WRITING ON THE FLY
By GEORGE LISET
I enjoy small stream fishing. Catching beautiful brook trout on a light weight fly rod is a joy. Catching them on a dry fly is even more enjoyable. Brookies are the gems of New Hampshire mountain streams. When you catch them in the fall with their fall colors in full splendor, it is like finding a pot of gold. There are, however, a couple of times each year that I forgo the small streams to catch bigger fish.
Those times are the early Spring when the bigger trout come out of Lake Winnipesaukee to spawn, and then in the late Fall when the Landlocked Salmon come up to spawn. So for the last few weeks I have been haunting the rivers that flow into Winnipesaukee chasing big Rainbow Trout. The bigger trout live in the big lake since there is a bigger food source available.
Most of the time a fly fisher doesn’t have the opportunity to catch these fish unless you are trolling from a boat on Winnipesaukee. Trolling is an art which used to be hit or miss. With the inception of technology like depth finders and fish finders, the fisherman has a higher chance of being successful, and it makes it easier to get into fish. The problem can be that you don’t get to feel the iconic tug and sometimes you don’t realize that you caught a fish right away.
Fly fishing for big Rainbows has a small window when you are fishing the rivers, so one ends up chasing them around the lake when you hear they are running. It is not unusual to start fishing on the west side of the lake from Gilford or Laconia and end up driving to Wolfeboro because your buddies are texting you that they are into fish.
I have fished a number of times around the lake this spring waiting for the big fish to arrive. Between the storms and heavy rain, as well as the change in temperatures. I hadn’t had much luck. One of the first signs that the Rainbows are arriving is when you see the big suckers in the river looking for a free meal of trout eggs. When you see the suckers your heart starts pumping and you get excited because you know the Rainbows are around.
On my previous trip up I literally snagged a big sucker. I was fishing a size 16 bead head soft hackle with a size 18 prince nymph dropper. As I was swinging my line across the river the nymph dropper snagged the dorsal fin of the sucker and the sucker rolled into my line and got caught on the soft hackle. I had a couple of nice tugs on that trip but no trout.
My last trip up was more enjoyable. The river wasn’t raging, the wind wasn’t blowing and the temperature was comfortable. I used my same combination of the bead head soft hackle and the nymph dropper. I was getting the occasional tug which told me my flies were working. I was working my way down river when I felt a big tug and was able to set the fly and the fight was on. My four weight fly rod started bending and I knew I was into a big fish.
The first thing that went through my mind was, “Did you tie good knots?” The second was to remind myself to take my time and not to try and “Bulldog” the fish in. In what felt like ten minutes, I had my big Rainbow in the net.
Then I realized that with my recently surgically repaired knee that I was in a place that was going to be difficult to get out. Fortunately my new best friend Steve from Laconia helped me out and took my picture, otherwise this would have been just another fish story. I asked Steve how big he thought the fish was. He thought about twenty inches, but he said, “But by the time you get to Dover it should be about twenty six.” I told him I thought so too. So if you like chasing big Rainbows, head to the big lake and have fun.
George Liset of Dover is an award-winning outdoor writer and avid fly fisherman who shares insights of his time on the water exploring New Hampshire streams and rivers as well of those around New England. George is a graduate of Wheaton College, Illinois, and the University of New Hampshire. His column Writing on the Fly has been honored by the New England Press Association and the New Hampshire Press Association.