Salmon River report - Harvest Moon 2013

Last full moon of summer, Harvest Moon.

I fished the Salmon River last evening, not so much to catch salmon as to watch the Harvest Moon rise over the river.  This moon is the last full moon of summer and last night it appeared in all it's brilliance.  By the time the next full moon appears in October the salmon run will have peaked and will be slowly giving way to the migration of steelhead into  the river.

The Salmon River is running at 412cfs as I write this post.  Till we get some substantial rain it will hover here. The forcast is for rain this weekend which should pull some fresh fish into the river.  We are also enjoying cooler temperatures here which help the river a lot.  The estuary is holding fish in good numbers and the river has fish from top to bottom, not big numbers yet, but plenty to keep you busy.  With the water flows at their present level most of these fish are holding in deeper water.  Last evening I did see a few moving in the run I was on, I expected this.  I managed to hook up on one but never got it to the net. These fish are fresh and strong, a challenge to even the most experienced salmon angler.  I was using a 9' 9wt set up with a conventional floating wf fly line.  I was swinging a dark, tungsten conehead tube fly attached to a 15# florocarbon tippet.  The fish I cast to (I actually had opportunities at three salmon) didn't shy away from the rig, that will change soon. 

Until the river sets up with spawning fish or until there is a full-blown run, fish primarily the runs between deep holding water, especially the first 2-3 hours from sun up and again in the late evening.  You will ALWAYS find salmon on the move in these areas at these times of the day.  Pick areas in these runs where the water softens and look for salmon to be resting there.  In these flows you wont need alot of weight, I usually use only a weighted fly and swing through the runs.  If I need weight, say the run is 2'-3' in depth, I have found the Rio Freshwater VersiLeaders work well for weighting the rig.  These are a sinking leader and are constructed for various sink rates.  Check them out, they work well for both salmon and steelhead in most flows here on the Salmon River.

This week in September 1988 I became a licensed fishing and hunting guide here in New York.  This marks my 25th year working as a guide.  This has afforded me the opportunity to meet thousands of clientes from all over the world, which has influence my life to a degree and broadened my view of the world.  I know that I don't have another 25 years here, at my age the math doesn't add up, but I do plan to be around for awhile yet. 

Have a great fall fishing.  I'll post soon.

Tight lines.