sbourdelais
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So, i live in Southern NH, and i was wondering about some lakes where i could do some pike fishing on fly?
Pike Fly Fishing in Southern NH
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Rip Tide
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Try coves and marshy areas along the Connecticut River
sbourdelais
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i then have to ask, what kinda flies? and for that matter, special leaders or tippets?
peregrines
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sbourdelais-
Rip Tide and Slugonar gave you some great advice on where to go.
These links might also be helpful:
Want to Tangle With a Toothy Terror? Go Pike Fishing -- N.H. Fish and Game
And at the bottom of this link: Fishing in New Hampshire - N.H. Fish and Game
You'll see additional links under "Suggested Fishing Locations" for
Lakes/Central Region
Southeast NH/Merrimack Valley
Monadnock Region/Southwest NH
Great North Woods
Each of the links has a listing of "best bets" for different species, including pike (except for Southeast/Merrimack valley which doesn't have any recommendations for pike.
You might want to ask questions about pike gear and tactics etc in the warm water forum --- we have a bunch of guys like "Diver Dan", "Rmooney", and several others that target them, and "Afton Angler" and an excellent musky guide also checks in from time to time, but they are all out of the NE area so may not see your questions. We have a lot of folks in Canada and Europe that target them too, so you'll get a lot of good feedback.
I know some guys use stuff like Tyger Wire as a bite tippet which is a knot-able wire, but others swear by just a short section of heavy mono tippet. But the only pike I've ever caught was by accident while fishing for steelhead so I'm no expert. (I was targeting steelhead as they started to stack up before they ran up a river and a pike whacked the hell out of a streamer and was lucky enough to land it on just 8lb mono tippet.)
But try the warmwater forum--- good luck-- and be sure to show pics!
Rip Tide and Slugonar gave you some great advice on where to go.
These links might also be helpful:
Want to Tangle With a Toothy Terror? Go Pike Fishing -- N.H. Fish and Game
And at the bottom of this link: Fishing in New Hampshire - N.H. Fish and Game
You'll see additional links under "Suggested Fishing Locations" for
Lakes/Central Region
Southeast NH/Merrimack Valley
Monadnock Region/Southwest NH
Great North Woods
Each of the links has a listing of "best bets" for different species, including pike (except for Southeast/Merrimack valley which doesn't have any recommendations for pike.
You might want to ask questions about pike gear and tactics etc in the warm water forum --- we have a bunch of guys like "Diver Dan", "Rmooney", and several others that target them, and "Afton Angler" and an excellent musky guide also checks in from time to time, but they are all out of the NE area so may not see your questions. We have a lot of folks in Canada and Europe that target them too, so you'll get a lot of good feedback.
I know some guys use stuff like Tyger Wire as a bite tippet which is a knot-able wire, but others swear by just a short section of heavy mono tippet. But the only pike I've ever caught was by accident while fishing for steelhead so I'm no expert. (I was targeting steelhead as they started to stack up before they ran up a river and a pike whacked the hell out of a streamer and was lucky enough to land it on just 8lb mono tippet.)
But try the warmwater forum--- good luck-- and be sure to show pics!
joshgamble
Well-known member
Can I then assume they come all the way down the river into CT itself.
peregrines
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Josh--
The CT River in CT does have Pike-- and there is a Pike management program in place that includes stocking pike fingerlings in the CT River, Bantam Lake, Pachaug Pond, Quaddick Reservoir and a few others, along with a naturally self-sustaining population in Mansfield Hollow
A good place to start would be to download the CT Anglers guide (a pdf). It has a bunch of listings of ponds and lakes in part 2 for instance that will tell you what each body of water holds, as well as identifies ponds/lakes that are managed for specific fisheries (bass, trout, walleye, northern pike etc). Here's a link to part 2:
http://www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/fishing/anglers_guide/anguide_part2.pdf
Or you can down load the whole thing (a much bigger file) here:
DEP: Fishing Publications
Good luck,
mark
The CT River in CT does have Pike-- and there is a Pike management program in place that includes stocking pike fingerlings in the CT River, Bantam Lake, Pachaug Pond, Quaddick Reservoir and a few others, along with a naturally self-sustaining population in Mansfield Hollow
A good place to start would be to download the CT Anglers guide (a pdf). It has a bunch of listings of ponds and lakes in part 2 for instance that will tell you what each body of water holds, as well as identifies ponds/lakes that are managed for specific fisheries (bass, trout, walleye, northern pike etc). Here's a link to part 2:
http://www.ct.gov/dep/lib/dep/fishing/anglers_guide/anguide_part2.pdf
Or you can down load the whole thing (a much bigger file) here:
DEP: Fishing Publications
Good luck,
mark
Rip Tide
Well-known member
We have a good pike fishery in the CT River
I wade fish for them in the early spring before the flood.
They stage near marshes pre-spawn in March, mostly mid-state from Glastonbury to Haddam
The state has a pike management program at one river-side state park where they trap the spawning fish in the marsh then transport the smolt to different lakes in the pike program
joshgamble
Well-known member
What wt rod would be best suited for them? An 8wt?
---------- Post added at 07:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:49 PM ----------
Never mind, I found the answer in the warm water forum. :bowdown:
---------- Post added at 07:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:49 PM ----------
Never mind, I found the answer in the warm water forum. :bowdown:
peregrines
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Josh, since you're in CT, remember there's striped bass and bluefish in SW near you too to chase-- so anything you use for them you can use for pike---- and vice a versa.
Generally 8, 9 and 10 weights are used for both pike and NE inshore SW... a 10 weight might throw big flies a tad easier for pike and stripers, but would generally not be as easy to blind cast all day--- and may not be as versatile a rod if you also intend to use it for largemouth, shad or steelhead, or trips to warmer places for bones redfish etc. where an 8 might be a better choice. So you might want to give some thought to what gear you have now, and what else you'll be chasing, to figure out what weight rod slot you want to fill as you build up your armory of weapons.
Generally 8, 9 and 10 weights are used for both pike and NE inshore SW... a 10 weight might throw big flies a tad easier for pike and stripers, but would generally not be as easy to blind cast all day--- and may not be as versatile a rod if you also intend to use it for largemouth, shad or steelhead, or trips to warmer places for bones redfish etc. where an 8 might be a better choice. So you might want to give some thought to what gear you have now, and what else you'll be chasing, to figure out what weight rod slot you want to fill as you build up your armory of weapons.