Valley Angler: A New Hampshire jewel

The Magalloway River is the finest brook trout fishery in the state of New Hampshire. It is a rare jewel. Yet despite this, the river is under threat from none other than our own Fish and Game Department. These are strong words, and it is not often that I have felt that way about the department. On many occasions, I have defended the department in this column.

The native brook trout, which is the New Hampshire state fish, has been under attack for generations to the point where the lone survivors of those original historical fish are regulated to small streams, mostly in the White Mountains. It is not hard to find these fish, just about any small stream with clean cold water, will have them. Since their habitat is small, so are they. Trout in these streams rarely exceed 7 inches in length. What sets the Magalloway apart is that brook trout there are measured by pounds not inches. These are not stocked fish arriving by truck from the local hatchery, these are the real deal: wild “native” trout.