Mid-July Report

Fishing has been good to great on our mountain streams, and bigger rivers. Cold fronts over the past few days provided some hot fishing for clients. We are now into terrestrial season with big chernobyl ants, beetles, and regular ants all taking fish. Another find has been that the trout are keying in on Dragon flies. Fishing a dark colored chernobyl ant with an active retrieve has been effective in taking fish keying on these large bugs. 

When the fish are not coming to the surface dead drifting and stripping buggers, and small to mid sized streamers has done the trick. On the smaller streams we have found great success using small indicators above buggers and stonefly nymphs.

Client Jacob Meder recently nymphed up this chunky 15" wild rainbow out of a small mountain stream. 

While on the bigger rivers a deep nymph rig with a bugger and small nymph like a serendipity or Pheasant tail has been a bread and butter strategy. 

On the Ellis Caddis have been important with both nymphs and dry fly versions taking fish. We've had good success with an X-Caddis both dry and wet. 

Thunderstorms have provided pulses of water that get the fish more aggressively eating streamers on all waters. It looks like we have another round of these coming through tomorrow. 

We have a few dates still open for July and more in August so if you are looking to wet a line and learn more about summer trout strategies give us a call! Here are some more pics from the last week. 

June Wrap up and July report

Well it has been some time since we've written a fishing report. Honestly it has been hard to find time with the amount of guiding we've been doing. We've put over 50 trips on the books over the past 30 days. In that time we've seen some great fishing. In fact this year has been the year for big fish. With more fish over 18" than we've seen in the past and our biggest client caught fish to date. Our regular client Charlie Houghton landed this behemoth 28" rainbow trout on an Alder fly on June 17th.  

A fish like this would be amazing to catch on any fly and Charlie was able to get her on a dry fly. While fish like these don't usually eat small bugs and even more rarely take dry flies a prime hatch can bring them up. Prior to this trip the Alderflies had not arrived. However I'd been finding big fish eating alder fly nymphs a few days prior and with a warm front coming through I predicted that the 17th would be the day. Armed with a variety of Alder patterns we headed north. As we launched the boat the trees were coated in Alder flies. During the first half of the day the rises were sporadic and we honestly only landed one 16 inch salmon. Then after lunch the wind picked up and the fish zoned in. In two hours we landed a dozen fish from 14-20" With his arm getting sore from fighting so many large trout Charlie said we should probably head out. But there was one more pool I wanted to explore before rowing to the take out. As we dropped downstream I slid the anchor out and watched for rises in the slack water of an eddy. I saw some splashy rises...and then I saw the head....then dorsal...then tail of this fish. Not only was she feeding on top, she was gorging. Making rises every few seconds. Charlie made a good cast and I swore I saw the fish eat his fly, but when he struck there was nothing there. Fearing he might have missed the fish I told him to cast again. This time I got a good bead on the fly and watched the fish swallow it. Charlie got a solid downstream hookset and the fish rumbled to life, shooting first upstream then moving downstream and burrowing deep. We managed to pull her up and then she shot around the boat looping the line around the stern. I dove into the back, flicking the line off and Charlie expertly side pressured the fish under the boat and back into the eddy. For what seemed an eternity we worked to pry the fish off the bottom, every time I went to stab with the net she would dive and I would pull away. Finally I got the net under her...but my fish-pond nomad could barely hold her girth and she nearly flopped out. We agreed I'd hold the fish and Charlie would shoot. Hoping we could get a couple of good shots without dropping or hurting the fish. We are happy to say she swam away to be caught another day.

Along with this fish we have seen many other large trout caught on dries, nymphs and streamers. Here are a few.

Along with these big fish we've caught good numbers of trout as well. Of course there have been some slower moments but the key to fishing out of the boat is to stay positive and know that if the fish aren't biting in the moment...they will at some point. I can't tell you how important timing is...especially when chasing these bigger fish. Large trout don't feed all the time but if you are patient and focused you will be ready for when they are.

So June was one for the record books and July is looking good as well. With a cold front hitting us today water temps should drop and fish should become even more active. On the hotter days we've been impressed to see trout rising to dragon fly and damselfly dries and nymphs. A large Chernobyl ant works well to trick fish on the dries and buggers swung and stripped work for the nymphs. With this cold front look to see more mayfly activity with Isonychia and bwo's both a possibility. On the Saco fish will be on the streamer bite if and when we get a bump in flows. Bob's better baitfish, zoo cougars and Drunk and Disorderlies will all take fish. At lower flows we are now into terrestrial season on the Saco, ants, beetles, hoppers, crainflies etc, will all be important from now through early September. If you are looking to experience more of fly fishing in the white mountains we have dates available from now through November. Do be sure to book soon as we are getting calls daily.

Tight lines,

Nate

late May Report

Well the season has gotten off to a great start here in the Whites. After a week of guiding over wild brook trout and lake run rainbows I was able to get out on the Androscoggin River on Saturday May 21st with local anglers Steve and Woody. I had a hunch the caddis and mayfly hatches might be on and I was right! We were on fish from the get go with browns and rainbows in the boat from the first anchor drop. As we fished a low pressure system began to creep in and the nymph bite slowed down, so I had Woody switch to a white streamer to see if we could find a big brown. 

One thing I learned while fishing in Arkansas is that big brown trout are not on the same feeding cycles as other trout. Large browns prefer larger meals so their feeding is not always dictated by bug activity.

As we fished down the river I coached Woody on the retrieve and how to focus casts in front of the boat. As we came upon a deep log filled pool Woody had his rhythm down and sent a cast just ahead of the boat tight to an overhanging tree. On the third strip there was a jarring strike and a golden brown flash under the frothy flow. Woody kept pressure but when the brown ran towards the trees he eased up, "Pull him out!" I yelled. " You've got twelve pound test on there." With confidence in his tippet strength Woody muscled the fish to the boat and we netted this 20" brown. 

Woody with his Andro gold bar...

Browns were hungry from the put in.

As we floated down We missed a few big rainbows on the streamer and then a good caddis hatch hit and we landed some nice rainbows and browns on dries. 

This wild rainbow made three blistering runs and two cartwheels before being landed.

On Monday I guided Paul of Montreal Canada. Paul was interested in learning the Saco river and how to dry fly fish...two things that go together nicely. We started off at 7am on a large pool that I know holds large trout. These fish were rising from the get go but getting a cast to them was a challenging matter. After working on casting to these large trout for about an hour the wind picked up and the bite slowed. I told Paul that we could hit some wild brook trout water and, if he was interested break after lunch and take the boat out in the evening for better casting positions. Paul agreed. After arranging a shuttle and getting the keys to my private take out we met back up at 4:30 pm.  

The fishing was slow to start but around 6:30 we began seeing rises, and a solid caddis hatch materialized. We found a good pod of risers and Paul worked on perfecting his dry fly presentation. After tricking a few that came un-buttoned Paul got tight for good and landed his first dry fly trout, a solid 13" brown. Soon the caddis hatch transitioned to a mayfly spinner fall and Paul missed a few then landed another fish on the mayflies. Paul is excited to continue dry fly fishing in the future.

Paul's first trout on a dry fly

Tuesday I guided Clint from Austin Texas. With an unsettled weather forecast I elected we meet earlier instead of planning to fish until dark. After landing one rainbow right off the bat the fishing slowed. This didn't surprise me much as there were no bugs in the air. The Andro turns on and off like a light switch with bug activity and it is usually a matter of switching to streamers until you see bugs begin to pop. After landing a wild rainbow on a streamer we began seeing caddis come off the water, and a dead drifted and swung caddis nymph resulted in a dozen rainbows. As a low pressure system exited and windy high pressure set in the fishing slowed a bit but we still managed a few more rainbows and a gorgeous wild brook trout on the nymphs as well as a silvery wild rainbow on a caddis dry fly. Clint was pleased to catch fish on nymphs, Dries and Streamers and I was very impressed that he didn't lose any flies throughout the entire trip. 

A rare wild brook trout from the Androscoggin 

So that's what the fishing has been like in a nut shell. Good hatches should continue into the future with warmer days meaning solid grey drake mayfly hatches on the Saco with Caddis and assorted mayflies on both the Saco and Andro. As July approaches we can look forward to golden stoneflies on the Andro and great Terrestrial fishing on the Saco.

If you haven't booked your trip with us yet this year we still have dates available with Steve and our newest guide Tom for June. Nate has availability from July through November. We look forward to seeing you catch fish this year!

Tight Lines,

Nate

Mid-May Report

Well I it is about time I wrote a report for NH again. Arrived back the last week of April and We've been guiding and fishing ever since. The three big stories so far have been lake rainbows, wild brook trout, and wild brown trout on the Saco. We've seen some very fat rainbows out of some local lakes recently with the biggest ones coming out of some of the tributaries. Every spring rainbows get washed out of lake outlets during high flows. This phenomenon can allow for some very big fish in small water. 

Right now these rainbows are keyed in on caddis, but earlier in the spring they key in on sucker spawn and smelt. It is also possible to catch these big rainbows right out of the lakes as they cruise around looking for an easy meal. Yesterday we took three nice rainbows fishing Caddis from shore. We've also done well from the raft. Check the jumping rainbow video on or video page to see these fish in action. 

After arriving home from Arkansas I was eager to try some new streamer patterns and techniques out on the Saco. With the Saco running low on my arrival home I knew we would need a good rain. Luckily our first big rain lined up with a day of fishing I had planned with my good friend Tom Freedman (Tom will be guiding for us this year.) Tom and I had been discussing streamers and strategies for browns over the phone while I was in Arkansas and we both had some theories that we wanted to test. 

Since the Saco is such a slow clear river the bigger fish become extremely cautious when water is low and clear. This is why so few of these fish are caught on dry flies in the late spring. However when heavy rains raise flows minnows and smaller trout get pushed around and the bigger fish take advantage. 

The biggest thing I learned while in Arkansas about hunting big brown trout is that these fish do not eat as often as smaller bug eating trout. Consider how many more potato chips you can eat than hamburgers. When these big browns chomp a 10" rainbow trout they may not eat for another few days. 

So the key to targeting big brown trout on big streamers is to understand that even when you are doing everything right you may not hook a fish for hours. It takes confidence and persistence to find a big brown that is looking to eat. With this in mind Tom and I elected to fish a long stretch of river.

Our theories paid off as we were able to net a 24" brown towards the middle of the float and a 22" brown towards the end. We also landed a 10" wild brook trout and a 12" wild brown trout. I am fairly confident that these were truly wild fish as the river had yet to have been stocked for the season. It is looking like we may get some rain this weekend and I am hoping to find a few more of these fish on Monday.

As waters have been warming we have been seeing some great hatches on our wild brook trout waters. Depending on the streams substrate we have been seeing a mix of Caddis and Handrickson's coming off  from mid morning through the afternoon. It has been an exciting spring as we've discovered a few new to us brook trout spots that are simply amazing. Some of these streams flow slowly through pristine meadows and bogs while others snake their way through old growth pine forests. All of these streams are spring fed which allows brook trout to grow to a larger size than in other New England streams. 8 to even 12" wild brook trout are not uncommon here. This fishing will is best through May so if you'd like to give it a shot give us a call soon as dates are limited! See the prehistoric brookie video on our video page to see this fishing in action. 

Spring fed wild brook trout stream.

A plump wild brook trout taken on a caddis. 

With rain in the forecast we are looking to hunt big browns again on monday. On Tuesday temps will moderate and the wild brook trout fishing and rainbow trout fishing should be hot! 

The Androscoggin River should begin to turn on as well with warming temps. Caddis hatches may only be a week away. Looking forward to seeing many of you this season.

Tight Lines,

Nate

April report Arkansas and New Hampshire

Right now the fishing is good at home in NH and here in Arkansas. While we've been having a great time learning the waters of the Ozarks we are looking forward to returning home to test some new techniques out in the Granite State. 

A mid-day streamer eater.

Fishing conditions here in Arkansas have been varied over the past few weeks with changing flows and weather we have been able to see the rivers in many different conditions which has provided a great learning experience. We have figured out how to catch fish in a variety of conditions, from sunny days with low flows to cloudy days with high flows and everything in between, we have learned that big fish can be caught no matter the weather and flow. It is more a matter of persistence than waiting for the "right" conditions around here. With so many large fish in the White River system it is just a matter of time before a large fish gets hungry. 

A late day streamer eater. Took a rainbow trout pattern.

We have found that these big fish can be taken on nymphs and dries but the most consistent method of taking them continues to be with streamers in just about every condition. The key here is varying your pattern choice, water type, and retrieve based on flow and weather. Yesterday we enticed a few big browns to take streamers in sunny, windy conditions with low flow. 

A nymph caught brown from the Norfork river. 

With our raft we have also been able to explore some more remote waters here in the Ozarks. One such stream has proven to be a true jem with wild rainbows to 20" and big holdover browns to keep things interesting. We have really enjoyed the beauty and remote feel of this water. It is like a piece of Montana without the crowds. 

A large wild rainbow from a remote stretch of water.

Back in NH our Guide Steve Bowman has been busy fishing and guiding the Lakes region of NH for large rainbows and LL salmon. Steve had a great day on the water the other day with brothers Mark and Luke Antal. Both caught twenty inch fish on size 22 flies and were able to join the prestigious 20 on a 20 club. See our facebook page for pictures of these beautiful bows!

We have two trips booked for this week here in Arkansas and then we begin our Journey home on April 16th. We plan to take the scenic route and should be back home to start fishing and guiding by April 25th. We are excited to test out some new streamer and nymphing techniques on the local waters of New Hampshire. The Saco especially has some potential for large browns in Late April and Early May (as we saw last season). 

If you would like to book a trip for this season please contact us ASAP, Dates are filling fast especially in June.  As  of this writing Nate Hill is available June 1st, 2nd, 3rd, June 10th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 17th, 20th, 24th,26th. If you are interested in other dates Steve Bowman may be available. Please let us know what you are interested in and we will do what we can to get you on the water. July and August are starting to fill fast so let us know if you are interested in summer datesThanks for reading and be sure to check out our facebook page for daily pics and videos. 

Tight lines,

Nate