Shortly after opening day of fishing season, Tom Kircher, of Enfield, walked into Proctor’s Store to ask if Jimmy Proctor would weigh a trout for him. Happy to oblige, Jimmy put a huge brown trout on the scale. The fish, caught in Tewksbury Pond, weighed in at 4 pounds, 3 ounces.
It appeared that spring fishing was off to a rollicking start. But Mother Nature doesn’t always cooperate. As always, weather is a big factor when it comes to wetting a line, especially for warm-water species like bass, perch, pickerel, pike, sunfish and walleye.
In late May, I started to hit some of my secret spots, searching for the smallmouth bass that hug the shoreline looking for a place to spawn. These fish feed heavily before fanning their beds. They’ll go after topwater lures, soft plastics or crank baits.
I usually do well with this technique — it’s not uncommon to catch bronzebacks in the 3- to-5-pound range.
However, my first venture to Highland Lake in Andover came up empty. I started off from shore with a popper, expecting a toad smallie to roll on it. Nothing.
I switched to a plastic worm on a jig head. I did get a couple of taps from smaller fish, but the bass just weren’t in yet. The cooler weather and windy conditions had clearly delayed the pre-spawn action.
Altering my strategy, I targeted the Mascoma River to fish for trout, but the water was low and murky. No dice. I had to settle for a single rock bass for my first catch of the year.
When I tried the dam at the north end of Mascoma Lake, I also struck out, though another fisherman there landed a good-sized rainbow trout on a silver stick bait. A sign of life, but still not the heavy action associated with spring.
Even the anglers on Shaker Bridge were coming up empty. They assembled in the evening to pursue rainbow trout and white perch, but the fish just weren’t there. The water still wasn’t warm enough.
Intrepid anglers are not easily discouraged.
I persisted in my endeavors, watching for the inshore appearance of sunfish and rockies, a sure sign that conditions were right. I grew more hopeful when the smaller fish began to strike at a Tiny Torpedo.
On June 7, I hit Crystal Lake on a warm afternoon, hoping to end my drought. The signs were good. Sunfish were everywhere, tending nests for the spawn. In the clear water, I could also see big rock bass milling about.
I kept casting my lure parallel to the shoreline, working it so that the propeller churned the water. The first strike was a rock bass. Rockies hit with the ferocity of bigger fish but then fizzle out.
As my enthusiasm was beginning to wane, the water erupted and I hooked my first bass of the year. A largemouth, easily in the 2-pound range, had taken the bait right in front of me. I landed and released it. My enthusiasm surged again — catching a big one will do that to you.
A few minutes later, in a different spot, I got what I was after. A nice-sized smallmouth clobbered the lure and began a series of leaps that are the bronzeback signature. Another satisfying catch and release. For me, fishing season had finally arrived.
More good news has been coming in from the field. Dave Titus, of Sunapee, reports that he has been fishing live bait on the bottom of Lake Sunapee for lake trout. His largest laker topped out at 4 pounds. When the lakers stop biting, he has had luck with smallmouth, finding them at depths from 1 to 25 feet. The smallies are hitting Huskey jerk baits and Wiggle Warts.
When Titus isn’t fishing in freshwater, he heads to Cape Cod for saltwater action. Schools of striped bass are everywhere, hitting surface lures and imitation sand eels. Titus and his party boated nearly 40 stripers in the 25-pound range, with the largest topping the scales at 32 pounds.
Lebanon’s Dan Magoon, who also experienced a slump before the water warmed, has been hitting the Connecticut River with excellent results. So far in June, he’s boated seven keeper walleye as well as lunker wallies of 5 and 7 pounds. He also caught two northern pike, toothy critters weighing in at 8 and 10 pounds. He released the big wallies and the pike.
Magoon has invited yours truly for an outing on the Connecticut now that the fish are finally biting, I’m inclined to accept the invitation!
The water is warm and summer fishing season is short, so get out there while the action is hot.