Lots of traffic on the rivers this weekend (no surprise there). Boaters on the Connecticut, paddlers and swimmers on the White, and fisherman most every place. Flows are down due to lack of rain in most rivers.
White River: Steve reports 63 degree water temps, smallmouth on their reds, and Rainbows actively taking flies (woolly buggers and gummy stonefly nymphs).
Mascoma River: At least one customer reports catching 3 trout on his first three cast this weekend!
Ompompanoosuc River: Tate fished in Thetford below covered bridge. He caught a few Atlantic Salmon parr, and some Brook trout, on a Stimulator.
Atlantic Salmon Parr
USGS Streamflow Map
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Bass fishing is HOT on local pond.
Thanks Peter! I understand from Steve that you caught mostly Smallmouth. They certainly on fun, and it beats working!
Hey guys, what’s up with the salmon parr in the Ompompanoosuc? Where do they come from? Are there landlocked salmon in the Connecticut River, above the Wilder Dam???
Dave – several government agencies stock Atlantic Salmon in various local rivers. The U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stock salmon fry in the White, Black and several other VT rivers. I find that in the summer, as water temps warm up and the trout slow down, the young salmon (6-9″) are very aggressive and can be caught on dry flies.
And of course in NH, the State and USFWS stock brood stock in the Pemi and Merrimack Rivers (http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Fishing/atlantic_salmon.htm). Definitely worth a try in the spring and fall. – Ron
Cool, thanks! But when these salmon fry mature after a couple of years in the river, they will need to move down into deep cold bodies of water, right?? So my question is, when these young salmon mature and start to grow bigger, where do they go? I wouldn’t think that section of the Connecticut River (below the Ompompanoosuc) could sustain a population of adult landlocked salmon.
Also, what is the point in stocking salmon fry if they have no real opportunity to grow and develop migratory spawning runs? Are they stocked only to provide fishing opportunities and have no real chance of survival as they get older?
Thanks for the info guys. Your new web page is great!
-Dave
Dave – thanks for the web page comment! We love this new interaction with our customers.
Regarding the salmon, there are lots of different opinions as to whether or not the stocking program is worth the time, effort and money. Some people think the fry and parr compete with young trout for food, space etc., while others believe the small salmon ARE food for large trout and smallmouth. I’ll say this much: I usually catch Atlantic Salmon parr every year before they head to the Connecticut and out to the ocean, and I’ve seen some very large fish that have returned (including a 33″ female in the White River a couple of years ago). Obviously the dams on the Conn. River provide sufficient barriers (despite the fish passage measures taken over the years) to a population of Atlantic Salmon ever being re-established in our local rivers. I know that the numbers of returning fish are not great, but at least part of that is due to the fact that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service keeps most of the returning salmon as the come thru the dams. Their theory is that those fish have good genes since they made it all the way to Greenland and back, and thus make excellent brood stock. Those fish that are allowed to venture further up the Connecticut (and into the White, Black etc.) are tagged so the fisheries biologists can track them.
I’ve provided some links below with basic Atlantic Salmon info. for your reading.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_salmon
http://www.fws.gov/whiterivernfh/
http://www.asf.ca/facts.php
Thanks for the info! I had no idea they were in the Ompompanoosuc. Or the Black and White Rivers for that matter. I’ve seen some landlocked make their runs up the Clyde River in VT before, but have yet to catch one. So that’s one of my goals this year. Another is to land a striper on a fly rod. Depending on the weather, I might give it a shot this weekend!