Fish here, use these...catch these

Fish here... the riffs at the head of this slow, silt edged run.

It's like being addicted.  When I know the Hex spinner fall is on, come 6:30- 7:00 in the evening, I have a hard time concentrating on any thing else.  So.... last evening I found myself standing on the edge of my favorite Hex water.  I arrived about an hour before the spinner fall began, just to fish with 'normal' sized flies for a while.  The fishing and catching was good.  I fished a BWO sparkle dun #18 and had fish for cast on the first 5 casts.  I lost it on a stick, trying to get a little closer to the log, you know how that is, so I tied on a thorax BWO #16.  The fish love that one too.  All the browns were nice, 12" -14" and FAAAT.  These are nice healthy fish.  I had a nice surprise.  On the BWO thorax a nice fish sucked it off the surface and on the hook set it went airborne several times.  As I got the fish ready to net I noticed it was an Atlantic salmon.  It was a nice healthy fish and the biggest Atlantic I've caught in this creek.



Nice 12" Atlantic salmon, ID'd by the fork tail.

 The Fish Creek Atlantic Salmon Club stocked this stretch of Fish Creek in 2010 and last year I picked up two about half this size. One from Fish Creek and another in the Mad River which flows into this section of Fish Creek. 

The fishing on the BWOs was so good I started to worry that I might sting too many trout and put most of them down before the Hex appeared, so I took a break. 



Use these... Hex compara dun tie on #6 hook

Catch these...

...and these

The Hex spinners started showing up about 7:45 and the trout started doing their thing about 15 minutes later.  This went on into the dark and I landed several in the 14" -18" range, nothing bigger.

There were a few White Flies starting to show up last night and it was good to finally start to see them.  The hatch should get stronger over the next week or so and they will be around till mid to late September, same as always.

I noticed this past weekend that the trees are not as green as they have been and along some stretches of highway some trees, a few, are showing a hint of color.  A look at the calander tells me that in 8 weeks from now we will be past peak color here and the leaf hatch will be choking the Salmon River.  8 weeks from now believe it or not and the salmon fishing will also be past peak and the steelhead fishing will be ramping up for what we are all expecting, another awesome fall on the steelhead.

Tight lines.








They're here...

This hex spinner decided to land inside my wader bib.

Just like clock work, the arrival of the hex hatch here in central New York is an event you can depend on.  This summer is no exception.  After about a month of no trout fishing I went out this evening KNOWING the the hex spinners would be there, it was a beautiful thing.  I fished the last 30 minutes of daylight and into the evenings darkness. As I stood in the stream the trout erupted on the floating hex spinner like starved animals and the spinner fall was so heavy this evening that I was constantly being pelted by flying spinners. 

The hex spinner fall is special, to me. As I watch these browns explode on the spinner like it's their last meal I have to laugh, they are so enthusiastic, like they've waited all year for this fly and now it's Christmas!  Really makes me chuckle.  These trout are far from starved as most are in robust health, they're beautiful.  This evening didn't produce any really big browns, most in the 14"-16" range but I did sting a few that were pushing 20"+.



Nice healthy brown with a hex comparadun sticking out his gullet.

I have layed off the trout streams for the last month or so as the weather has been hot and water levels are very low.  The trout are jambed into small areas of refuge water so, for myself, I leave them alone.  We've finally been getting some rain locally that has brought some temperature relief to the streams and raised the level just a bit.  They're forecasting more heavier rain over the next few days so that should help things out. 

We really need a couple weeks of dependable rain fall.  The water tables are down and for me, a good water flow ensures a good steady salmon run and I'll be able to float my drift boat with clients.  Twice in the past 12 years the water has been so low in the Salmon River that I had to convert my float trips to wade trip.  The last time it was too low to float was in 2008.  That year the water was so low in the Salmon River that the DEC had to shock fish out of the deeper holes just to get enough fish to the hatchery to have at least a decent eggs harvest. 

As for this years salmon run you can feel anticipation for it building locally.  Everywhere the local businesses and guides are preparing for it, myself included.  I am trying something different this year when it comes to fly fishing for salmon.  I'll be road testing it as soon as we get some fish entering the river and if it works as good as I believe it will it should make for some happy clients.

I'll be posting again soon.

Tight lines,
Mark

Salmon River news, river access and other local tidbits

Nice time of the year for bass fishing.

Here we are, mid-July and it certainly feels like it.  The weather has been sunny and hot, sometimes to an extreme.  The Salmon River is flowing at 260cfs at the Pineville gauge and is hovering in the mid to upper 70's.  July 7th weekend was a release for the kayakers and such, anyone looking for a small push of suicidal salmon were disappointed, nothing happening.  The local streams are way down also as there has been nothing more that a few showers from the heat and humidity.  As with most of the country we need rain.  One positive note however, the national news tonight forecast that by late fall we should be in a weak el nino which translates into precipitation, just  in time for the steelhead runs.  Here's hoping.  Still doing more bass fishing than trout fishing right now.

New Short Bridge wall, no it's not a drift boat ramp.

There are a few issues locally regarding public access.  One is related to the repairs being made at the north wall just down stream of the short bridge.  If you remember back on October 1, 2010 the river hit an amazing peak flow of 20,000cfs that sent the salmon into the parking lots along the river and washed out a huge section of retaining wall at the short bridge in Pulaski.  The repairs are nearing completion and they have been made including stairs down to near river level. Right now there is a ramp into the river, no, not a new drift boat ramp but a ramp to facilitate the machinery building the wall.  Looks very well thought out.  As a side point, there are a HUGE pile of these same boulder stacked in the back of the drift boat parking lot in Altmar, no word of any projects there but does make you speculate.

Future access to the Schoolhouse Pool is up in the air.

Another issue related to public access is the closing of the elementary school in Altmar and the school districts desire to sell this property.  For as long as I have been fishing the river the APW school district has allowed public access along the portion of the Salmon River that the property borders, the south shore of the famous Schoolhouse Pool.  The Board of Education at APW officially put this 'surplus' property and a few others up for sale.  Obviously the concern is whether any new owners will grant access to the south shore of the Schoolhouse pool.  The DEC has never obtained public fishing rights from the school district.  Regarding this property and future access, APW superintendent Gerry Hudson said "I don't know what the intent is, (regarding a meet between the school board and the DEC that was scheduled for early July) but I would assume some kind of easement for public fishing rights will be suggested".   He further added, however, that "I cannot make any agreements that could subvert a future sale".  This basically means that the district veiws fishing access to this particular section of the river as secondary to it's own desire to sell the property.  As it stands, till the property sells fishing can still be done from the south shore.  It's obvious that the school district is not prone to making any agreements with the state regarding PFR.  The DEC's efforts to meet with the district and discuss this option it 'too little, too late'.  Should have been done years ago, what do they say about '20/20 hind sight'?

If you make it up the the river this fall, in particular the Altmar to Pineville stretch you will see 6 fishing line disposal containers set up by LOTAC.  Kudo's to them.  If you are contentious enough to use them then kudo's to you.

In what will seem like a few short weeks the salmon will start entering the river.  By my time keeping, we will be at the peak of the salmon run in 3 more full moons.

Stay cool and have fun, fishing.

Tight lines

Salmon River New York, mid summer report

We're officially a little over a week into summer and it feels like mid-July.  We've had predominantly warm/hot weather here and the Salmon River and local streams are very warm.  Aside from the smallmouth bass fishing on the Salmon River any Atlantic and Skamania fishing is virtually non-existant.  We did have a little push of water last week but not nearly enough to impact the river.  Any trout in the Salmon River and area streams are holding in the cold water, spring-fed sections of the river. At present the river is at 252cfs at the Pineville gauge.

For those who fish the river for bass look for them in the faster water areas of the river, basically the head of the deeper runs...the head of the Compactor, Bird House, Sportsman's... you get the picture.  The fishing is fun whether with the fly rod or ultra-light spinning gear.  If your are using spinning gear 6lb test is max and throwing small Mepps or Panther Martin spinners work well.  Also, small floating Rapalas will get the job done.  Best times are early morning and late evening,  even the bass don't care for the heat and sun shine.  Fly fishing with steamers works good... wooly buggers. leeches, matukas and muddlers.  Late evening or early morning, low light conditions, are a good time to use poppers and mouse patterns.

An average sized bass for the Redfield Resevour

I did have a chance last Saturday to put the drift boat in the Redfield resevour.  The water level is very good and the fishing (for bass) was fair.  I only fished around the launch area in Redfield and being that it was the opening day of bass season the shorelines had been worked hard.  I did manage to find a decent school of bass holding about 40 yards off shore in about 12 feet of water.  They were holding just off bottom on the outside egde of a deep water weed bed.  A Texas rigged 6" Trick Worm in watermelon w/red flakes worked real good.  I pegged the weight about 4-5" ahead of the worm to float it just off the bottom and did well.  The retrieve had to be SLOW, that's all they wanted.  A few bass started to suspend higher in the water column as the sunset and I picked up a few on the drop.  I love bass fishing!

I have been fishing local streams for trout, however, with the warm water temps I am reluctant to put too much pressure on them.  I did land a beautiful brookie about a week ago just at dusk.  He was all of 12-13" and fat.  His sides were brilliant scarlet/ orange color and he had a great hook jaw.  His colors were so brilliant that the white line of his fins almost glowed in the falling light.  When I saw that it was a very nice brook trout I landed it with a net so as not to stress it, took the fly out of it's mouth and as it rested in the net got my phone camera  ready to snap a picture.  As I lifted the trout out of the net, yep, he slipped back into the stream before I could even think about focusing the camera.  No problem, I know were he lives.  Like they say "He that fights and runs away shall live to fight another day".

I hope your summer is going well.  Enjoy it with friends and family and most certainly, do some fishing!

Tight lines.

Central New York and Delaware River report

Time flies.  I have intended to post a report before this but time moves too quickly. 

Jeff Church, top guide.  Photo credit to Sam Batschelet

I have been able to get out on local central New York streams quite a bit and last week on Thursday I had the opportunity to float the East Branch of the Delaware River with good friend and guide Jeff Church.  Jeff runs trips for West Branch Angler and recently won the award for top guide in the 2012 One Bug competition, an annual event in support of FUDR.  Jeff works hard and the award for top guide is well deserved.  The East Branch had plenty of water and no crowds, however, fishing was mediocre at best, no real bugs happening so not alot of action.  I did manager to land 5 or 6 nice browns.  These are wild fish and fight like it.  They were carbon copies of each other, about 14" and fat.  Took them on a mix of patterns, Iso duns, BWO emergers, and sulfer duns at dusk in the foam.  All in all it was a great day and was good to fish with a good friend.

Nice chunky brown

Locally the trout fishing is super.  Lots of trout and some big ones in the mix.  Most trout are being taken on BWO drys, March Brown drys (comparaduns) and recently Sulfer drys (thorax).

The water has dropped steadily and the trout are moving into deeper water during the day time.  Evening, however, finds them moving shallow feeding heavily in the riffles. I find working a good dry pattern on the current seams where the riffs empty into these deeper pools produce the bigger fish.  Often it's not even a matter of matching the hatch so much as it is matching the size and siloette of the hatch.  Right now either a BWO comparadun #16- 18 or a March Brown comparadun in #12 do the trick.

Nice 16" brown on a Sulfer #16 thorax. 
Notice the unique spots.

Big 20" brown caught at dusk matching size and siloette

I have noticed the Sulfers showing up heavier each time out and have seen a few Light Cahills recently.  The caddis hatches are the primary hatches for the trout, every evening at dusk.  Soon should see some trico's showing up and I know this is premature, but I can't wait for the Hex hatch to begin here in August.  Towards the end of August we are getting not only the Hex but also the White Fly, Potomanthus distinctus.  When fishing in late August I can't decide if I want to tie on the Hex spinner or the White Fly spinner, both seem to get the same response from the big browns.

I'll keep posting as the summer moves along.  Only 3 months till we start fishing salmon in the rivers again.

Tight lines.

Bug buffet

Big Isos like this are on the menu locally,
duns like this one and spinners

Sometimes as I stand in the stream as the sun sets it boggles my mind to see how many different flies are coming off  the water.  I stand there trying to sift through all this and figure out what to tie on and the trout have already decided what's for dinner.  Right now the streams are providing the trout with a buffet every evening.

Besides the caddis hatch that happens every evening like clockwork, the may flies are abundant in numbers and variety. Isos began to appear about a week or so ago along with some some small BWOs.   In the last two evenings I have seen the arrival of March Browns, Green Drakes (duns and coffin flies), Sulfers.  None in substantial numbers, but here none the less.  This evening the Green Drakes appeared, briefly.  I tied on a #12 comparadun and landed 3 browns just like that, and just like that it was over.  This is not a stream with any major areas of silt bottoms, but tomorrow evening will see me on a local stream that HAS major stretches of sit/sand and Green Drakes.

Nice 14" brown this evening on a #14 March Brown sparkle dun

Trout like this one are standard for here

This evening was also the first major appearance of March Browns locally.  the trout were on to them most of the evening.  I used a #14 March Brown sparkle dun and did very well, landing probably 8 -10 fish on the pattern, 3 nice browns, including one 14" fatty.




It's funny how trout will key in on different flies from one night to the next.  Two days ago I fished a creek and crushed them on x-caddis.  Last evening I fished it again and not even a sniff in the caddis, however, a #14 parachute Adams got their attention. 
There were plenty of caddis hatching in the riffs but a change in the silhouette got the job done. 

Solid hook up with a parachute Adams

Water levels here in central New York have been dropping steadily and I noticed this evening that the temperture of the water felt warmer that it has.  This will push the hatch activity into a continuous cycle and every evening should be full of options for the fly fisherman.  The trout will always know what's for dinner, you and I will just have to figure it out.

Tight lines.

May, a busy month

The month of May in New York state is a busy month for the sportsman who likes to hunt and fish.  State wide the trout season has been open since the first of April and for the fly fisherman things are settling into the normal hatch cycles on area streams and rivers.  May 1st was the spring turkey opener, which this year was a soaker and May 5th was the state wide walleye and northern pike opener.

Nice 16" brown that sipped in a #16 BWO sparkle dun

For the trout fisherman who throws flies it has been very good fishing.  The trout are for the most part tuned into the mayfly and caddis hatches and bait fishing is becoming less productive.  For the local streams around home, they are mostly empty of anglers.  I have had some great evenings lately, landing probably 35 -40 trout in the last two evenings alone.  We have a mix of bugs on the water with the recent arrival of the Iso, the kind you tie on a #10 or #12 hook, the big spring Isos.  Most trout I have hooked are preferring 2 flies, one is the BWO #16 sparkle dun which is a comparadun with an antron (poly) tail.  This is a very productive pattern here on local streams and I have had excellent success with this pattern out west in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana .  The second pattern, and the most productive fly I think I have ever use is an x-caddis.  This is a hair wing caddis pattern with an antron or poly tail.  The tail is about the same length as the fly body and looks like a caddis trailing it's nymph skin.  I use this in a brown size #14 and it doesn't seem to matter what color caddis is hatching, this fly catched fish. I have tied this fly in tan and it works well too.

The stockers are fattening up!

Some of the trout are hold overs but most are stocked from this year.  Their diet is making them fat and their colors are turning more 'traditional' brown trout looking, beautiful fish.  Most are very robust and fiesty which is a lot of fun.

For the turkey hunters this season so far has been a 50/50 mix of wet and dry mornings.  They (the gobblers) have been vocal at first light but quiet from then on, hard to get them to gobble later in the morning.  They still come to the call, just have to stay alert.

Walleye fishing has been good with the focus on Oneida Lake and Oswego Harbor.  Trolling stick bait is working well as is trolling worm harnesses.  Haven't heard much from the northern pike anglers although I'd like to head up to Lakeview Marsh off Route 3 north of Sandy Pond, I've always had fun on the northern there.

Hope you're enjoying the spring but don't ingore the 'honey-do' list, too long.

Tight lines.