Last Month in Review:
It has been far too long since we have updated the fishing reports page. That being said we had an excellent July for fly fishing here in the White Mountains. Although there were some hot days, a good number of rainstorms kept Rivers like the Saco fishing very well through the month. We were lucky to be able to float the Saco a good number of times and we had a few new fly fishers get into large browns on streamers.
Owen with a large wild brown he caught while streamer fishing all day! I’ve never seen such a fishy 6- year-old!
Current Conditions:
Right now, the Saco is dropping after 1 to 3 inches of rain from Tropical storm Isais. We were expecting more rain but we are glad the rivers didn’t blow up too much and the bugs and trout should be happy and healthy with this fresh flow.
Dan figured out the streamer game just in time to hook this beautiful wild male brown trout!
Hatches And Other Menu Items:
Currently, we are seeing early morning baetis on the Saco, Ellis and Peabody rivers along with midges. Fishing a simple perdigon jig or mylar midge in a rainbow of colors has worked well lately. Per usual for this time of the year: Ants, beetles, hoppers and even caterpillars have been on the menu as of late. When flows are up a bit, we have done well with a custom designed trout parr Jig. If you are fishing high water Drunk and Disorderly streamers, zoo cougars, and unweighted wooly buggers on sinking lines have all taken good fish.
Looking Forward:
Terrestrials and the smaller bugs will continue to be important over the next few weeks with the late August/ Early September Ant swarms becoming important after that. As waters cool later in August look for October caddis on all waters Along with Isonychia mayflies on the Andro. Keep an eye on flows and be prepared to switch to streamers after any rain storms. Remember that our rivers rise and fall very quickly so your window for throwing streamers might only be a day or two if you are lucky.
Wild Brook Trout Waters:
My daughter Vivian and I have been spending a lot of our free time exploring new wild brook trout waters. We have found some highly productive new streams and stretches. We were very thankful to get out with Jay Shields last week, Jay spent most of the trip taking photos and videos of wild brookies exploding on dry flies. It was some of the best action we’ve seen! We look forward to sharing these photos and videos here and on our Instagram page. If you aren’t already be sure to follow us on Instagram @hillcountryguides. If you’ve been thinking about booking a wild brook trout trip now is a great time to explore these remote and wild fisheries.
All images taken by Jay Shields…more to come on this ongoing project.
The rise…wild brook trout fishing is some of the most visually exciting angling on the planet!
The set.
The fight.
In the net.
Small stream trophy.
Booking for August through the Fall:
Right now we have dates available In August, September and October. If you are looking to get on the books for a late summer or fall wild brookie trip, wade trip, or float, now is the time to get on our calendar! We would like to thank all who have booked with us so far this year. Depsite the ongoing pandemic we have stayed as busy as usual and we are very thankful that we can continue to operate safely at this time!
Tight lines,
Nate