Page 28 - ODUMar-Apr2019

anglers refer to as “salmon chop” and you’re in for a treat.

My guided trips consist almost entirely of trolling live bait early in the season. We catch more fish
trolling or drifting smelt than we do with flies, so that’s what I stick with. Our clients come to catch big
fish, but they love to see the rods pop out of the downriggers, and the numbers of fish are there. When
only trolling a few feet below the surface, a rod popping out of the downrigger is almost always
immediately followed by aerial acrobatics that keep the blood pumping. The limit on Lake
Winnipesaukee is two fish, which could easily be filled by 8am most mornings, but many of our clients
prefer to catch and release so they can keep fishing. They can’t resist seeing those salmon jumping on

the end of their lines and can’t bear the thought of quitting early.

As water temperatures increase, a thermocline sets up on the lake and the salmon begin to run deeper
in search of cooler more stable water temps. Eventually live smelt become unavailable in the bait shops
and we switch

to trolling
spoons on
downriggers
and leadcore
line. Many
anglers love
trolling spoons

because they
can be trolled
much faster,
allowing you to
cover a lot
more water,
but some will
stick with

streamers and
play with size,
profile, and
color.

Until ice-out is

declared, we
take bookings
as early as May 1. If the lake is free of ice earlier, we start running trips right away. They say the early
bird gets the worm, and that couldn’t be truer on most days of salmon fishing. The fishing is often
excellent and when you mix in a few rainbow trout in the three to four-pound range and the occasional
lake trout, you’ll quickly know why so many anglers spend their weeks thinking about the weekend.

Tim Moore is a full-time licensed New Hampshire fishing guide and owner of Tim Moore Outdoors,
LLC. He is a member of the New England Outdoors Writers Association and the producer of In Season
Outdoors TV. For information on guided trips visit www.TimMooreOutdoors.com. You can
also follow TMO on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/TimMooreOutdoors.