Tower Hill

[derbywinner1999]

was wondering if anyone has had any luck fishing tower hill in candia

[Oddfish]

Persoally no, but there are rumors.  BTW don't eat the fish they are high in mercury.

Odd

[badswimmer]

A friend of mine fished it early in Jan, He said it was slow.. only caught a few smaller bass.

[Swampdonkey]

I have fished it a few times. I like it. Never see many folks. Nice and quiet. Perfect for this old Cramugon

[Bowski]

Fished it a few times this year and it can be very slow. Good little workout to get out there as well. It is nice though as Swampdonkey said barely anyone ever out there.

[ice fisher]

hey odd fish tower hill is HIGH in mercury?? how do you know that ?

[Bowski]

hey odd fish tower hill is HIGH in mercury?? how do you know that ?

There is a list in the Fishing Digest of maybe 10 lakes/ponds in the state that have high mercury counts Tower Hill being one of them. It is on the page with recommended guidelines to eating fresh water fish.

[Dispy]

hey odd fish tower hill is HIGH in mercury?? how do you know that ?

This may help   http://www.nhstateparks.com/mercury.html  and this http://des.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/pip/factsheets/ard/documents/ard-ehp-25.pdf

[IcemanEsq]

This place is SLOW.  Although reputed to hold trout, I've never seen one come out of there and have heard of only a few.  There are some gators in there and some decent bass.  Anecdotally, it seems like its better open water fishing. 

[coldsteel]

i fish it a fair amount in summer but only ice fished it once it was slow mostly yellows but i did get one SMALL brown nothing to write home about at all tho

[61gun]

perch boy and I used to fish it on occasion 4 or 5 years ago. very slow but one day we caught a handfull of small browns.....long walk in, I'm not sure if the perch boy could make that treck in anymore!!!  hehehe

[BuckFishFlack]

Fished it once through the ice with no luck! Open water I've caught a few small trout, bass and a monster horn pout! On a side note has anyone else fishing down there come across the most aggressive water snakes ever? Had a few come right at me and the wife not sure who ran quicker!

[Bowski]

Fished it once through the ice with no luck! Open water I've caught a few small trout, bass and a monster horn pout! On a side note has anyone else fishing down there come across the most aggressive water snakes ever? Had a few come right at me and the wife not sure who ran quicker!

I can't say how aggressive they are as I have never been approached by one but they sure are big there. If you ever get on one of the islands out there they are everywhere. The minute you get out of the boat they are scattering everywhere into the water. Kinda freaky.

[ice fisher]

Some thing to think about ?? If TOWER HILL has HIGH levels of mercury . So wouldnt Manchester's WATER SUPPLY be contaminated also , Tower Hill flows into Clark lake which flows into Massebesic Lake on the AUBURN side ??

[Dispy]

Some thing to think about ?? If TOWER HILL has HIGH levels of mercury . So wouldnt Manchester's WATER SUPPLY be contaminated also , Tower Hill flows into Clark lake which flows into Massebesic Lake on the AUBURN side ??

Studies have indicated that most of the pollution came from Bow Power Plant. I know that measures to reduce emissions were implemented as I was part of the team installing the scrubbers back in the day.

"The major source of mercury in New
Hampshire is air emissions from the burning of
coal to create electricity. When mercury gets
into the air, it can be carried by precipitation
into lakes and rivers, where it is converted into
methyl mercury, and then builds up in fish."

Hope this helps to explain why, it is airborne and not so much*water conveyed.

[Oddfish]

Some thing to think about ?? If TOWER HILL has HIGH levels of mercury . So wouldnt Manchester's WATER SUPPLY be contaminated also , Tower Hill flows into Clark lake which flows into Massebesic Lake on the AUBURN side ??

A fair observation, but the water even thought it has elevated mercury levels is low enough in mercury to be safe to drink.  It is when the mercury get bioaccumulated up three trophic levels that the concentration becomes problematic.  If you are drinking the water you are the first consumer. Now if you drank that water all your life and then a bob cat ate you and other people like you on a weekly basis, and then aliens ate the bob cats then they would probably be at risk of mercury poisoning due to bioaccumulation.

Odd

[nixstyx]

Some thing to think about ?? If TOWER HILL has HIGH levels of mercury . So wouldnt Manchester's WATER SUPPLY be contaminated also , Tower Hill flows into Clark lake which flows into Massebesic Lake on the AUBURN side ??

Happy I don't live in Manchester 


But on a serious note, I don't know if there's any real concern over TROUT caught in Tower Hill. The mercury accumulates in fish over years of eating other fish. Since all of the trout are hatchery raised, they should have no more mercury than trout in any other stocked waters. Right?

[Bowski]

Happy I don't live in Manchester 


But on a serious note, I don't know if there's any real concern over TROUT caught in Tower Hill. The mercury accumulates in fish over years of eating other fish. Since all of the trout are hatchery raised, they should have no more mercury than trout in any other stocked waters. Right?

In the digest it's just a recommendation to not eat more then a meal a month of fish caught there. You can eat as much as you want I suppose. As for me any fish I plan on eating will be coming out of other bodies of water. Better to be safe then sorry.

[nixstyx]

In the digest it's just a recommendation to not eat more then a meal a month of fish caught there. You can eat as much as you want I suppose. As for me any fish I plan on eating will be coming out of other bodies of water. Better to be safe then sorry.

Ahh, here's what I was looking for, from NH F&G website:




"Stocked trout contains relatively low levels of mercury. For rainbow and brown trout women of childbearing age and children can safely eat one meal per week, others can eat 6 meals per week. Brook trout could be either stocked or from a reproducing population, therefore they should be consumed at the rate of the general statewide advisory."

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Fishing/fish_consumption.htm

[Bowski]

Additional guidelines apply to freshwater fish taken from Ashuelot Pond in Washington, Crystal Lake in Gilmanton, Dubes Pond in Hookset, Jackman Reservoir in Hillsboro, May Pond in Washington, Mascoma Lake in Enfield and Lebanon, Tower Hill Pond in Candia, and the Comerford and Moore Reservoirs on the Connecticut River (fish from these waterbodies in New Hampshire have been shown to have higher than average mercury concentrations; sensitive populations should not consume any fish, others may consume two meals per month). Additional guidelines also apply to the Androscoggin River from Berlin to the Maine border, which is catch-and-release only.

This was a couple down on the same page.

[nixstyx]

Additional guidelines apply to freshwater fish taken from Ashuelot Pond in Washington, Crystal Lake in Gilmanton, Dubes Pond in Hookset, Jackman Reservoir in Hillsboro, May Pond in Washington, Mascoma Lake in Enfield and Lebanon, Tower Hill Pond in Candia, and the Comerford and Moore Reservoirs on the Connecticut River (fish from these waterbodies in New Hampshire have been shown to have higher than average mercury concentrations; sensitive populations should not consume any fish, others may consume two meals per month). Additional guidelines also apply to the Androscoggin River from Berlin to the Maine border, which is catch-and-release only.

This was a couple down on the same page.

Hmm you're right. Don't mean to be a pain, but I still don't see how hatchery fish in Tower Hill could have higher levels of mercury. It's simply a matter of biology.


The way I read it, those additional guidelines could only apply to fish like bass that were born and raised in Tower Hill. Or, I should say, the exception to hatchery raised fish would still apply, but maybe that's just me being stubborn. Either way, I fall back on the biology argument. 


The mercury cannot accumulate in a fish unless it has fed on smaller fish containing mercury over a period of years. Most hatchery fish are caught within a year, or two, of when they are stocked.


Even in fish like bass, that tend to have higher levels of mercury, in Tower Hill, there would still be far less mercury than in commonly consumed saltwater fish, like tuna or swordfish (again, simple biology).

[Bowski]

I'm sure you're right I'm simply pasting what F&G says. It reads that "fish from these water bodies in NH have been shown to have higher then average mercury concentrations" so I take that as all fish. It is contradictory to the stocked trout paragraph that you posted as well so who the hell knows. Either way I don't know enough about mercury and how it builds up in different fish so I'll go along with not eating it.  At the end of the day it's just a guideline and to each fisherman his own.

[Oddfish]

Hmm you're right. Don't mean to be a pain, but I still don't see how hatchery fish in Tower Hill could have higher levels of mercury. It's simply a matter of biology.
The way I read it, those additional guidelines could only apply to fish like bass that were born and raised in Tower Hill. Or, I should say, the exception to hatchery raised fish would still apply, but maybe that's just me being stubborn. Either way, I fall back on the biology argument. 
The mercury cannot accumulate in a fish unless it has fed on smaller fish containing mercury over a period of years. Most hatchery fish are caught within a year, or two, of when they are stocked.

Even in fish like bass, that tend to have higher levels of mercury, in Tower Hill, there would still be far less mercury than in commonly consumed saltwater fish, like tuna or swordfish (again, simple biology).

You are correct on your first three points, that last point has many variables in it. Bottom line is this; if you are done breeding and don't mind running the Risk (1/10,000) of being mad as a hatter or having some other systemic malady then eat up.  If you are concerned about your LNG term health, then it is wise to play catch and release there, stocked trout being the exception.

Odd

[ice fisher]

ODDFISH I dont know much about bioaccumulation makes sense . But one would think that all of the lakes ponds have high levels of pollution . Gasoline spilled on the ice, mercury, sunken snowmobiles, atvs, gas and oil mixtures from boats that have sunk. How about the beginner boater that spills gas ? Perhaps things that arent thought about much like spraying your lure with pertroleum products?  Next time I run into a C O I am going to ask how much fish that they personally consume? I guess that anyone should follow the guide lines for fish consuption for all lakes not just the ones listed . Also if they say  two meals a month then I would probably cut it to one meal a month to be on the safe side . If you access WINNISQUAM by the old prison there is a sign there that recommends not to come in contact with the WATER !!!!!

[Oddfish]

ODDFISH I dont know much about bioaccumulation makes sense . But one would think that all of the lakes ponds have high levels of pollution . Gasoline spilled on the ice, mercury, sunken snowmobiles, atvs, gas and oil mixtures from boats that have sunk. How about the beginner boater that spills gas ? Perhaps things that arent thought about much like spraying your lure with pertroleum products?  Next time I run into a C O I am going to ask how much fish that they personally consume? I guess that anyone should follow the guide lines for fish consuption for all lakes not just the ones listed . Also if they say  two meals a month then I would probably cut it to one meal a month to be on the safe side . If you access WINNISQUAM by the old prison there is a sign there that recommends not to come in contact with the WATER !!!!!

Most gas products are volitile and evaporate, oil is a bit of a problem but the human system is pretty resilliant to it. Mercury levels are higher in some lake due to exposed granite and low pH that reacts on the natural mercury contained in the rock.  Mercury is a very bad actor in the human body.....loose teeth, impunance, chromosome change in sperm and egg, and just plain ole toxicity to name just a few symptoms.

OD

[Dispy]

Ah.... it is amazing in that many do not re-read other posts before posting. Yes to all of the above, and yes, I posted all the links prior to the posts that have been recently followed. I mean geez Louise fellas. I promise to not waste anymore of my time to bring the information to you and others, especially if it is not used. Peace out

[ishoot308]

Ah.... it is amazing in that many do not re-read other posts before posting. Yes to all of the above, and yes, I posted all the links prior to the posts that have recently followed. I mean geez Louise fellas. I promise to not waste anymore of my time to bring the information to you and others, especially if it is not used. Peace out

I have deleted my post as I can see where you did post the same basic information. Don't let your panties get all bunched up...I guess no one can be as perfect as you...

[Dispy]

I have deleted my post as I can see where you did post the same basic information. Don't let your panties get all bunched up...I guess no one can be as perfect as you...

Please ishoot, we met at the Glendale launch two years ago, and What a Rig you have. Envious for sure. However, as part of my business and it's success relies upon this site, I take great efforts to "not be as great as you portray me" but MORESO, to be helpful. Sorry if you don't see it that way

[Oddfish]

Please ishoot, we met at the Glendale launch two years ago, and What a Rig you have. Envious for sure. However, as part of my business and it's success relies upon this site, I take great efforts to "not be as great as you portray me" but to MORESO, to be helpful. Sorry if you don't see it that way

Tom,
   I like you a lot and you have tons of information to offer but when you yell at your adoring public I think it hurts your reputation a bit. 

"Ah.... it is amazing in that many do not re-read other posts before posting. Yes to all of the above, and yes, I posted all the links prior to the posts that have recently followed. I mean geez Louise fellas. I promise to not waste anymore of my time to bring the information to you and others, especially if it is not used. Peace out "

Just my .02.  A lot of us just press to the second or third page whatever is last and read a few post and then comment.  I don't think that is a sin, and if information gets posted from multiple sources who really cares. 

There are some ponds by the way that don't hold on the airborne model and some that should be hot that are not according to the model.  The model while usefull does not hold all the answers.

Randy

[Dispy]

Thanks Od, if I yelled, it would have been highlighted,bold, as well as caps. I am simply tired of posting info and taking the time to  post correct info for others to bypass as they are lazy and quick to get their .02 cents in. I mean no disrespect to you Randy or others. I just happen to plan my luxury of fishing everyday as well as be fortunate enough to do so.

 Does that make me a bad person? one to be envious of? I certainly hope not. And yes, just clicking in on a post without knowing what has transpired is criminal. Would you do the same as if in person? I think not.