Take Me Fishing!™
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WHY FISH NH? New Hampshire Fish and Game Department Just step outside to find scenic fishing here in wild Take Me New Hampshire – we’ve got great fishing around every corner: ™ u Fishing! 12,000 miles of river and streams. u 975 lakes and ponds. u Fishing for bass, trout, salmon, pike, walleye, pickerel, Great North Woods perch and more… u Record big fish – and some wily wild fish too! u Scenic vistas and wildlife abound. u Nearly a million trout stocked each year – just for you! Learn more about fishing in New Hampshire at fishnh.com © SCULPIES / DREAMSTIME.COM Shoreline Fishing Guide COMPOSITE IMAGE / DREAMSTIME.COM COMPOSITE IMAGE New Hampshire Fish and Game Connecting you to life outdoors™ NEW HAMPSHIRE FISH AND GAME DEPARTMENT 11 Hazen Drive l Concord, NH 03301 l (603) 271-2501 Your purchase of fishing tackle and motorboat fuels, along with license sales, helps fund sport fish restoration and management in New Hampshire fishnh.com North Country Fishing – The Great Escape! PITTSBURG CLARKSVILLE Whether you’re fly-fishing for big rainbows or casting a line while enjoying a riverside picnic, fishing New Hampshire’s Great North Woods will be an experience to remember. Relax COLEBROOK in scenic natural surroundings. Catch a glimpse of moose, osprey or loons. Pull in a fighting brookie. There’s no better DIXVILLE COLUMBIA place than New Hampshire’s North Country to get away from it ERROL all and go fishing. Lake From world-class fly-fishing waters to serene lakes and Umbagog welcoming riverbank waysides, use this handy guide to find NORTH STRATFORD your own North Country fishing hole. Why wait? DUMMER Try these scenic shoreline sites in the Great North Woods, just a few of many great North Country CAMBRIDGE fishing spots to enjoy: STARK MILAN l Connecticut River SUCCESS l Little Diamond Pond l Androscoggin River BERLIN l Upper Ammonoosuc River JEFFERSON GORHAM Catch-and-release Fishing for fun, not food? Make Never remove a deeply swallowed hook sure you practice “catch-and-release.” from the fish’s throat or stomach — instead, cut A fish that is properly handled will the leader and leave the hook in the fish. It will have the best chance for survival. eventually work free or rust away. Here’s how: l Use barbless hooks or hooks with pinched barbs. l Land the fish quickly, so it does not become exhausted or stressed. l Release the fish while it’s still in the water. l To remove the hook, gently back it out of the fish’s mouth. You can use pliers for this. Residents can fish both banks of the Connecticut River with a N.H. license; nonresidents need a Vermont license to fish from the Vermont shorebank Fish of the Fish Identification Chart Great North Woods Use this handy guide to choose the best baits and to see what kind of fish you’ve caught. Brook Trout Baits to Use Largemouth Bass Natural Baits Worms and crawlers Crayfish Rainbow Trout Smallmouth Bass Hellgrammites Minnows Brown Trout Brown Trout Yellow Perch Perch Yellow Artificial Baits Flies (wet, dry, streamers) Spoons Chain Pickerel Chain Pickerel Landlocked Salmon In-line spinner baits Artificial putty baits Cusk (burbot) Cusk (burbot) Bullhead (horned pout) fishnh.com Match Your Bait to Your Catch FISH ILLUSTRATIONS: brook trout, rainbow trout, brown trout, LM bass, SM bass, yellow perch, pickerel, bullhead, ©DUANE RAVER/USFWS ; ATLANTIC SALMON, © VICTOR YOUNG; CUSK, © JOSEPH TOMELLERI The N.H. record chain pickerel is 8 lbs., 26” long Fish and Game has a regional office in Lancaster; call (603) 788-3164 Connecticut River QUEBEC PITTSBURG 3 1b Anglers can expect to catch several species CANADA Lake Francis of trout – brook, brown and rainbow – as well as 141 D 1c e landlocked salmon, in this beautiful stretch of the 1a a d Connecticut River downstream from its headwater 114 CLARKSVILLE W lakes. An equal number of stocked and wild fish a t 114 e r keep the action hot. S t 145 rea m B op ro 1. Pittsburg — Good access points include: 2 ish ok Big B Diamond (1a) a N.H. Fish and Game pull-off/kiosk STEWARTSTOWN Pond near the State garage, (1b) Pittsburg- Clarksville covered bridge (locals call it 102 4 Little Bacon Road Bridge) just south of town, and Diamond (1c) Murphy Dam parking area. Pond . 2. Canaan Dam, West Stewartstown d R VERMONT COLEBROOK d n This area offers wide, deep-water fishing for o P d n beginners or kids, while the fast water below o m M ia oh D the dam will test casting skills and frequently r aw e k iv River 26 gives up monster brown trout. Good parking R S im and fishing access. m s Beckmans Point St re 3. Lyman Falls, Columbia — This am stretch of river is awesome nursery habitat ut 3 ic t for coldwater fish, and anglers can catch c COLUMBIA e n naturally reproduced brook, brown and n o C rainbow trout. Find good foot access to the river off Route 3 via a private gravel road. Note that only catch-and-release and 3 artificial lures and flies may be used. NASH STREAM STRATFORD FOREST 4. Little Diamond Pond, Stewartstown 0 1 2 3 ODELL You’ll find some of the best shoreline trout MILES fishing in Coos County at Little Diamond Pond. Anglers do very well from shore catching brook and rainbow trout. The parking lot can accommodate about 30 cars and boat trailers. On the shore of the pond, 1,500-acre Coleman State Park offers camping (no hook-ups), hiking and canoeing. For more information, visit nhstateparks.org. MADSEN / DREAMSTIME.COM © T.M. For fly-fishing, try between the Connecticut Lakes, especially Magalloway Bridge to Greens Point, and First Connecticut Lake Dam to the Lake Francis inlet 26 Androscoggin River The entire length of the Androscoggin River is ERROL home to trout and smallmouth bass. From Errol to Berlin, the Androscoggin offers tremendous access and unlimited fishing opportunities, as the river Sm er o iv ky R C parallels Route 16 for almost 20 miles. a m 16 Long p B r o Pond ok n 1. Androscoggin Wayside State Park i g g o Located within the Thirteen Mile Woods natural c s MILLSFIELD 1 o r area in Errol, this fishing and family-friendly area d n A offers access to classic trout waters. Munn Pond 2. Seven Islands Bridge, Errol — An oppor- Moose tunity to cross the river and cast from both sides Pond into pool, riffle and glide sections of river. M ill sfie ld Po 3. Pontook Reservoir, Dummer nd R d. 2 Enjoy traditional, pond-style fishing in the impoundment. The river below the dam is a Sessions Be a r white-water trout fishery. Ample parking and boat Pond B ro o launch. k 4. Paul Bofinger Wayside State Park, 16 Dummer — Allows access to an otherwise DUMMER quiet and secluded section of river and can be a hotspot for taking smallmouth on a fly rod. r e v i R gin g o sc Andro CAMBRIDGE 3 Pontook Reservoir H i l l Pontook R H o Dam a a w d k i n s R 4 o a d S id d e a R o i v R e r R 0 3 o 1 2 110A a Blake d MILES © RICHARD GUNION / DREAMSTIME.COM Lake Francis State Park in Pittsburg offers anglers a base for exploring the Connecticut Lakes Kids under age 16 fish for free Androscoggin River cont. 110B 5. Nansen Wayside State Park, Milan 16 Great fishing access and a popular spot for wading, picnicking and boating. A n MILAN d 6. Northern Forest Heritage Park r o s c S On Main Street in Berlin. Toss in your line o te g a r g n i n s at the park’s waterfront, then stop in at the S Su i c d ce e s B s R r R o o logging camp museum to learn about the i a o v d k 5 e r R o story of the working forest. a R d i SUCCESS v e 7. Further down the Androscoggin r From the Sawmill Dam in Berlin through Shelburne to the Maine border, fishing for Cates H ill H Ro or ad ne big browns and rainbows is phenomenal. B r o Access the river from the whole length of o k Hogan Road (this road runs parallel to the BERLIN d a o R river on the north side), and from Route 2 n a il M A k v r a e P . on the south side of the river. Below the d n a l Shelburne Dam, you’ll find great fishing h g i B H e a d a n o R with access via the state land on the south 6 d Pon Success Br shore. This section of the river has no closed oo t k e e r season, but is catch-and-release and single- t S s hin tc hook artificial lure/fly only, giving the angler Hu excellent opportunities at trophy fish. il ra T rook n lpine B ia e A h scad c a la a C p p A Trail A u ian st alach i App n M 16 SHELBURNE i P l L l e e a a b B M d o r i ll m d o b y o r i k o n o k e B r o orth Road R B o N o roo a k k d GORHAM A 2 n d r o s Shelburne c R og 7 a Dam g ad t i o t R l n n er Hoga e iv R R i v e 0 r 1 2 3 16 © PETER ZACHAR / DREAMSTIME.COM © PETER ZACHAR MILES Shake the bushes to see what the trout are eating Keep an eye out for rising water on rivers Upper Ammonoosuc 110 C e d 110A a r P o B Cedar n r Horn Hill Rd.