Beta

GuidedFloats is in beta. The full site launches March 1, 2027. The mobile app follows.

Guides: claim before March 1, 2027 and your first full season of Premium is free. Claim your founding spot →

Log in List your guide serviceFor guides
Home › Waters › New Hampshire › Nubanusit Brook below MacDowell Dam
Tailwater · Southwest New Hampshire, Hillsborough County, the Monadnock region below MacDowell Lake between Nubanusit and Peterborough · New Hampshire

Nubanusit Brook below MacDowell Dam Fishing Guides

The brook below MacDowell Dam in the Monadnock country, a small New England tailwater running to the Contoocook at Peterborough, with a gauge reading stage below the dam.

A broad river under fall colour with mountains beyond in New England
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Guides on the Nubanusit Brook below MacDowell Dam

Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.

No guides listed yet

Guide or outfit this water? Create your profile. Listing is free, the commission is 10% or 7% with a premium profile, and premium profiles list first on this water.

About the Nubanusit Brook below MacDowell Dam

Nubanusit Brook rises in the Monadnock highlands of southwest New Hampshire, runs through a chain of ponds, and is impounded a second time by MacDowell Dam, a flood control structure above Peterborough. Below the dam the brook drops through mixed hardwood and hemlock to join the Contoocook River in town. It is a small water by any measure, and the tailwater character below the dam is what separates it from the dozens of similar brooks around it.

The gauge below MacDowell Dam reads stage. On a flood control project the stage record is the direct evidence of what the dam is doing, and that matters here more than on a storage reservoir, because a flood control dam holds water back after a storm and releases it over the following days. A rain event that would have blown the brook out and left it unfishable for a week instead produces a managed, elevated flow, and the brook comes back into shape faster than its unregulated neighbours.

Brook trout are the native fish and hold in the cooler, shaded water and the plunge pools. The state stocks the reach, so brown and rainbow trout are present through the season, and smallmouth, pickerel and panfish appear in the slower water and the ponds above. This is small-stream fishing and it fishes like it. A short rod, light line and a willingness to work upstream through brush and blowdown is the way it is done.

Peterborough is right there, which makes this an easy stop rather than an expedition. The Monadnock region has a long tradition of quiet water and small brooks, and there are several similar streams within a few miles if this one is high or crowded, which it seldom is.

This water needs a real photo

The photo at the top of this page is not Nubanusit Brook below MacDowell Dam.

It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.

Add a photo of this water See the badges

Pioneer badgeUnclaimed

Add a photo of this water

Landscape, not fish — the water itself. Reviewed by hand before it appears. The first one published here earns the Pioneer badge.

Never published. It is how the badge is held for you until member accounts open.

Posting to Nubanusit Brook below MacDowell Dam.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. Landscape orientation looks best at the top of the page. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name printed under the photo and on your badge. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Fished this water? Add a photo

Reviewed by hand before it appears. Pick the water, not the spot — we never publish exact locations.

Never published. We use it only if we need to ask about the photo.

Posting to Nubanusit Brook below MacDowell Dam.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name shown under the photo. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Access

Peterborough - the town below the dam, with food, lodging, fuel and tackle close to the brook.
MacDowell Lake - the Corps of Engineers flood control project above, with a recreation area and day use.
Contoocook River - the larger river the brook joins in town, with its own trout and smallmouth fishing.
Nubanusit Lake - the pond chain upstream, with its own coldwater fishery and public access.
Mount Monadnock - the landmark to the west, with a state park, trails and camping.
Hancock and Dublin - the small towns around the headwaters, with quiet access to the upper brook.
Keene - the nearest town of size to the west, with full services and additional supplies.

Seasons

Spring: high water off the snowmelt at first, then the best trout fishing of the year through May as the brook drops and stocking begins.
Summer: low and warm in the open reaches, so fish the shaded plunge pools early and leave the brook alone in a heat wave.
Fall: cool water and good colour bring the brook back into form, with wild brook trout at their most aggressive before spawning.
Winter: cold and largely dormant, with the brook iced in the slower reaches and the season effectively closed.

From the water

No logged trips yet. Be the first to put this water on your map.

Log this water

Fished it or cleaned it? Log in or create a free account to log a trip with photos and earn the waterway badge.

Questions

What species can you catch on the Nubanusit Brook below MacDowell Dam?

Anglers target Blacknose Dace, Bluegill, Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Chain Pickerel, Fallfish, Largemouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass, White Sucker, Yellow Perch on the Nubanusit Brook below MacDowell Dam in New Hampshire.

Where can you access the Nubanusit Brook below MacDowell Dam?

Peterborough - the town below the dam, with food, lodging, fuel and tackle close to the brook. MacDowell Lake - the Corps of Engineers flood control project above, with a recreation area and day use. Contoocook River - the larger river the brook joins in town, with its own trout and smallmouth fishing. Nubanusit Lake - the pond chain upstream, with its own coldwater fishery and public access. Mount Monadnock - the landmark to the west, with a state park, trails and camping. Hancock and Dublin - the small towns around the headwaters, with quiet access to the upper brook. Keene - the nearest tow...

When is the best time to fish the Nubanusit Brook below MacDowell Dam?

Spring: high water off the snowmelt at first, then the best trout fishing of the year through May as the brook drops and stocking begins. Summer: low and warm in the open reaches, so fish the shaded plunge pools early and leave the brook alone in a heat wave. Fall: cool water and good colour bring the brook back into form, with wild brook trout at their most aggressive before spawning. Winter: cold and largely dormant, with the brook iced in the slower reaches and the season effectively closed.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Nubanusit Brook below MacDowell Dam?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the New Hampshire agency site: https://www.wildlife.nh.gov/fishing-new-hampshire/fishing-rules-and-regulations