By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – Fish and Game has backed off a plan to change trout fishing rules for the state’s 29 fly fishing-only water bodies.
“We need to take some more time to hear from folks about their concerns and see if we can match it up with management plans,” said NH Fish and Game Executive Director Scott Mason on Monday following two public hearings in Lancaster and Concord in which fly fishing enthusiasts came out in force to express concern for the proposal.
Mason said those who were not heard from in the process were other anglers who spin cast, who would have been able to possibly fish some of those waters.
There are about 150,000 who hold fishing licenses in the state and there is no way to know how many of them are fly fishermen, Mason said, noting he does both spin cast and fly fishing.
Enthusiasts across the state who love to cast in the Isinglass, Ellis, Lamprey, Androscoggin and Swift rivers, along with small lakes like Stinson and Sky Pond or drift boating came to both meetings and Mason said many there were wrong in their characterization that it was “a done deal. It was just the very first step,” in a process that will not be moving forward.
If it had moved forward it might have led to only 5 of the state’s 29 water bodies being open for fly-fishing only.
“I want to thank all those who attended our public sessions and who commented on the proposal,” said Dianne Timmins, chief of the Inland Fisheries Division at NH Fish and Game. “It is important that we get feedback from constituents and consider the information from and preferences of the public in something this substantial.
“We realize the changes introduced are complex and a big departure from what has been done in the past. However, the habitat and the species present in New Hampshire’s water bodies are changing, not to mention the impacts of warming weather and increased storms, so it is necessary to review these rules and make some adjustments. We absolutely want to be sure we are getting them right, so we have decided to spend more time getting feedback from constituents and fine-tuning our categories, and will postpone putting forward our final proposals until a later date.”
Mason said some of the effort was to try to update stocking plans which are in some cases 50 years old while access and climate change has had an impact on the number of anglers and the fishing pressure.
Trout need cold water, with brook trout needing the coldest. The state also stocks rainbow and brown trout.
Fishing guides expressed concern that by opening up fly fishing only water bodies to reel fishing they would lose some of their selling points and it might impact return business.
The proposal also came at a time when the hatcheries are under construction to remediate the pollution they create into water bodies from fish waste.
Mason said the issues are separate.
Under the draft proposal which is now being paused, opening dates on some rivers would begin a month earlier for some bodies of water and close two weeks earlier.
Some said the change in dates would impact the economy particularly in the North Country which would lose Columbus Day weekend.
It was also going to change some water bodies to “catch and release” designated waters, which was also a concern expressed by the fly fishing community.
The fly fishing season ends Oct. 15. A full list of the fly fishing locations is here https://www.wildlife.nh.gov/fishing-new-hampshire/trout-fishing-new-hampshire/fly-fishing-only-waters-nh
