Friday, January 27, 2012

Salmon River report, late January

If you were not looking at a calander I could convince you that it was late March here.  The  temps have been in upper 30s to low 40s, almost 50 a few days ago, and what little snow fall we've had is fast disappearing with the temps and rain.   Usually I would grumble about having to work on the river in sub freezing temps but these last few outings have been a pleasure to guide.  The anchor rope doesn't freeze, my clients don't freeze, the rod guides don't freeze and most importantly, I don't freeze.



Redfield bridge at Rt17 and Waterberry Rd

The water is up with a release of 1200cfs, but with the snow melting and the heavy rains of last night and this morning, the gauge at Pineville is pushing 1700cfs and I'd speculate will continue to rise, if not from additional release, definitly from run-off.  Our spring run-off comes from melting snow in the Tug Hill Plateau, which is collected in the reservior at Redfield, NY.  Normal snow fall usually averages any where from 20'-30' a year, however,  this has been a  LOW snow fall year.  I took a ride up to the reservior yesterday and it is near full pool.



Boat ramp in Redfield, NY
The snow on the ground was around 1' deep.  Most years I'd have had to use my snow shoes to get   around on top of 6'-8' of snow.  It's hard to predict what the run-off situation will be this spring, but winters not over here by a long shot.  We could still make our average snow fall amounts between February and Arpil .  One thing is for certain, there will be no shortage of water from here to May at least.  This will mean that substancial flows on the river should be the norm from here on out (subject to the whim of the power company). 


Size does matter!  Smaller is better.
As for the fishing, to this point it has been good, not stellar but consistant.  Each outing recently has produced 3-4 steelhead landed daily with 8-10 hook ups on average.  Most of our fishing is indicator fishing with fly gear and the key to success has been getting down deep.  Last post I mentioned shotting so a review of the info on the link I posted would be a good idea.   Also I have been using small profile flies as these sink faster than bulky flies. I've been fishing these on a staight 12lb leader about 10' long with a 6lb tippet section, roughly 16" in length.  I use a #12 micro swivel between my leader/tippet for various reasons.  One is to make the transition from 12lb to 6lb easier, and I place my shot pattern above the swivel so it never ends up down by the fly.  As you can see from this picture I am using mostly bead heads and this extra weight helps.  Some patterns I am using right now, however, are weighted under the body of the fly. 

Don't let the heavier water flows discourage you from fly fishing this river.  Just like the spin and pin fellas love the big water, the fly guy (or gal) can have good success also.  Tight lines. 



Sunday, January 15, 2012

Salmon River mid-winter


Our first real snow fall this winter, January 13, 2012

Been a while since my last post.  Seemed to get busier in December but the steelheading was very good for the most part.  The weather was stable, nothing like a normal December for this part of the state.  We've had bare ground for the majority of the winter so far, with our first significant snow fall this recent Friday and Saturday.  Still though, not the heavy lake effect we are used to here.   

The temps were moderate to warm, felt more like later March that December, and January  continued to see very nice temperatures for fishing.  The water flow during this time was the real wrench in the gears.  It fluxuated from one day to the next seemed like and this kept the fish continually changing their lies.  As of about an hour ago the flow at Pineville was 1040cfs, this is a very good water level and with the sub zero temps last night and again tonight, this much water should help to keep the upper river fairly clear of slush.  Below Pineville will be a differnt  story.  When the temps drop to these lows sometimes the slush never clears below Pineville all day.  Normally in the boat we'll put in at Altmar about 9:30-10:00am and follow the slush down steam as it clears the river.

Keeping rod guides clear of ice
One question that gets asked alot during this time of year is 'How do I keep my rod guides clear of ice?'  There are many ideas that have been tried, vasoline on the guides, spray Pam cooking spray on them, some fellas who build their own rods use snake guide for their winter rods.  These allow the guides to flex as the rod is loaded and cast and helps control the ice build up.  Eventually you just have to clear the ice by hand, no way around it.  I have found that for fly rodding, using a high rod nymphing, indi type approach keeps build up down.  When you're fishing short with a high rod you are not doing alot of stripping between casts which keeps the water out of the guides.  The only thing with this is you normally get an ice build up where the line is constantly laying on the water surface, and this will eventually need to be cleared.  With spinning or pinning gear I have found that, as soon as you have reeled in and before you cast again, tap the back of the rod with your hand, two or three times, this knocks the water droplets collected in the guide off and slows the icing process.  But again, eventually you'll need to de-ice by hand.

Shotting patterns for indicator fishing
The water temps are in the mid 30's which mean that you'll find most steelhead in their winter lies.  Fish deep and slow.  Indicator or float fishing are very effective in accomplishing this.  In water flows such as today use a stacked  or bulk shotting pattern, it gets you down fast and will keep the fly, bead, etc... out in front of the drift.  In low water on the Salmon River, say 400cfs or lower, use a standard or shallow/ riffle shotting pattern, it will get you down with out hanging up in the slow current.  Check out Raven's web site for some great info on shotting patterns.

Steelhead fishing in the winter time ain't for sissies, even the diehards will get beatup.  However, with proper preparation and a positive mental approach, you can have a great time and success.  Take some time this winter and enjoy the steelheading.  If you want some help feel free to send me an email, I'll see what I can do.  If you'ld like to be guided in the drift boat contact me, I have some good dates for this late winter/ spring steelhead fishing.  Have fun and stay warm.