Finally, some time in the 1970’s, New Hampshire changed its law to allow the use of corn as bait in trout fishing. Since the change, it has opened up a whole new can of worms. It is one thing to put a few kernels of corn on your hook as bait, but most people using corn are not fishing with it on their hooks. Instead, they are chumming with it in trout ponds. Locally, I have seen anglers use corn as chum at Mount Williams Pond, in Weare, take place at other Hot Hole and Clough Ponds, in the Concord area, as well as at French Pond, Henniker, and even Back Lake in Pittsburg.

My late friend and fishing partner, Andy Bisson, and I were trolling flies at Whittemore Lake, in Bennington. Every time we trolled over a certain spot near the dam, one or both of us would hook a trout. Yet action was totally lacking in other sections of the lake that normally produced trout. The lake was always scatter-stocked from a canoe by former Conservation Officer, John Sampson. He scatter-stocked the lake for a good reason, to give everyone a fair chance at catching trout. Finished fishing for the day, Andy and I were preparing to leave the lake when
we saw two guys loading their pram at the launch site. One of the items they put into their boat
was a big kettle, loaded to the brim with corn kernels.

"Cripes! They must have over two gallons of corn in that pot," my friend Andy proclaimed. I had to agree. We watched as the two rowed across the lake to the dam area and then proceeded to dump the entire contents of their kettle into the water. "Now, I see why we hooked all of our trout when we trolled over that area by the dam," Andy commented.

Stocked trout seem drawn to the yellow stuff like a magnet. Perhaps it has an irresistible flavor or some magical appeal to their eyes or sense of smell. Or, just maybe, it is reminiscent of the hatchery pellets they feed on when being raised. Putting a kernel or two of corn on the hook is one thing, but dumping a whole kettle or a restaurant giant-size can of corn to the bottom of the lake or pond hardly seems like a fair, sporting proposition to me.

An old-timer at Whittemore who also witnessed the dumping summed it up nicely when he remarked to us, "If there weren’t no trout in that cove before they chummed it, in two day’s time the trout will be stacked over it like cordwood. Those who know the ‘hot spot’ will just anchor over it and catch trout after trout after trout." 

Utilizing this type of fishing tactic is just not good sportsmanship. One is led to doubt whether these anglers will stop fishing when they reach the legal limit. So now, we are talking about doing something legal, which results in the temptation to break the rules. This sort of action hurts all of us who obey the laws. Realizing that only a limited amount of trout can be stocked in any given season, many of us freely choose to follow the ‘catch and release’ ethics or just take less than the legal limit of trout.

But, whether we opt for this mode of behavior or catch an occasional limit to take home to enjoy for a meal, we must not tolerate what amounts to fish poaching. We should not and can not condone either illegal fishing or selfish fishing practices even if technically legal. Although chumming is a highly productive fishing tactic, is it really the way we want to fish for trout? We need to ask ourselves some questions. Is this the lesson we want to teach our youngsters?

Is the purpose of fishing to fill the freezer or to enjoy the sport? Is it not important to fish ethically and be a good example to others? The future of trout fishing in New Hampshire lies in your answer. Personally, I think it would be a good move if our Fish and Game Department would rescind the use of corn for bait ruling, at least in trout waters of the state, and make it illegal again. It would certainly help eliminate greedy fishing tactics and make trout fishing fair and viable for all.