Fly anglers experience certain anticipatory events over the course of a fishing season. Ice out. Hendrickson hatch. Mirus hatch. Alder flies. But the most anticipated event of the season is the hatching of our largest mayfly, the hexagenia limbata.
Troutman pulled into the Old Timer’s driveway. He shut off the engine on the jeep and sat for a moment. For many years the two had spent Father’s Day fishing. Great fun and great stories always seemed to happen. Troutman was hopeful that this year would be no different.
Every fishing season is different. River conditions vary based on snowpack, rainfall, and air temperatures. Pond conditions vary as well. Ice thickness and the number of warm sunny days will dictate how and when a pond turns on to memorable fishing.
Today is free fishing day in New Hampshire. Anyone can fish in the state’s waters without a license. It is a day funded by the excise tax that anglers pay on every piece of fishing equipment they purchase. Yes, anglers pay for many of the angling opportunities that we all enjoy.
There is the memory of my dad sitting at the kitchen table and spooning coffee into my glass of milk and opening the paper bag and sliding a chocolate-glazed doughnut across the table. That was the “breakfast of champions” before we would head out on a search for trout.
Memorial Day weekend is the start of the prime fishing season in the Mount Washington Valley. No matter what your preferred fish is, trout, bass or pickerel, this weekend has options for all these great gamefish.
“Where ya’ been?” said Salmonman as Troutman walked through the camp door.
Musings and observations while waiting for the waters to warm and the trout to come to life.
One of the great things about having grandsons is being able to join them on their life journey. Getting to share their highs and their lows. Sharing wisdom with the hindsight that makes them better human beings and laughing along with them as they try to develop and grow.
Walking out of the “pond that shall not be named,” a tear came to my eye. This will be the last time there is an opening day on this pond. The State Fish and Game has plans to remove the “quality pond” designation and replace it with the general law designation for the pond. This means that …
One of the great things about angling is that there is a season. When the season ends, it is the end of a chapter in the book of life. When the new season begins, there is a reawakening. A chance to begin anew. A chance to start a new chapter.
The cellphone started flashing like the blinking turn signal at our intersections. The text messages were hot and heavy. A customer from up north had discovered that roads to trout ponds were being gated, and that access for the opening of the designated trout pond season would be delayed un…
April is a cruel month for open-water anglers. The days are longer and the sun is warmer. Insects begin to hatch. Snowbanks start to shrink. Deer take to the fields in search of the first shoots of vegetation. Spring is a rebirth and a reminder of the hope of things to come.
April 1 is a popular holiday to pull pranks on friends. It is a chance to laugh at ourselves and each other without causing harm. But for anglers, April 1 is a time to stop fooling around and get serious about their sport.
Each month, this angler and shop owner travels to Concord to sit in the audience and watch the proceedings of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Commission. As one whose recreational enjoyment and livelihood depend on the management of the state’s wildlife resources, it is time well spent. One …
Every year around this time, Lyars & Tyers fly tying chooses to honor Saint Patrick’s Day by tying flies that are green in coloration. And Kelly green. Not olive green. Not forest green. Kelly green!