Overview:
Fishing has held on through the dog days of summer this season! Fall is in the air and we are already seeing Fall hatches begin on our local rivers! Now is the time to plan your Autumn fishing getaway!
Saco:
The Saco has fished very well throughout the summer. Fish are still being taken on large terrestrial patterns like hoppers and beetles. Black ants have been productive but any day now the Cinnamon ants will arrive and provide some of the best dry fly fishing of the season. Early morning and cloudy days are seeing BWO hatches. Fish in the more popular pools are becoming well educated so be sure to have your "A" game on. Often hooking one fish in a given spot will spook the other fish in the area and require you to move on or give the pool a good rest. While rare, a good summer thunderstorm can raise water levels and lower visibility enough to get the big trout active and feeding during daylight hours. Our good friend Brian Boyle was able to land this beauty the other day while fishing with the Author. Bright streamers are key to get these big fish to bite!
Angler Brian Boyle with 23" of Saco brown. As always released to fight another day!
Saco Rainbows are typically Camera shy...got this guy just in time! August 14th.
Saco river brown trout release. Always fun to watch them go!
Andro:
The andro has been hit or miss depending on when you hit it. Yesterday I had the good fortune of fishing with our newest guide in training Will Schmitt. Will worked on his rowing skills and was kind enough to put me on a large salmon and a few spunky rainbows and browns. It was good to see fish throughout the float and I was able to dial in on a few more hot spots for future trips. We had a sporadic Isonychia hatch throughout the day. This mayfly will be important from now until early October when BWO's will become even more important. With hot weather over the next two days the Andro will not be your best bet. BUT...a cold front will reach the region by Wednesday and it looks like we enter a cool, "Fallish" pattern from Thursday through Sunday. This should spur more Isonychia hatches and possibly some October caddis will show up. If we get a hot humid day after this cool front be prepared for that flying ant hatch I mentioned earlier. The key on the Andro is that the water temps are cool enough to bring fish to the surface when the ants drop. Otherwise you will have plenty of bass and fallfish to play with on top.
The Author with a healthy Andro Salmon caught August 19th.
A bright Andro Rainbow taken on an Isonychia pattern August 19th.
Ellis:
The Ellis has been fishing well in the Upper River for wild brook trout. Fishing flashy dries like hippie stompers and Stimulators is effective. When the fishing slows drop a nymph off the back of one of these buoyant dries.
Small Streams:
Our small streams continue to fish well but even here fish are becoming more educated. Head further into the woods to seek less pressured fish. Flying ants have been very productive as have red hippie stompers and red humpies (red seems to be important). If fish are not taking dead drifted dries a small muddler minnow or baby brook trout pattern stripped through drop offs and undercut boulders can produce well. Fishing a dropper such as a red copper john is a good idea when fish are even less willing.
A wild brook trout stream is a great place to introduce people to fly fishing!
Arkansas Update:
We have set dates for our Arkansas 2018 trips. Dates for booking are March fifth through April 30th. Please give us a call if you want in on this phenomenal tailwater fishing! If you haven't heard we had an epic 2017 in the Ozarks with many 50+ fish days and countless rainbows, browns and Cuts from 18-22". This was definitely the best trout fishing I have personally ever seen! Let us know ASAP if you are interested in booking!
HCG Client Dick Peterson with Arkansas Gold. Spring 2017.
The Author with an average Arkansas brown.
Summary:
After a serious drought last season it has been a pleasure to see our rivers in good shape this August. It was impressive to see the size of some of the brown trout that survived last seasons drought and it is good to see that many fish stocked earlier this spring are still alive and well in much of the Saco. We are happy to see the wild rainbows in the andro doing well as always with some very big fish seen by our anglers this season. All in all it is shaping up to be an exceptional fall to fish in the White Mountains of NH. We still have dates available for this September and October but they are going fast so be sure to book soon!