A great day fishing, with a good friend

I know, it's been awhile since my last post.  Guiding has been busy, fishing has been so-so.  We've been averaging 2-3 fish landed per outing. Compared to fall steelhead fshing over the last few years, these days test even the dedicated steelheader.  However, we're steelhead fishing on the premier steelhead fishery east of the Mississippi so things are good.

Today was a day off from guiding so, I went steelhead fishing with my very good friend and fellow guide Gary Edwards.  We had a great day, not because of the fishing, but because we rarely get the opportunity to fish together anymore.  I caught my first Salmon River steelhead fishing with Gary and today in the same area I caught that fish, I landed an other steelhead, a beauty!  It didn't 'make the day', but it definitely made it memorable.   

I had fun today!

For an actual report on the fishing today it was slow.  The river bumped up to 750cfs release (1050 on the gauge at Pineville ) from 500cfs for about the last week.  This can cause fish to shut down and the water temperature at the Ace-in-the-Hole was 34*, pretty cold for a steelhead.  We fished down to the Sportsman before we got any action.  By then the sun was hitting the water and about 1:30 pm the fish started to turn on. I myself had 4 takes in 20 minutes, only one hooked but it was the 'right one'.  This big boy pushed all of 18lbs, and, we landed it!  Hope you enjoy the picture as much as I did posing for it.

Tight lines

'Are we there yet'... Salmon River report early October 2014

Salmon fishing on the Salmon River for the past month has not been reflective of the last three years during the same period.  The salmon run has been a slow, steady trickle of fish, not the blast of hundreds for days on end.  They are moving in, most are wild fish, but the expectation of most early season anglers has been disappointing.  However, the key word in that sentence is 'early season'.  We are now into October and the salmon will be pushing into the river soon, as is normal for the Salmon River here is New York. 

The hatchery ladders are filled with big salmon and the spawning areas are slowly filling with early runners.  We have been slugging away at them from both boat and shore and we are having consistant success, granted not like the last few years were the early season waters were filled with epic numbers of salmon, but still consistantly bringing fish to the net daily. 

Can make your life easier.

Most salmon are being taken by my clients on flies swung throught the head and tail-outs of the runs.  This type of fishing is targeting migrating salmon the switch rod has been working well.  In the current water flows, 397cfs at the Pineville gauge with a release at 350cfs, we are setting up with weighted flies and useing a Rio VersiLeader with a 5.6 IPS to get the job done.  This is a nice set up as it eliminates the use of split shot and most anglers can pick up the slower casting rythm for hauling weighted flies and heavy leader quickly, as opposed to fighting the awkward and most of the time, frustrating cast associated with heaving split shot 30-40 ft.

We just past an anniversary here on the Salmon River.  You may remember 4 years ago on October 1, 2010 the Salmon Rivers reached water levels over 20,000cfs.  It is still mind boggling to look at the pictures of this.  Every spring during run-off we typically hit the 8000-9000cfs flow, but 20000cfs, that's crazy water. A few pics to remember the day.


Short bridge in downtown Pulaski.



Taken from the Altmar drift boat parking lot looking north.

Fishing at the Pineville drift boat ramp.




 

As for the salmon run, it's October 3, 2014.  The peak of the run is still ahead of us.  The next full moon October 8th and traditionally the run will be in full force and getting better till the end of Columbus day week.  This weekend looks to be promising as a cold front is moving in this evening and will be with us into early next week.  Most importantly about this is the rain it is bringing with it.  They will come, as they always do.  See you on the river

Tight lines

Salmon River report - early September 2014

As of this writing there are a few salmon in the river, nothing major as of yet.  There has been rumors of a later than usual run, but I expect the main runs to begin when they usually do, in the 3rd and 4th weeks of September.  This leaves enough time to tie some more flies and get the salmon gear prepped.

The river is running good enough to encourage a few salmon to come, with a release of 350cfs and the gauge at Pineville reading 433cfs.  Water temps are in low 60's and will continue to drop in the river as the days and nights continue to cool down.  This coming weekend they are forecasting a significant cool down with daytime highs barely breaking the 50's and in areas around home here enjoying over night temps in the upper 30's.  These conditions will continue to set the river up for good runs soon.

I finally updated my web site, there are revisions from the old one so check it out: Upland Guide Service

This past Monday was the full moon, the Harvest Moon.  This means that in less than 30 days the salmon runs will be peaking, hard to believe.  As I posted before, expect very good returns and big fish.  See you on the river.

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Salmon River Fish Hatchery open house - September 27,2014

The 19^th annual NYSDEC Salmon River Fish Hatchery open house will be held Saturday, September 27, 2014. The hatchery is located at 2133 County Route 22,  Altmar,  NY.  Beginning at 9am to 4pm rain or shine, attendees can take advantage of fishing and hunting demonstrations, environmental education programs and displays as well as fly-tying, fly-casting, stream ecology for kids. A fish petting zoo will also be set up.  Admission is FREE and tours of the hatchery will be offered every 30 minutes beginning at  10:30am. Guests can also visit the nearby Salmon River Falls, a DEC Unique Area located 4 miles from the hatchery on Route 22. The 110 foot waterfall offers trails and viewing areas with spectacular scenery.  For more information you can call 315-298-7605.

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Late summer Salmon River report 2014

It's Labor Day weekend, you know what that means?  It's the unofficial start of salmon season here on the Salmon River.  A few fish have been trickling into the river, what with the very decent water levels we've had for the last week or so and the below aveage, fall like, temperatures for the overnight, conditions are good for fish movement.  Fishing has been good on the lake and it seems as if we will be seeing another year class of big fish.

Hex, what we're looking for,
few to be found  this year.

Things here are moving towards fall very quickly now, temps are cooler, trees are showing more color daily and it's dark now by 8:15.  I am excited for this change in season.  Most of the activities I enjoy most happen during the fall.  I do enjoy the fishing/guiding the most but I also look forward to hunting waterfowl and deer, although, I get very few opportunities to hunt as it conflicts with the guide work.


I have been fly fishing area streams alot recently, hoping to hit a good Hex hatch.  Been into a few hatches but they are weak compared to previous years.  Still, the fishing has been very good.  There is a good White Fly hatch every evening just before dark and the fish are tuned into this.  Usually about 20 minutes before the White Flies start the trout are taking caddis eagerly.  Most of my success on the caddis hatch has been with a dark brown x-caddis in size 12.



Nice late summer brown trout, fat and colorful.

 

We'll be into the salmon fishing soon, and I look forward to it.  If you are planning a trip here to fish this fall you wont be disappointed.  Have a great fall and hope to see you on the river.

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Salmon River early August 2014 report

We have had rain almost daily here in the Salmon River area.  For the fishery and the upcoming salmon run this is a good thing.  This weekend was a release weekend so at the present time the river is running at 801cfs at the Pineville gauge with a release of 750cfs till tomorrow evening.  Then its down to 350cfs till Friday, then the drop to 185cfs.  At this time the Redfield reservoir is at or very close to full pool and this should mean a good release through the fall if nothing changes significantly as far as our weather here goes.

Boat launch at Redfield, excellent water level.

There has been no reports of fish entering the river with these releases,  reports from the lake boats put the salmon at 130'-140' of water and catching is good.  We should see larger than average salmon running the river again this year, everyone is anticipating another awesome salmon season here with big fish and big numbers, can we do it three years in a row?

Another view of the reservoir.

Local trout streams seem to be in flux.  this past winter produced some severe scouring of  local streams and many seem to be void of normal insect activity.  There are fish to be caught but the bait fishers seem to be harvesting most fish as there is not the insect populations for the trout to feed on. 

In 4 weeks time from today we should begin to see salmon trickle in to the river.  In 8 weeks from today the run will be in full swing with spawning activity beginning to show.  Time goes fast and soon we'll be wondering where summer went.  Fall is a great time to be here on the Salmon River.  Hope to see you here.

Tight lines.

Mid summer 2014 - Salmon River report

It's been a while since my last post so here are a few items of interest happening around the Salmon River.  Currently the river is in summer mode with a release of 185cfs and the Pineville gauge reading 268cfs.  We have had a fair amount of rain in the last few weeks, some areas in the southern tier of New York actually being hit by a few tornadoes.  One of these last week took the life of four people in the Hamilton, NY area, three of these in one family, one being a 4 month old infant, very tragic.

As for the fishing, Lake Ontario is producing well and should get better if the weather stabilizes.  The Salmon River is full of smallmouth bass and is alot of fun right now.  Streamer type flies such as Muddler Minnows, Woolly Buggers and sculpin patterns work well.  If you are spin fishing then throwing a spinner or a  small Rapala is going to produce.  Bass gear works also, skirted jigs in the Town Pool for example, worked along the deep edges will get a good response and spinner baits in the deeper pools of the river are going to work too.  The smallmouth fishing in Mexico Bay, Lake Ontario is excellent right now.  Find any structure and drop shot it with a finesse worm or goby pattern and you will be having fun.  Also,  if it's a little breezy and holding over structure is difficult, move up wind of the structure and let the wind push you back over the rock pile or structure and drag a tube or Carolina Rig with a lizard or Trick Worm and you'll stay on the smallies.

Saturdays 'super' full moon.

There was a drowning in the Town Pool a little over two weeks ago.  It was in a 750cfs release which is considered be most who fish the Salmon River as very wade able water.  Deep water still exist in certain areas like the Town Pool and a drowning situation can happen fast.  Be careful.

The temperatures the past few nights have dipped into the mid to low fifties and my mind is straying to salmon fishing.  We are still about 6 weeks from any serious fish in the river on a steady basis but,  this past Saturday was a full moon, a super moon at that, and this means to me that in 2 more moons we'll be salmon fishing and in 3 moons we'll be fishing the peak of the salmon run.

With the water running low, now is a good time to take a hike on areas of the river you fish or would like to fish.  This will give you a good idea of the river bottom and will clearly define the deepest runs on that particular stretch of river.

Hope you enjoy the summer and get to fish alot.

Tight lines.

Late Spring fishing in the Tug Hills

It's been hard to fine the time to post here.  I've had good intentions but no time.  Tonight is just a short post. 

Here around home the trout streams are prime and the typical hatches are finally on schedule.  The cooler than normal spring had the bugs appearing late for awhile.  Things are fine now.  The latest may flies to show up are the Green Drakes.  This evening we had a tremendous Coffin Fly spinner fall, I haven't seen one this heavy since one evening a few years back fishing the Genessee River in Shongo near the Pennsylvania line.  What was nice about this evenings bug storm was that it was in my back yard (literally) here on the Mad River.  It's nice to walk out the back door with the fly gear and then walk back home at dusk.

I plan on heading to the Salmon River in the next day or two and see what the smallmouth bass are up to.  They are always fun to play with.

I'll post again soon (try to).  Enjoy the beautiful weather.

Tight lines.

Salmon River report - late April 2014

The past 2 weeks have seen the river at flood stage with the annual snow melt and run-off from the Tug Hills.  A little over a week ago the river was pushing almost 9000cfs and has fluxuated between releases of 2250cfs back up to over 3000cfs.  As of this posting the river is on the drop with the gauge at Pineville reading 3050cfs and the release is scheduled to be at 1800cfs by midnight Friday.  This is the lowest release in over 2 weeks, alot of us are looking forward to being on the river again.

The steelhead are actively spawning and are probably past peak.  This means that the river is holding good numbers of drop-backs and these are active fish.  With the water levels dropping the river should begin to warm up and this can translate into very good fishing.

The inside of the bend can hold good numbers
of fish readily accessible from shore.

The river will probably stay in the 1800cfs range for a fews days and for the bank angler this can limit some of the access to your favorite spots.  There are, however, many areas that will be holding fish and be easily fished from shore.  One area is pictured here, the inside of a river bend.  In heavier currents fish will use the inside of a river bend to gain relief from strong currents, especially fish that are tired and weakened from the rigors of spawning.  Fish the seam created by the faster currents as they butt against the slower current.

Soft water behind this downed tree will hold fish.

Another place to fish that is accessable to the river bank is where trees are undercut by the current and end up laying in the river.  The tree slows the water down below it and this give an area for steelhead to rest.  Areas like this were made for the indi rig.

Diversions are another option when dealing with high water flows.

When the river is up so are the diversions like the one pictured to the right.  These become more like the trout streams most of us are accustomed to fishing and wading.  Diversions off the Salmon River are prime spawning areas.  These areas will have good numbers of steelhead in them.  If you do fish diversions try to avoid the actively spawning pairs, instead, look for the non-dominant males and offer them your fly, they will usually be happy to play.  There is alot of debate over the ethics of fishing in spawning areas, you'll have to make your own decisions as to fish them or not.  I try to avoid the actively spawning pair and focus on the lesser, more agressive males.

Locally the trout streams are in good shape, but a tad on the cold side.  Bug activity is minimal at best and even pounding the water with streamers has been slow.  I did notice today though that there was some activity by the state stocking some of the local streams.  With the snow melt done and if we get a decent string of warm days we should begin to see some Blue Quill and Dark Hendrickson popping.

For you turkey hunters, me being one also, Thursday, May 1 is the long awaited opening of spring turkey season.  The turkeys are very active locally and I have seen more hit by cars this spring than I can remember.

Hope you steelhead season has been good and what ever other outdoor activity you persue this spring will be enjoyable and successful.

Tight lines.

Salmon River fishing report - early spring

Spring is trying hard to come here on the Salmon River but winter is not giving up, not yet.  The roller coaster ride of 2-3 days of warming and back down to 2-3 days of sub-freezing temperatures has been the norm here for the last couple weeks.  It look as though, however, that winter is loosing it's grip, finally.  Warm temperatures are forecast from here on out with some daytime temps nudging 50-60 degrees.  Once the night time temps start to stay above freezing we will see thing really start to change.  Right now the release is 350cfs with the gauge at Pineville reading 518cfs as I write this.  As temperatures begin to warm up during the day the flows will begin to spike in daytime and drop at night.  I do expect to see the release begin to climb with in the next week as steadier warmth is forecast.  As for the annual run-off, when it happens your guess is as good as mine but I'll predict the third week of April this year.  When it does come, it will probably be major as there is alot of snow in the Tug Hill from this past winter. 

Traditional streamer tied to imitate
Alevin work well swinging.

Spawning activity is in full swing and there are even a few drop backs being hooked.  This will be the case from now to the end of April.  Swinging flies is beginning to produce both with actively spawning fish as well as  drop backs.  One fly that I rely on heavily this time of the year is the alevin pattern.  The river is full of salmon alevin and the steelhead will target these readily.  There are many patterns that can be found on the internet, some very sophisticated and some simple ties, I prefer the simple patterns.  I use basically 2 patterns for both swinging and indicator fishing.  A traditional steamer pattern such as Black Nose Dace, Black Ghost tied with a red collar or the Pearl Rabbit Streamer, all tied in #10 or 12 work well swinging.



Doesn't get much simpler or deadlier.

For indicator fishing I like a simple Mylar and globug yarn pattern pictured below.  Easy to tie and in a size10 or 12 is very deadly for both drop backs and actively spawning fish.  I found this pattern on  the internet a few years ago, don't remember where, but to the guys who posted it, thanks.

The area streams are for the most part locked in ice.  There are a few that show signs of melting do to run off but it could be a week or so before they are open and fishable.

The end of the spring fishing on the river will be wrapping up before you know it.  I did, however, see the full moon last week and according to my time keeping we will be up to our proverbial neck in salmon in just six short months.

Tight lines.

Salmon River report mid-February 2014

The weather here for the past 2 weeks has been down right cold.  With a 285cfs release this has lead to quite a bit of the river locked up in ice.  Today, however, the temperatures hit 41 degrees and we are looking at possible 50s by Friday.  This should open up the river to more normal dimensions and add to this the rain in the forecast for Thursday and Friday and we should see the release increased as well as run-off.  The water temperature is 34-35 degrees right now and with some snow melt it will probably inch closer to 32-33 degrees, so if you're fishing this week end and the bite seems a little off, that's probably the reason. 

I have notice the beginnings of some spawning activity but nothing to get excited about.  We still have 2 to 3 weeks till they get going seriously at procreating their species.   At present the fishing has been sporadic, typical of this time of year, however, when the bite is on it is good.  Fly fishing smallish nymphs (#14-18) under indies, black stones, flash backs, Copper Johns and other bead heads have been working well.  Also, from now till the steelies drop out of the river, fishing small alvine patterns work very well.  If you are swinging flies the alvine type patterns are working to some degree now.  As the water warms and the stealhead become more active swinging these type of patterns really gets good.

Next month is the State of Lake Ontario meeting, Tuesday March 18, 2014 in the Salmon River area.  It will be held at the DEC Training Academy (the old Portly Angler) on County Route 2A, just outside of Pulaski.  If you are fishing in the area this should be an interesting  meeting.  If you want to attend it starts at 7pm, I'll see you there.

Things are about to heat up, both tempeture wise and fishing wise.  See you on the river.

Tight lines

Salmon River, NY - mid-January report

Two words say it all

Fishing right now is a sport for the hardiest of souls.  The mercury dipped to minus 25 this morning and as I write this it has clawed it's way up to 3 above, the bright sunshine is telling big lies today.  I took a ride to the river this morning and it looked beautiful.  That being said, however, the temps are dangerous if you are ill prepared.  The only anglers were in the Altmar area and they began showing up about noon.  Prior to this, in these temps the river is covered in skim ice, hard to fish through that stuff.  By 11:30 this morning the river was clear in the Altmar area except for a fog lifting off the river, which got thicker and colder everytime the wind picked up.


Looks nice but is bitterly cold, bundle up!

The water flow is 1200cfs being released and 1640 cfs at the gauge in Pineville.  The heavier flow does help to clear the skim ice but doesn't eliminate it.  Most anglers will be in Altmar on days like this as the water will clear by late morning.  From Pineville down, however, the ice never gets a chance to clear.  Until the temps push back up into the high teens/ low 20s the river from Pineville down to the lake get little to no fishing pressure.  This coming Saturday is forcast for mid 20s so could open up some nice steelheading opportunities.  I took the water temp at Pineville and it is hovering just above freezing, 33-34 degrees.



Skim ice, a pain in the ... drift.

Most anglers today, I saw all of three and these showed up in Altmar about 12 noon, showed common sense and stayed home.  Not to say these few anglers were lacking good judgement they looked well prepared to stay warm, but most guys like myself will wait for warmer weather.  Fishing in these conditions is a mental game as well.  First you have to REALY love steelheading. Second, you need to be fully aware of what you will be dealing with, the sunny day can throw your preception of the true conditions and that can be discouraging and dangerous once you're out there.  Third, you need to compartmentalize the cold when after an hour or so you DO begin to get cold.  You may be able to hang out another hour or more but need to change the body and minds focus from the cold to something else.  I have found that hooking into a steelhead about this time help change the focus.



A hardy soul with the fly zone in Altmar all to himself.

Winter steelheading can be challenging but for the persistant angler it can also be enjoyable and rewarding.  It's not gonna stay this cold all winter (let's hope the Polar Vortex stays where it belongs).  Mid February normally begins to see temperatures moderate to the mid 30s for daytime and the steelhead also begin to start setting up to spawn.  If you 'pay your dues' winter steelheading, you will be rewarded.

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