She's wild about her job in N.H.

PITTSBURG, N.H. -- At 19 years old, Lisa Savard knew what she wanted in life. At 25, she was living her dream, and now at 39, it's still keeping her happy.

What Savard has is a piece of God's country. Savard and her husband, Tim, are hunting and fishing guides in Pittsburg, the region where the Connecticut River rises and forms a string of lakes from the Canadian border through the rolling hills and deep forests of the North.

Lisa's grandparents, Cora and Sid, lived in Pittsburg, and of all their grandchildren, she alone looked forward to the summers she spent in the lake country, mostly fishing in the quiet splendor of a place most teenagers would find too quiet and remote.

''My parents would drop me off in June and pick me up in September," said Savard, who waited for her opportunity to spend her life in the land she loved.

When a bank officer who was a friend of the family saw her plan and believed in her ambition, she got the financial backing she needed. Lisa became the owner of a sporting camp, Lopstick Lodge, on First Connecticut Lake in Pittsburg. With several cabins, she had the makings of an outfitting shop and guide service.

''My mother told me there's too much snow up there, but I always knew what I wanted and it was to be here," Savard said.

As much as she loved the outdoors, Savard was determined to live an independent life. ''From the time I was 19 I had my own business, and always have," she said. ''I couldn't stand to work for anyone else."

Along the way, she met Tim, who was working in a fly-fishing shop. On one of their first dates, they took a fishing trip to New Brunswick with a client. From then on, the two went striper fishing down on the coast and explored the fly-fishing streams and flatwater of the Connecticut Lakes region.

While she sees more tourist activity than ever, Savard is convinced that the mountains about a hundred miles south formed a kind of natural barrier to huge tourism or development.

''This will never be like Lake Winnipesaukee," she said. ''It's a completely different experience. People who come up here are looking for the beauty of the wilderness and nature, not a lot of factory outlet stores."

Her lodge has changed greatly in 15 years. Always willing to put the ''sweat equity" into the place, Savard recently added 32 cabins by buying a nearby rival sporting camp. For three seasons her cabins are mostly full, and anglers pour over the flies and other tackle in a new fly shop.

''The business has grown so much," she said, proudly adding that the retail operation and guide service -- Lopstick Outfitters -- has been endorsed by Orvis, widely considered the authority on fly-fishing in New England.

These days, Lisa runs the business and leaves most of the fishing guide work to Tim and other guides. Memorial Day weekend found the lodging full, and dozens of anglers taking to the streams and lakes of the region. But having learned guiding in the area from her grandfather in the fall, she takes the month of October to guide trips during bird-hunting season.

In her spare time? Lisa fishes, of course.

''I like to fish the rivers between the lakes for landlocked salmon," she said. ''In spring, the salmon are chasing the smelt or other bait when they spawn, and in the fall the salmon spawn in the rivers. But my favorite time is mid-July just below the Morphy Dam using an elk-hair caddis. That's really the best."

The lower Connecticut River broadens and gets quite deep and slow -- not very good trout habitat. But the upper river from near the Canadian border down to Beecher Falls is excellent trout water. Here the river is west-running, but as tributaries add their flow, the river turns south and changes into a warmwater fishery nearly impossible to wade.

Between Colebrook and Canaan, Route 3 runs along the east side of the river in Vermont while Route 102 runs along the other bank. Below the dam at First Connecticut Lake, the fishing can be superb, but, unfortunately, that tends to draw the crowds. With a little exploration of the streams between the four major lakes, anglers can find fishing where the wading is easy and the water most interesting to fish. And, of course, beautiful.

If it's flatwater you're looking for, Lake Francis, lowest of the four lakes, is a 2,000-acre expanse whose densely wooded shore is totally undeveloped. Anglers catch rainbow, brown, lake trout, and landlocked salmon in Francis, which has a launch ramp and parking area off Route 3.

Another nearby flatwater is Back Lake, where the Lumberjack Inn rents boats to fishermen and provides lodging, excellent food, guide service, and some flies and equipment.

For more information on the Connecticut Lakes region, call Lopstick Lodge at 800-538-6659 or Tall Timber Lodge at 800-835-6343.