It is our favorite time of the year here in the White Mountains. September means a decrease in crowds, cooling waters and more active trout on our larger waters. We had a very good cold spell the last couple weeks and our water temps dropped faster than normal meaning an early start to fall fishing conditions. We quickly shifted from wade fishing early mornings to float fishing the larger waters with bite windows falling from 9am to as late as 2pm on some days. We have found good fishing on all days by being patient in waiting for the bite. Here is what’s going on with all of our waters.
Recent wild rainbow caught by our Client Mark Varveris. The bite on the Andro has been hot on most days.
Saco River:
The Saco becomes a more challenging fishery in the fall. The larger terrestrials are still around but fish also begin to key in on midges and BWO’s on cooler days. Fish finer tippets and emerger patterns such as small klinkhammers when the fish are stubborn. Warmer days this time of the year can mean some of the best dry fly fishing of the year. Be sure to have a good selection of cinnamon, chocolate and honey colored ants in size 14-22. When the ants come off just about every fish in the river will eat them. The larger female ants will come off early in the afternoon followed by the smaller chocolate colored males later in the day. Fishing can be challenging when the males hit the water as they literally coat the surface and fish can pick and choose which ones they want to eat. If you don’t see any ants a good hopper imitation should do the trick. This has been one of the best hopper seasons we have ever seen!
The Andro:
The Andro is coming into prime-time fishing right now. With low flow fish are concentrated in the bigger riffles, deeper runs and pools. We have been seeing the Isonychia mayfly hatch starting between 10am and 2pm depending on the day. Cooler sunny days mean later hatches but great evening bites. Cloudy days, especially warmer ones mean longer bite windows. Along with Isos we are also seeing some good hatches of Rhyacophilidae (green caddis). We enjoy running both olive caddis larvae and pheasant tails to see which one the fish prefer. On most days they like the pheasant tail best but sometimes the larvae prevail. Later in the evenings we are seeing some large golden stones coming off. September is a good time to fish these bigger bugs as both dries and swung nymphs. Bottom line, now is the time to book your fall float trip! We still have dates available through October but they are going fast!
Mark with another fine wild rainbow from his second trip with us this past week.
Mountain Streams:
September can be hit or miss on our small streams. If you hit them on a warm day the fishing can be great, on cooler days wait until late in the day for the bite to turn on and don’t be surprised by slow fishing. An orange stimulator can work well to mimic October caddis which sporadically hatch this time of the year. Be sure to carry some hi vis flying ants as these are around on warmer days as well.
Wild Brook Trout Waters:
The slow spring fed streams and beaver ponds are still fishing but the fish are already on the move to their fall spawning locations. Don’t expect to find fish in the same lies they were in during the summer and be prepared to cover a lot of fishless water before finding areas of high fish densities. Be aware of fish redds and paired up trout and try to avoid fishing over spawning fish. Small ponds are your best bet right now as the fish tend to spawn later and are not migratory like river trout. Be sure to carry some brighter small streamers like baby brook trout and woods specials as wild brook trout become more piscivorous in the fall.
A Wild Native Brook Trout from one of our spring fed streams.
Trophy Trout Waters:
Right now the larger trout are active mostly during evenings. We are waiting for some rains to help trigger these fish to feed more aggressively. The best time to target trophy trout is in October. Although large hatches or ant swarms can mean big fish during the day, and we always enjoy the surprise when we get them. Hooking a trophy trout isn’t nearly as hard as landing one. When you see the pictures of the big fish keep in mind that many others are lost in the process of getting the ONE. October is prime time for hunting Alpha trout.
A large male brown caught on an Alpha trout hunt last October.
Looking forward:
The cool late summer weather should mean good float fishing from now through October. With low water nymphing and fishing dries and dry dropper combos will be the ticket to get into fish consistently. If we do get a good rain the streamer bite will turn on. While we are already seeing bites shift into the afternoon hours due to the recent cold snap, warmer days will result in earlier bites in the near future ie. today and tomorrow. As fall progresses and days cool bites will shift to the warmest hours of the day. By late September the majority of fish will be caught between 10am and 4pm. This fall we plan to do more exploration of NH’s pike fisheries. We are excited to begin offering pike trips this fall. Our new Stealthcraft skinny skiff will make this fishing even more productive. All of our guides calendars are filling fast for what looks to be one of our busiest falls on record, so book now if you want to get a date!
Tight Lines,
Nate