Coldwater Fish Species

Brook Trout

Also called “squaretail” or “speckled trout,” the brook trout requires well-oxygenated cold water, 68 degrees or less. It can be found in meadow brooks, rivers, streams and ponds. The brookie is easily caught with flies or small spinners. Earthworms are the most effective live bait.

Due to the low levels of nutrients in the water bodies housing brookies, they are short-lived and rarely exceed 6 inches in length. Sixty remote ponds are stocked with fingerling brook trout and are managed for put-grow-and-take. It is possible to catch a 4-pound trout in some of these ponds, due to the light fishing pressure they receive.

Rainbow Trout

The rainbow trout thrives best in cold water, but can withstand temperatures up to 77 degrees if the water is well aerated. This species is well adapted to lakes and streams. Any trout fishing method can be used to catch rainbows. Spinners, flies, small spoons and bait are effective. The usual size of rainbows found in streams and ponds is between 6 and 12 inches and less than one pound. In larger lakes, however, 3-5 pound rainbows can be caught.

Brown Trout

Temperatures between 65 and 70 degrees are best for brown trout. They are found in deep, quiet pools or in the lower sections of streams that are slower moving and usually warmer.
In New Hampshire, brown trout are usually between 7 and 14 inches and weigh less than one pound. However, it is not uncommon to find fish that weigh between 2 and 4 pounds. After reaching about 12 inches, they feed almost solely on baitfish during twilight and nighttime hours. Live bait, spinners and flies fished at dusk are equally effective on brown trout.

Landlocked Salmon

The landlocked salmon was originally an ocean fish that became trapped in inland lakes. They are stocked in larger lakes, and prefer water temperatures in the mid-50s. During summer, landlocked salmon are usually found 40 feet below the surface, where it’s cold.

Early spring and late September are the best times to catch salmon. In the spring, they follow smelt when these bait fish spawn. During the day, salmon cruise the shallow water of the lake near stream mouths. In the fall, salmon swim upstream to spawn. Salmon can be caught on streamer flies trolled close behind a boat at a rapid pace. Trolled spoons, wobblers and sewn-on bait are also excellent.

Lake Trout

The lake trout is prized as a game fish, mainly because of its size and power. Fish weighing between 3 and 6 pounds are caught regularly, and individuals as large as 10 pounds are not uncommon. The ideal temperature for lake trout is near 50 degrees, so they’re usually found on or near the bottom of the water body.

Winter ice fishing on New Hampshire’s big lakes centers around bobhouse colonies. Jigging with lures or cut sucker bait are effective ways of catching lakers through the ice. In early spring, just after “ice out,” they are generally taken by trolling near the surface with spoons or wobblers and natural bait, such as shiners or suckers. In summer, troll deep with wire or lead-core lines or downriggers, with sewn-on bait or spoons.

Whitefish

Two species of whitefish, or shad, are found in a few New Hampshire lakes: the lake whitefish and round whitefish. The lake whitefish typically inhabits deep, clear, cold lakes. The round whitefish (right, above) does well in cold lakes, but in shallower water.

Lake whitefish (right, below) can be taken almost any time of year, though most fishing is done through the ice. Summer or winter, the usual method is by baiting the location with chum (cut-up fish) several days before fishing, then bobbing a light sinker and small hook baited with a piece of cut-up fish near the bottom. During ice out, lake whitefish may be taken with flies at the surface.