April 2015: Tim Moore Outdoors

By Tim Moore:

Well, ice fishing season is coming to an end. What an incredible winter we had! We had the best ice (we still have fishable ice) that we have had in ten years and we tripled the number of ice fishing clients from last winter. Although we will conduct a few more trips in early April, and as much as we love ice fishing, there is spring fishing to prepare for. There will be little happening along New Hampshire’s coastal waters this month. Some brave souls will venture out into some of the protected harbors in hopes of catching a few winter flounder, but there aren’t typically very many caught until the water warms up in May.

Ground fishing will get progressively busier this month, but remember that as of this writing there is a zero possession limit on cod. Who knows if that will change? There is always pollock for those hardcore groundfish anglers.

Salmon season opens on April 1st on New Hampshire’s lakes that are managed for lake trout and salmon, but good luck finding much open water to fish. With most lakes having over two-feet of ice this winter, ice-out will likely be declared sometime in May. Because of all the ice, most of the bridges like the one in Alton Bay, and larger docks with bubblers that create open water, will be lined with anglers vying for their chance at one of Lake Winnipesaukee’s highly sought after landlocked salmon. The most common methods for catching salmon from bridges and docks are to use live smelt or streamer flies when there is room to cast.

As soon as the smaller ponds are ice free we will be targeting crappie, bluegill, white perch, and one of our favorites…northern pike. Drifting silently in a kayak and casting a slip bobber rig with typical panfish jigs into shallow water is an absolute deadly (and peaceful) way to catch panfish. For now we will have to be content getting our gear ready. For a little added excitement we suggest trying your hand at some early spring kayak pike fishing. This fishing can be exhilarating as New England’s pike grow to 40” and bigger.