New Hampshire Nature Notes
by Eric Orff
Katie's first fish today and salamanders on the move Saturday night.
Sunday 04/02/2006
One grand event after another this last week. Saturday morning I took my son-in-law Derek Martel salmon fishing on the opening day. We launched my little 10 foot boat by Governor's Island on Lake Winnipesaukee. There was more open water than I have ever seen this early, although it has been a few years since I have been at this location. I landed and released a nice lake trout right off. But salmon were scarce for me and Derek on the opening day. I marked a few fish on my Fishing Buddy but most of them were still under the ice as we trolled by. I marked a number of fish along one moving huge sheet and we drifted up against it and I landed a much larger lake trout and let it go. Salmon were scarce around this part of the lake Saturday. In past years I have done well here. Many years ago Rick Hamlett and I landed and released over 50 salmon in a single day in these waters in his 8-foot long john boat. So it doesn't take much of a craft to catch a whole lot of salmon when the conditions are right. By the time we left around noon much more of the lake was open. The ice that is there is just thin slushy ice. One good wind will send it to shore some where.
The showers Saturday afternoon had a few salamanders moving just after dark. The rain ended before dark and the roads were drying up. There were only a couple of yellow spotted salamanders along the half mile section of road above my house and none up the hill. So I didn't conduct my "official" salamander route yet. Wood frogs were calling nearby but no peepers yet locally. I left my bedroom window wide open to wake me if it rained during the night so I could conduct my survey no matter when it rained. Around 3:00am a stiff wind blew in with a roar but no rain. A neighbor who walks each morning called me to report 4 dead salamanders along Short Falls Road this morning and 3 on River Road. So some numbers did move Saturday night. I'm betting the very next after dark rain will be the big night.
Today my daughter Amy, her husband Derek and I took Katie fishing. This two year old begged to go with us Saturday to the lake. But today she got her turn. And only one of us four caught a fish...Katie. A nice fall fish. Katie's first fish ever by herself. She wouldn't let go of her rod the half hour or so we fished; Then her bobber dunked under water. She was a bit intimidated by the actual fish. But a bed time call from Amy has me convinced that Katie is hooked on fishing. She kept saying" Mummy didn't catch a fish. Daddy didn't catch a fish. Papa didn't catch a fish. Katie got a fish." all afternoon and evening long according to my daughter.
I did see my first woodchuck of the season over at the Yeaton farm this morning. I have documented my first and last woodchuck sighting of the year since I was 12. In fact that was my only recording of wildlife sightings before I began to keep a daily diary in 1977. Some where in a little note book I have recordings of sightings from the early 1960's. I wonder if global warming has influenced these sightings. The local fields are turning greener by the day. Tree buds are swelling. Spring is truly here!
