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.