Fishing Winni July 2019
 

Fishing 4hrs the 3rd and another 4 hrs today (Fourth). Only one Laker. Father's Day I caught 7 Lakers in a couple of hours. Big difference a couple of weeks makes. No salmon yet this year. Usually I catch a salmon for every laker. Hopefully things will be back to normal soon.

Some of the charters out there are starting to pick up salmon! Just keep at it!

Another Morning
 

Another 4 hrs this morning only one Laker. Are things this slow for everybody?

Been slow for me too...four outings and three fish...2 lakers and a salmon.

Day 4
 

Okay thank you for the update.

Out again this morning (July 6) fished for around 4 hrs. Three Lakers no Salmon. All three Lakers were small. Hoping for larger fish not smaller. Maybe tomorrow is the day.

Things seem slow from what I hear. Wonder what is the cause.
I am going to try tomorrow, I am sure my luck will be the same.. As long as we are having fun is what counts.

First 40'
 

One thing I noticed more so than previous years, there seems to be lots of plant life floating in the first 40'.

What is the cause? It’s called “fishing” for a reason...otherwise it would be called “catching” :D
Be patient, watch the fishing reports and they will come! Have fun!

No salmon
 

Salmon fishing has declined in past couple of years, imho. I have been saying for years that there are too many lake trout in Winni. They compete with salmon for smelt, and they are eating machines. I have noticed a gradual increase in Lakers over the last 25-30 years and now it seems that people catch them 5/1 to salmon. Not good, harvest the Lakers! They are delicious. Added to that is the stocking problem encountered by Fish and Game over past two years and the results are stark, as your testimony (Trout) reveals.:mad::mad:

OH yes! I do harvest the lakers...delicious!

Last Day
 

Sunday morning put in another 4 hrs plus. Five Lakers zero Salmon. I did want to grill some up but all caught were under 18" and of course were released. I have to say that Winnipesaukee is one of the better lakes to fish in NH. I am fairly new to fishing deep Lakers and this is my third year. I really enjoying this new past time both summer and winter.
-trout

Advice
 

Any thoughts on potential success fishing with lead core line instead of downriggers? I’m looking forward to trying to catch a laker, salmon, or trout, but don’t have downriggers and in the short term not looking to add them to my boat. I have decades of experience and good luck catching bass, just looking to mix it up a bit this summer.

make sure you run at least a 50ft. fluorocarbon leader (i prefer 6 lb test) on your lead core rigs. flies were hot for us yesterday at 5 colors, riggers have had the most action at around 22-28 ft down, so right around the 25 ft mark right now.

yesterday we kept 2 20" fat salmon for the smoker. we lost 3 more keeper sized fish that were estimated to be around the 19" size range, with one that was well beyond that. i'd say that one was around 6 lbs and in the upper 20's in length. i had it halfway in the net when the hook pulled out and off he went..

pic...........

That"s a fatty there!

Down riggers
 

How deep are the salmon now?
I’ve been catching fat Rainbows 36’ down

That's a good depth...although I saw someones FB post that said they caught 2 salmon at 45-55'
YMMV

been having the most luck between 25-35'.

Have had a little luck with small rainbows around 40'. Using Orange and gold lures. Does anyone have any success using shiners?

i never use live bait.. smelt or shiners. not because they don't work, they do, just because i never have any.