Story & Photos: A New England ...

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This beautiful brookie ate a caddis emerger imitation on the tailout of a plunge pool. All pictures: Charles Hildick-Smith

The northernmost city in New Hampshire, Pittsburg borders Canada, Vermont, and Maine, however extra importantly, it’s on the headwaters of the Connecticut River. The river rises simply 300 yards from the Canadian border and flows by a sequence of lakes, between that are beautiful stretches of freestone water, every with its personal character.

My pal Invoice Bernhardt had opened a brand new fly store and guiding operation, Points North Outfitters, within the spring, and he invited me as much as test it out. I made the five-hour drive north in late June, the place I met up with three of my oldest fishing buddies and my younger photographer pal, Charlie Hildick-Smith. The night earlier than we have been scheduled to fish, we checked in with Invoice and his spouse Emily—the brains of the operation who runs the fly store—to speak about our plans for 2 days on the water. I trying ahead to catching fish, however I used to be additionally stoked to fish with Invoice for the primary time, although we’ve identified one another for nearly twenty years.

Tim Bayha with the primary fish of the journey, a fairly brown that ate a dry fly, as information Invoice Bernhardt seems to be on.

Day One: Trophy Stretch and Exploration

At 8 a.m. the subsequent day, my pal Tim Bayha and I hopped into Invoice’s truck and headed to the Trophy Stretch beneath First Connecticut Lake Dam. We hiked by the woods for about 10 minutes and emerged onto a ravishing stretch of water, with no different anglers in sight. Invoice arrange Tim in a run, and he and I set off to scout downstream. Once we returned, Tim was combating a pleasant brown trout, which had taken a caddis emerger off the floor.

Invoice set me up with a double-nymph rig, that includes a Roza’s Pink Pheasant Tail and a caddis-larva imitation. On my second solid, I hooked a good rainbow, which got here to the web after a brief combat. Fifteen minutes in, and each Tim and I have been on the board. Over the subsequent three hours, we labored our approach upstream, catching all 4 accessible species—brookies, rainbows, browns, and landlocked salmon. At one level, Tim and I attached on the similar time, and Invoice netted and brown and a landlock collectively. Then, as if somebody had flipped a swap, issues went chilly.

Tim and I doubled up on a brown and a salmon, which Invoice had within the internet on the similar time.

After lunch, Tim joined our different associates, whereas Invoice took Charlie and me on a tour of logging roads to take a look at some native brook-trout streams. When you’re off the pavement, wilderness stretches in all instructions, and you actually get a way for the remoteness of the world. Sadly, the water in each streams we fished was fairly heat, and though we obtained a number of hits on dry flies, and no fish have been landed. We returned to the Trophy Stretch and landed a number of extra trout and salmon earlier than calling it a day.

Day Two: Chilly, Rain, and Quick Motion

The subsequent day, we determined to take a look at the tailwater part downstream, beneath Murphy Dam. It’s a bottom-release dam, and the water was simply 48 levels. The air temperature was only a couple levels increased, and darkish clouds promised rain. This stretch is thought for large browns—we’d heard rumors of a 36-incher(!) landed there—however they have been definitely going to be tougher to catch.

The massive pool slightly below Murphy Dam provides quick, deep water and a few great-looking seams.

We began on the closest pool to the dam, which was deep and quick, however a double-nymph rig nor a streamer produced a strike. Invoice recommended we head downstream to swing flies by lengthy, flat stretches. The skies opened up, and a gentle rain drenched us for the subsequent few hours, driving the chilly into our bones.

We coated a number of water and landed a number of cookie-cutter rainbows, however we might discover a massive brown. On our approach out, we went again to the highest pool the place I lastly hooked an 18-inch brown on a San Juan Worm. The fish made three spectacular leaps proper in entrance of us and spat the hook. That gave the impression to be an indication that we must always head in to get heat and eat lunch.

This muscular rainbow, accustomed to residing in quick water, fought effectively for its dimension.

We completed up on a distinct a part of the trophy stretch, the place the motion was quick and livid on each nymphs and dry flies. The salmon have been notably frisky, taking to the air instantly upon being hooked. The spotlight was the most important brook trout I’ve caught in awhile, which got here from a plunge pool beneath a big rock.

Invoice has been guiding on these waters for a very long time, and fishing with him was a good way to be taught the very best strategies and flies for the Higher Connecticut. Catching the Grand Slam of salmonids was icing on the cake. I plan to move again up within the fall when the large landlocked salmon transfer out of the lakes and into the river.