The Amoskeag Fishways is a learning center where you can watch the fish migrate through a fish ladder. The salmon swim upstream and this is how they get around a dam built years ago. Who would have thought fish could use a ladder.

The fish migrate in June and if you check your calendar it is June. Too bad it is May through early June. We missed it and only saw two tiny fish that were just hanging out in the viewing area. Yes, you can watch the fish through a couple of large windows and witness the fish climbing the ladder.

If we get a chance again next year, this is on our list to watch. For now at least we can share some pictures of the fish ladder so you can get the general idea. Basically it is series of small falls that a fish “climbs” or swims up. Pretty cool!

With the fantastic weather in full swing we took a short trip (about 4 miles) to look at the Nashua National Fish Hatchery. It appears to be a really happening place — I  think we were the only ones there. Anyway, it was still pretty cool. We saw some great looking rainbow trout and Atlantic Salmon. Those salmon look impressive and it made me want to catch one! This fish hatchery supports Atlantic salmon, American shad and other aquatic species restoration efforts in the Merrimack River and other rivers. Each year the Nashua National Fish Hatchery utilizes approximately 1,300 Atlantic salmon for egg production. Once spawned, the domestic fish are surplus to program needs and are released into the Merrimack River for the largest directed Atlantic salmon fishery in New England.

Today I took the kayak out to A-1 reservoir in Westborough around the middle of the day. It was a little warm, a little sunny, and a lot of fun. The fish were pretty active and I caught 8 bass and 1 chain pickerel. Only one of them was picture worthy, but at least they were biting today. I guess fishing season is here now…guess where I’ll be in the evenings.

I went out with Will and he caught a nice one. Maybe I’ll get his photo and share it.

Yesterday was my first day of fishing for the year. I took a quick trip to the Assabet river with the fly rod and took several “practice” casts. I was out there less than an hour, but it was still a good time.

I tied on gree wooly bugger and a small grey nymph. I didn’t catch or see a thing. I think I’ll do a little research over the next couple days to find some alternatives. There were definitely a lot of small grey flying creatures all over the place. Maybe I should learn more about bugs.

Boys grow up with a fascination with bugs…then they must study them to fish later in life. It is amazing how life is a big circle…isn’t it!

The weather today is looking like a great day. I can’t seem to get the fish off the brain. I think I’ll go again when I get home tonight…and go again Saturday…and maybe again Sunday.

I finally found this “hidden” little pond. I was really looking for a new launch point for the Sudbury River, but I figured I’d try this small pond out and see if it connects to the river. I arrived around 12:35 and left at 15:45. It was warm outside and the wind was blowing about 10 MPH. Wind like that is a challenge on a kayak, but I managed. I used the pumpkinseed worm and a black sinking rubber frog. I was skunked on the worms, but had several hits on the frog. I did actually catch a fish this time. I caught a nice little bass, but he swallowed my hook so I had to cut off and pray for him. I caught the bass near the boat ramp around 15:35. I tossed the frog near the shore under some trees and had a few hits. Finally one decided to stick on!

While paddling around I was looking for a way to connect to the Sudbury River. I am sure you can do it, but I didn’t want to bush whack in the kayak. I know I was close because I could hear some guys talking on the river, but I just couldn’t break through. Oh well….I guess I need to go out there with a person that knows or wait till winter to see how close they really are. 

Today I woke up at 5:30 and arrived at Rocky Pond in Boylston, MA at 6:20. Rocky pond has a floating island and tons of weeds for fish to hang around in. I used my trusty old rubber worms and paddled around in the pond in the kayak. I started off with a black curly tail worm, changed to a pumpkin seed straight tail worm and also tried a 9″ green paddle tail worm. I was skunked again. I did have one really nice hit and the fish tied itself up in a bunch of weeds. After a couple minutes of working my way over to untie the mess, the fish shook loose. Looks like I’ll need to take some Fishing 101 courses to see if I can remember how to fish. I stayed around there until about 8:55.

The weather was very nice and the water was clear. A slight breeze (maybe 8 or 10 MPH) picked up just before I started leaving. 

Will and I took a short spin in the kayaks. We fished from 11:00 – 13:00 at Bartlett Pond using the fly rods. We didn’t catch a single thing…I had one near hit as well as Will. At least it wasn’t raining and we had a chance to practice our fly casting.

My main goal was to test out a floating wooly bugger. I tried using some foam under the chennele and hackle to make it float a bit more. This didn’t work too well since I had a pretty large hook and a pretty small piece of foam. Back to the drawing board….

Most of the time we were fishing I used a dark diver-type popper that I cut from some foam flooring. With only one attempted strike, I switched to a weighted wooly bugger for the last 45 minutes. 

Conditions:

• Weather: Partly cloudy in the mid to upper 70′s. There was little to no wind.
• Water: Clear