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