September 9, 2026 Salmon River Report

 It's finally raining, at least for the overnight hours.  Here in the Salmon River drainage, we are in a bit of a drought.  As I write this the Salmon River gauge is at 248 cfs at a release of 185 cfs. The Labor Day release of 750 cfs was cancelled but it didn't seem to dampen the enthusiasm for the anglers who showed up to fish. Those who fished from 2A downstream were rewarded with a decent number of fish, not big numbers, but enough to keep their attention.  Areas that are typically fishy this time of the year, Ballpark, Town Pool, Long Bridge and Staircase held some salmon and did not disappoint.

At the end of June the reservoir was in great shape at above full pool.  It gave hope of a water filled Salmon River for the September fishing

Redfield boat launch June 28, 2026

Another view of the launch

One month later on July 24 the water had dropped a good 6 feet and with no rain in the long range forecast it was starting to look bleak

Redfield launch July 24

Just this past weekend, Labor Day the res was down a good 10 feet below June's mark.  The Redfield reservoir is not really deep so it can lose water fast if not regularly replenished.

September 5, at the Launch looking west

The rain right now will have little impact on the Salmon River flow.  You should see a slight bump up in the runoff from Orwell and Trout Brook which is a positive.  The increased flow from these two tribs will push some sediment into the main river and will catch the attention of any salmon hanging out in the estuary and off the mouth of the river and should pull some more fish into the system.  Those already in the river will be more inclined to continue to move upstream.

The best time to fish any section of the river right now is from first light till about 10:30am.  If the day is overcast, then that time frame can be lengthened.  Fish the head of any pools as the fish will be laying there and will start moving upstream at first light through the morning.

Most anglers, whether fly fishing or using gear are fishing flies and egg patterns, the flashier the better.  Leaders and tippets should be in the 12-18 lb range.  For fly rods I would suggest a nine foot 8 wt or 9 wt, nothing lighter and anything heavier is not really necessary.  For Spinning or casting rods use a med/heavy rod and I'd suggest a fairly stiff rod.  You'll need a reel with a strong, smooth drag and 100yds of line, minimum.

Most of the salmon entering the river right now will most likely be naturally spawned fish as has been the cased over the last decade or so.  For some reason the stocked salmon enter later in September and October.  

This weekend the number of anglers here will be 3 or 4 time the number that were here last weekend and going forward this will exponentially increase up to Columbus Day.  But that never stopped anyone so get you gear and come on up to fish the salmon run.  It only happens once a year.

Tight lines.