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New Hampshire’s Department of Fish & Game recently reported good fishing all over the state, from the North through to the south and throughout the coast. Trout action remains consistent despite rising temperatures, and the bass and crappie action is picking up in some places. On the coast, the cod fishing action remains solid but it has moved a little further offshore.
The Department of Fish & Game reported that fishing in northern New Hampshire couldn’t get more exciting. Opportunity abounds as trout ponds are still cool and bass ponds are starting to warm up. Fish are still being stocked, insects are hatching and fish are feeding aggressively.
Rivers and streams in northern New Hampshire are still at very healthy levels. Nash Stream has been fishing very well and some great brook trout have been caught. Anglers trolling flies have been reporting success at Dummer Pond and Cedar Pond. Bass fishermen have also been reporting high catch rates at Umbagog Lake.
In the Lakes region of the state, the Department is reporting that a recent electroshocking survey on Lake Winnisquam turned up some impressive largemouth bass and black crappie. They say that if you concentrate on those waters south of Mosquito Bridge, you will be treated to a great warmwater fishery.
If you stop and think about habitat for these species, it all boils down to where the vegetation is found. Large nutrient-poor lakes depend on the many tributaries that flow into them to provide the life- and nutrient-giving opportunity.
More often than not, these brooks are turbid, because they carry silt loads from upstream areas. Flooded marshlands found along these brook courses are the nursery areas for yellow and white perch, largemouth bass, black crappie and chain pickerel, not to mention the three sunfish species found in our lakes (bluegill, pumpkinseed and redbreast sunfish). The division also discovered that the numerous docks nearly always held fish underneath, and don’t forget fishing the dive platforms.
Department Fisheries Biologist Don Miller once snorkeled near a large dive platform on Winnipesaukee that was surrounded by acres of sandy bottom. It was amazing to see the number of smallmouth bass that were holding in the shade and overhead cover provided by the platform. It was akin to a pecking order, largest bass near the top, with smaller fish in the lower depths. Try scouting for these areas on any of our large lakes, you will be amazed.
In the Upper Valley, the Department reported that summer has finally arrived, with warmer temperatures throughout the state. On Monday they were doing field work at Sand Pond in Marlow/Lempster and Newell Pond in Alstead where the water temps were still in the low 70s.
Trout fishermen should take advantage of these water temps before things really warm up and trout get deeper and harder to catch. Fishermen that they talked to at these locations reported catching decent numbers of good-size brook trout and browns. Other suggested trout waters to try include the Connecticut River, Contoocook River, French Pond, and Mt. William Pond.
><> Southeast NH/Merrimack Valley
I had an excellent Father’s Day fishing trip on Pawtuckaway Lake this past weekend. My father, my four-year-old son and I launched a boat at the Fundy Cover ramp on the north end of the lake. We kept it simple, fishing with worms among the vegetation in the shallow coves. Yellow perch were biting each time we dropped our bait in the water. Biting fish are very helpful for holding the attention of a four-year-old in a canoe. There were many other people on the water, in everything from kayaks to bass boats. I overheard one person who said that he had already released more than 11 bass so far that morning. – Matt Carpenter, Regional Fisheries Biologist
><> Seacoast Area
Well, we all knew it was inevitable. After a long season and some huge cod, the mudhole has dried up for the summer. The good news is that there is some excellent groundfishing further out on Jeffrey’s Ledge, you won’t be catching those jaw-dropping lunkers but average-sized cod, haddock and pollock are out there in plenty. If your boat is not up for the trip, there are five skilled and knowledgeable headboat companies in our great state that are eager to take you right to the fish. We’ve still been seeing coolers filled with mackerel and the winter flounder fishing down in Hampton is picking up.
An idea for all of those anglers with small ones itching to do something fun this summer: Take a trip over to the Seacoast Science Center to check out their display tanks. Show the kids what fish they might be able to catch, then walk on down to the jetty at Odiorne Point or travel across the harbor to Fort Stark to try their hand at fishing. With forts, beaches and fishing there is lots to keep those short attention spans occupied, hopefully long enough for you to get in a good day of fishing!
Captain Bryan with Iowa Fortune Service contacted us and said that last week moved the needle once again as the next phase of the season fell into place with a great top water bite. As we approached the new moon, this week delivered us the best sight fishing opportunities of the season with nice groups of Bass laid up, or traveling in small schools.
All week long, the stripers tracked fairly predictably as they made their way into the South Jersey back country on the heels of the ever thickening quantities of bait that are invading our shallow bays and basins. Mostly all the bass this week were taken on top water and as we had good moving water all week with the approach of the new moon, this pushed a lot of bass into some very fun areas.
I have to say that there is nothing more fun than targeting a Bass in a small shallow pocket of water, or in a 2 foot wide creek, 10″ deep, and watching him explode on a top water fly or plug as it passes by, and with the new boat this season the Maverick is getting us closer than ever to these sneaky line siders.
Bryan expects that the flats fishing will continue to strengthen as we make our way post spawn and head into July, and as I say every season, as the fishing is by July 4th so goes the season. As more and more of the bait shows up or hatches on the moon phase, the shallower these bass will move, and this will translate into quality sight fishing opportunities.
The Blues still continue to make a rear throughout the backcountry as well, making short time of anything put in front of them. Even though he spends good amounts of time trying to avoid them, these 4 to 6-pound eating machines do provide some very fun action.
New Hampshire has plenty of great action currently for the angler. From trout fishing to bass and panfish, the freshwater action is aflame. On the coast, winter flounder action is out-of-this-world, and the striper action is picking up, while cod and mackerel fishing continue to be good.
Looking for good fishing? Head out on the water in New Hampshire this weekend or in the foreseeable future.
In the Northern part of New Hampshire, the recent heavy storms in northern NH have revitalized trout fishing in many areas. Water temperatures have dropped and flows have increased. These conditions have enabled Fish and Game personnel to not only follow the stocking schedule but actually increase numbers where possible. Surplus fish are finding homes throughout the state.
In the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, it seems like the long, dry spell has ended with fronts passing through every couple of days with showers and thunderstorms. These needed helped small brooks and streams recover from low water conditions.
Lake temperature is now in the high 60s (68 degrees on Winni) and bass nesting has pretty much ended. Look for adult bass roaming the shorelines, as the bass fry (jet black in color) swarm the shores looking for places to hide. This isa great time to fish for bass with small panfish poppers. Anglers have caught bass during the middle of the day over rocky shoals with my fly rod and poppers.
As the school year ends, the sunfish nest after the bass, so look along the shorelines for their nest depressions and drop a small fly or tiny panfish popper over their heads and watch the reaction! Sunfish populations can easily overpopulate small ponds and even some larger waterbodies, therefore, they are a great species to target with the younger set. This a great way to introduce kids to the sport of fly-fishing.
In the Upper Valley, the smallmouths haven’t gone deep yet. A recent outing to Swanzey Lake in Swanzey and Nubanusit Lake in Hancock/Nelson produced many nice smallmouth. Fish were caught in 3 to 8 feet of water on shaky jig heads and tubes. The fish were mainly along the edges of dropoffs and any place there were rocks.
The stocking trucks are still rolling out of the Milford Hatchery, according to the state. Everything has been stocked at least once this spring and the hatchery is putting out surplus rainbows. Trout fishing should continue to be good with the much needed rain from last weekend and cooler temperatures this week.
In the Merrimack Valley, last week, NH Fish and Game partnered with staff from the Anheuser Busch Facility in Merrimack, the city of Manchester (Department of Public Works and the Urban Pond Restoration Program), the Manchester Fly Fishing Association, Merrimack River Valley Trout Unlimited, NH Department of Environmental Services, NH Rivers Council, and several other volunteers and local businesses to perform a stream and pond litter pickup in Manchester.
The stream is located on the western side of the city and despite being seated in a densely developed urban landscape, has a robust wild brook trout population. It is expected that this will be the first step of many to ensure that this species, so important to our heritage and legacy, is able to remain present in our largest city. Additional restoration activities and potential funding sources will soon be prioritized and identified.
In three hours, 27 tires, over 25 full contractor trash bags, 3 bicycles, a car gas tank, a home heating oil tank,
2 shopping carts, 2 computers, a television, and close to a ton of rusted metal items were gathered. As interest for this project continues to grow, it is NH’s Fish and Game’s Division’s hope that those who litter develop an understanding of the value of aquatic systems…even in an urban environment.
On the coast, anglers continue to do well with winter flounder — that’s right, winter flounder! Fisheries biologist Kevin Sullivan fished with a friend for about 3 ½ hours Sunday morning and never left the harbor, managing to land 21 winter flounder, only one of which was under the minimum size limit of 12 inches. They took home 14 fish, with the biggest at 19 inches, a few over 18, the rest between 15 and 17, and they were a nice rewarding dinner for enduring the rain.
The striped bass catch is picking up, primarily in the Piscataqua River and Great Bay, and the mackerel are still available for bait.
Finally, the Mudhole is still providing giant cod again this year.
The Wisconsin DNR is rerporting that in Oconto County, hot and humid were the call words for this past week driving up the water temperatures at the landings to near 80 degrees. Although fishing pressure was light to moderate, the number of pleasure boaters increased.
Smallmouth bass and brown trout are on the menu in the Stiles Dam area with the smallies actively engaging small crank baits and the browns reacting well to nymphs. Pensaukee fishermen are enjoying the walleye bite by fishing 9 to 15 feet using crawler/harness, some small and largemouth bass are being caught in the Pensaukee River using crank and spinner baits.
Carp and smallmouth are putting on a good show at the mouth of the Oconto River. Some carp are over 20 pounds and put up a terrific fight. Walleye, northern, catfish and sheephead are being caught trolling the bay out of Oconto Breakwater and Oconto Park II trolling crawler/harness in 9 to 22 feet of water.
- In Marinette County, Peshtigo harbor fishermen are catching some big cats, smallies and sheephead at the mouth of the river fishing dead stick with crawlers or casting small cranks and spinners around drops and structure. The smallmouth bite by the Peshtigo Dam area is in full swing with everything from live bait drifted in the current seams to streamers and crank baits.
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- One angler was successful for walleye out of the landing at Little River. Walleye fishermen on the Menominee River are catching fish by the Hattie Street, Mystery Ship and Government Pier areas early morning and evenings. There are reports of a few salmon and splake being caught in the bay in 50 feet of water fishing 40 feet down in the predawn hours.
In Manitowoc County, The DNR is reporting that light easterly winds combined with temperatures in the 60s all week allowed fishing to pick up out of both Manitowoc and Two Rivers. Scattered rain with strong ENE winds slowed fishing on Sunday.
Water clarity remains good with water temperatures ranging from 55-58 degrees along the lakeshore and mid-60s in the harbors. Angler success has picked up during the past week, with boaters averaging 5-7 fish and some landing up to 13 fish. Some large chinook salmon have been reported from several boats anywhere from 18-21 pounds.
Angling success has been concentrated in the 140-160 foot range between the areas straight out of Manitowoc all the way to the northern most trap nets north of Two Rivers. North of the trap nets, off the lighthouse, anglers had success throughout the week in 80-100 feet of water. A few boats reported catching some 8-10 pound chinook as shallow as 30 feet north of the trap nets.
Coolers consisted mostly of Chinook salmon, with a few rainbow and lake trout. Blue dodger/aqua fly, white dodger/pearl fly combinations, and blue and silver spoons were successful on downriggers throughout the week. Orange, bloody nose, watermelon, and blue dolphin spoons had the most success on high lines, pump handles, and the dypsy.
With your downrigger depths out deep, try setting them in the 80-110 foot range. If fishing less than 100 feet in total depth, set your riggers in the 40-60 foot range. The majority of salmon have been taken during the morning bite before 7:00 a.m., so start your trip as early as possible to get your big chinooks before fishing slows by mid-morning. Continue reading Northern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: Action Improves
Lake Chicot State Park said catfish are biting well on crickets and worms. Bream are also biting well on crickets. Bream and bass have been slow.
Cane Creek State Park said bream are biting well on crickets and worms, and many have been caught off piers around the lake. Catfish are doing well with worms. Bass are biting well on frogs and soft-plastic lures.
In Lake Monticello, Fishing guide Greg Gulledge of Monticello Big Bass said there has been good fishing on Lake Monticello. Bass fishing is very good on worms and jigs fished in 8 to 16 feet drops. Schoolers are back; chug bugs and swim baits seem to be successful baits for these bass. Large fish have been caught on live black salties under balloons in 7 to 8 feet of water.
- In Kenosha County, the Wisconsin DNR is reporting that fishing in the harbor has been very slow, as they have not seen a fish caught at all recently. Word of the slow fishing is apparently out, as very few fishermen have even been out and many are not staying very long. The trolling bite has been good for those able to find the right areas.
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- Good catches have been made from 40 all the way out to 130 feet of water. Dodger and green fly combinations have been working, but spoons are now taking more fish as well. Along with good coho catches, some large kings have been showing up as well, with fish already being caught in the 20# range by a few of the charter boats. Finding the right temps and alewife schools has been key to filling the cooler. Continue reading Northern Lake Michigan Fishing Report: Trolling Remains Solid
The Michigan DNR is reporting on the Bear River, steelhead fishing slowed. However anglers were still catching plenty of rock bass and carp near the mouth.
The action on Petoskey Little Traverse Bay remains slow with only light numbers of lake trout being caught. It seems the fish were scattered.
At Charlevoix, the lake trout action remains slowwith anglers catching a few under sized fish. Smallmouth bass are starting to show up in the Pine River channel. Try drifting crawlers along the bottom.
At Traverse City, smallmouth bass anglers had great success in the south end of the East Bay in 25 feet of water. Shore anglers along the bypass in Elk Rapids caught good numbers of smallmouth bass when using leeches or minnows. In the West Bay, lake trout fishing was good in 30 feet of water when using spoons along the east side. Whitefish were caught north of Yuba Creek. Smallmouth bass fishing was good along the east side in 10 feet of water.
On the Boardman River, there are still a good numbers of perch and smallmouth bass by the dam at Union Street. Anglers had success using wigglers or artificial tubes. Lots of northern pike could be seen along the river however they would not bite.
At Frankfort, North winds pushed colder water in so the bait fish have gone for now.
Portage Lake had lots of smaller bass near the docks and along the shoreline.
Lake Missaukee anglers are catching some big northern pike. A few walleye were caught with the warm up. Catch rates picked up for largemouth bass, crappie and bluegill.
Lake Cadillac was producing limit catches of bluegill and sunfish. Try wax worms, crickets, leaf worms or fly fishing.
In Lake Mitchell, schools of crappie were reported near the State Park and the north end of the lake along the drop off. Smallmouth bass were caught in the shallows on crank baits, spinners, minnows, crawlers and leeches.
In Manistee, catch rates were hit-or-miss. Small trout and salmon were caught 50 to 100 feet down in 100 to 200 feet of water on green or blue spoons.
In Ludington, boat anglers trolling orange and green spoons have caught smaller trout and salmon in 100 to 200 feet of water.
In Pentwater, salmon fishing here has started to pick up. Boats trolling downriggers lead core and dipsey divers have caught a mixed bag of smaller fish. Green and orange spoons were the ticket.
On Crown Lake, Boxhound Marina said the water is at normal level and still a little dingy. Bass are biting well on top-water lures. Catfishing has been good with chicken livers. Bluegill are biting well on worms and crickets. Crappie are slow.
Lake Frierson State Park said the water level is normal. Crappie are good on minnows. Bass are biting well. Catfish are good on cut bait and nightcrawlers. There have been a few saugeye caught. Bream are slow.
On the Spring River, Mark Crawford at Spring River Fly Shop said the river is running at 460cfs and is a little cloudy. There have been good hatches of caddis flies and mayflies during the early morning and just before sunset.
There are a higher number of trout stocked at this time of year, so the fishing is good. Fluorescent fly patterns such as Cotton Candy and Y2ks have been producing catches. Snails and black woollies are also doing well. Check out Mark’s Blog for daily updates on river conditions and what they might be biting.
In Mullett Lake, the DNR is reporting that surface temperatures have been around the high 60′s to low 70′s. For walleye, a few were caught during the day when trolling crawler harnesses, stick baits or spoons east of the northern sunken islands, near Aloha State Park, between Dodge Point and Long Point and near the mouth of the Indian River. Try 15 to 30 feet of water.
Night anglers fish near the Cheboygan River and the north section of the lake. Northern pike were targeted in Pigeon Bay and the mouth of the Indian River in 8 to 12 feet of water. Try live minnows, rapalas or spinner baits. Bass are starting to congregate in the shallows as they get ready to spawn. Try tube baits, spinners, crank baits, and rubber crawlers in waters up to 35 feet deep. Perch anglers did not have much luck.
In Rogers City, good fishing surrounds the port, especially for those fishing 40 to 90 feet of water near any structure. The top half of the water column is where most of the silver fish are being caught and the lake trout were hitting in the bottom 10 feet. Lake trout were caught on cowbells or dodgers with spin glows along with spoons that are green, silver, gold, yellow and chartreuse. Silver fish were caught on mainly greens, blues and purple.
Presque Isle has been a good spot for Atlantic salmon and lake trout. The Atlantic salmon were caught very high on boards in the top 15 feet of waters 50 to 70 feet deep. Try body baits that look like rainbow trout or bright colors like orange, red and yellow. Lake trout were hitting just off the bottom in 45 to 70 feet of water when using cowbells or dodgers with spin glows.
In Rockport, boat anglers are catching lake trout just off the bottom in 60 to 70 feet of water. Dodgers and spin glows in fluorescent green was the ticket. Good spots were around Middle Island and in between the island and the shipping channel.
In Alpena, walleye fishing was good in front of the launch and south of Grass Island. Some also did well out by the Cement Plant and down the shoreline when using crawler harnesses and perch-style body baits.
In the Thunder Bay River, those trolling leeches and crawlers had limited success.
In Harrisville, lake trout are being caught in 45 to 60 feet of water. Silver and white were the most productive colors. A few reports of steelhead near the harbor in 30 to 40 feet of water. Walleye were caught in 25 to 80 feet of water when trolling spoons.
In Van Etten Lake, anglers caught perch were caught by those using minnows and wax worms. Crappie were hitting on minnows and smallmouth bass can be found in the shallows.
In Oscode, lake trout catches were reported in 60 to 80 feet of water. The fish appeared to be healthy and some were good size. A few salmon were caught straight out from the river in 40 to 60 feet of water. Try silver and white spoons.
On the Au Sable River, the walleye fishing shut down but should pick back up in a week or so. Those fishing Foote Pond caught perch, rock bass, smallmouth, walleye and pike.
On Higgins Lake, those out trolling found lake trout and whitefish in waters up to 100 feet deep. Rock bass have moved in so perch anglers were taking a mix of fish in 20 to 40 feet of water. Minnows worked best. Smallmouth bass and suckers could be found in the shallows and around the docks as they get ready to spawn.
Houghton Lake was producing some big crappie for those using minnows.
In Tawas, pier fishing was slow with a few bass and panfish caught. Good numbers of walleye were caught by those trolling crawler harnesses in 25 to 35 feet of water out off Tawas Point. Bass anglers did well when sight-fishing with assorted plastics.
In Au Gres, anglers fishing in all directions did well for walleye when trolling crawler harnesses in 25 to 40 feet of water. Bass were caught out near the Charity Islands.
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