underwear and even warmer. It is also a good idea to wear some blaze orange, as the hunting season is underway. 

If you are interested in learning more about late season angling, it is not too late to book a trip for 2014. 

Tight Lines,

Nate

17" wild rainbow tout caught nymphing a riffle. 

Mid-October Report

Well the "regular" season ended today but the fishing on the lower Andro will remains open through the year. This section of water, from Berlin to the Maine border has been designated as Catch and Release Barbless Hook fishing with No Closed Season. Most NH trout waters close to fishing to protect spawning brook trout. The Androscoggin is primarily a rainbow trout fishery (spring spawners) and most if not all brook trout migrate from the Androscoggin to spawn in (now closed) feeder streams. For these reasons the river remains open to angling throughout the year, providing a unique opportunity to fish through late fall and winter. 

On to the fishing. Last Wednesday we had fish on dries and nymphs with the biggest fish coming on a size 12 purple Haze dry fly. This was a spectacular catch to witness. I was able to watch the fish come up and engulf the fly, not five feet from the boat.

Took a size 12 Purple Haze Mayfly not five feet from the boat.

On my last Andro float I saw one of the best Blue Winged Olive* hatches of my life. Fish were feeding hard in every eddy of the river and all fish hooked on dries were wild rainbow trout. This does not mean that the fishing was easy. After each fish was hooked the rest of the feeders would wise up for at least ten minutes before feeding resumed. This presented little problem as it was an easy for me to simply row over to another pod of undisturbed trout. As if prolific dry fly fishing were not enough, when the sun began to set we took out the streamer rod and promptly landed two chunky bows on a baby rainbow trout pattern I'd tied up the night before. We must have missed another four fish on the streamer before the sun had set. 

*Blue Winged Olives are a typical fall hatch on many streams throughout the country. Unlike most mayflies they hatch as waters cool, instead of as waters warm (maybe they should be called Fall Flies). They are similar to their spring brethren as they begin hatching when water temps reach the low fifties. They differ from their spring friends in that they will continue to hatch even once temps fall into the mid 40's. Thus BWO's (as they are called) can provide steady dry fly action when most people have packed away their fly rods. 

Yesterday I had the rare opportunity to fish on my own. Although I was on foot I was able to find a few pods of rainbows feeding...to my delight...on Lady Bugs. This was a particularly gratifying find as I've been trying to key in on a true Lady Bug swarm for the past three years. I've always seen these terrestrials fluttering about on warm days, in mid-October and I've tried to find fish feeding on them a few times  to no avail. Perhaps it was the water I chose or just the day itself but yesterday I landed eight rainbows on Lady Bugs with many other fish missed.

What is to come? The rain forecast for October 16th will put a hold on the Lady Bug hatch and bring back the BWO's. Look for good streamer conditions, especially if the water rises a bit. In the long term any more warmer days should produce more Lady Bug swarms. The BWO's will continue through early December, especially on calm overcast days. You might also still see some sporadic pale duns and Isonychia. Streamer fishing will continue to be productive as trout become more aggressive in response to the up-coming winter months. Brown trout will also be effected by spawning aggression in November and post-spawn hunger in early December. Later this month egg patterns will become effective for taking rainbows, as they look to capitalize on the spawning habits of their neighbors. Large nymphs such as stoneflies and woolly buggers will become more productive come November when fish focus on putting  weight on for winter. The fishing is far from over!

Tight Lines,

Nate

Foliage and Fish... an October Report

Well the foliage has definitely peaked this first weekend of October, and the fishing has also been bright. Last week I floated the Androscoggin Four times and the river produced good fish on every outing.  Last Wednesday I guided Paul Doeherty and we saw big fish on dries, nymphs and streamers. The most exciting fishing occurred when the late day sun brought on a golden stonefy hatch. When this hatch comes off it is a good idea to fish a floating stonefly with a fast strip pause retrieve. Paul got this down fast and had trout sharking after his fly with reckless abandon. Then as evening approached the mayflies came back on and we landed our biggest fish of the day on a floating nymph pattern. 

Thursday I hit the water with good friend Alex Pries. Alex is fairly new to fly fishing but has been fishing hard for the past few years. We started fishing with a dry dropper combo and the fish were on the dropper from put in to take out. I'm not sure how many we landed because I loose track after about ten. Alex got a few good fish in the 12-14 inch range and lost a few more that were larger.

Friday I floated the same section as Wednesday With Buck Ramsey and Bob Watts. The fishing was much slower to start, but then as darkness approached we switched to the foam Stonefliies and the trout came out of the woodwork. Six fish were landed in the last hour or so of the trip. Interestingly almost all of the fish were brown trout.

On Sunday I floated the river with long time local customer Ken Cargill and his good friend Jeff Smith.  I always enjoy guiding these guys as they love to razz each other with every fish caught or lost. The fish started biting from the put in and it was obvious that size 12-16 pheasant tail nymphs were the ticket. Later in the float the fish began to rise and Ken got many strikes on a size 16 Floating pheasant tail. I think Jeff caught the biggest fish of the day but Ken had plenty of close calls on bigger fish. I'm sure they would each tell the story a bit differently.

This past Thursday I guided repeat client Brian Stack. Brian had a few good strikes fishing a Stonefly/ Pheasant tail combo in the first pool. This pool always produces a few good strikes before we have time to adjust our hook-set. The fishing through the next few pools was slow with a few subtle bites. Then around 2pm the fishing turned on and Brian began picking off browns and rainbows on a size 16 pheasant tail dropped off of a Purple Haze Mayfly. The fish were taking the dropper just as the flies swung at the end of the drift. The take was so subtle you had to have faith it was a fish and not the flies bumping submerged leaves. Still when the hook was set there was never any mistaking what was on the end of the line. As darkness approached I began seeing some larger caddis flies scuttling about, so I switched the Purple Haze mayfly with one of my foam EHC's. This fly has a realistic silhouette and is buoyant enough to support a heavy dropper. As soon as we switched to this point fly we began getting fish on top. The last fish of the day, a fat 15" rainbow came up so slow that I could see her head pushing up through the surface film before she engulfed the fly. A great way to end the day.

Last minute update. II Fished the Saco this evening. Had just got back from Striper fishing on the coast and still had my 8 weight rigged with a five inch silver side pattern. Decided to give the big stick a few throws in the Saco, and promptly landed two large rainbows swinging this saltwater pattern through a riffle. (See picture below.) 

The streamer fishing should be good on the Saco through the close of the season. On the Andro streamers are a good bet anytime. They are highly effective from late October through early December. (Note: the Andro From Berlin to the Maine border is open year round.) 

 It is not too late to book a float trip for October or November...Now is a great time to hit the water!

Tight Lines,

Nate