A.J. Fox Local Fly Fishing

May 21st, 2018 Today was a great day overall. We started the day off by visiting the New Hampton Fish Hatchery. There we were able to explore trout in different stage as well as different species. They had tons of brook trout and rainbow trout waiting to be released. They also had one tank that held massive trout , like 2 feet plus in size! Personally seeing those big fish was my favorite part of the day. But in second would be Finn finally catching at fish. We stopped at Highland Lake where he was able to snag two sun fish! I unfortunately didn’t get any bites besides the black flies on my neck. Tomorrow is our last day of fishing! Can’t believe how fast it has gone by !! Hours Today: 4 Total Hours: 57  

As the saying goes, 3 is the lucky number. Or at least for me it has always been my lucky number. This week was the week we have all been waiting for! I finished up the week with not 1, not 2, but 8 fish! Most of the luck we found was from locations hunter gave us in Bristol, New Hampshire at or near profile falls. I am sure some positive stocking reports that were posted on the New Hampshire Fish and Game website contributed to the positive results as well. We periodically also used our time to tie some flies with Hunter to make sure we continued to improve our tying skills as well as our fishing skills. The winner winner chicken dinner award goes to the one and only pheasant tail. Every fish I caught except for one went for the pheasant tail. All the flies we caught our fish on were tied by ourselves which I am very proud to say. Hunter also tied us some flies which also contributed to the sudden jump in catching of fish! I am hoping I can help Finn rig up his rod properly so he can

May 18th, 2018 Today was a great day for fishing! Unfortunately, Finn had another AP exam so he was not able to come fishing but my friend from Bedford, Manny decided to come up and come fishing with me. It was a great day, as I landed two awesome and beautiful trout right at a new spot that Hunter showed us  located on Coolidge Woods Rd in New Hampton. We used the new bugs that Hunter tied us up and attached a pheasant tail to them so the fish would be all over them. We got a ton of strike and even though we caught two rainbow trout, we could have hooked a whole lot more! We still have 4 days left of senior project so wish us good luck!    Hours Today: 4 Total Hours: 53

May 17th, 2018 Today Finn’s phone started to have issues and I was unable communicate with him. I wanted to go fishing really bad but unfortunately I had no car or ride. So i decided to go tie some flies with Hunter and Carlton who has started to enjoy the hobby as well. We tied some wooly buggers, pheasant tails, and these bug things that Hunter said will get any big trout to bite! We worked for a few hours before our lacrosse cookout which we had later in the day. We got a ton of flies done while also debating the Laurel/Yanny voice recording  and the blue/black and white/gold dress. It was a lot of fun and a more laid back day for both of us! Hours Today: 2 Total Hours: 49

May 16, 2018 Today we decided to try one of the spots Hunter shared with us. We woke early since it was game day and headed off after a good breakfast of yogurt and granola.  It is another spot in Bristol, New Hampshire so I was super excited since Bristol is where we had all our previous luck. We only had a few hours since i had to get ready for my huge game against New Hampton so we fished for a couple hours and didnt come up with any bites. Tomorrow we will talk to Hunter, tie some more pheasant tails, and hit our Profile Falls spot again. Hours Today: 3 Total Hours: 47

May, 15th 2018 Today was the day we have all been waiting for! Finally I have not caught 1, not 2, but 3 fish all today! All three were gorgeous trout! We went back to the spot we believed had the most promise, Profile Falls. I used the pheasant tails we tied with Hunter yesterday and the fish were all over them. In reality I probably had another 5 or 6 trout I could have reeled in but I wasn’t able to eat hem in the net. Alfie joined Finn and I today and he landed two massive hits but wasn’t able to net them while Finn caught a massive stick. Things are looking good for the rest of the week. Hopefully we can get Finn a couple fish and I can land a few more by the end of the week. Time to go tie some more pheasant tails.  Hours today: 4.5 hours  Total Hours: 44 hours 

May 14, 2018 Today was a great start to our third week of senior project. We prepared our arsenal of flys with some new and improved flies that Hunter taught me and Finn how to tie. These flies along with some new spots are exactly what we need to finally land that trout we have been chasing. Our plan is to hit Bristol again tomorrow and fish right under the falls with the fresh new fly’s we have tied. We headed out to Black water after lunch to test some of them out also because black water was stocked with fish last week! I GOT A BITE OR TWO but I think I jerked to hard and pulled the fly out of the trout’s mouth. Hunter told me what I need to do instead is strip (pull) the line in really fast instead of jerking the rod tip up because the fly’s are sharp and don’t need more force than that to set the hook. As the saying goes, you learn something new everyday. Hopefully tomorrow they will bite like they did today and instead of ripping the hook out, I will set it instead and land

Week number two was full of learning and fun for Finn and I. As Finn and I have still not had the best of luck fishing we really improved our fly fishing and tying skills throughout the week. Monday actually kicked off with us starting at Kimpton brook and Finn catching a trout by accident. He thought he has snagged on a log but when he yanked up a fish came right on up out of the water! Unfortunately he didn’t have a net on hand so it became nothing but a fish story since we never snagged a picture. That was one lesson Finn will never forget. But later that day Alfie came along with us and flashed his fancy fly fishing knowledge right in our faces as he caught a fish with little effort at a slow brook near his house. The week was off to a strong start and we were low on flies which meant it was time to learn some fly tying. Hunter taught us the basics of fly tying and showed us this art form that he has perfected over the years. He taught us how to tie pheasant tails, the hunter speci

May 12, 2018 Today was a down low day. I had a tour to give for admissions which didn’t allow Finn and I the opportunity to get out and fish before our games on Saturday. We decided it was a great day to tie some flies and map out our plans for the next week in hopes of finally catching the trout we have been hoping for!  Hours Today: 2 Total hours : 36.5

May 11th, 2018 Today was a great day! We headed back to go fishing at Bristol and had a fun time but came up short with fish again. Finn had a couple bites and I had 2 fish on but couldn’t get them into the net. Hunter will help tune in our fishing skills when he comes fishing with us next week. Wish us luck! Hours Today: 4 Total Hours: 34.5 hours 

Today was a fresh start filled with great opportunity. Although I have yet to catch a fish, We arrived at the place I believe will allow me to catch my first one! Profile falls in Bristol, New Hampshire was just that place. The falls is gorgeous as it empties out into a big pool and then flows into a river as pictured below. In the pool you could visibly see trout bigger than one foot swimming all around. Maybe it was the fly or bad luck, but the fish were chasing my fly and just deciding to not bite. Finn and I will be back soon and I know we will leave happy soon! The highlight of the day had to be Finn falling in the river and getting water into his weighters. Although it sucked he laughed along with me! Hours Today: 5 Total Hours:30.5

May, 9 2018 Today I was riding solo without Finn as he was taking his AP test. I took advantage of the opportunity and woke up extra early , 6a.m. to be exact in hopes of breaking my no catch streak. I fished at Kimpton brook until about 7:50 and had luck in getting a small trout but it unfortunately fell of my hook before I was able to net it. So as the saying it’s nothing but a fish story without a picture  but a fish story is progress for me as I have come up dry this whole project. After grabbing some breakfast I headed back out to Kimpton for a few more hours until it was time to head back for our away game at Gould. I have a good feeling about tomorrow. It seems the flies I tied with Hunter were able to land me some action on the line today so we will head to known to have better fly fishing but is farther away tomorrow! Most likely the brook hunter showed us in Bristol. Make sure to tell the fish gods to give me a trout tomorrow before you go to bed ! Hours Today: 3 Hour

May, 8 2018 Today was a great day ! Finn and I woke up and headed straight for the river to do some fishing after breakfast. This time we had company. We allowed Rose and Peru to come along and film us while we fished for their senior project documentary. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect but the fish action was non existent. We fished until lunch time and decided to call it a day for fishing. We switched gears and  took a visit to Hunter’s office where we learned to tie flies! It was a mesmerizing experience as Hunter could tie a perfect fly in 3 minutes while me and Finn struggled with the basics. We learned how to tie wooly buggers, the hunter special, and a pheasant tail. It was so much fun we even caught Carlton’s attention who started to learn to tie flies also! Looking forward to getting back on the water and taking these masterpieces for a spin!   Hours Today: 5 Total Hours: 22.5

May 7th, 2018 Today was a great day! We have finally caught a fish! On the little brook called Kimpton, I hear Finn yell in excitement as a small trout dangles from the line. I told him to put it in the fishing net but unfortunately he left it in the car and the fish fell off before we could document it and take a picture of it. After heading back for some lunch we met up with the one and only Alfie Rylander. He brought us to a slow moving river near his house and showed us how it’s done. He caught a great 12 inch fish and was able to get it in the net so we can document it and post the data to trout blitz. Tomorrow we will be back at it and possibly doing some fly tying with Hunter! Maybe tomorrow will be my first catch.   Hours Today: 4.5 Total Hours: 17.5

May 6, 2018 The first week of Senior project was a blast! Finn and I went into this thinking we knew a lot more than we actually did, At Least I did. Although I have always fly fished, I have learned so many new things over this week just from talking to the workers at the tackle shop we went to and Hunter, our mentor. Everything from the type of flies that the trout are biting to how long of a leader we should use. Hunter helped Finn and I hone in on our fly casting out in the grass so we could cast our flies on a dime when on the river. My experiences with fly fishing have been involved with mostly out west fishing and up in northern New Hampshire on open rivers with not a lot of tree coverage. The local waters near Proctor are smaller brooks and have lots of tree coverage, making the common fly fishing cast nearly impossible. Hunter helped us learn the roll cast which essentially enables the fly line to roll on the water and cast the fly out farther. Instead of tossing the line b

May 5th, 2017 Today started a little later than usual as it was saturday and Finn and I decided to sleep in and then meet up for breakfast. From there, we split apart to work on our other separate goals for the project and take a day from fishing. I decided to do some fly tying and drive around looking for some new spots to fish. I went up and down blackwater river and mapped out some spots i found to be appealing. I also went to Kimpton brook and drove up the side of it in search of some good eddies. After tieing some flies and finding some new fishing spots Finn and I came up with the idea of visiting a fish hatchery where we could learn about the stages of a fish's life. There are four fish hatcheries in New Hampshire, the closest being in New Hampton. This will be a great place for us to visit in the near future during our Senior Project. Hours Today: 2 Hours Hours Total: 13 Hours

May 4th, 2018 It is getting a little bit tough to keep saying this but after heading up to Sugar River for a second time we came up empty handed today! The fish are not liking what we are handing them. We decided to head up the road a little bit and found what we believe is a great spot as it leads to some rushing water with eddies. We fished there for the time we had left and got nothing but the site of a dead turkey): It is time for us to regroup and take our expert at hands, Hunter, to give us some intel on some good spots he knows of and maybe help us reel in our fly fishing mechanics... pun intended. Wish us luck! Hours Today: 4 Hours Total: 11

May 3rd, 2018 Today Finn and I got up bright and early and fished Kimpton brook for a little while and came up empty handed. We then decided to head back to the fish and tackle store to ask for some advice and possibly some prime spots for fishing. They were very helpful and gave us some tips including how to rig a fly rod for this time of year. Since the water levels are so high and its early in the season the trout are deep down in the water. They then directed us to sugar river about ten miles away in Newbury.   We got our year together and headed down. Upon arrival it was the perfect fly fishing river! Perfect eddies and speed for fly fishing. We had about 1 hour of fishing and knew that even though we had to head back to school, this was a good spot!  We ended up without any bites but decided tomorrow would be the day and we would come right back on Friday! Hours Today: 3 Hours Total: 7

May 2nd, 2018 Today was a great day! We finally got out on the river and were able to fish for a few hours. Since It was a Wednesday we had to get back in time for games but it could not have been a more beautiful day! Sunny and 90 with blue skies. The fish gods were not in our favor today but it was a joy to just get out on the water and test out some of the flies we got at tackle shack. Finn was able to get his cast dialed in and although we didn’t get any bites we will be back at it tomorrow. Hours today: 2 Hours Total: 4

May 1st, 2018 The first day of Senior Project was welcomed with Sunny and 50 degree weather!It couldn’t have been a better day to get outside and begin fly fishing. As much as I wanted to get out on the river today we had to get a few things in check first. We started our day off by grabbing some new flies and line at the good old Tackle Shack in Newbury before heading back to campus. When we got back Hunter was able to brief us on the spots we will be hitting over the next few weeks. Unfortunately Finn and I were not able to get out to the brook today but we were able to head out to the field and practice our casting! With our fly rods ready and the car packed, tomorrow will be our first day on the water with 80 degrees and sunny in the forecast! The native brookies better watch out, Finn and I are ready to rock and roll! Hours today: 2 Hours Total: 2