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Blackwater River

Type
Freestone river, New Hampshire (East)
Designation
Special-regulation trout water
USGS gauges
1 live
Guides
None listed
Shops
None listed

Today on the Blackwater River

Reading the gauge…

Regulations & access Guides & shops

The Blackwater River is a freestone river in New Hampshire, listed as Special-regulation trout water by New Hampshire Fish and Game Department (official eRegulations edition of the Freshwater Fishing Digest).

More about the Blackwater River

1 USGS gauge on the water reports flow.

Updated · Sources: Rivers & Streams with Special Rules — other special rules, USGS Water Data

Representative photograph of similar water; not a photograph of this place.
Representative photograph, not this water.
Where it is

Blackwater River is a freestone river in New Hampshire. New Hampshire has 2 waters named Blackwater River in the USGS Geographic Names Information System; this page is the stream whose mouth is in Merrimack County, the one the agency list names.

Flow now at the gauge
Reading the gauges…

Check any river's flow

Follow Blackwater River for flow alerts

Pick one of its USGS gauges and hear from us when the flow moves into or out of its usual range for the date, or crosses a flow you set. We check the public USGS reading every 2 hours and email only when it crosses, at most once every 6 hours. Flow alone is not a fishing forecast or a safety call.

Follow this water

Signed in: one step. Otherwise we email a confirmation link first. Every alert has one-click links to stop it.

Where to fish

About this

Start from the agency's public access map. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.

Nothing on this page grants or implies access.

New Hampshire boating and fishing access

Blackwater River on the map

About this

Gauges, shops and guides within 40 miles

Map of Blackwater River: gauges, shops and guides

RestroomsAccess map

Map of Blackwater River with 1 USGS gauge.

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors · OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles

Restrooms near Blackwater River

Restrooms near Blackwater River

Restrooms within 2 miles of Blackwater River in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.

No restroom mapped within 2 mi yet — add one you know.

Campgrounds, fishing access sites and boat ramps often have one that isn't on the map yet.

Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.

More water near Blackwater River

  • The Androscoggin River flowing over rocks near BerlinSpecial-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Merrimack River
    Photo credit

    The Androscoggin River near Berlin, New Hampshire. Photo: AlexiusHoratius, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Merrimack River.

    Merrimack River

    New Hampshire · about 10 mi

  • First Connecticut Lake under summer clouds, its shore lined with spruce and firSpecial-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Turkey River
    Photo credit

    First Connecticut Lake, Pittsburg, New Hampshire, on the upper Connecticut River. Photo: Dmoore5556, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Turkey River.

    Turkey River

    New Hampshire · about 11 mi

  • Whitewater on the Magalloway River below Aziscohos Dam, in a faded 1973 colour photographSpecial-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Winnipesaukee River
    Photo credit

    The Magalloway River below Aziscohos Dam, western Maine (June 1973). Photo: Charles Steinhacker / EPA DOCUMERICA, public domain, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons Not Winnipesaukee River.

    Winnipesaukee River

    New Hampshire · about 11 mi

  • The long West Dummerston covered bridge over the West River in autumn foliageSpecial-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Soucook River
    Photo credit

    The West River at the West Dummerston covered bridge, Vermont. Photo: chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Soucook River.

    Soucook River

    New Hampshire · about 12 mi

  • Kayakers on whitewater of the Deerfield River below an old mill building at Monroe Bridge, in a wooded valleySpecial-regulation trout waterRepresentative photo · not Contoocook River
    Photo credit

    The Deerfield River from the Monroe Bridge, Massachusetts. Photo: CobberCorsair, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Contoocook River.

    Contoocook River

    New Hampshire · about 13 mi

  • The Battenkill in Arlington in winter, open water between snowy banks and bare treesCatch and releaseRepresentative photo · not Sand Brook
    Photo credit

    The Battenkill in Arlington, Vermont. Photo: Gplefka, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Sand Brook.

    Sand Brook

    New Hampshire · about 13 mi

Regulations

About this

Seasons, limits, special regulations and closures for each reach are on the agency pages below. Read them before you go.

Official designation: Special-regulation trout water

Each comes from the agency's own published list; where the list names a reach it is quoted. A designation applies to the listed reach, not necessarily the whole water. Listed in the finder under trout.

The water on the map

About this

Measured from the NHDPlus High Resolution (flowlines and waterbodies) (U.S. Geological Survey, read 2026-11-04) for this water’s own mapped feature. Rounded figures; they describe the channel, not today’s conditions.

Whole Blackwater River, not only this reach.

Length
33.1 mi (30.9 in NH)
Drains
135 sq mi
Drop
302 ft · 9.1 ft/mi
Flows into
Contoocook River
Watershed
Contoocook River

Guides and shops near Blackwater River

About this

Listings marked Unclaimed are built from open map records and the business's own website: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.

Guides

No guide within 40 miles yet.

All New Hampshire guides

Shops nearby

No shop nearby yet.

All New Hampshire shops

How these are chosen

Guides whose own website names this water come first, nearest first. Distances are straight-line.

Shops: fly shops first. A distance is shown when the shop’s website gives its location (within 60 miles); otherwise the shop is in one of the towns within 25 miles of the water.

Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories.

Plan a trip here

About this

None of our destination hubs is within 40 miles in a straight line. The trip planner builds a trip around the water itself: the guides and shops listed within 40 miles of it, its gauges and its nearest towns and airports.

No hub within 40 miles

Plan a trip here

Gear checklist

About this

A practical checklist for fly fishing small mountain trout streams: a short 3–4 weight rod, light line, a few buoyant dries and simple wet-wading gear, with estimated prices and where to buy.

An angler stands on a boulder at the edge of a fast forest stream and fishes the run

Small mountain streams

7′6″–8′6″ rod, 3–4 weight, floating line · Brook, cutthroat, rainbow and brown trout

Open the checklist
Videos for this water (5)

Watch: reading a trout stream

About this

Seams, shelves and soft water, shown on real rivers.

Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.

  • How I Learned to Read Water (Fly Fishing)Embedded from YouTube · Mad River Outfitters · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • How To Read The Water with Tom RosenbauerEmbedded from YouTube · The New Fly Fisher · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • Reading the Water to Successfully Locate TroutEmbedded from YouTube · Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube

Not sponsored All videos on reading water

Watch: nymphing basics

About this

Indicator rigs, depth and detecting the take.

Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.

  • 90° Nymph RigEmbedded from YouTube · Huge Fly Fisherman · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • Casting with an Indicator & Better Nymphing TechniquesEmbedded from YouTube · The New Fly Fisher · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube

Not sponsored All videos on nymphing

Fish Tales

About this

Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with Blackwater River.

No stories from here yet.

Write the first story Share your day

Sources for this page

Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.

Something wrong?

All 11 sources and dates

A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.

Flows, gauge statistics and flood stages come from USGS and the National Weather Service when the page is shown. Regulations, stocking, species and season statements link to the agency that publishes them; this page copies only the species names and the quoted sentences. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: the USGS gauge BLACKWATER RIVER NEAR WEBSTER, NH. Water type is our own classification.