Biggest fly-caught NH trout....

[Steve H.]

I saw this thread on a similar website and I thought I'd start it here too. What is the biggest trout you have caught in NH waters on a fly? And what were the circumstances? What, if anything, made it memorable? Mine was a fat 17" brookie I caught in the Androscoggin below the dam in Errol. It was many years ago and I hadn't been fly fishing for trout for that long. It was quite a shocker....at first I thought I was snagged in the rocks in the heavy current. Then the rod tip started throbbing. After a while I was able to net it and took it over to the harware store to be weighed (and then eaten - I've become a C&R convert since). 2 1/4 pounds. Caught it on an olive wooly bugger and a borrowed 7 wt. fly rod.

[sbeausol]

17" Brookie trolling streamers at clough pond in loudon...

[michaeledward]

I caught a 20"+ lake trout in the Connecticut River, right at the outflow of the 1st Connecticut Lake Dam on a Lefty's Deceiver.

Over the past two years, the Milford hatchery has been putting some respectable rainbow's in the Souhegan. I've caught several in the 16" range on a variety of flies ... stoneflys, buggers, and the like.

http://flyfishinginnh.com/images/users/mikee.jpg

[BROOK TROUT BULLY]

Not including the Brood Stock Atlantic Salmon (they dont count :lol: ) A 23" Bow and a 25" land locked salmon. Both caught last seasone.

[sbeausol]

if you have pictures feel free to email them to me and I will put them up -

info@flyfishinginnh.com

[Trout Hunter]

22 inch rainbow in the Androscoggin River in Gorham

[NHBowman]

16", 2.5lb brookie on a mickey finn in Shaw Pond in Freedom about a month ago.

[PW]

18' Bow in the Souhegan behind the IGA in Milford. I remember this one because I caught it out from under the noses of some worm dunkers who were getting skunked.

[Ken B]

5lb brookie on Profile in the sleet and rain a few years ago. It towed me around on the float tube!

Ken B

http://flyfishinginnh.com/images/users/kenb.jpg

[Squaretail]

Good news and bad news. A beautiful 20" rainbow caught on a black whooley bugger in the FFO section of the Sugar R. in Newport. Unfortunately I didn't have the 2 pieces of my rod mated all the way and the bottom half splintered into a hundred shards of graphite. I hand-hauled that bad boy in the last 10 feet like he was a cod on a party boat. He was release in great shape and Luckily I was alone. My pals never would have let me live that one down! I must have been a hell of a sight on my knees in the river with 2 pieces of the rod flying around pulling in my best trout ever.

[fessiewig]

If I sent you a map of the river, could you mark exactly where???? :D JK

[mer]

PW:
typo? :)

Funny, I did the same thing a couple times this year out there. Once behind the gas station, the guy was up by the green bridge, saw me catch a fish, then I hear him wading behind me. He stopped and started fishing when I turned and looked at him. Then I picked up another right in front of him as soon as I had it hooked well and was playing it, he jumped ahead and started fishing right across me. I swore he was trying to snag my fish from me. The other time was up by Malarkeys in the corner. This time the guy was polite; edged closer and just watched, so I left the pool to him after I landed it.

There are some good holdover fish in there. an 18" rainbow on a 4wt bamboo rod is a lot of fun. Go up to the dam on 101 right after the light; get there for daybreak when it's hot. A few good fish in there. Just watch out for the beaver and the heron.

[Farm_River_Flyer]

18" Brookie 2 weeks ago on the Saco. Somehow I hooked him twice. First time, my "expired" 6X broke almost as soon as he took my fly and sank into the current. As I was setting up with my only other spool of "non-expired" 8X, he went back to his lie. 2 cast later, he came to hand.

-Pete

[sbeausol]

mer - the dam in wilton just after the irving on 101?

[mer]

Yep, that's the one. If there's a red Subaru Outback, it's probably me.

[BirdFish]

15" Brookie on the Ellis last August on a black, bead-headed wolley bugger.
Dave

[LL Salmo]

My largest trout in NH was a 23 inch Rainbow from the Newfound. My largest Landlock Salmon was a 27+ inch male, also from the Newfound. These fish exist and are accessible during specific times of year if the conditions are right. Just check the trophy fish listings for past years on the NH Fish & Game website. My opinion is that the Lakes Region produces the largest Rainbows and LL Salmon in NH due to the very healthy forage base of smelt. Another area coming into it's own is the Androscoggin River below Berlin to the Maine line. Late last fall I caught a number of 20-22 inch Rainbows fishing deep slots with big sculpin patterns. I was attempting to find larger Browns. Found lots of Rainbows, almost no Browns. The Andro apparently has a very healthy forage base and the larger Rainbows are keying in on large food sources rather than small as I had no larger fish when using smaller flies. The other keys were targeting likely holding spots and having the flies presented deep along the bottom either on the dead drift or the swing. Curious if anyone else has found the same on the Andro. Still a relatively new water to me.

[Steve H.]

Thanks for the great info on the Newfound and Androscoggin. Many times I've stalked huge fish in the Newfound, both rainbows and salmon. Sometimes the fish appear so large in that small river that it seems almost absurd. I've never been able to catch any of those monsters (and to me a 23" rainbow or 27" landlock is a monster!), only the standard cookie-cutter stockies on tiny nymphs in the dead of winter.

The Androscoggin is of much more interest to me these days. My understanding is that you need a boat/canoe to fish anything more than a few wadable spots. Is this how you managed the big rainbows? I have a 12-foot aluminum boat that I've used successully as a driftboat on the upper Connecticut and I'm thinking about trying it on the Androscoggin this fall. If you ever want to meet up and drift the Shelburne section let me know.

[LL Salmo]

Steve H: I fished from shore of the Andro, no boat or wading. Not owned waders for the past 5-6 years. I also fished during the fall when the water temperatures had dropped and fish were more active. I have taught myself to become proficient at roll casting and tension casting. I targeted sections below the existing dams where the river becomes more confined as well as areas where the river changes direction creating deeper cuts with cover provided by riprap or woody debris. I can not be more specific than that as I feel everybody should put there time in exploring and observing. Not as much fun when you are given the specific location, time of day to fish, size/color of fly, etc. Years ago, I used to enlist as much information as possible about new waters and the "successful" techniques for those specific waters. Over time I found that doing so limited my exploring and observing. Best to be more open minded and willing to experiment.

[fessiewig]

Yeah, but it is nice to know you can wade (or fish from shore) and don't necessarily need a boat. The one thing I'd like to know is the entire section from Gorham down (especially Shelburn) accessible by foot? I'm not a young man and have some health issues that prevent me from doing the kind of bushwacking I did when I was young. So the fact that a healthy 20 year old could make it in there does not necessarily make it accessible by foot, if you know what I mean. But by the same token I haven't gotten to the point where I only fish the bridges.

[Steve H.]

LL Salmo, I sincerely respect your position of not wanting divulge specific hotspots on the 'scoggin or any other water. And I would never be one to ask for anything more than general information. I've been fishing for about 30 years and have accumulated a good deal of knowledge (largely through time spent on the water) and don't like to give up all my secrets either. I find it much more satisfying to read the water for myself and catch fish on my own terms rather than "pluckin' em" from someone else's honey hole. It is nice though to have a general idea what to expect and where to start, especially if the trip involves a long drive. Thanks again.

[LL Salmo]

Take a look at the topo maps of the river from the Berlin/Gorham line to the Maine Border. You will see a number of dams that have reasonable access by vehicle. These are good starting points as access otherwise can be tough on certain sections of this river. In Shelburne the road on the northside of the river generally provides better access than Route 2. As you will observe there are fairly large sections of river above these dams that are not prime fishing water. I am stilling exploring access points and sections of the river. A number of my better spots required scrambing and down climbing very large boulders or exposed ledge. Not the kind of thing to be done when those surfaces are wet or in the dark. Fish & Game must have a map with access points identified as I have found a number of their survey boxes at these accesses. I wonder what those surveys have revealed if anything about the fishery since the regulation change. I am now waiting for the cooler temperatures of Fall before returning to fish the Andro.

[fessiewig]

Thanks LL Salmo, that's all I needed!!!! I like to explore as well, but like I said, I have some limitations. Just giving me a starting point or two is all I was asking for.

Tight Lines.

[BugChucka]

I'm curious if say you had an 8 hour fishing day what you'd consider a good day on the Andro in terms of number caught nowadays?

[Trout Hunter]

I guide the lower Andro in Gorham and Shelburne - it is not easy getting my 16 ft. Clacka in there but a normal day when the weather is good (overcast) and the water flow is right - 20 to 30 trout is pretty common - many small 4-7 inch bows with a few 20+ bows always can be counted on - a few browns especially below Shelburne and brookies as well - there are even some small and large salmon in there.

[BugChucka]

Thank You! :D

[sbeausol]

added pics

[fessiewig]

where?

[sbeausol]

to the posters who sent me the images (all are on page 1)

[ericsylvain]

They let all the water out of the Wilton dam a short while ago.
Don't know the reasoning right now, maybe repairs? Anyone
know what's happening there