This week in southwest NH, Mike Racine of Fish and Game's Keene office explores Pisgah State Park on foot, by ATV and 4WD.
Rules hearing: N.H. Fish and Game will hold a public hearing on proposed changes in the regulations affecting 2008 freshwater fishing in New Hampshire on Tuesday, July 24, 2007, at 6:30 p.m. at Fish and Game headquarters in Concord. Click here for details.
FISH STOCKING: As waters warm up, the amount of stocking goes down. We expect spring/summer stocking for the year to be completed very soon. Click
here for the latest fish stocking report.
Buy your fishing license or
salmon permit online, any time! CLICK HERE to go to our online licensing site. One-day licenses for New Hampshire residents are just $10, and annual licenses are $35 (good through Dec. 31!) Why not bring a new fishing buddy on your next trip! Don't forget -- kids under 16 fish free in N.H.
Fish New Hampshire and relax... We have what you're looking for.
Southwest Fishing Action: Pisgah's Piscine Pleasures and More! By Mike Racine, Fisheries Biologist, Region 4/Keene
Are you looking to make an adventure out of your fishing trip? How about a steep, one-mile hike along an ATV trail to the shoreline of pristine reservoir in southwestern New Hampshire? If you are brave enough to battle the deerflies and mosquitoes, Pisgah Reservoir (Winchester) in Pisgah State Park offers anglers the remote experience to catch largemouth bass and smallmouth bass, black crappie, pickerel, yellow perch, pumpkinseed and bullhead. The undeveloped shoreline is covered with vegetation -- try standing on a large boulder for unobstructed casting.
Not sure if you want to walk so far in? Reservoir Road off Rte. 119 offers ATV access to the pond. Anglers occasionally trailer small boats and canoes behind their ATVs two miles up this road to the Reservoir. Another spot to try within Pisgah State Park is Fullham Pond at the end of Old Chesterfield Road. Like Pisgah, you will need a 4WD vehicle to access the waterbody, thus Fullham Pond's boat ramp is most appropriate for cartop access. You'll have to work around the shoreline vegetation here, too, although anglers have an open area to fish from near the boat ramp. In both waters, anglers can expect the sunfish and perch bite to be on.
Admission to Pisgah State Park is free, and there are a total of 7 waterbodies and miles of trails to explore. Click here for more info about the park. Need directions? Call Pisgah State Park (603) 239-8153 or the Keene New Hampshire Fish and Game Office (603) 352-9669. For trail info: (603) 271-3254.
Anglers have reported success in the usual spots here in the southwest. Two weeks ago an angler reported catching 11 brook trout from Dublin Lake in an hour and a half, trolling flies about 20 feet down. Not a bad evening for someone who knows what they're doing. The salmon bite on Nubanusit Lake has slowed down, although the bass and rainbow trout bite on Spofford Lake have showed no signs of slowing. Does yellow perch fishing ever slow down? Grassy Pond in Rindge is a small waterbody filled with decent-size yellow perch and an abundance of 1.5-2.5 lb. largemouth bass. This water off Grassy Pond Road (no hiking required!) has a gravel/mud boat ramp suitable for small boats. Whatever fishing technique used, expect action on Grassy Pond.
Intermediate Fly-Fishing Workshop for Women
Spread the word -- Fish and Game is offering women a chance to build their fly-fishing skills while enjoying a beautiful New Hampshire weekend getaway. This intermediate fly-fishing workshop for women will be September 28 - 30 at Purity Spring Resort in Madison, N.H. Some fly-fishing experience is required. Click here for information and a print-and-mail application, or call (603) 271-3212.
The Dirt on "Rock Snot"
As you read in this report last week, a aquatic nuisance algae known commonly as "didymo" or "rock snot" has invaded the northern reaches of the Connecticut River, marking the first official report of Didymosphenia geminata in the northeastern U.S.
Anglers need to be extra-aware that didymo is on the move and easily spread by even just one cell of the alga breaking off and drifting downstream in infested reaches. It is very easily spread by waders, fishing gear and other gear that touches the bottoms of streams in infested areas, so it is critical to check and clean your fishing gear to prevent the spread of didymo and protect New Hampshire's waters.
If you see didymo in New Hampshire, contact Amy Smagula at the N.H. Department of Environmental Services: 603-271-2248 or asmagula@des.state.nh.us.
REMINDER FOR LAKE WINNIPESAUKEE BASS ANGLERS:
N.H. Fish and Game continues to count on help from anglers for a study of the movement of largemouth and smallmouth bass after bass tournament release. Bass are being tagged upon release from tournament weigh-ins at Ames Farm Inn on Lake Winnipesaukee, identified with a numbered yellow tag at the base of the fish's dorsal fin.
Angler captures of tagged bass are the major source of information for this study, so tell your bass-fishing friends to look for tagged bass when they fish Lake Winnipesaukee. Download and print a reporting form here (PDF).
CONTACT: Gabe Gries, Fish and Game Warmwater Project Leader: Region 4, 15 Ash Brook Court, Keene, NH 03431; phone 603-352-9669; fax 603-352-8798; email ggries@nhfgd.org.
A
User-Pay, User-Benefit Program Researching and managing fisheries and teaching people
about aquatic ecosystems are funded by your license dollars and by the
Federal Aid in Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration Program. Your purchases of
fishing equipment and motorboat fuels make a difference to New Hampshire's fisheries.
Click here to learn more.
