Autumn brings a rapid cooling of the lakes and rivers in New England, which consists of the primary habitat for the Blueback in the states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Fall usually begins as early as September with a rapid cooling occurring usually in the first week of September as the jet stream shifts to the south.

With the cooling temperatures of early September, the Blueback Trout move from the deepest parts of the lake to the shallows again, following schools of bait fish. Insects are less prevalent during this time so trolling and casting techniques tend to work best.

Fly Fishing Tips

However, fly fishing is still a viable technique and will likely land you trout and other predatory fish species found in the water column.

The best flies replicate the popular insects for the area, and mostly those that are in abundance as the Blueback are primed for these insects.

Try switching up between the following flies: the black gnat, royal coachman, grey hackle yellow, Light Cahill, rio grand and the cow dung. Keep in mind that these fish are not that big so don’t go very large.

Consider sizes to less than 10 and nothing larger than 18, though this will depend somewhat on the particular fly. For example, the light coachman will work up to size 18, but the black gnat should be no larger than 16.

Preservation and Conservation

It is amazing how some fish species have managed to survive as long as they have like the Aurora Trout, Blueback Trout and the Sunapee Trout when they have such limited distributions.

To further make matters more completed, predatory fish species were introduced into their distribution further decimating their numbers. The introduction of Atlantic Salmon into their lakes have all but wiped them out in those locations.

Changing acidity is also an issue. Despite there being little win the way of human interference, the acidic rain from the rest of North America does put a strain of their population.

Various local and state governments are working to introduce them to other like habitats in the hopes to increase the numbers of Blueback Trout in the wild. However, to give them a chance at a comeback, please return them back to the water and avoid using barbed hooks when fishing in their distribution.

Top Blueback Trout Lakes

The Blueback Trout can be found in Sunapee Lake and Big Dan Pond in New Hampshire, Averill Pond in Vermont; and Floods Pond in Vermont. These are the native lakes that they are found in.

The Blueback Trout have been introduced into Idaho, New York and Massachusetts. This includes the headwaters of the Salmon River in Idaho, which includes Alice, Vernon, Big Fish and Sawtooth lakes.

In New York, they can be found in Lake George where they were introduced as early as 1903.