CATCH THE KING - 2012 BROODSTOCK SALMON SEASON GETS OFF TO EARLY START - Printable Version +- Fishing Forum (https://bigfishtackle.com/forum) +-- Forum: New Hampshire Fishing Forum (https://bigfishtackle.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=371) +--- Forum: New Hampshire Fishing News (https://bigfishtackle.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=287) +--- Thread: CATCH THE KING - 2012 BROODSTOCK SALMON SEASON GETS OFF TO EARLY START (/showthread.php?tid=738517) |
CATCH THE KING - 2012 BROODSTOCK SALMON SEASON GETS OFF TO EARLY START - FishNews - 04-19-2012 CONCORD, N.H. - Record warmth this winter has brought an early start to spring in New Hampshire this year, and that's good news for anglers<br /> targeting the "King of Fish" - broodstock Atlantic salmon that are stocked<br /> into the Merrimack River watershed each spring and fall. "With very little snow melt, river flows this April are more typical of<br /> early summer. Cold water and low flows make for excellent salmon fishing, so<br /> we decided to stock the fish early this year," said Matt Carpenter, the New<br /> Hampshire Fish and Game Department fisheries biologist who manages the<br /> salmon broodstock fishery. "With no rain in the extended forecast, hopefully<br /> this will be one of the longer spring broodstock salmon fishing seasons in<br /> recent memory." Stocking has already begun, and the bulk of the salmon should be in by early<br /> next week, according to Carpenter. The fish will be spread between stocking<br /> sites beginning in Bristol and working south to Franklin, Concord and<br /> Hooksett, N.H. "We have about 680 fish to stock this spring. The salmon looked good when we<br /> tagged them about a week ago, with a wide variety of sizes ranging from 3<br /> pounds to over 10 pounds," said Carpenter. To fish for brood stock salmon, anglers need a current New Hampshire fishing<br /> license and an $11 brood stock salmon permit. Both can be purchased online<br /> at http://www.fishnh.com or from Fish and Game license agents statewide.<br /> Only salmon marked by Fish and Game with a T-bar anchor at the base of the<br /> dorsal fin may be kept, and the bag limit is 1 per day and 5 total for the<br /> season. For more information on New Hampshire's brood stock salmon fishery,<br /> including an access map, visit<br /> http://www.fishnh.com/Fishing/atlantic_salmon.htm. Find out what it's all about by watching a short video about brood stock<br /> salmon fishing on the Merrimack at<br /> http://www.fishnh.com/Fishing/atlantic_salmon.htm. "Spring is when we stock the robust 3- and 4-year-old salmon, as opposed to<br /> the two-year-olds stocked in the fall," said Carpenter. "Salmon are not<br /> ready to produce eggs until they are at least three years old. In the<br /> spring, we stock extra fish that have already spawned the previous fall. In<br /> the fall, we are stocking extra fish that will not be needed to provide eggs<br /> for the program." Brood stock anglers are encouraged to report their experiences to Fish and<br /> Game by contacting Matt Carpenter at 603-271-2612 or<br /> matthew.carpenter@wildlife.nh.gov. New Hampshire has the only managed Atlantic salmon river fishery in New<br /> England. The big fish stocked in the brood stock salmon program have<br /> completed their maternal duty producing the fry (young salmon) used in the<br /> Atlantic salmon restoration program, a partnership between the New Hampshire<br /> Fish and Game Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Purchase of<br /> brood stock salmon permits helps support this cooperative state-federal<br /> restoration effort, along with a number of other fish conservation projects.<br /> The program is also supported through federal funds from the Federal Aid in<br /> Sport Fish Restoration Program. |