White Mountains

[NJpatbee]

I will be headed up to North Conway NH for a wedding and plan to fish the Ellis River for a few hours on Saturday. I have fished the Saco and the Swift Rivers years ago and have been in touch with North Country Anglers and will follow their suggestion regarding the Ellis.

On a different note, I found on the NH F&G site a portion on the Saco River about 20 minutes North of North Conway that has a section of river near a State Park dedicated to youngsters under 12. My 4 year old grandson can't wait to go trout and fly fishing and has a little spinning rod that he has not used yet. I am hoping to get a clear bobber (bubble) and try to get him to catch his first trout on a fly (actaully his first fish) using the spinning rod (no way he could use a fly rod and I will probably have to cast the spinning rod). I am hoping that the access is fairly easy since it is dedicated to youngsters and hoping he will not have to wade, which for someone under 3' tall is not an option. Has anyone ever fished the Saco in the "kids only" section? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[CreekAddict]

I have not fished the Saco kids only section, but I do fish that area about 3 times a year. I will actually be up there this weekend doing some fishing. Send me a pm if you want to meet on the river. I've fished the Ellis in the Jackson area quite a bit.

Generally, it's good to hit the Saco early, then hit the Ellis after the rubber hatch starts. I'll be staying at the Eastman inn in North Conway. My wife's dad owns the joint, so we've been up there quite a bit.

 

[Ryan R]

Pat,

I went to school up there. While I'm not specifically familar with the "kids only section" of the Saco, generally speaking White Mountains rivers are mostly beautiful, boulder-strewn pocket water and runs. This area may be less of that but I wouldn't go up there expecting to find the generally placid "flatlander" conditions of say a Musconetcong River. Gentle up there is probably more like some of the "easy" pocket water of the BFB. However, if my memory serves me correct I think in towards town there was some rather "easy" areas, at least compared to most of the terrain. Probably won't have to wade much at all anyway, maybe just get the feet wet a bit & just cast in the pretty little trout will find the lure/bait. It's the big fish that will be out in the hard to reach pockets and deep, swift runs. You'll be fishing for those on your own if you get a chance.

If you can fiit it in, be sure to take a careful drive along the Kancamagus Scenic Highway (the "Kanc")- breathtaking views and good opportunities to see moose in certain locations all along that road. A ride up to the Mt. Washington Observatory is highly recommended too and then you can slap a "This car climbed Mt. Washington" bumper sticker on your vehicle! Or take a neat train ride on the historic Cog Railway up to the top of it.

Enjoy your trip, the White Mountians of NH is an awesome place to visit.

 

[NJpatbee]

We found the "kids only" section on the SACO which is an open area of the river that is damned at Crawford Notch State Park. The problem on that day was that there was a strong steady wind that made it difficult to cast the fly rod, and just about impossible to cast the spinning rod with the bubble and fly on the end. We moved below the dam out of the kids section where it was sheltered and managed a few brook trout on the fly rod, and at least my grandson got to see the trout rise and take the fly.

I was able to spend an hour scouting the Ellis River by the covered bridge in Jackson NH but "unexpected" errands before the Wedding kept me away on Sunday morning.

Beautiful area, great trout water and worth visiting if you have never been there.