Spring Salmon Fishing

By Tim Moore
Contributing Writer

Most salmon anglers come to Lake Winnipesaukee looking forward to two very distinct times of year for salmon fishing, early spring and late summer. The salmon season runs from April 1st through September 30th each year, and if you ask most any salmon angler when the best months to catch salmon are, you’ll undoubtedly be told April through mid-June, and mid-August through September. For most anglers, it’s the ice-out period that drives them to the lake in search of Winnipesaukee chrome.
Although the salmon season opens on April first, ice-out isn’t typically declared on Lake Winnipesaukee until around the third week of April. That won’t be the case this year. An unseasonably warm winter will mean an extra early ice-out. In fact, ice-out was most likely declared sometime between my writing this column and it going to print. Anglers begin targeting salmon from bridges and docks until there is enough open water for watercraft, first kayaks and canoes, and then smaller boats, followed by larger boats. Each day, as more water opens up, more boats take advantage.

By May 1st, the lake is taken over by anglers all vying for their chance at one of New Hampshire’s plump and healthy landlocked Atlantic salmon.
Spring is many anglers’ favorite time of year because the salmon are running shallow, following smelt runs and looking to fatten up on concentrations of food. The salmon are hungry, the bite is good, and local bait shops are usually still carrying smelt, which is the preferred bait of most spring salmon anglers. Slowly trolling a live or sewn-on smelt near the surface is a deadly tactic early in the morning. Salmon find them almost irresistible. Some anglers prefer to troll streamer flies, and those in the know catch as many or more fish with flies as those using live bait. Add a light wind that creates what 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. This is an unprecedented year. The current COVID-19 outbreak and Governor’s stay-at-home order in place means that we will not be running any salmon trips until the dust has settled. While companies that support the seafood and fishing industry are considered essential, we have decided to halt any trips until we feel it is safe for our clients, ourselves, and our family members. That said, don’t be surprised if you see me out there practicing a little social distancing.

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.