Dog Days on the North River

Had a few hours on Sunday so the hunt was on for swamp darter and creek chubsuckers in SE New Hampshire.  Both of these species like lots of vegetation in moving water with a sandy bottom. Marshy and acidic water is good for them too. 

Clay was canoeing with his folks so Dave decided to go to Nottingham to check out the North River, a known haunt of these fish. The spot he fished was where the river crossed Rt 152 at the junction of Rt 156, right in the bustling metropolis that is Nottingham. Unfortunately, the sheriff of Nottingham did not show up.

Catch-M-All does not endorse a particular candidate, although Dave thinks Maggie is cool. 

The bridge had a bit of debris, perhaps build up during recent rains. 

 

After Dave got home and checked the pictures, he noticed some stuff hanging under the bridge. 

Zooming in he realized there were dozens of big spiders on webs. Probably feasting on the dragonflies, caddisflies, and other aquatic insects.  Made the underside of the bridge look like a horror show. 

There was lots of emergent vegetation from the shallow, slightly tea-colored water. It looked like the water was a few inches higher than normal. 

Cardinal flowers were doing their thing.  Such great splashes of color in the marsh this time of year.  

Did not see many fish, but tons of dragonflies.  Here is a 12 spotted skimmer .

Dave thinks this is a slaty skimmer. It watched every cast from its perch, moving its head back and forth like it was watching a tennis match. 

In an attempt to find darters or suckers, Dave waded the stream, but only saw a small brook trout and a pickerel.  The river on the downstream side of the 152 bridge slows, widens and becomes somewhat deeper.  

Looking upstream at the Rt 152 bridge. Looks like a good spot for stocked trout in the spring. 

Dave ended the day by going north on 152 to another section of the river, or perhaps a tributary.  It was quite open here because of a power line right of way. 

Really pretty marsh. Won't be long before the red maples will set it on fire with color. 

At this spot Dave was surprised to find a redbreast sunfish.  He caught two on a worm. Also caught a small fallfish.
 

You can learn a lot about a fishing area if you examine the power lines overhead that  snag skill-less anglers.  This makes us think there are bass in them thar waters.

BTW: If you ever lost track of an "E", Dave found it on the side of the road by the bridge.