New Hampshire 2013 Act 4

DJ feels there are 49 reasons to go to New Hampshire. He enjoys hiking the 48 mountains over 4000 feet and eating wild blueberries. I am infatuated with everything from the Lakes region to the Canadian border. I love mountain lakes, mountain views, waterfalls, rock formations, smallmouth bass, you name it and I want to see it. That said I spend most of my time in the mountains. The Whites are closer than the Great North Woods and a lot cheaper than the Lakes Region.  Specifically, I usually spend most of my time in the area from Franconia Notch to Crawford Notch. The two main reasons are the free camping and the great trout fishing (Echo, Profile, and Saco Lakes).  I could spend an entire summer in that area and never get bored.

However, I fashion myself an explorer. Did Leif Erickson stop when he found Greenland? Hell no, he went on to discover Newfoundland. So in his honor and with a lot more comfort, this year I have tried to hike a new trail or fish a new pond on at least one of my weekend days in the Granite State.

Thursday

I got out of work around 2 pm and headed straight for the mountains. My quest was the shelter at Three Ponds (these are the names of the ponds, Upper Three Ponds, Middle, etc.) The shelter is about two miles into the wood. I had never been there. Knowing it would be dark by seven, I prayed for no traffic and as flat hike. I arrived at the trailhead about 5:15.  My bag was packed and I took off like a banshee. Once I got to the trailhead, I knew I would make it to the shelter by dark. For one simple reason…Fear

Three Ponds Shelter

I did not pack a tent since I was staying at the shelter. My “back up plan “was to camp alongside the trail if dark approached. I didn’t want to lose a trail in the dark so I would find a flat spot and sleep right there. I hated my back up plan. I am not afraid of bears, but the trails we use during the day get used by animals at night. I did not want to be next to the trail and startle a black bear or for that matter a moose while lying helplessly in a sleeping bag.  For this reason, I was motivated to hustle.

I ended up getting to the shelter about 6:15. I had time to eat supper, hang my food, set up my makeshift camp (water bottle, sleeping bag, book, etc...) and cast my fly rod for ten minutes before dark. I went to bed after reading a few pages of “Traveling with Charley” by John Steinbeck

Friday

My lone brookie from Upper Three Pond

I finally got out of my bag at 8 am. It was a cold night and I did not want to face the morning without being covered up. I packed my bag and went down to the water to fish. There is not a lot of room at Middle Three Ponds especially with a fly rod to back cast. So I headed up to Upper Three Ponds. I fished there for an hour or so. I got on a rock about fifteen feet into the lake (barefoot, burr!) I caught one small brookie in spawning colors. It was absolutely gorgeous. Mountain lakes are stocked with fingerling trout (about one inch long) by helicopter. Although not wild in origin, to survive to adulthood they have to dodge predators and weather. They are just like wild trout except for where they were born. I respect them.

After fishing Upper and Middle Three Ponds (Lower Pond is trailless) I headed out of the woods. I took some side paths to beaver swamps and pools in the river. I realized as I walked out, that if I explore another pond, I might come to a one with nowhere to cast a line. So I went for more of a sure bet. Before fishing I ate lunch at the picnic tables at Canon Mountain. I realized I was eating all four food goups (chocolate milk and cheese-dairy, peperoni sandwich-meat and carbs, salsa –veggies. I felt bad that I considered peperoni a meat so I had a slice of turkey breast to relieve my guilt) I fished Echo and Profile. Although Echo is usually a sure bet in September, it was just barely. I only caught three trout and none at Profile. I found a campsite an hour before dusk and then drove around looking for moose. I slept without my rainfly on the tent. The stars put on a show.

Saturday

Guinea Pond, Sandwich Mountain on the right
Black Mountain on the left

I wanted to hike out to Black Mountain Pond off Sandwich Notch Road. To do this I needed an early start. I got up at dawn and packed my tent. I made good time and was hiking by 8 am. There are two ponds on this trail, Guinea Pond and Black Mountain. Both have brook trout and I had never been to either. I made it to Guinea Pond fairly quickly (1.6 miles). It is sort of swampy. There is a beautiful view of Sandwich Mountain in the background. The problem is it is boggy and without waders impossible to get near the water. I hoped my next pond would be better.

I backtracked the .2 miles to the Black Mountain Pond trail. It’s 2.4 miles from this junction to the pond. Most of the trail is slightly uphill. It gets steeper near the end. I sweated some but all in all, a fairly easy trail. Near the pond there are tent pads for camping. I walked by them and went to the pond. This was what I was hoping for. At the bottom of the trail the six acre pond opens up in front of you. Black Mountain is right behind the pond providing an awesome backdrop. The water level was down slightly so walking around the pond was easy.

Black Mountain Pond

I ate some lunch enjoying the view before fishing. I only had two hours to play before I had to head back out. I casted my fly rod, but only got one hit. I switched to my spinning rod and worms. I only caught three fish, but what beautiful fish they were. A camper coming down after setting up camp yelled back to his buddy “Wow this is a special place!” I concur. While I fished a couple guys in there early twenties sipping whiskey also started fishing. They caught two fish also. The three of us watched an immature bald eagle do a couple flybys before heading through the valley.

At 1:30 I sadly had to leave this amazing lake. I made it out the 4.1 miles in 1:35 minutes. I hustled out so I could get home in time to watch the Sox with DJ. I stopped in Waterville Valley got gas and a Slim Jim and came home.

Animals seen- toad, newt, garter snake, bald eagle, 7 trout,

Things I learned-

A bag of banana chips (dried bananas) in the snack size that I could have easily eaten on my ride home has an astounding 900 calories, so I opted to snap into a 140 calorie Slim Jim.

Carrying a spinning rod and worms is a good idea if going to a pond you have never been too in case you can’t backcast a fly rod.

At Three Ponds Shelter I mentally prepared myself for critters being all around me. I had read shelters are sometimes infested with mice and chipmunks. This was the first night I ever slept without the physiological barrier of a tent between me and the elements. It turned out to be a very quiet night and the few animals I did hear did not bother me in the least. The next night sleeping in my tent 50 feet from my car, I saw people down the next dispersed site about 150 yards away. They had flashlights and headlamps and looked as though they were heading my way. I had images of the guy from SAW the horror movie. So this only reinforced I have much less fear of wild animals than I do people in the dark.

I had forgotten how good it feels to carry my full size backpack. I hadn’t used it since 2010. The center of gravity and balance change. It felt good having my shoulders a little sore from the straps.

Holy Horned Pout

On Tuesday I went up to the Charles River to do some catfishing. According to Mass Wildlife, the Charles is supposed to support channel catfish. They are a rare catch, but the river does have a healthy population of white catfish.

To my dismay, I did not catch either species. I did land quite a few catfish of the bullhead variety. After a slow start, the bullheads proved almost nonstop action. I ended up catching at least a dozen. Most of the bullheads were yellow, but as the night went along, I started catching brown bullheads (the ones New Englanders refer to as horned pout). I caught what I think is my largest yellow bullhead ever. They do not grow very large, the biggest I caught was about a foot long.

As a contrast I caught one of my smallest brown bullheads ever at about four inches. I very seriously considered taking it home and putting it in my fish tank.  Strangely I also caught a sunfish and a yellow perch an hour after complete darkness. I fished until about 9:30 pm and drove the half hour home.

Fish caught on nightcrawlers on the bottom casting into a channel near a bridge.

BOWFIN!!!

Today I went out looking for bowfin. This was my second try for this elusive, rare (in Massachusetts) fish. The first attempt was an epic fail in which, I did not even get to make a cast for them. Going out today was sort of a spur of the moment thing. I was hoping to go up to New Hampshire this weekend, but severe thunderstorms and rain were predicted.  So yesterday I carp fished in the morning and striper fished in the evening.

Today when I got up I checked the weather, the forecast was for clouds, and I did not want to waste the overcast conditions. So I weighed my options and decided to try for bowfin again. I came up with a game plan to use both lures and shiners. I needed my kayak to paddle to the place known to harbor them.

I had no delusions that I would actually catch one. When it comes to targeting new species of fish, I never plan on catching one. My goals are always to try for them and give myself a chance. I always hope to catch one, but I am never disappointed when I come up short. I try to look at each failure as a learning experience. I went lake trout fishing six or seven times before I caught one.

I got to the water body and started fishing. I used shiners on one rod and lures on the other. There was a lot of shoreline all of it with cover for ambush predators to hide in. The area was like a swamp. There was a ton of open water, but the edges were covered in brush, fallen timber and even standing timber.

After only a few minutes the bobber dropped and I set the hook. Unfortunately, there was nothing on the end of the line. So I put on another shiner and casted in the same location. Luckily, the bobber dropped again. This time when I set the hook the rod bent. At first it was easy to reel the fish in. I thought I had a small bass of about 12 inches. Then the fish started digging for the bottom in deeper water, followed by shooting into the sky, and then back to the bottom. When it jumped I saw a long slender fish, bowfin! My heart started racing. I was near one of the few spots I could beach the kayak.  I started paddling backwards while fighting the fish. After the initial weak run, it fought like a champ; it took drag more than once. I was afraid it would break my twelve pound line or cut it with its sharp teeth.

When I got it near the kayak I saw that it was hooked in the upper lip. I knew the hook was in a good position to not cut the line with the teeth, the hook popping out was another matter altogether. I beached the kayak and slid the fish on shore.  Then I had to unhook the fish. I had read bowfin will intentionally bite. I was more than careful. I was nervous getting the hook out but it came out fairly easily. I took a few pictures. I then walked in the water up to my knees, revived it and watched it swim away.

Bowfin are long shaped fish, they are skinny top to bottom, but cylindrical like a baseball bat. I didn’t weigh it, but my guess it was around five pounds. I would not be surprised if someone that knows more about bowfin than me told me it looked more like a four pounder or a seven pounder. Either way, I’m glad I caught a good sized one, but I’m enthusiastic, I caught one of any size.

I fished another three hours. I caught a bunch more fish, but they were crappie. No more bowfin, on my paddle back to the car I felt a sense of accomplishment and left with a hell of a memory.  

 

Below are a couple more pictures

A Ramble about Summer not being my favorite season and a Quick Fishing Report

When I was a little kid, like millions of little kids, I could not wait until summer. Even through the  
years, I would tell people that would say “it’s too hot” that it beats winter. Up until recently, I would say summer was my favorite season. For people that say they love fall, I would make fun of them and tell them their favorite season is when plants die.

As I have mentioned many times on this blog, the shortening of daylight hours used to depress me. I wouldn’t go as far as to say medically depressed in need of medication, but certainly, I was gloomy. Also as mentioned, winter time stripers have made the short days so much easier to deal with.

Over the last couple of years, as I have spent more time fishing and less time doing other daytrip type things, I now have much more appreciation for other seasons and less for summer. Spring is probably my favorite time to fish. From mid-April to mid-May, fishing is great for almost every species. During my days off in the spring, I love going on fishing adventures. These include trips to Wachusetts Reservoir, Cape Cod trout ponds, and chasing trophy carp. I still find time to chase stripers a few times a week.

Summer for me has not been nearly as exciting. I can’t justify blowing the same amount of gas on summer fishing adventures. Carp fishing has not been very good this summer except on rainy days. Stripers of decent size had been no existent for Rhode Island shore fishermen since spring . Trout fishing is over by June first in most places.

My summer trip ideas consist of bottom fishing the ocean for scup, fluke, and sea robins. Yet every time I have the opportunity to do just that, I cop out. Why? Because for whatever reason, I can’t justify blowing 30 dollars’ worth of gas for small ocean fish. I write it down on my to do list every year that I’m going to spend more time bottom fishing, yet I never do it more than once or twice. This summer I bottom fished one time (catching a scup and a choggie). More often I decide to go carp fishing, but even then, I know that catching one on a hot sunny day, my chances are slim.

The one summertime adventure I truly love is New Hampshire, but since going to NH is more of a getaway and not a daytrip, it’s not relevant to this rant

For a night time past time, I catfish more often than I used too. I probably went once every couple weeks this summer. I do it for something to do. The point I’m making in this ramble, is although I still fish during the summer, I don’t get excited about it.

WHICH is why I am glad fall is here, like the spring, I get excited about fishing adventures. Unlike the spring where I do a ton of different types of fishing, in the fall my adventures will take my mostly to Narragansett.  During days that I have to work, I’ll fish for carp, bass, and stripers in Upper Narragansett Bay.

On days off through the fall, I’ll be in Narragansett searching for stripers, blues and albies. Hopefully, the bait comes in and we have a repeat of the great shore fishing we had the last two years. The last two years, bay anchovies were the main baitfish around. When they are in thick fishing can be fantastic.

By this time last year, the bay anchovies were very abundant. Many of us are worried they might not show up in big numbers. If they do not show up, fall striper fishing will be a big disappointment on the oceanfront.

So do I have a backup plan in the striper fishing sucks at the ocean? First off, fishing would have to be terrible for a few weeks in a row for me to not keep trying. Secondly, I believe the bay is going to repeat like last year and I think there will be good numbers of schoolies around again. So if I don’t catch them in South County, I think there will still be a lot to catch in the bay. Third, yes if striper fishing does turn out to be awful, I’ll go down the Cape and fish for trout. Some of the Cape Cod kettle ponds are absolutely gorgeous with the trees lit up in their autumn glory.

Fishing Report

If you have read that long ramble here is a fishing update for you. I went carp fishing Friday morning hoping to catch some before the rain stopped. I did not, but I fished after the sun came out. I ended up with a very short, very fat 17 pounder. I have heard carp fishing has been very good even during sunny days  www.ricarpfishing.blogspot.com  Even though the water is still kind of warm, I think the carp are out of their summer doldrums. It’s nice to have them back in the game.

Friday night I fished Upper Narragansett Bay from 5:30 until after dark. I caught four schoolies. Two were caught before sunset, the other two after sunset. Three of them were very small; the other was a solid 24 inches. I was pleasantly surprised to catch that one. Everywhere I went, I ran across snapper blues, so if you’re after them, they should not be hard to find. Like last year, I think it will be another banner year for them. Two schoolies were caught on zoom flukes, the others on bucktail jigs. Fishing was not hot by any means, but I’ll take four schoolies for a trade of a gallon of gas. 

Warm weather is on the way out, get out and enjoy it while it’s still here.

No computer for a while

My computer wasn't at the house for a couple weeks. That is why I haven't wrote anything in quite a while. I haven't had anything spectacular to write about anyway.

Now that September is here, I have gone back to striper fishing. There were good numbers of stripers in the ocean last two weeks of August, but I didn't make it down. In the last week I have fished in Narragansett and Narragansett Bay. I found fish at both places. However, they were small and not in big numbers. At the ocean, I got them on Cocahoes. In the bay, Zoom flukes The big worry for most fishermen is the big lack of bait. Last year at this time, bay anchovies were thick. We are all hoping that happens again.

If the anchovies show up this week then hopefully so will stripers, blues and albies. If they do not show up, I'm going up to New Hampshire to fish some remote trout ponds. Either way, I should have something to write about in the next few days. Also, I am going to work on a post about the Blue Hills that I mentioned before.

Stay tuned.