Club member Dick Brown's wife Carol made a catch of a lifetime on the Merrimack this morning- a four foot long Atlantic Sturgeon!  Carol has caught quite a few fish on the fly rod over the years, including:  stripers, bluefish, steelhead, Atlantic Salmon and bonefish, but this was her first sturgeon. 

Over the last several years there have been several reported sturgeon sightings and catches in the Merrimack, but this is the first one that I know of on the fly rod.  Dick reports that the fish wasn't removed from the water in order to avoid stressing it in any way, they just brought it up next to the boat and popped the hook out with a pair of long nosed pliers.

June 18 - Update:

Thanks to Joe McKeon from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.  Joe correctly identified the fish as a "Shortnose Sturgeon" as opposed to a "Sea Sturgeon" and provided us with a link to the 2007 Status Review of the Atlantic Sturgeon.

Joe also wanted to let us know that there is a lot more information available on the Fish & Wildlife Service Website where you can do a search via species common name for all types of fish.

For those of you who missed out on Dick Brown's Rigging Clinic at the May meeting, you can download a copy of his handout here:

Dick's Guide to Fly Line Rigging & Knots

Dick was good enough to compile this list of suggested knots and rigging tips to help new fly fishers put together their first fly outfits, covering the knots from the backing to the leader & tippet.

Thanks to Joe S. for writing up the details of the upcoming club trips.  Please visit the FlyLine Forums for more details.

• Plum Island Beach Trip – June 2: If you signed up, great.  If you are waiting to see if the weather is good… don’t worry, the fish don’t mind. We’re going out rain or shine. Only a torrential flood, twister, high winds, or lightning is going to stop us.. Ok maybe an influx of angry seals…   If you signed up at the meeting, Joe S. has your contact info and will contact you by email. If you did not provide an email acct, you can pick up the latest info on the FlyLine Forum.  BUT please let Joe know you are coming- we need a head count for the food. Subs and soda will be provided.

• Club Shore Trip To Upper Cape - June 6: if you’re interested now is the time to contact Dick Henry for info and get your checks in to him.  More info below on the club’s website.

• Merrimack River Boat Trip- June 16: Lots of folk signed up. Many more than we have boats for- if you have a boat and are willing to play trip captain and host one or two members on your boat, you are very welcome. If you do not have a boat, please get your name on the list if you are interested- you never know who is going to drop out/off as the date gets closer. Also-Kayakers are welcome. This is a boat only trip. If you missed the sign up last night, please contact Steve Murphy, he is trip leader.

• Lynn Harbor Trip- In the past this has been a lightly attended trip. So, we are only looking for names at this time for contact- we are not sure we are going to go or not. We need boats and interested members. I’m not sure why it’s been so light…the fishing has been pretty good, especially last year. Also a great way to learn and see the coast from Lynn up toward Swampscott- I’m bringing a camera this time, just for the view. If you did not add your name to the list last night, contact Larry Castagneto- he is trip leader.

The following is not a club sponsored trip- so members and friends can join in!

• Kayak trips - also a light attendance activity. This year the club will not sponsor any kayak only trips. So what you read next is a courtesy to all interested-- we will develop a list of members that would like to get out in kayaks and fish together. The list will be circulated to all on the list- so, if you want on the list, let me know. We had a good number sign up last night. Trips/location/time can be announced by anyone on the list. This is a great way to meet members and develop some steady fishing partners.

Thanks to Dick B. and Chris P. for sending in some great photos of the club trip with Lou Tabory.  From all reports the trip was a great success, thanks to everyone who helped organize and run the event.

As a reminder, club fishing trips are limited to active club members.  Unless stated otherwise, we can not accommodate non-members on club sponsored trips due to the club's insurance policy. 

Generally speaking, each of the trips is assigned to a trip coordinator to take sign-ups, arrange logistics and communicate info about the trip to the folks that signed up.  The easiest way to sign up for a trip is at the club meetings, but you don't have to be excluded if you can't make it.  If a trip coordinator is listed for an event in the newsletter or club website, you can get in touch with them directly; the EC member's phone numbers are all listed in the club newsletter.  Next best bet is to email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and I will forward your requests over to the appropriate trip coordinator.

The purpose of the sign-ups is to help the coordinator gauge the number of people attending, the amount of food required (if it will be provided on a given trip) and to help communicate last minute updates/changes in logistics, say if there is bad weather, or a meeting place is changed, etc..  For the boat trips, where the number of available spots can be limited, the trip coordinator will make every attempt to match up open spots on club member's boats with other members, but in some cases not everyone who signs up will be able to get a spot on a boat.

Once the sign ups have been completed, the coordinator will generally get in touch with everyone via email/cellphone to provide them the logistics on the trip, such as where/when to meet up, recommended tackle and flies, etc.  Members should also let the coordinator know if they require any gear (PFDs for the boat trips, for example) or have any other needs.

Just as important as signing up for a trip, members should make every effort to let the trip coordinator know if their plans change and they cannot make a trip or will be arriving late.  This way the trip coordinator will not be holding up the trip waiting for you to arrive or before moving to another location if plans change during the course of the trip.

The club had a nice write-up in the Haverhill Gazette, check it out!

Read Online:     Haverhill Gazette NESFR Article

Download PDF Version:      Fishing for Fun, Friends PDF File