2006 Fishing Highlights

Tall Timber Lodge strongly encourages all anglers to
practice Catch & Release. In the immortal words of Lee Wulff,
"A good gamefish is too valuable to be caught only once. The fish you release is your gift to another angler."

April 6 - Ice Out update. The 50s and 60s we had last week have turned into snow and 30s this week, so we may lose our ice near the end of the month again. It's been April 27 the last couple of years, so we expect the same again this year.

April 11 - It's a little too early for our fishing season yet, but Cindy, Jon and Tom are headed west to Montana to take on some Missouri and Bitterroot browns, rainbows and cutthroat trout. There won't be any fish stories from us when we get back - this time, all the tall tales will actually be true! I'll give you an update when I get back.

April 19 - Ice Out update. It won't be long now, as the ice has turned dark gray and is breaking up around the edges of the lake. It should probably be out sometime in the next four or five days. A beautiful bald eagle was spotted "fishing" today on the lake, a sure sign that our own season is almost here. I have also arrived home from Montana, having done battle with the browns and rainbows of the Missouri and famous Rock Creek. Unfortunately, I was a little early this year, as the excessive snow runoff and rain caused higher and colder conditions than normal. I'll have to go back when the fishing's better!

April 21 - Back Lake will be iced out Saturday or Sunday, a little earlier than the last few years (global warming??). A trio of loons was hooting and frolicking yesterday on the lake, another sign that spring and our fishing season have nearly arrived. The eagle also continues to make his presence known, as he was spotted on an ice floe yesterday. We'll keep an eye on the salmon run as well, as it may be earlier than normal this year. We'll let you know what happens!

April 22 - The ice is off Back Lake, just in time for the start of fishing season. Give us a call at 1-800-835-6343 for reservations at the lodge.

May 5 - The weather has been beautiful the last two days, warming the water to trout energizing temperatures. The fish have been rising on the lake recently, and the loons, osprey and eagle have all been active in their fish catching pursuits. The salmon and rainbows are also in at the Lake Francis campground inlet, so fishing season has really begun. With all of this great weather, you know the black flies won't be far behind, so you should take advantage of these spring days without our pesky friends while they last!

May 12 - The fishing has really heated up on Back Lake and on the Connecticut River. On the lake, the Harrington's slayed 'em on yellow hornbergs - lots of 10-15" rainbows, and the salmon are running at the Lake Francis Inlet and also in the Magalloway stretch between Second and First Connecticut Lakes. The salmon have been taking beadhead pheasant tails with soft hackle wet droppers, as well as BWOs on top. We've had some very excited guests here this week with the bonus of the surface fishing. With all of the wet weather coming our way over the next week, the salmon fishing should be in prime form. Come on up!

May 31 - It appears as though the salmon run between the Second and First Connecticut Lakes is finally over, but what a great run it was. The two weeks of rain we received increased the

Chris & Levi's lunker Round Pond brookie

river flows, extending the run for an additional week or two. Last week, salmon were being taken on streamers (Putt's Favorite and the Ghosts) and also on dries (Hendrickson, Parachute Adams) in the afternoon. At 1:00, it was like someone was setting off the dinner whistle for the fish. But, all good things come to an end and it happened this week to the Magalloway Stretch. I was there yesterday with only one small salmon and one small brookie to show for my efforts. The picture to the left is of Chris and Levi Merrill with a huge (4 lb.?) brood stock brookie taken at Round Pond. The Trophy Stretch should begin picking up now and all of the ponds are in prime form right now. The lake has been off and on, depending on the presence of a high sun or not. The stocking by the state continues however, so now's the time to be here!

June1 - The Trophy Stretch is hot as a pistol right now. The flow is fast but very fishable, especially with nymphs and streamers, and there are lots of cooperative fish in the river. Salmon, brookies and rainbows are all enjoying the 48° water temperature, and they are fighting well. Beadhead nymphs (prince, gold ribbed hare's ear, flashback pheasant tail) have really been working, especially when followed by an emerger. The lake and ponds are still fishing well right now too.

June 4 - We had another rainy weekend, but it did not dampen the fishing in the Trophy Stretch or the efforts of our beginners' flyfishing school. Most of the students landed fish this weekend, and several did very well below the dam at First Connecticut Lake. Most fishermen have been successful with beadheads and streamers lately, even though there have been several blizzard-like caddis hatches in the last week. The flow continues to be higher than average in the Trophy Stretch, but wading is still possible and hopefully the flow will come down if the rain ever stops. The ponds are still fishing well, especially Moose Pond, Clarksville Pond and Coon Brook Bog.

June 6 - Denis Fay and Ed Hermaneau accompanied our guide Jon Howe on a drift of the Androscoggin River. Denis and Ed hooked and released these two huge brookies on rabbit strip leeches. Ed's monster is on the left and Denis's is on the right. They wanted everyone to know that their success was directly attributable to Jon's excellent guiding. Thanks for the pictures guys!

Captain Art with another Back Lake lunker

June 10 & 11 - Our rainy weekend didn't slow down Art Hartnett's efforts - he landed this beautiful Back Lake brookie - of course, Art would not reveal his secret weapon! We also had our second flyfishing school of the season, with the same weather as last weekend - cold and rainy! Our new anglers did very well however, and most managed to catch their first fish on a fly rod.

June 13 - After a weekend straight of torrential rain, we finally saw the sun today. The river is at the highest level we've ever seen this late in a summer, and will need some sustained good weather to come down again. Steve Belletti sent us the picture

at left of a colorful brookie he landed on the Trophy Stretch. It's a good thing the ponds and Back Lake are fishing well. Round Pond, Clarksville Pond and Moose Pond have all been producing nice brookies - some on woolybuggers and some on dries. If you're coming up river fishing, you might want to call ahead to check on the river level - if you're still coming, bring along your kayak, canoe or float tube for the ponds!

June 20 -

Feast your eyes on these pictures. No, your eyesight isn't gone, those are really some lunker lakers that were lured up from the bottom of the Connecticut River by Cindy's woolybugger.

Greta admiring her master's flyfishing prowess

We all couldn't believe it when they came in (and flopped over) Jon's big net and we were all reluctant to get too close to their gaping mouths. After Cindy lost a huge fish that we think was a rainbow, I landed a two pounder after a ten minute struggle. It was caught on a soft hackle pheasant tail and, after a photo session with a German shorthaired pointer, released. Who needs Montana!

6/23-6/25 - Tall Timber was proud to host the women from Casting For Recovery, an organization dedicated to helping women recovering from or dealing with breast cancer. After learning the basics of knot tying and casting, they made their first splash on the Connecticut River south of Pittsburg. There was one fish caught and released and several others that got away, and we all had a great time enjoying the river on a picture perfect day. We hope they all come back very soon. If you're interested in learning more about this organization, please visit their website at www.castingforrecovery.org.

6/25 - Thirteen year-old Molly Callahan landed a 3.5 lb. brookie on Back Lake on a super duper. She became quite a spectacle when she came back in with it at 7 a.m., parading past some of our other guests that had not been as successful that weekend. We will have a picture for you of Molly and her fish soon!

6/28 - The hex hatch has begun at Back Lake. We started seeing a few of them last Saturday night, but they were really coming off in a big way last night. Cindy did very well fishing an emerging pattern (many rainbows), and Angus and clients did very well with Usuals on top (rainbows and browns). Usually the hex hatch is a week to ten day long event, so come up and check it out for yourself!

7/4 - The hex hatch continues at Back Lake, but only when mother nature permits it. What would start out as a seemingly pleasant night would often turn into a full blown gale, forcing everyone off the lake. Two nights ago we had good conditions, with a fair amount of rising, and there were quite a few rainbows and some browns caught and released. The hatch should continue another week or so before it finally comes to a close. The river, on the other hand, continues to roll right along. The water levels are high, but there are plenty of fish and it seems as though there's one in every riffle or behind every rock. Tungsten beadhead nymphs with soft hackle droppers seem to be working best right now.

7/11 - While the hex hatch has ended here on the lake, the river has continued to remain hot. The Trophy Stretch has been stocked heavily with rainbows and brookies in recent weeks, and there are still numerous cahill and caddis hatches occuring. There's been some nice salmon and a few big browns caught, especially in the lower half of the stretch. Princes, soft hackle emergers and red San Juan worms are working really well right now if you like to fish down deep and soft hackle streamers are working as well. Pressure on the river is higher on weekends and not too bad during the week. Try to make it up if you can!

7/18 - The Trophy Stretch continues to produce great fishing. The river level has remained constant for nearly a month now at 200 CFS, providing the fish with many great holding areas, and also providing fishermen with many fishing opportunities. Beadhead nymphs with soft hackles in tow are still working great, but there's also been some good top water activity in the slower moving pools. Meanwhile, the lake and ponds have really slowed down because of the hot weather we've been having. It should remain this way until September, when we start cooling off again. Come up when you get the chance!

8/3 - Another summer day, and another torrential rain storm! We've had our share of hot weather too, but we've also been dumped on with lots of rain lately, making the only fishable stretch that between First Lake Dam and the Perry Stream junction. The fishing has been great, however, with soft hackle pheasant tails as the favorite food of trout and salmon alike. Big brookies, colorful rainbows and energetic salmon are all hitting really well right now. The lake has slowed dramatically for the trout but the bass have been very active, and that shouldn't change anytime soon.

8/23 - The river flows have increased dramatically over the last week, perhaps to prepare the Connecticut Lakes for their winter levels, but the fishing has continued to be good, but very challenging. Wading is quite a chore right now, so care must be taken, but beadheads with ALOT of split shot are still working well right now. Last week, Jon, Cindy and I drifted the Conneticut near Colebrook and the fishing was very good, as we caught numerous brookies, browns and rainbows on terrestrials - mostly cinnamon and black flying ants. Cindy caught most of her fish on the Turk's Tarantula as well. The lake fishing has picked up a little over the last two weeks, as our cold nights have started stirring the rainbows from the depths. Things should get better in September and October on the lake as it cools down even more. We have lots of midweek openings over the coming weeks, so get up here before the season is over!

9/10 - The river flows are still very high but they can't stay that way much longer. The level of Second Connecticut Lake is dropping rapidly, and First Connecticut shouldn't be much longer either. The Trophy Stretch fishing is still good, but very challenging - soft hackle streamers and heavily (7 or 8 split shot) weighted nymphs are working well, but wading is very difficult. Trolling on Back Lake has yielded some nice rainbows lately as the water temperature drops. There has been some good top water action in the mornings and evenings lately on the lake as well. As an added bonus, Third Connecticut Lake was fishing very well earlier this week, so that could be an option too.

9/12 - It was a beautiful early fall day and the Trophy Stretch water level dropped to 151 CFS, making the wading much easier and the fishing very good. I was using a beadhead prince with a soft hackle pheasant tail as a dropper and it worked pretty well, as the rainbows could attest. Caught and released five fish, all in the 12" - 14" range. Rainbows and smallmouth bass continue to hit on Back Lake. How's that for an update, Rich!

9/15 - 9/17 - Tall Timber's resident old timers, Rich and Charlie, are back for another visit to harass the local trout and salmon population. This time, Rich also brought along his oldest son, Sam, in the hopes that he learn something from the crusty old veterans. The weather was perfect and the river flows were normal, and the three had some of the best fishing they've ever had on the river. Included are some great pictures of

Sam releasing a rainbow and salmon, Charlie releasing a brookie, and Rich releasing a beautiful salmon and a nice

Charlie sets one free to be caught another day

laker that he

Even a blind squirrel finds a nut occasionally

caught below the dam at First Connecticut Lake.

Although not many fly patterns and secret locations were divulged by these wily anglers, experienced eyes will discern where many of these photos were taken. We look forward to having them back again next year and I'm sure the fish are glad to have the time off between now and then. Thanks for the pictures Rich!!

9/27 - Fall has arrived in Pittsburg and our leaves have turned and are dropping in alarming numbers. Our cast and blast season is less than a week away and the salmon and trout are active. The river flow levels in each section are low right now, but the fish are still there, especially in the deeper pools. There's been some nice salmon, rainbows and brookies in the upper Trophy Stretch and there have been some good browns in the lower part of the stretch as well. Beadhead nymphs with soft hackle and caddis pupa droppers are working, along with some streamers in the bigger pools and the always reliable elk hair caddis and Parachute Adams. Moose Pond was boiling with rises on a still night a couple of days ago, so the ponds have picked up once again. Come on up - there's only two weeks left!!

10/15 - END OF THE SEASON - Well, that day came and went and what a sad one it was. The fishing had been tougher on the river over the last few weeks, as the lower water conditions meant spookier fish, but many good ones were still caught (and released), among them some really nice salmon and browns (in spawning colors of course). My year ended with a nice rainbow in the Trophy Stretch, one of the prettiest I caught all year. Of course, the season for Cindy, Jon and myself is made much more fun by the stories and experiences of our regulars that visit us from year to year. I know I'll leave someone out, but here it goes. Angus, Joe and Lois, Ken and Karen, Rich and Charlie, Mickey, Bob and Lily, Quentin and John, Sarah and Janine, Don and Angus M. - it was great seeing you again this year and we look forward to next year's season!

Pictures (especially Catch & Release ones) are greatly appreciated for use with this page.
E-mail : Tom at Tall Timber