Troutl ines

Bas i l W . Woods , J r . Chapte r Trout Un l imited

September 2016 www.concordtu.org

Inside this issue: Presidential Commentary 2

Editor’s Soapbox 3

Parson Ponders 4

Deadly Hazard 5

Chapter Meeting

Basil W. Woods Jr. Next Chapter Meeting

Is

September 15 ,2016

Welcome Back Join us to for a Summer

conservation Update

:Officers

President:

Alex Hicks

Vice President

March McCubrey

Secretary:

Nancy May

Treasurer:

Brad Towle

Directors Bill Hall

Sally Turcotte

Mike Petrun

Tim Pease

Bob Ives

Steven Lowe

Ken Welch

Charlie Stumb

George Embley

Peter Denoncourt

On the Farmington river last week I happened upon a day with

water flows just under 200 cfs. It had rained the previous evening

and water had been released from the Hog Back impoundment. Even

then the fishing was challenging. I fished for a day and by the time I

left the flow had receded to 70 cfs and there, as of this writing, it re-

mains. Water temperatures close to Hog Back were very trouty but

only a few miles downstream the water was too warm to fish much

after 9 AM and before 7:30 PM. All fish needed to be enticed with

small flies on long gossamer leaders, played quickly, handled lightly

and returned immediately to the water.

I met a fishing budding yesterday who said the water release

from Lake Francis in Pittsburg now around 270 cfs was keeping the

waters cool far down stream. He recorded 62 degrees at the conflu-

ence of the Upper Connecticut and Indian Steam. He of course was

taking fish regularly but then again he could coax a 15” brown from

the Gobi desert.

Of course the mountain ponds remain effective heat sinks and can

be depended for trout but they will not tolerate fishing pressure as

they are extremely slow growth environments

Elsewhere trout fishing this summer has been marginal at best..

Many streams look like the one above Under these conditions con-

(Continued on page 6)

Summer Trout

PAGE 2 TROUTLINES MAY 2016

Presidential Commentary - Alex Hicks

Hi Folks!

I hope this newsletter

finds you well and full of

memories of a great

summer. It’s been a hot

and dry stretch for sure,

but all too short – as al-

ways. Like you, we’ve

been busy balancing rec-

reation with conservation and contemplat-

ing the plans for the fall. The chapter meet-

ing dates have been set – mark your calen-

dars for 9/15, 10/20, 11/17, 1/19, 2/16, and

4/20 – all at the Society for the Protection of

New Hampshire Forests, social hour starts

at six and presentations start at seven.

We’ll announce the programs soon – watch

the website, Facebook, and this newsletter

for updates.

I’m looking forward to catching up with

some of the folks that have been out and

about this summer. Stream crossing assess-

ments continued as part of the Warner Riv-

er Watershed Project. This multi-year pro-

ject helps identify where there are obstacles

to fish passage and how to open up more

habitat to native fish. The data can be used

by municipalities and other groups when

they plan culvert replacements. A landown-

er outreach program was also in the works

for this summer – I’m sure that was well re-

ceived. Speaking of outreach, I’m told that

there will be a display at the Hopkinton

Fair in the New Hampshire Fish & Game

building. What a great opportunity to share

information about this important project.

Soon, you’ll see updates to the blog, too. The

warm weather and lack of rainfall has cer-

tainly had an impact on our State’s waters

and illustrates how important is it to ensure

that fish can find their way to colder wa-

ter refuge in this warm weather.

Not related to the warm weather, but

certainly related to trout - Trout in the

Classroom plans for the school year are

already under way. In early August, I

was fortunate enough to sit in with like-

minded teachers, conservation educators,

and Judy Tumosa from New Hampshire

Fish & Game, for a discussion hosted at

Plymouth State University on how we can

help teachers new to the program be more

comfortable with the curriculum (and suc-

cessful in raising the trout in their class-

rooms). The TIC program continues to

grow by leaps and bounds (and very tiny

splashes). Watch for updates as the year

progresses. If you know of a teacher that

is interested in this great program, please

let us know!

So, among other things, September is

our month to catch up on who was doing

what and how it went. I started to list out

all of the things that members were likely

to be involved with this summer, but the

list was just too long and I was sure to

miss something important. With that said,

our September meeting is just around the

corner and it would be a great place to

catch up and find out all about what went

on. From the stream assessments, to the

fishing trips and the camps, I’m sure that

there will be great stories to tell. Come to

the program on September 15th, catch up

on the events of summer, and enjoy the

evening’s program. We look forward to

seeing you there!

Tight lines,

~Alex

PAGE 3 TROUTLINES MAY 2016

Joe fisherman 2016 is not the fellow of

old. He carries himself confidently, is

equipped to the teeth, is a relative fashion

plate, approaches the water as an engineer

and treats the pursuit of his quarry as

though it was an outdoor version of a video

game. Some of these buys are really good too.

Fly tying continues to go away from the

my old material world. I can hardly find

hares ear, beaver, bucktail; wood duck, mal-

lard and peacock in the mass of zlon, angle

hair, crystal flash, ice dub, holo dna, fish

skulls et all. Hackle now great but expensive

is hardly ever used. Duck butt reigns su-

preme. If it were not for the rabbit strip the

other world would not have streamers.

Archery Pond continues to be my neme-

sis.

November fishing on the Salmon river is

a social event of necessity but too, a joust

with the late fall elements. I relish both and

a chance for big fish too .

Looking forward to the time when con-

struction at Upper Dam on Mooselook Lake

is complete and I can put Rangeley back into

the fall rota

Sure do miss the brood stock Atlantic

salmon in the Merrimack. It provided many

a nice fall afternoons’ fishing. Still not sure

why the state could not, nay should not

adopt a brood stock program for browns and

rainbows in a similar fashion. Look how

popular the private fall stockings are on the

Great Bay tributaries.

The NHF&G folks are great to work with

and a more dedicated caring group would be

hard to find, but they have been beaten into

submission by the state budget cuts and I

find them less and less open to new and cre-

ative anything as they are haunted by the

effort to do anything that requires funding.

Who blames them? But a pity!. .

Random! & Apparitional?

I expect that some of these bullet items

will be topics for longer dissertations in the

coming months but for now just these few

words.

This years political discourse has had lit-

tle to say about the environment That seems

kind of ominous to me. Being ignored is not a

good sign.

This summer of heat here in the east

seems to be variously sourced compounding

El Nino with global warming. But, I did see

where recent research suggests that the slow

down in the ocean currents is likely to be at-

tributed to cyclical variation's recently un-

covered in the data. Comeback may be soon-

er than expected. But we are still 2C degrees

higher than the preindustrial world and that

can.t be good

Fishing more is not necessarily better

fishing. No doubt my senior status has less-

ened my skills and my “give a hoot” but for

all the fishing I have done this year and it

was plenty there were fewer fish and fewer

memorable fish too. I revert to “ It was a

good day to be on the water” far to often.

Note to self, need to fix that going forward.

The further north and west you go the

more it feels like the fishing of old, Few peo-

ple, a feeling of expanse and an expanse that

needs to be treated with respect for your

safety, The water is colder with no one down

stream gather the wayward; the fishing

paths less trodden. I should go there more

often.

It is remarkable how social fishing has

become, full of camp arrangements meals

and card games.. My email is littered with

trip confab. I got to admit though some of the

more memorable trip moments are actually

rooted in the food, adult beverage and verbal

gymnastics of a warm dry camp.

Editors Soapbox Tim Pease

PAGE 4 TROUTLINES

MAY 2016

Parson Ponders Parson Weems, north woods guide savant

periodically leaves his cabin and campfire to offer a few words and insights that can

only come from a dark sky view of Orion’s Belt on a clear New England night

It has been an odd summer. Not much

snow last winter and not so much rain nei-

ther. They been squeezing water outta the

lakes all summer so as we can fish and the

fishin has been pretty good with folks getting

fish below the dams at First Connecticut and

Lake Francis. Other spots been pretty dry

and if they got water it was pretty warm. Of

course we lost a bunch of trout down river

during the last warm spell and that ain’t

come back much at all..

There is a lot of edge showin on the lakes

so we surely need a refill this winter or it will

be real bad next year. At least we got a sec-

ond chance and some catch up time because

of the lakes. These lakes are doubly good cuz

the dams let water out from the bottom of the

lake where its is coolest. Makes a big differ-

ence

I been a thinkin that maybe I need to re-

consider all the stuff I been listen to about

dam being bad things. It’s true I guess that

dams keeps fish from going from place to

place but that may not be all bad as there is

stuff traveling around that should stay put

and if dams keep bad stuff from traveling

then maybe they are ok.

This cold water thing sure seems like a

big deal and so does just having some water

downstream even when mother nature don’t

help out. Them dams that let out water from

the bottom they callem tailwaters and the

fishing below all of them is pretty good and

lots a bugs too .

Naturally if you build a dam the lake be-

hind it has gotta be real deep so the water

can get cool, But, here in New Hampshire we

got some steep mountains and deep valleys

that .might help out. In fact some of the

slopes are so steep that today they just wash

stuff away and we got no use for the water

after its run off.

Bunch of guys from down state been doin

a lot of work trying to get what they call wa-

tershed tributaries in better shape so as they

can be places where trout can go when there

is low, no or hot water. Them tribs are also a

place to birth and raise trout young. They are

making some progress getting them tribs up

to speed but they still got a problem. The

main stems are just too warm and no mater

how good the tribs are unless the main stems

are fixed they will be having tiny match

book trout that fit only in the tribs.

So I been thinking if dams and big lakes

give us cool water and the main stems of our

rivers are too hot maybe we need dams to

help cool them down. Maybe we ever got em

already but just need to poke a hole in the

bottom to let the cold water out.

Back in the day folks worried that Atlan-

tic salmon would not get to their birthplaces

and have fry for salmon families, so we fig-

ured it would be good to take down the dams

not rememberin that if and when them salm-

on got home they would likely to find warm

low water too.

So maybe we need to fix the cold water

problem first then figure out how to get them

to it. Seems like we might want to rethink

this dam thing. Short of a solar powered

north woods chiller it may be the next practi-

cal solution’

I oncest asked one of them fine fish and

game fellas what he thought of my notions

and he said he

never thought

about it much cuz

he was too busy

just getting on.

Go Figure!

Parson Weems

PAGE 5 TROUTLINES MAY 2016

Beware of Mother Nature’s

Deadliest Hazard

Last week several news outlets reported the story of over 300 Norwegian reindeer killed by

lightning. I guess Santa must stay above the storms. It is however a stark reminder of just

how ;powerful lightning can be. Guess what outdoor activity leads in lightning deaths since

2006?.

NOAA's National Weather Service has discovered that 64 percent of lightning deaths since

2006 occurred while people were participating in leisure activities, with fishing topping the list

at 26 deaths. The National Weather Service, conducted the study by examining demographic in-

formation for 238 deaths attributed to lightning over the last seven years. NOAA released these

findings on the first day of National Lightning Safety Awareness Week to call attention to the

danger of outdoor activities during a thunderstorm.

Of the 152 deaths associated with leisure activities, fishing is followed by camping (15

deaths), boating (14 deaths), soccer (12 deaths) and golf (8 deaths). The remaining 77

people were struck by lightning while participating in a number of other leisure activi-

ties like enjoying the beach, swimming, walking and running, riding recreational vehi-

cles, and picnicking or relaxing in their yard. Between 2006 and 2012, 82 percent of peo-

ple killed by lightning were by male. “When people think of lightning deaths, they usually think of golf,. While every outdoor activ-

ity is dangerous when a thunderstorm is in the area, outdoor activities other than golf lead to

more lightning deaths. NOAA has made a concerted effort to raise lightning awareness in the

golf community since we began the campaign in 2001, and we believe our outreach has made a

huge difference since lightning-related decreased by 75 percent “The large number of fishing,

camping and boating lightning deaths may occur because these activities require extra time to

get to a safe place. “People often wait far too long to head to safety when a storm is ap-

proaching, and that puts them in a dangerous and potentially deadly situation,”

Prior to the lightning safety campaign, lightning killed an average of 73 people each year in

the United States. Since the National Weather Service launched the campaign, the average has

dropped to 37. Seven people have died from lightning strikes so far this year.

The best way for people to protect themselves against lightning injury or death is to monitor

the weather and postpone or cancel outdoor activities when thunderstorms are in the forecast.

Lightning can strike from 10 miles away, so if people can hear thunder, they are in danger

of being struck by lightning. The only safe places to be during a thunderstorm are in a build-

ing with four walls and a roof or in a car.

Pay attention save yourself. Remember what a great conductor graphite is too. Get under cov-

er, no fish is worth the fry!

PAGE 6 TROUTLINES MAY 2016

Newsletter Information Troutlines is published September through May. Chapter members who have given TU national their e-mail address will receive an e-mail

notice from us through the TU national server that the latest newsletter is online at our chapter website. Paper copies are sent to members

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than electronic copies, drop us a line to either our e-mail or mailing address. If you now receive a paper copy and would prefer to read it

online, drop us a note and update your membership information with

TU national. Basil Woods Jr. Chapter TU

PO Box 3302 Concord NH 03302-3302

www.concordtu.org

e-mail: concordtu@yahoo.com

September 15

1st Chapter Meeting

2016-17

All chapter meetings start at

6:00 PM, Social and Fly-tying

7 PM Program

At the Society for the

Protection of New Hampshire Forests,

54 Portsmouth Street, Concord

unless posted otherwise

Calendar

servation really counts. Low, warm water concentrates trout first by reducing the available

water and second by corralling trout to cool river seeps fed by springs and incoming feeder

brooks. Check your fish and game web sites to make sure that you can fish in or near these

feeder streams as they are often protected mid season on warmer years like this one.

Fishermen need to avoid these areas and give the trout a rest. Fish early in the day and

late in the evening when the fish venture into their more accustomed lies and by all means

handle all trout with care. Be sure to use barbless flies especially on sizes 18 and smaller as

getting those tiny flies out can be difficult and lead to excess time out of the water. Don’t be

afraid to break off a fly and release a trout quickly. This is not a time for picture taking.

With any luck we will have many survivors when the Autumn rains return. Until then be

wise ;conserve fish .

(Continued from page 1)

News from the Upper Echelons

Eastern Trout Unlimited Regional Meeting held a Sunapee Ski Resort in June over 60 attendees

Key issues, membership communication and growth. A day on the river in New Hampshire for regional attendees.

The Balsams resort development is closely watched by NH TU Council. We are providing infor-mation and perspective on how the development will impact the Androscoggin river and its trout and salmon population.

Still awaiting the outcome from TU response to the Northern Pass proposal. Ours and others re-sponses are still be digested so we have no new news to report at this time.

A temporary hole in the fishing regulations that inadvertently opened up some streams to the tak-ing of brook trout heretofore protected by catch and release regulations was fixed by Fish and Game and the assistance of the NH TU council in cooperation with Maine fish and game authori-ties.

Bozeman Montana will be the site of this years National Meeting and will be attended by members of the NH TU Council. Pass along any ideas of interest to the corner office guys thorough the BW Jr. web site and we will be sure to offer them for consideration.