Sugar River Fishing Report & Options for Selecting Flies: Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Freestone
Species
Brown Trout (Stocked and holdovers)
Rainbow Trout (Stocked some
holdovers)
Brook Trout (Stocked with holdovers)
Size
Medium
Location
Northern New Hampshire
Nearest Towns
Newport
Season
Jan 1 – Nov. 30th
Access:
Good
Non-Resident License
State of New Hampshire
Weather
National Weather Service Link
Seasons:
The season for the special regulations area runs until Nov. 30th.
Spring:
Springtime is a good time to fish the stream provided the water isn’t too high.
Summer:
The cooler parts of the summer can provide some good opportunities but the water gets too warm during the hottest days of summer.
Fall:
Early Fall is great, especially for the brown trout which may be in the spawning mode.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
4, 5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 to 12 ft., 5 or 6X Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Supreme Four, Superb Five
or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 4/5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Copyright 2016 James Marsh
Fly Fishing The Sugar River New
Hampshire
The Sugar River is a 27 mile long river located in western New Hampshire that’s a tributary of the Connecticut River. It begins from an outlet of Lake Sunapee in the little town of Sunapee. It passes through the town of Newport and Claremont before its confluence with the Connecticut River in Vermont. There are several hydro-powered industrial developments along the river but in spite of that, good management and consistent
stocking of trout provides some good fly fishing opportunities. Fly fishing the Sugar River is popular and can be very a fun-filled, enjoyable experience.
There is a “fly fishing only”:section located in Newport. It is the most popular section for fly fishing the Sugar River. It has a “Trails-to-Rails” path that follows along the river for
easy access. The river has two main tributaries. The South Branch of the Sugar River enters the main stream in Newport. The North Branch of the Sugar River, enters
between Newport and North Newport.
This stream is heavily stocked by the state of New Hampshire with brown,brook and rainbow trout. There is little to no natural reproduction but there are fish that survive the summer heat and this results in some nice size holdovers. The newly stocked trout are fairly easy to catch but the holdovers are much wiser and have learned to rely on the natural food the stream provides.
The Sugar River has a good population of aquatic insects including Blue-winged Olives, Slate Drakes, Little Brown Stoneflies, Cinnamon and Green Sedges along with others. Terrestrials become important during the summer months. Have imitations of ants, beetles and grass hoppers. The most plentiful fish species for the trout are sculpins. Streamers imitating these, such as our Perfect Fly Brown Sculpin, produce some big fish.
Flies:
We recommend our “Perfect Flies” because they are the best trout flies you can purchase. The large, holdover trout can be very selective. Although you can catch the stocked trout on the generics (which we also sell at a low price), we recommend more realistic imitations of the naturals. We have flies that imitate all the aquatic and terrestrial insects in the Sugar River. If you haven’t already done so, we hope you will give them a try.