Fishing Connecticut River

Fishing the Connecticut River's
"Trophy Stretch"

Judges Pool - one of the best in the Trophy Stretch The “Trophy Stretch” is two and one half miles of pocket water, riffles and pools, that holds both trout and salmon. Throughout the season and even in the heat of summer, you’ll find phenomenal fly fishing due to a bottom release dam that provides clear, cold water all season long. All of us here at the Lodge that fly fish consider this stretch of river one of our favorite places to fish. The Trophy Stretch has primarily a rocky bottom with boulders and some gravel. Depending on your wading skills and the water flow, a wading staff can be a great asset. Click here to get the current Dam flows. The flows are posted daily at the front desk in the Lodge as well.

The Trophy Stretch links First Connecticut Lake with Lake Francis and river access is easy with a trail system along most of the river, some trails being better than others. See Map

May is a great time to fish the inlet to Lake Francis. Landlocked salmon and trout will be in the inlet because of spawning smelt. Smelt patterns such as the Red Gray Ghost, Royal Coachman and Gray Soft Hackle Streamer work best during the early fishing season. Nymphs such as a Bead head Pheasant Tail, Bead head Prince, trailing a Soft Hackle Pheasant Tail, Hatching Pupa or a BWO Emerger can be very effective as well. You may also find some dry fly fishing between noon and four PM with BWOs. Click here for a complete list of Recommended Fly Patterns and Hatch Chart for the Connecticut River.

By Memorial Weekend, the dry fly action begins to heat up and continues through the season. In the heat of summer, early morning and early evening to dark, are the prime times to fish. There are usually plenty of rainbows in the river to keep the fishing interesting. Fall is also a great time on the Trophy Stretch. The landlocked salmon, brown and brook trout have moved up stream in preparation to spawn and the fish are aggressive, hitting streamers with some good dry fly action (BWOs) mixed in. The picture at left is of a brookie caught on a streamer on the final day of the 2007 season.

The fishing season runs from January 1st through October 15th on the Connecticut River. Bag limits on the Trophy Stretch are an aggregate of two fish; trout must be twelve inches in length and salmon must be 15 inches in length. We highly recommend Catch & Release. A 8 1/2 to 9 foot, 4 to 6 weight rod is ideal for fly fishing in Pittsburg.

Sections of the Upper Connecticut River and its tributaries have been found to contain the invasive diatom didymo. Tall Timber has a cleaning station on the property for fishermen to treat their waders, boots and gear after fishing the Connecticut. For more information on didymo and methods to stop its spread, please visit our Didymo Information page.

Tall Timber Lodge ~ 609 Beach Road ~ Pittsburg, NH 03592 ~ 800-83-LODGE

Email Address: vacation at Tall Timber