Fish for free in New York, and other things to do...

Summer is here and this last weekend in June is one to take advantage of.  June 25,26, 2016 is fish for free days here in New York state.  Many opportunities are available to the angler who wants to give it a try.  This past weekend the statewide season on large and smallmouth bass opened and there are hundreds of lakes and streams that are accessible to anglers.  In my home area one of my favorite places to find cooperative bass is the Redfield reservoir.  With canoe or from shore this is an impoundment that willingly gives up bass, both largemouth and smallmouth, to any angler who wants to catch fish. I tend to like the boat launch area at Redfield, plenty of shoreline to walk and fish.  Spinner baits and top water work well here as does a good old-fashion Texas rigged worm.

June 25, 2016 is also the date of the annual Spey Nation spey clave held on the Salmon River at the Pineville drift boat launch.  This is a free event and this year they are encouraging you to bring a friend.  There will be items up for raffle and all proceeds go to the Fish Creek Atlantic Salmon Club.

This club was established in 1997 and it's mission was to re-establish the Atlantic salmon population in Fish Creek, both East and West branches.  From my experience on these creeks as well as the Mad River which connects to the West Branch of Fish Creek, they are having good success.  Since 2010 I have regularly caught Atlantics in both the West branch of Fish Creek and the Mad River in Camden, NY.  In the past week I have landed 2 nice Atlantic, both in the 12"-13" range and both healthy, hard fighting fish.

Landed this Atlantic a little over a week ago
on a #16 tan caddis pattern.  Solid 13" fish.

Local streams are low water  conditions and most trout are confined to the deepest, coolest pools in any creek or river right now.  Good insect hatches are showing up mainly after 7:30 pm.  In the local waters the primary bug right now is the small tan caddis and the emerger of the fly is getting most of the attention.  We have some Light Cahill's and a few Sulphur's showing up but these seem to be ignored by most trout.  Small tan Elk Hair caddis patterns in #16 work on the surface but a tan x-caddis in size #14,16 fished under the surface is dynamite.  Fish for cast some evenings with this presentation.

Fishing on the Delaware River has been decent but with low water, warming water and algae in the upper West Branch finding places to fish has been the challenge.  Always have a 'plan-B' to go to.  Most surface action is later in the day as the sun drops behind the hills.  Good Sulphur hatches are consistently popping everyday as well as some Light Cahill's, BWO and Iso's .  I have good mid-week date open if you'd like to give it a go.

We need rain to help the creeks and fish, but don't let that stop you from taking advantage of the fishing opportunities this summer.

Tight lines

Spring 2016 report, steelhead, trout and turkeys

A cooperative steelhead, released to play again.

Steelhead fishing has been kind of nice, the weather has been beautiful and the water is up.  As I type this the release is 750 cfs and has been since the 15th.  The gauge at Pineville is reading 927 cfs and has been slowly, steadily dropping.  Drop back fishing is good right now and most spawning fish are disappearing from the spawning areas.  Water temps are not oppressive and the steelhead seem to be comfortable holding in the river for now.  Still a couple weeks left to chase steelhead.

Blue Quill from Mad River

Local trout streams are fishing well.  On the Mad River behind my house the are daily Hendrickson hatches and have been for about a week and a half.  This is a little early for them here in this part of the state but with the early warm up we began to have about 3 weeks ago the bugs are showing up early.  Decent number of Blue Quill showing up too.

Nice state land gobbler

May 1st is the opening day of the NY State spring turkey season. I look forward to this every year and this year is no different.  2 year old turkeys have recruited well give the milder than normal winter  and nice sized flocks are everywhere right now.  We have a lot of public land in this part of NY and the hunting pressure for turkeys on state land is moderate to light in my opinion.  Most of our turkeys from guided hunts come from state land like the one pictured below.

I am offering guided float trips on the Upper Delaware River this year.  I have played on the Delaware for many years and decided to extend my guide season by booking trips on the Delaware. I have my Parks permit now so the entire system is open for me to guide.

If you would like to float the Delaware contact me by phone or email and let's set something up.

Tight lines.

Spring is here, what to expect

After a milder than normal winter here in Salmon Country, much to the dismay of the snowmobilers, spring arrived with little change in the weather.  The less than usual snow fall in the Tug Hills meant that there is no spring run off to blow the river out as would usually happen in about a week or so.  For most of February and the first three weeks of March the release was between 1500 cfs and 1750 cfs.  As of this past Saturday the release is dropped to 500 cfs and the gauge at Pineville reads 826 cfs, very fishable, but not a good sign of things to come.

This kind of flow right now is probably going to stay until the hatchery gets their fish for stripping steelhead eggs this spring.  Once they have what they need the water will more than likely drop if we don't get some steady rain.  Water dropping means several things, the drop backs already in the river will expedite their exit from the river early, the steelhead left spawning will be easy pickings for the 'less than ethical angler' and my drift boat is going to take a beating on the chines.  None of which are good for business.

As for the spring steelhead fishing, it has been quietly slipping by.  There are steelhead in the usual spawning areas on the main river and some of the diversions still have a few fish in them.  As usual, swinging Alvin patterns is working well as are most egg and bugger patterns.  Large, meaty stone fly nymph, in sizes #4-#10, are also producing on the drop backs.  With water levels as they are these patterns don't require a lot of weight, if any.

John Barr's Slumpbuster. - Photo by Tightlines Production

April 1, 2016 is tomorrow and that means NY State trout season for inland waters opens.  Seems it will be the usual cool, rainy start and by Saturday and Sunday it will feel like winter steelhead fishing out there.  Steamers will be on the end of my fly line, a wooly bugger or olive matuka probably.  I am going to try a pattern called the Slumpbuster.  I saw this pattern tied on Tim Flager's,  Practical Patterns Vimeo site.  The real beauty of this pattern is it's simplicity to tie, if it catches me a fish, all the better.

Tight lines.

Salmon River report, January 2016

Winter has been kind to us here in salmon country so far this year.  We have had snow but nothing that has amounted to more than 6"-8" around the river.  Most areas of the river are still accessible by foot, no snow shoes required, and today there was a lot of river to be fished with very few anglers out here right now.

Minimal snow fall has left areas like the
north trestle parking area still accessible.

1 lone angler with the Trestle Pool all to himself.

 The water levels have been stable for about 3 weeks now which is a good thing.  The flow right now is 998 cfs at the Pineville gauge at a 750 cfs release.  The release is going down and will be 350 cfs by midnight Sunday.

The fishing has been good, steady ever day out and there seems to be fresh steelhead showing up regularly.  Most fish this fall and winter have been decent sized 8-12 pound range with a few over that to keep it interesting.

Nice Cattaraugus steelhead from Lake Erie.

December here was wet, we had considerable rainfall which kept the river up till now.  The Lake Erie and Ontario tribs also benefited from this rain with increased flow that drew in good numbers of browns and steelhead.  One of my clients sent this picture with the note that "the Cattaraugus is polluted with steelhead", nothing wrong with that.

Found at the head of the 'Wires' in Altmar.  Take it with you!

Fishing the Salmon River right now is very nice, the water is good, the steelhead are there and cooperating and there are not many anglers to crowd the river.  However, all this can be ruined by the river and banks being polluted, not with fish, but with trash that is left by angler who can be described only as pigs.  This is my rant so bear with me.  There are a good number of, to be PC, eastern Europeans who fish here quite regularly.  I don't have a problem with that, though if you read some forums that report on the Salmon River there are those who do.  My point to be made is 2 fold.  If you are an eastern European who fishes here and wants to improve the impression others have about you, then don't leave your trash along the river.  Take it out when you leave.  This also applies to our neighbors, fellow Americans, (some who are quite vocal about sharing the river with our eastern European visitors),  from NJ and Metro PA, take your crap out with you.  My second point is this, if you don't care and are going to leave your trash, then stay the hell home.  My rant is done.

What's left by our 'friends' at the Lower Fly Zone parking lot
in Altmar

Come up and enjoy the river, there is nothing like it east of the Mississippi.  It is here for you, waiting and always ready.

Tight lines

Salmon River report Columbus Day 2015 - "How's the salmon fishing?"

Friday morning in the upper Sportsman area, busy

The salmon fishing is good.  With the rain Friday and cooler temperatures the salmon are moving and quite a few are setting up to spawn.  The water release is at 350cfs and at the time of this post the gauge at Pineville is 433cfs.  The forecast for the remainder of the week is rain and cooler temperatures as the week progresses.

The numbers of salmon may not be what we would anticipate for this time of the year but there are enough fish to have a good day with plenty of action.  You will  see more anglers right now with the holiday upon us but from this point on more elbows will be disappearing from the river and more salmon will continue to enter to spawn.  With the drift boat as a way to cover water it is possible to find water all to yourself and with fish that are calm and not being harassed.

My client Friday with the fast water between the upper Sportsman
and the Sportsman all to himself, hard to believe.

Since Friday I have seen fewer fish in the deeper runs and most out moving or spawning.  Swinging flies is working well and if you are spin fishing I would use flies as well.  As the run progresses using flies such as flesh flies and big egg patterns will pick up steelhead that are setting up below spawning areas.  By October 20th I will be making the change over to steelhead fishing as this is typically when we begin to catch more steelhead with this set up than salmon.

I have some prime mid-week dates open in November and December for steelhead.  If you would like to book any of these dates contact me at uplndgd@gmail.com or (315) 271-1212.  would enjoy spending the day with you.

Tight lines

Salmon River hatchery open house

September 26,2015 will mark the 20th open house for the Salmon River Hatchery located at 2133 County Route 22, Altmar, NY.  Rain or shine the doors will be open from 9 am to  4 pm.  The days events will include both hunting and fishing demonstrations, environmental programs and display, as well as fly tying and fishing demos.  For kids there is a stream ecology program planned as well as a fish petting zoo.  Tours of the hatchery will begin at 10:30 am and will continue through the day.   Admission is free.

Your can call the hatchery at (315) 298-7605

Salmon River preview for Fall 2015

Low water in the ramp area at Redfield

Today is Labor Day, the unofficial start of the salmon run here on the Salmon River.  As I type this the water release is being drawn down after a white water release for the holiday weekend.  Current release is 335 cfs with the Pineville gauge reading 428 cfs, typical for this time of year and we should see flows stay here into October.  There is not a lot of rain in the forecast so increased flows is not expected.  I fished the reservoir in Redfield last evening for bass, the bite didn't materialize till just before dark.  The bass moved into shore chasing bait and throwing a spinnerbait onto shore and working it back to the boat usually produced strikes within 2-3 feet of shore.  In about 1/2 hour I brought 8 bass to the boat, 7 smallies and 1 largemouth.  I fished the reservoir about a month ago and the water level had dropped substantially, I'd guess 6 feet in the last month.  Right now the reservoir is probably 10-12 feet below full pool.  As you can see from the pictures the level is down.  The pontoons had a rough go of it pulling out at the ramp.

A month ago we were fishing the tree line.

The water in the river is warm and any salmon entering the river will have a hard time surviving till the water cools a bit.  As the air temps begin to cool, especially at night this will help bring the water temps lower, rain would help too.  As salmon come into the river over the next week or two they will be holding in the deeper pools till the river cools.

Local trout streams are low too, but the fly fishing is excellent in the last hour or so of the day, 7 - 8 pm is the 'golden hour'.  I have been having good success with three hatches in this time frame starting with a gray caddis in #16-18.  If you don't carry any this small I have used a parachute Adams in these sizes with good success.  This hatch moves into a Hex spinner fall that has a window of about 15 mins before the trout move onto the White Fly hatch/spinner fall that takes you into dark.  The trout feed aggressively on all three flies and if you are in the right stretch of river you can go fish-for-cast.

A week or two ago the temperatures were topping out in the mid-60's and down into the mid-40's at night.  It felt like salmon season.  The last week have seen mid-summer temperatures in the mid 80's to low 90's. The weather has been clear and beautiful and we take as much of that as we can here in the Salmon River area, fall becomes winter too soon here.  As the leaves are beginning to change here and temps will begin falling off, most of us who fish salmon and steelhead, or hunt look eagerly for the change.  The salmon run will be different from last year for sure but right now things are progressing normally towards the fall runs.

Have a good season and I hope to see you on the river.

Tight lines.