Upper CT river 3 pic TR

So I ended up hiring a guide for 4 hrs to show me around upper CT River at Pittsburg, NH. This was some seriously different conditions from what I'm used to. This is mostly pocket water fishing just below the dam at the 1st CT lake. I'm used to generally slow deep pools or shallow medium-fast riffles. So with some cues on fishing pocket water I was able to hook into some nice bows and this big brood stock brookie which had likely been in the river for 2 seasons.

She took an Elk Hair Caddis in the most non-chalont take I've seen for a fish like this in fast water. It was almost agonizing waiting to set the hook. The fight was a different story, she bulled down in the current and put quite a bend in my 5 wt. But when she came to the net put on another run before finally tiring enough to land.

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I caught probably a dozen fish with the guide and missed probably that many more. Some of those fish came to an egg pattern, which I would have never guessed at for August. I caught several more on my own after. I also caught some small landlocked salmon parr but none of their big brothers

All in all a great trip and I'd love to go back to fish some of the lower sections for big browns and land locks

Nice fish! Glad you got some up north :) Also nice to hear that the brookie put up a good fight - that one big one that I caught (actually both this year and last year) didn't put up too much of a fight. Kinda odd, but for that kind of fish, I'm not really going to complain.
So were you fishing right below the dam? Although I've spent a good amount of time a bit below there (judge & jury box, ledges, etc), I've never actually fished up there. I guess it worked out pretty well for ya ;)

Sure is some good water up there.

Yeah we were right below the dam on the the first CT lake. Tough to get a good drift there. I don't think I would have had much success without the tips from the guide there since I had never fished that kind of pocket water. I really had to shorten up everything and make some big upstream mends to get a drag free drift. Those fish get some pressure and if you are getting a good drift they are not hitting anything.

Beauuoootiful Brookie.

nice fishing dude!

Nice Vinman! Yeah...during July, August, & September the name of the game for trout is in finding cold water with oxygen...usually = head upstream in the NE, or in a tailwater. Upper stretches of streams/rivers is always more interesting anyways..imho. Going that way later in the week myself...

*Bump*

Thanks for the fly beta!

Hii...Yeah we were right below the dam on the the first CT lake. Tough to get a good drift there. I don't think I would have had much success without the tips from the guide there since I had never fished that kind of pocket water BRASS BARREL SWIVEL-NICKEL PLATED - BBS-NP-XX. I really had to shorten up everything and make some big upstream mends to get a drag free drift. Those fish get some pressure and if you are getting a good drift they are not hitting anything.