Spent a day in the White Mountains this week. Partly I wanted to see what the water levels and temperatures looked like. There hasn't been much rain this Spring.
The first place I stopped surprised me. The river had changed considerably since last Fall. An October 2017 storm changed not just where the river flowed but also the river bottom. Some smalls falls were missing altogether. They'd been washed downstream to fill in the pools that were just below the falls. Big rocks had been moved around over a distance of 100-150 feet. My cousin lives near the river. She had told me back then how bad it was. Now I see what she meant.
Once you get above the lowlands the water temperatures are good - upper 50°s. The water levels are low, though. Not as low as they were at this time in 2016, but lower than the long-term average.
This picture is from the second place I stopped.
The rocks in the lower right corner should be under water at this time of year.
Still, there's fishable water here.
The fish everywhere were kind of picky. I started with a black woolly bugger and caught a few fish with it. The fish weren't exactly slamming it. Quite a few just splashed it as they turned away.
When I tried a small black gnat it became easy. (The next best thing to the small black fly was a hot pink woolly bugger.)
Mostly rainbows. Most stocked but some wild. All the brookies were small and wild.
The first place I stopped surprised me. The river had changed considerably since last Fall. An October 2017 storm changed not just where the river flowed but also the river bottom. Some smalls falls were missing altogether. They'd been washed downstream to fill in the pools that were just below the falls. Big rocks had been moved around over a distance of 100-150 feet. My cousin lives near the river. She had told me back then how bad it was. Now I see what she meant.
Once you get above the lowlands the water temperatures are good - upper 50°s. The water levels are low, though. Not as low as they were at this time in 2016, but lower than the long-term average.
This picture is from the second place I stopped.
The rocks in the lower right corner should be under water at this time of year.
Still, there's fishable water here.
The fish everywhere were kind of picky. I started with a black woolly bugger and caught a few fish with it. The fish weren't exactly slamming it. Quite a few just splashed it as they turned away.
When I tried a small black gnat it became easy. (The next best thing to the small black fly was a hot pink woolly bugger.)
Mostly rainbows. Most stocked but some wild. All the brookies were small and wild.
Nice fish.