Frequently Asked Questions - Fishing in New Hampshire

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What are the best baits and methods for catching landlocked salmon?

Early season anglers generally fish for salmon using live bait -- smelt, shiners and worms, from shoreline, docks and bridges. "My earliest recollection of spring salmon fishing was drifting a smelt under a bobber at the mouth of Black Brook in Lake Winnisquam," says Fisheries Biologist Don Miller. As the ice recedes and open water appears around brooks and bridges, one of the most popular methods to catch salmon is by trolling. Successful trollers use slowly presented smelt or shiners, or an assortment of lures including stickbaits (such as Rapala, Rebel, Yo-Zuri), spoons (Mooselook, Flash King, Sutton, Top Gun, DB Smelt) and various flash lures (Super Duper, Harry Lure, etc.

In tributaries and rivers like the Winnipesaukee, fly-fishermen often have success working weighted nymphs, such as olive or black Woolly Buggers, various bead-head nymphs and heron flies. Other proven methods include fly-casting or trolling smelt-imitating streamer patterns, such as the Gray Ghost and its many variations, Nine-Three, Supervisor, Winnipesaukee Smelt and Maynard's Marvel.

For more inside tips on where and how to fish for landlocks and other fish, click here.