Walleye – Creel Survey for CT River

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Adam Dubriske and 6.6-lb. walleye, his first!

Rodney Chase landed a 24" walleye below Vernon Dam on the Connecticut River in mid-April.  "The fishing was tough with all the flow in River, but I found a great spot in this weekend and did pretty well."

Fisheries biologists will be on the Connecticut River this spring conducting a creel survey of walleye anglers. Biologists will be at Bellows Falls tailwater (Walpole, NH) and the Vernon Dam (Vernon, Vt) tailwater, where angling pressure is traditionally high. Surveys will be conducted on two weekdays and weekends starting in mid-March, and will continue through late April / early May in order to cover the majority of the walleye spawning run.

Objectives
The study is being conducted for several reasons. Our objectives are to:

• Document spring walleye angler effort, catch and harvest rates in the Connecticut River tailrace fisheries below the Bellows Falls and Vernon Dams;
• Evaluate the current walleye regulations;
• Assess angler satisfaction with the current walleye regulations; and,
• Learn more about walleye anglers on the Connecticut River, including opinions on walleye management and seasonal fishing efforts.

Fishing Report Updates
Check this page (below) for weekly updates of fishing conditions and success rates.

For information on the study, contact either Gabe Gries or Michael Racine, N.H. Fish and Game Region 4, 15 Ash Brook Court, Keene, NH 03431; phone 603-352-9669; or email gabriel.gries@wildlife.nh.gov / michael.racine@wildlife.nh.gov.

UPDATES

April 20 - Bellows Falls Dam
It was still warm today, but unlike yesterday anglers were on the water.  The CT. River is still very high.  I saw one angler in a boat and six fishing from shore.  The NH side below the dam is not fishable from shore, but shore anglers can fish easily at the mouth of the Cold and Saxtons Rivers.  Shore anglers caught five walleye including one beautiful 24” female (see picture at left).  The boat angler reported catching a number of walleye which were all ripe females and one 19” female that had already spawned.  The water was 44 degrees F.  Expect fishing to pick up if the flows decrease.
 

April 19 - Vernon Dam 
It was in the 80s today and people were more interested in getting their feet wet and throwing sticks for their dogs than fishing.  Shore fishing right below the dam is difficult if not impossible to do high water; one couple came down and fished for 10 minutes but found the flows too high.  I did hear that anglers are still catching walleye at the mouth of the Ashuelot River. The water was 45 degrees F.  
 

April 12-13
As expected, the Bellows Falls boat ramp was completely submerged this past weekend. Brave boaters could have floated a boat between the trees to get out in the Connecticut River...and in fact they did.  One brave soul was out in his boat, but the New Hampshire shoreline by the boat ramp was deserted all day.  There were anglers fishing the mouth of the Saxtons River on the Vermont side and the mouth of the Cold River on the New Hampshire side.  The mouth of the Cold River was slightly warmer than the surrounding waters and some walleye took notice.  The mainstem of the Connecticut River was 41°F, while the mouth of the Cold River was 43°F.  During high flows, the mouth of Cold River is the most “angler-friendly” spot, offering places to cast from shore with minimal brush interferences. From Route 12, anglers can take the dirt road down to the Route 12 bridge.  This access is solid and the parking area has room for about 5 vehicles.

The water level below the Vernon Dam was unbelievably high. The water line was right up to the little access road and there was no beach to be seen. The back-current in the cove was ripping. Boaters fished below the dam for short periods and then motored downstream (usually to the mouth of the Ashuelot River) to find the walleye. There were a lot of people stopping in and checking the conditions, but it would be impossible to fish from shore, unless you want to catch trees and sticks. One guy stopped in took one cast, lost a lure then left. Yes, the conditions for shorebank fishing are very difficult.

We are hoping the flows drop so that the river becomes more fishable.  The weather forecast for the next week doesn’t show signs of rain so we may be in luck.
 

This picture at Bellows Falls is from 2006. Had it been taken this year, all vehicles and anglers would be under water.

April 9-10
We were at Vernon this Wednesday and at Bellows Falls on Thursday.  Wow, is the water high!  The fishing has picked up slightly at Bellows Falls, but access at the boat ramp is nearly non-existent.  Half of the parking lot is flooded and is expected to be completely flooded out this weekend if we get the rain as predicted.  Launching a boat at Bellows Falls would be very difficult, if not impossible.  Shore fishing at Bellows Falls is also difficult due to the water level now being 30’ past the treeline and brushline.  If you do want to fish by the boat ramp, I suggest hip boots so that you can walk to the treeline to cast out.  But be careful, if you walk too far out you will end up over your head!  Other locations you can try are at the mouths of the Saxtons River and Cold River.  You will be able to fish these two spots even during high flows.  Anglers have been successful at these locations over the past several days.
 

April 5-6
Bellows Falls was a little slow on Saturday, but we did witness a 17" male being caught.  Anglers reported that the fishing was pretty good last Tuesday while the water was still low.  With all the rain we got the river came up quite a bit and has remained high.  The discharge increased from 17,000 cubic feet per second (CFS) last Tuesday to over 30,000 CFS the following day and has remained at that level. This means the water is very turbid and high, increasing by about four feet in height since last Tuesday.  Fishing from shore at Bellows Falls is difficult during high water (click to see my tips in the new Commonly Asked Questions section below).  The rising waters covers bank vegetation, which then waits as a trap for your lure when you real it in.  Apparently, the rising waters shut the bite off.  Other anglers disagree, believing you just need to know where to go and how to fish for them.  This angler is keeping an angler diary of each fishing trip he makes.  Follow up conversations with him have revealed that the fish are indeed at Bellows Falls and are biting.  He knows the spots and the techniques, having caught well over 30 walleye so far this spring from his boat.

The water temperature is still hovering around 5-6°C at Bellows Falls and below Vernon Dam.  Bank fishing from Vernon has also been slow.  We are witnessing boat anglers experience higher catch rates than bank anglers.  Catch rates from boat anglers reveal the walleye "are in," but we are perplexed as to why the walleye are not showing up in the bank anglers' catch.  

Walleye anglers fishing the Connecticut River this spring may have another unexpected visitor.  While fishing a 1/4-oz. jig-tipped with a chartreuse grub, I landed a 17" brook trout at Bellows Falls (left).  This was a pleasant surprise.  Both Vermont and New Hampshire had not begun stocking trout when I caught this fish.  What's more surprising, the Connecticut River does not get stocked with brook trout.  Two tributaries that flow into the Connecticut River where I landed the brook trout do get stocked with brookies, but over 10 miles upstream in each case.  It appears this brookie did some swimming to get to this location on the Connecticut River and survived fishing pressure for a year.

Another angler fishing Vernon was surprised to land several carp -- all over 20 pounds -- last week while fishing for walleye.  Hey, you just never know what you may reel in!
 

Walleye fishing below Vernon Dam, April 2008.

March 29-30, 2008
The walleye have arrived at Vernon. The few anglers here were well aware that the fish were in. These hardcore anglers have been pulling their boats 100 yards over the hard crust to the water. They proved me wrong. Boats can be launched...by hand. The snow was down just enough this weekend for one determined angler to plow through it with his truck to get his boat in. Two boats were pulling in walleye at a good clip, about one fish every half hour, while fishing on shore was slower.

The water temperature at Bellows Falls was a little colder than Vernon. We surveyed a few folks fishing from shore on Sunday, but the bite here was slow. Some anglers told us the walleye were biting last week. One gentleman said, "last week, Sunday and Monday they were hammering them right off of shore," while another angler did not agree. All in all, we didn't see anyone catch anything this Sunday afternoon. The rains and warm weather forecast for this week is expected to change all that.
 

March 22-23, 2008
There are no changes to report.
 

March 15-16, 2008
Walleye creel surveys this past weekend answered a few questions:

• Is anyone fishing for walleyes yet at Vernon Dam and Bellows Falls? No
• Is it possible to launch a boat yet from either location?  No, both launches have too much snow to get any boat in.  Vernon Dam boat launch has about 1 ½" of snow banked along the road and the Bellows Falls boat ramp has just under 1" of snow.
• Are the river temperatures conducive to spawning?  Not yet.  Water temperatures are still pretty low.  Water temperature at Bellows Falls and Vernon Dam were 34F and 37F, respectively.  Spawning typically takes place when temperature reach at least 40F.  With the heavy snow pack, I would expect river water temperatures to stay cooler longer this spring, meaning the spawn may be delayed until the end of March. We have thus postponed our weekday sampling this week and will be back out this coming weekend.

 
Commonly Asked Questions - WALLEYE

Baitfish
For questions about Vermont baitfish rules, please see Vermont's Emergency Baitfish Rules at www.vtfishandwildlife.com/vhs.cfm (click here)

Where else can I fish for walleye in New Hampshire?
There are several other waters in the state that contain walleyes.  The Merrimack River (downstream from Franklin) and the Contoocook River (from Hillsboro to the Boscawen) contain self-sustaining walleye populations, as do Post Pond (Lyme), Lovell Lake (Wakefield), and Pleasant Lake (New London).  Pond and lake walleye populations in NH are minimal at best and do not provide a consistent fishery.

I live in NH and have a NH resident fishing license. Can I fish the Connecticut River from Vermont  bank?
Yes, if you are a New Hampshire resident with a valid NH fishing license you can fish the Connecticut River from the Vermont shoreline and up to the first bridge crossing on each tributary.

I live in Vermont and have a Vermont resident fishing license. Can I fish on the New Hampshire bank?
Yes, if you are a Vermont resident with a valid fishing license you can fish the Connecticut River from the New Hampshire shoreline and up to the first bridge crossing on each tributary.

What about anglers who neither live in New Hampshire nor Vermont?  Where can they fish? 
Anyone with a NH non-resident fishing license shall only take fish east of Vermont low-water mark on the Connecticut River.  Therefore, anyone with a VT non-resident fishing license can only take fish west of Vermont low-water mark on the Connecticut River.

Do the Connecticut River walleye regulations apply to walleyes I catch in either the Cold River or the Ashuelot River?
Yes and No.  The Connecticut River walleye regulations are valid in tributaries up to the first bridge crossing.  For the Cold River, anglers fishing upstream of the Route 12 bridge crossing must abide by the general fishing rules: "No closed season.  No person shall take walleye under 18 inches; the daily limit is 2 fish."  Anglers fishing downstream of the Route 12 bridge crossing must abide by the Connecticut River walleye regulations: "No closed season.  No person shall take walleye 16 to 18 inches; the daily limit is 4 fish, of which only 1 can be larger than 18 inches."

Things to consider
You will go through many lures while fishing below Bellows Falls.  Bring extra gear with you or you risk having a very short fishing trip.  It is very easy for shore anglers to lose jigs in the rocks.  If your jig is too heavy, it will sink within these rocks, leading to a snag every time.  If your jig is too light, it may travel downstream faster than the walleye care to chase.  When fishing above the boat ramp on the New Hampshire side, anglers will have brush and trees to contend with along the shore.  Wondering what other anglers are using for lures?  Just look in the trees. Some anglers wear bring knee boots and hip boots, walk in the river past some of the brush for easier casting and retrieving, and experience fewer snags.  Be careful if you do this during high water, though.  The Connecticut River is typically very murky and the bank has steep, mucky dropoffs.  One step too far out and you may be quickly over your head and into rushing waters.  When the water level is low, there is little need to wear rubber boots.  Anglers can then walk on the dry bank past most of the bush obstacles.