WRITING ON THE FLY
By GEORGE LISET
There is not a day that goes by that I am not thankful that I live in Live Free or Die New Hampshire.
Every time I hit the rivers, lakes and ponds of New Hampshire with a fly rod in my hand I feel doubly blessed. With gas prices high, but slowly coming down because of mid-term elections, I have been staying close to home, which pretty much means in-state.
My youngest daughter Bacall, who is my occasional fishing buddy, has started climbing New Hampshire’s 48 4,000-foot mountains. The first two she climbed with her one-year old daughter on her back. I was really impressed with that. I had always wanted to do the Appalachian Trail, but when I finally had the time to do it my knees had gone south. I am thankful that there is enough life in them to get in and out of rivers and streams.
Then I came across a book recently that I had to buy. That the book had pictures was a big plus. That meant less words to read. “Spanning Time: New Hampshire Covered Bridges” by Irene DuPont was published in 1986. Covered bridges are iconic to New England. There are sixty covered bridges in New Hampshire. I discovered that there were over one hundred covered bridges in both Vermont and Massachusetts. There are only nine in Maine. I was thinking that Maine should get with the program or we will kick them out of New England. Only kidding. Maine has a lot of great reasons to visit, one being Atlantic Salmon.
As I was looking through the book I made note of how many of the covered bridges I had visited. I was surprised at how many there were and a few I had even fished. I have most recently fished The Conway Bridge that spans the Saco River and the Honeymoon Bridge in Jackson that spans the Ellis River. Then my mind started going down the rabbit hole. If my amazing daughter can climb the forty-eight 4,000 foot mountains, why can’t I fish all sixty covered bridges?
Then I started thinking about a covered bridge challenge. All the bridges cross some body of water. I realize that not all of them might have fish and that the fishing conditions might be prohibitive. When I attempted to fish the Cold River bridge in Langdon there was only a trickle in the river because of drought-like conditions. Then I thought the challenge could be as hard or as easy as you wanted to make it.
The challenge could be as easy as finding the bridge, taking a picture and throwing in a line. It could be as hard as trying to catch a fish at each as well. This would be a great way to explore the great state of New Hampshire with a fly rod in your hand. Another thought is that Fish and Game usually stock by the bridges. Just saying!
George Liset of Dover is an award-winning outdoor writer and avid fly fisherman who shares insights of his time on the water exploring New Hampshire streams and rivers as well of those around New England. George is a graduate of Wheaton College, Illinois, and the University of New Hampshire. His column Writing on the Fly has been honored by the New England Press Association and the New Hampshire Press Association.
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