| Conditions
: Merrimack Valley - As the season winds down, dont forgo a trout fishing trip just because stocking hasnt occurred for some time. Our surveys indicate modest survival rates of stocked brook, brown, and rainbow trout in the designated trout ponds. Despite heavy angling pressure, habitat and forage in these ponds accommodate survival and fishing up through the end of the trout pond season (October 15). Bow Lake (Strafford) and Pleasant Lake (Deerfield) are two of the most popular waterbodies in the area with trout that remain open after the designated trout ponds close. Vegetation will soon begin to die off in the small ponds and lakeshores of southeastern New Hampshire. Time is running out to focus on this habitat type for warmwater species like largemouth bass, which take advantage of submerged aquatic vegetation for cover when ambushing prey. Some places with good shoreline access and abundant fish populations include Freese's Pond in Deerfield, Swains Lake along France Road in Barrington, and Cass Pond (also known as Bixby Pond), behind the closed rest area along Route 4 in Epsom. |
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Reported by
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Ben Nugent, Regional Fisheries Biologist
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