The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department recently completed its annual aerial stocking of remote trout ponds. Every year, Fish and Game contracts a helicopter to stock remote ponds, from Sunapee to Pittsburg.
Nearly 50 remote ponds were stocked with brook trout fingerlings from the New Hampton Hatchery during the one-day event.
The stocking of remote ponds in the back-country of New Hampshire provides a unique angling opportunity for those anglers seeking a true wilderness experience.
Remote ponds not only produce beautiful brook trout with high catch rates, but also give the outdoor enthusiast an opportunity for wildlife viewing, hiking, camping or just simple solitude.
Brook trout that have spent all winter under the ice become voracious as the first insects start to hatch, and surface activity with small nymphs can be frenetic. By early June into July, many of these ponds will provide good surface activity due to abundant mayfly hatches.
Fish stocked last June will have reached 5-6 inches in most areas, with 2-year-olds reaching 12 inches or more. A list of remote ponds that are stocked is available at www.fishnh.com/fishing/trout-aerial.html.
Aerial trout stocking is made possible through fishing license sales and Federal Sportfish Restoration dollars. A grant and funds from the Wildlife Heritage Foundation of New Hampshire supported this program in recent years.
source: New Hampshire Fish and Game Department