Salmon Fishing Starts Sunday!!
 

Really excited this year for the start of Salmon fishing. I have completely re-outfitted my Manitou pontoon to be a luxury comfort fishing machine!! The idea is to be able to quickly change it over from a fishing machine to a cruising party performance barge in a matter of minutes. Here are a few of the things I have done thus far...

I installed a Bert's planer mast system on the bow of the boat. The mast is installed in a Bert's stainless track for quick and easy removal.

Purchased two Big Jons otter boxes to run off the mast system.

Installed a 36 volt, 101 lb thrust Minn Kota Teranova trolling motor complete with autopilot and wireless remote control on the bow. The trolling motor is mounted on a quick release bracket for quick and easy install and removal. I installed the three batteries required in series in a marine cooler and attached a quick release plug on the exterior of the cooler where the motor plugs in. The cooler has a handle and wheels so it can be quickly taken in and out of the boat when not needed. I did not want the extra batteries and their added weight on the boat when not fishing. This system I made really works out slick!!

Picked up a half dozen new Eagle Claw Starfire rods to replace my old and withered rods as well as a bunch of Cabelas depth master reels all set up with different configurations of lead core line and leader for quick change out while on the water. Some reels are designated for the planar boards others for the downriggers and others for deep trolling so a large assortment was required.

Restocked my tackle box (and then some :)) with a proven assortment of spoons and streamers.

I will be mounting my downriggers on a track system in the stern of the boat. Just haven't got that far yet as downriggers are not needed for early salmon fishing.

Can't wait for Sunday!!

See you on the water!!

Dan

I am planning on fishing Sunday as well. First time for salmon. I will be in my bass boat and was told this time of year not really a need for down riggers or anything deep. Top water or live bait works well. Was I told wrong? I hope not. I guess I will see......
David

Nope, you were given good info. Down riggers are not needed right now. If your trolling live bait (preferably smelt) go SLOW, 1 MPH max! If your using lead, one to two colors max should be good, keep trolling speed around 2 MPH with spoons or streamers and you should be O.K. Use only flourocarbon as your leader and use plenty at least 50'.

Good luck!!

Dan

Good news to hear, I don't want to waste my time fishing for them if I stand no chance of catching them. I plan on live bait if I can find it in the Center Harbor area. AJ's maybe? If you see a small blue bass boat looking a little lost come say hi..
Thanks for the info.
Tight lines
David

AJ's in Meredith would definitely be your best bet for smelt.

Dan

There is one benefit to down riggers now. If you run them just below the surface then your fishing line doesn't pick up the floating debris that is sometimes in the water this time of year. With it just under the surface your bait/lure is still close to the surface but the down rigger line catches the debris.

lcfmcppb
 

Ishoot308, now that you peeked our interest we need pictures of your luxury comfort fishing machine/cruising party performance barge! It sounds like she's rigged perfectly.

Hi J.P.

I'll take some pics this weekend and post them! Hopefully I'll have some fish pics as well!!

Dan

2 lines per licensed angler
 

Nice to have all that equipment but remember when trolling for fish in NH fresh water you are only allowed 2 lines in the water per licensed angler in the vessel. Good luck.

Thanks for the reminder but I hardly ever fish alone. On average I have 6 lines out. The planars will allow a wider spread and will present your bait or lure over a wider area of water. Even if I am fishing alone I would still use at least one planar.

Dan

If the weather looks nice enough I may head out as well, we'll see. Hopefully this year I do a little better, last year nothing but small ones and a couple legal but really skinny ones that I let live another day to fatten up some.

Dan you being on Welch, there are some good honey holes around there.

Biggest problem in a bass boat can be trolling slow enough. I used to drag a couple of drywall buckets with lot of holes drilled in the bottom (home made drift socks), tied off to my rear cleats on about 10' of rope. It slowed down my 200hp Ranger enough to troll at a reasonable speed.

These days I have a small Lund with a Honda dedicated to the cause and down riggers that can be attached to my larger boat for when the fish go down.

(But unfortunately I'm 'doing time' in the Washington, DC area for a few years and will not be able to get back for this year's ice out salmon fishing. :( )

Hi Maxum;

No doubt Welch is a great area to fish! I don't have to go far to start trolling but sometimes I do. I mix it up pretty good and try different hot spots. The lake has so much to offer. The real trick to a productive day is finding the bait fish. ;)

Hope you have a good year fishing this year!

Dan

My wife loves to salmon fish, I find it a little slow. But slow is the hard part, my twin engine non-fishing boat does about 3.5 MPH with one engine at idle.

Do the drywall buckets really work?

I find that at 3.5 mph, I need about double the colors everyone else has to get near the fish. I thought about downriggers but I don't want to drill more holes in my boat. Anybody make downriggers that fit into rod holders?

Yes, drywall buckets definitely work and they work well!! Get your speed at least down to 2.5 mph and you will be better off I feel.

Cannon makes gimbal mounts for their downriggers as do most other downrigger manufacturers. They work great as I have a set for my Eastern 22' lobster that I used last year. You can see them here... http://store.cannondownriggers.com/p.../Gimbal_Mounts

Good Luck!

Dan

As Requested
 

Here you go Jonas Pilot!

Pic #1 is the "Fishing Machine".

Pic #2 is the planer mast mounted in a quick track system. The trolling motor is also on a quick release bracket. I am waiting for a half door from Manitou that will clear the motor when closed.

Pic #3 is the 36 volt batteries in series I put in a rolling cooler. I drilled a hole through it and added a quick release plug for the trolling motor as shown in pic #4.

Now to go break it all in and have some fun fishing!! Beautiful day today on the lake...No I was not fishing!! :D

Have fun!

Dan

Sweet rig! Come by Alton and I'll give you a fly. As usual I am too excited to sleep. It's like Xmas eve for guys.

Good Luck
 

Can't get to sleep myself. Went for a shakedown today. Lake was pristine! See you in the morning. Is there any room for a couple of beers in that cooler? Tight lines!

Been tying flies all day, This is like Christmas eve for grown men!

The Go-to Guy:

http://cdn.stripersonline.com/2/2a/6..._100_4695.jpeg

And his brothers:

http://cdn.stripersonline.com/2/23/6..._100_4698.jpeg

Nice rig ishoot308.
 

Nice job Dan. You're going to love the MinnKota and it's Auto Pilot. It's like having somebody onboard helping you control the boat. It really lets you concentrate on fishing. Good luck and stay safe. Leave some fish for the rest of us!

yes, i was out all morning and didn't even have a bite! I was in alton and i didnt see anyone else catch a thing either, oh well im still going out tonight

We were on the water at 6:00 A.M. this morning and spent some time getting used to the new equipment. Fishing started off on a not so good start. First, my fish finder transducer broke off its mount somehow and while I was looking at that we lost one beauty (Salmon) in the broads. This salmon was caught off a Cee Dee Orange Ghost fly, then nothing until 9:00 A.M when we boated 4 in a row off the planers, then missed two others. I am in love with the planers and mast. They work better than I thought they would. Just need a little more time playing with them and the releases and we will boat more fish. All fish caught today were released to live another day!

Yes J.P., I absolutely am thrilled with the Minn Kota. The Auto pilot feature works fantastic! I couldn't be happier!!

I only took one pic today of the sunrise then my battery went dead! :( Sorry no fish pics...

Hope everyone had a good opening day on the water!!

Dan

Few Pics from around the lake on Opening Day!
 

Got up early and took some shots in Alton and Gilford.
Took many pics.. I'll try to add more to the photo gallery later today.

Dan is that your boat in the Mt. Washington pic?

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Hi Steve;

No that's not me. Close though! :) I did see that boat out in front of my place a few times today.

Great pics Steve!!

Dan

We didn't fish today but were lucky enough to talk with a few guys at Shep Brown's. They just made their way in around 3:30 and were pulling the boat out, they had been out since 6 AM. They caught 6 good size salmon and let our 6 year boy handle their prize fish of the day.

Trollers did great - my buddy Ron got 10. His friend mike got 24! Alton Bay was a wasteland from the docks (I see steve put up three pictures of me and my chins - thanks). I got skunked and gave up by ten am. My friend trav (the first pic above) caught two but he's insanely good. His two fish were all I saw that morning. Pray for rain...

Wow! 24 salmon. He must have counted when a fish looked at the bait.

why do you want rain? I was in alton this morning too and only saw a pickeral caught all morning...

Great Afternoon On The Water!
 

We went out again late this afternoon and boated 9 more in 2 1/2 hours. They were hitting great and all gave a good fight. All released well with a lot of spunk left, I was impressed with the quality and health of the fish we caught. Today's total was 13 landed, all were keepers except one. 4 others lost, 2 while netting. All in all a great day fishing!!

Dan

That's just what I was told, of course fishermen are known for their accuracy when it comes to reporting a catch....

Rain will get the river flowing and hopefully bring in some salmon.

24 is not an unreasonable number if you are in a decent area and have a good idea of what they are wanting. We boated 17 by 1:30, had another half dozen shake offs or break offs. We may have increased that number even at 1:30 if we had checked our gear more often as we picked up a decent amount of debris that we dragged for a good amount of time before finding it.

I was particularly impressed with the size of the fish this year as we were AVERAGING 20 inch fish and only had a few shakers. No bows, no white perch, no bass, one huge laker that shook off right at the net.

When is enough, enough?
 

If there are so many anglers catching that many salmon when is enough, enough? Do you just keep catching and catching?

Opening Day
 

I was on the water at 5AM (tough to navigate with the enclosure all frosted up) and had two lines in the water by 5:30. Slow start but ended the day with two beautiful Rainbows and two nice Salmon. Very happy when the sun came up and warmed things up. The lake was beautiful and I am looking forward to another spectacular season.
Tight lines! "Good Stuff"

I don't troll for salmon so I can't speak from experience, but it seems to me that trolling is a bigger commitment than fishing docks and rivers - especially if you trailer and launch your boat. I don't keep salmon because I don't eat them. So when I drive up to a spot I release everything. And yes, after 9 or 10 fish (not a problem for me on Sunday, I got skunked) I get my fill and usually go home. But that involves just hopping in the car and driving away, not motoring to the ramp and loading the boat on the trailer and dragging it home to wash it and put it away. You go to that much trouble and expense, you're going to tend to stay out on the water longer.

Plus the limit is two fish per person per day, so I assume the majority of fish caught are simply released.

This is a really good point. Gas and launch fees can exceed $100 (not counting tackle, bait, food, misc equipment). This means that many trollers that travel will spend as much time as possible on the water. There is probably a lot more catch and release amongst trollers than the shorebound guys.

Many trollers belong so message boards like this and a few others dedicated to fishing on the Lake. These boards are valuable for how to information but also talk about conservation....which fish to keep (if any), how to best release a fish, use of barbless hooks, low impact rubber nets....these topics are covered on many forums and have probably done a lot to improve the fishery over the past few years to levels they are now at.

This years bad ice season certainly seems to have contributed to lowering winter mortality. Nobody targets salmon (legally) but they are a by-catch of rainbows and don't do well when brought onto the ice for release. Less guys on the ice would certainly spell a better spring like we are seeing now.

While there is a 2 fish limit, it would certainly help the fishery if only hook wounded fish were kept. It can't be legislated that way and even suggesting it to someone who just caught a 20+ inch healthy fish is probably inappropriate. I actually know very few people who will keep a salmon off the lake. Fresh Atlantic salmon is much better table fair and contains less PCBs etc.

Personally, I stay out as long as I can despite how well they are biting because I LOVE it out there. It's beautiful and peaceful. With my work schedule and volunteer work, I seldom get a full day to do something that is just for me or my family. If I get one, I am only the water from dawn to dusk (actually 1/2 before dawn to 1/2 hour after dusk)...that happens about 2-3 times per year.

Opening Day Sunrise
 

It doesn't matter how many fish you catch... I think this is one of the many reasons most of us are out there doing what we love...

Dan