Saturday's the day - NY state trout opener

In the past week or so around New York state you have probably noticed people, guys mainly, standing on bridges looking at water, myself included.  Saturday, April 1 is the state wide trout opener and I like many others are eagerly waiting for this rite of spring.  For as long as I can remember, fishing the opening day of trout season has been a mile-marker in my year.
I grew up near a small creek in north-central Pennsylvania and as I remember, I would stand on the bridge below my house and stare at the creek, envisioning myself hooking a limit of trout on the opening day, and everyday after that. 

Nice brown, not big, but it will do.

The weeks before the opener would find me in the local department store's sporting good section looking at fishing tackle, wishing I had a some money in my pocket.  Of course, I had equipment to get the job done.  I had a nice Fenwick glass rod and a Plueger Medalist reel, some cheap fly line and a roll of monofilament for leader.  I was a fly tyer so I had a box full of flies I had been working on through the winter.  I wasn't real savvy about fly hatches and the such, but I knew my soft hackle wet flies and a hand full of streamers would work for me on opening day.

These days I have more tackle and such that now the challenge is which rod and reel to go with.  I am more savvy about fly hatches now but I would bet real money that I will be fishing with soft hackle wet flies and a handful of streamers come Saturday morning.

I am betting that I am not alone in this spring tradition.  Things in a persons life like the opening day of trout season, are the things that give some balance to a persons life in a world that has basically gone crazy.  Saturday morning will find my head empty of politics, social unrest, terrorism and even the anxiety that comes from making a living for my wife and I.  Peace will be enjoyed for a few brief hours.  I hope you find peace too.

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More 2017 free fishing day announced for New York State

Based on Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's signed legislation in 2014 authorizing additional statewide free fishing days, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is proposing four free sport fishing days be added to complement the state's existing free sport fishing days. DEC is seeking public comments on the proposed changes.

First established in 1991, free sport fishing days allow New York residents and non-residents to fish for free without a fishing license at any of the state's 7,500 lakes and ponds or 70,000 miles of rivers and streams.


The free events give people who might not fish a chance to try the rewarding sport at no cost, introduce people to a new hobby, and encourage people to support the sport by purchasing a New York State fishing license.

The proposed additions are:

• Presidents Day Weekend (February 18,19 - the weekend immediately preceding Presidents Day in the month of February) - These two days generally coincide with winter recess for schools, making it ideal for families to try ice fishing.

• National Hunting and Fishing Day (September 23, one day) - Takes place annually on the 4th Saturday in September and links to events taking place nationwide. Fishing at this time of year is generally good for many species, including fall salmon fishing in the Great Lakes tributaries.

• Veteran's Day (November 11, one day) - Fishing is considered one of the most therapeutic outdoor activities, making it an excellent tribute to veterans and those currently serving. Governor Cuomo specified Veteran's Day as a free fishing day in 2015, and this proposal would make it a permanent free fishing day.

In addition, the last full weekend in June, (23, 24) are designated free fishing days as well.

Niagara River fishing trip

I have always wanted to drift fish the Niagara River since I first talk with one of my clients, John Field, about 20 years ago.  He introduced me to Captain John Oravec who has been guiding on Lake Ontario now for 40 some years now, and his tales of the Niagara River fishery got me interested in floating it with him.

First fish of the day, spawned out female.

Well, after years of thinking about this trip but never being able to find the time to do it, I finally set the date, dropped the deposit on it and told my son-in-laws that we were going fishing.  Weather, that is a factor related to any fishing trip here in the Great Lakes, and weather in March is as unpredictable as it gets.  We all kept an eye on the forecast in the week leading up to the trip and it seemed as though we'd have temps in the 40's and rain.  We planned for rain and cool temps.  Turned out to be dry and some sun in the afternoon moved temps into the low 50's, couldn't have been a better day weather wise.

Bonding with my son-in-laws, James(l) and Adam(r)

Adam with his first ever steelhead.

We met John at the lower ramp in Lewiston, NY and were underway by 7:45.  We headed towards the mouth of the river, our first drifts being off the high banks and further down towards the convent.  The fishing was slow but it was good to finally be fishing the Niagara River.  We picked up two steelhead in these drifts and later move to the mouth of the river and spent about 2 hours making drifts past the Coast Guard station to the end of the break wall.  With a strong east-southeast wind getting out onto the Niagara Bar was out of the question.  These drifts produced 1 fish on for one of my son-in-laws but it wrapped some bottom structure and broke him off. 

We drifted the bottom using Emerald Shiners and skein, picking up all fish on the shiners.  As the day progressed and water clarity  clouded up and we added a chartreuse trout bead in front of the shiner but had no further action.  All-in-all it was a great day fishing and spending time with Capt. John and my son-in-laws.  We are planning a fall trip on the St. Lawrence River with Capt. John for Muskies, can't wait.

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Salmon River fishing report - first day of spring 2017

A few weeks ago it seemed as though winter had retreated until the end of next November but last week it came back with a reminder of what awaits in a few months.  The Salmon River area went from bare ground to about 2 feet of fresh snow in a day.  It could have been worse had it come from the west but being a nor'easter the south and eastern parts of the state got it hardest, 3-4 feet in some areas that normally see no more that than all winter.  But the river and roads leading to the river are open and the fishing is good.

For the last month we have been fishing around 2100 cfs. with a steady release between 1600-1700 cfs.  As I write this report the release is 750 cfs. and the gauge at Pineville is reading a comfortable 1040 cfs., expect it to hang around this number for a while.  Temperatures are still in the teens and low twenties at night so thing are melting slowly, for now.  If the melt down and spring run-off go as normal we should hit our highest flows about the 2-3rd week of April.

Steelhead have been spawning in good numbers for about 3 weeks now and we should see thing continue to heat up in the next few weeks.

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State of Lake Ontario meeting highlights

This past Monday, March 13, I attended the Lake Ontario Update (LOU) meeting at the Pulaski High School.  This meeting was presented by NY State DEC and the Ontario Providence equivalent.  After a lot of charts, graphs, pictures, power-points and reports on various aspects of the Lake Ontario eco-system, the highlights directly related to the Salmon River fishery is as follows.

Fish stocking in the New York waters of Lake Ontario in 2016 included approximately 1.88 million Chinook salmon, 316,000 coho salmon, 662,170 rainbow trout, 495,620 brown trout, 156,270 Atlantic salmon, 384,250 lake trout, and 68,250 walleye.  Fall 2016 Chinook and coho salmon egg collections exceeded targets, and fish survival has been good to date.

 

Total estimated angler effort for all tributaries in 2015-2016 was 989,437 angler hours, down considerably from the 1,582,428 hours in 2011-2012, but similar to other surveys (999,182 hours in 2005/06 and 910,413 hours for 2006/07). The Salmon River accounted for 74 % of all angler effort.

Eighteen of 21 tributaries surveyed had reported catches of Chinook salmon. The estimated catch and harvest of Chinook salmon on all tributaries surveyed in fall 2015 was 43,589 and 13,740, respectively; markedly lower than previous surveys.

Coho salmon were caught in eight of the 21 tributaries surveyed, with a total of 6,061 fish caught. The Salmon River accounted for 95% of the catch (5,738) and 89% of the harvest (2,307).

The estimated steelhead catch from all tributaries combined totaled 48,893 in 2015-2016 (from 11 of 21 tributaries), the lowest catch to date. The Salmon River again produced the highest estimated number of steelhead caught with 25,170 fish. The release rate for steelhead was 88% on the Salmon River and 85% for all tributaries combined.

Brown trout on the Salmon River were fairly scarce in 2015/16, with an estimated 372 caught.

 The percentages of wild Chinook salmon returning to NY tributaries (for the 4 years classes studied; 2008-2011) to spawn at ages 2 and 3, varied among regions, averaging 7.5% wild Chinook salmon in western region tributaries,  18% in eastern region tributaries and  58% in the Salmon River

Two points that stand out to me as good news are 1.) the numbers of steelhead being released back into the Salmon River, 88%, that is outstanding.  It shows that this resource is valued by most anglers who utilize it.

2.) The number of wild Chinook salmon returning to the Salmon River 58%, awesome, just awesome. 

We have a tremendous fishery here and I am look forward to each day I have the chance to fish it.

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