Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Fishing for the King...Fish Number 8!



We went to the big lake to catch what is arguably the most exciting game fish in NH. The Atlantic Salmon!
After checking in with AJ's Bait Shop in Meredith, Alan the owner told us of about six fishing hotspots as well as giving us tips for catching these fish.
We tried several of these spots with no sign of a fish.

Then we hooked up with catch-m-all fan and our guest angler for this trip Mike Demers of Laconia who has fished this spot for 25 years. His expertise quickly put a fish in our hands and made fish number 8 a success.


The technique used was the simplest we've seen, a small hook with a smelt hooked through the bottom lip. No swivel no weight no bobber just a free swimming smelt.
Mike is a member of the "First Blood Hunting Club" and works hard to live up to their motto:

"If it's brown, it's down. If it flies it dies" He didn't have a fishing motto


The drag is set to free spin, when the fish takes the bait, let it run. It will stop, spit the bait out and then slam it. At that point it will start to run more line out. Now tighten the drag and set the hook.

 Bring the fish in slowly and try to keep it from jumping. Atlantic Salmon can jump 10 feet out o the water,

Mike Demers shows off his23 inch Landlocked Atlantic Salmon
Mike had no interest in eating this fish with us, he wanted to keep fishing, so we headed to Alton to check the action out there. The bite was on in Alton.

gets your blood going

We watched people fishing shoulder to shoulder catching lots of salmon!




Landlocked Salmon swimming in Alton Bay
After watching the action in Alton we headed to a marsh to try to catch other species while we cooked the salmon.
Dave shows off the salmon, passing cars think we caught this in Merrymeeting Marsh...

Clay gets ready to clean the Salmon




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