I've been busy

I noticed it has been 1 year since my last post.  It has been a busy year for me and posting took the back seat for awhile.  But, as I sit here beginning this post I realize how much I enjoy writing and I have missed this.  Maybe I needed the break.

A lot has been going on with the Salmon River fishery.  If you have fished here in the last year in the Altmar to Abandoned Trestle area you noticed quite a bit of work done to the banks of the river, especially from the Wire Hole down stream to the Bovines.  Haven't really seen the purpose for this but who can understand the state of New York.

Nice 4+ lb. smallmouth I picked up in a tournament
on the St Lawrence River a few years ago 

More to current matters.  Yesterday the Black Bass (Largemouth, Smallmouth) season opened.  A lot of anglers look forward to this,  but here in New York state you can fish for bass catch and release from December 1 through to the opening of the season. The regular season runs from the third Saturday in June to November 30, so basically you can fish for bass year round here.  The Salmon River is a great Smallmouth fishery in the summer. Quite a few people fish it during the summer and wet wading with a fly rod or light spinning gear is fun.  Use a small Rapala type lure to imitate bait fish or a fly rod with something like a wooly bugger will get you action.

Another event I wanted to post is the fish for free days next weekend June 27,28.  This is a great opportunity to get out side and do some fishing if you haven't purchased a fishing license.  Also if you live out of state you get a chance to try a New York state fishery for free.  If you get the chance why not wet a line.

The spring steelhead season came to an abrupt halt this year with the state closing all charter fishing and guiding due to the COVID virus.  By the second week of March I had already cancelled my trips for the spring as most of my clients are traveling in from out of state (as far away as Michigan this year) and even out of country with a few clients coming from Quebec, Canada.  Most of these folks rebooked for this falls stealhead fishing which is good, however, this took quite a few dates out of my fall schedule that would normally have book with other anglers.  At this point I am booking the fall as I normally would and am looking forward to another great season on both salmon and steelhead and am especially looking forward to seeing many of you again in the boat.

As a final note, enjoy your summer and stay safe and healthy. 

Tight lines

I'm still here

I've been on hiatus for quite awhile, but I'm still here.  I got busy through the fall and winter, for a while it was brutal.  Getting off the river after fishing all day in 10-20 degrees make for a tough day, so when I get home I pull the anchor rope out of the boat to dry and then I'm looking for the couch.

Fishing through all of this was very good, great some days.  We have had several years now of some very good steelhead fishing and it helps when it's bitter cold outside.

I just posted the egg collecting report for this spring's steelhead take, awesome numbers.  This is consistent with past years take and we are reaping the benefits out on the river.  I am looking forward to another good year this coming fall.  Only 3 more full moons and we'll be in the peak of the salmon run.

I'll Post soon with local trout fishing report.

Tight lines

DEC asks for your help

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (OMNRF) requests your help with recovering samples of Coho Salmon caught in Lake Ontario beginning in 2018 and continuing until 2021. Each year, NYSDEC stocks Coho Salmon as fall fingerlings at six sites along the New York shoreline, and as spring yearlings at the Salmon River, and Metro East Anglers in cooperation with OMNRF stock Coho fall fingerlings at the Credit River. As part of a continuing effort to evaluate the effectiveness of stocking programs, we are evaluating Coho Salmon stocking strategies by mass marking and/or tagging all stocked Coho Salmon in 2016-2019.

Some portion of the Coho Salmon caught in Lake Ontario may also come from natural reproduction instead of hatcheries. Although some streams are known to produce wild Coho smolts, the relative contribution of wild and hatchery Coho Salmon to the Lake Ontario fishery is unknown. This information is important for fisheries managers to understand trends in Coho Salmon catch rates. To determine the proportion of wild Coho Salmon in the Lake Ontario fishery, the adipose fin of all Coho Salmon stocked by NYSDEC and OMNRF will be clipped in 2016-2019, including the fall fingerlings stocked by Metro East Anglers at the Credit River. Tags are 1 mm long pieces of coded wire inserted into the snouts of fish prior to stocking, therefore invisible to the naked eye and undetectable without specialized equipment. Recovery of mark and tag data is ongoing until 2022.

To supplement NYSDEC and OMNRF sampling by the Fishing Boat survey and at fishing tournaments, we are asking volunteers to collect Coho Salmon heads from fish harvested in the Lake and tributaries and place them in freezers located at sites from the Niagara River to Oswego (see below). Bags and labels will be available at freezer locations, and instructions for collections are provided below. We would like your help. Please be on the lookout for Coho Salmon when fishing. For all harvested Coho Salmon, please cut off its head, toss it in a bag, label, and put it in a freezer. If you are willing to collect Coho Salmon heads and store them in your personal freezer, we will happily come pick them up. Arrangements can be made by emailing fwfishlo@dec.ny.gov.

DEC Completes Salmon River Hatchery Egg Collection

DEC Salmon River Hatchery staff completed steelhead egg collection on April 4, 2019.  The egg take resulted in 2.47 million eggs from 681 Washington strain steelhead, exceeding the target number od 2.15 million eggs.  Fish hatched from this collection will be raised in the hatchery for approximately one year and then stocked as spring yearlings in 2020.

Staff collected an additional 194,72 eggs from 51 Skamania strain steelhead.  Steehead are stocked every spring in Lake Ontario and Lake Erie tributaries where they contribute to both the tributary fishery and open lake fisheries.  Current Lake Ontario steelhead/rainbow trout stocking include 497,700 Washington stain yearlings, 43,000 Skamania strain yearlings and 75,00 domestic strain rainbow trout yearlings.  Lake Erie stockings include 225,000 Washington strain steelhead and 5000 domestic strain rainbow trout. 

Fish for free day!

Veteran's Day, November 11, 2018 residents can enjoy a day of fresh water fishing in New York without a license.  Fall is a great time to fish and there is no better way to spend a 'free' day of fishing than on the salmon River chasing steelhead.

2019 Chinook salmon stocking plans

In response to intensified concerns regarding Lake Ontario's alewife population, DEC must take additional action to protect the long-term sustainability of the trout and salmon fishery.  Failure to act will serve to extend the severity and duration of adult alewife population instability, with greater potential impacts to the sport fishery. When the adult alewife population is comprised of a broader number of age classes we will consider adjusting stocking back to normal levels.  DEC will further reduce Chinook salmon stocking by an additional 20% in 2019. On average, approximately 50% of Lake Ontario's Chinook salmon originate from natural reproduction ("wild" fish).  

Table 1. Anticipated NYSDEC 2019 stocking targets for Lake Ontario.

Species	Life Stage	NYSDEC Stocking Policy 2019
Chinook Salmon*	Spring Yearlings	1,056,960
Lake Trout	Yearling equivalents	400,000
Rainbow Trout	Spring Yearlings	615,700
Brown Trout	Spring Yearlings	400,000
Atlantic Salmon	Spring Yearlings	50,000
Coho Salmon	Fall Fingerlings	155,000
	Spring Yearlings	90,000
2,767,660

Salmon River mid-October report

The salmon fishing has been excellent up till now.  We had good numbers and the spawning areas were holding what seemed like more than normal numbers.  This is all winding down in the middle river.  I can't say what is happening in the Altmar to Pineville stretch because I avoid it till mid to later November when the crowds and the seasonal guides go away.  Since yesterday the number of salmon in the river from Pineville to 2A has dropped off noticeably, doesn't mean there wont be more entering the river, but seems the 'fat lady has sung'.

Use these,

Yesterday we picked up our first steelhead of the fall, 2 actually. Another 4 to the net today.   All came on 10mm trout beads, egg colors working today as well.  We were drifting them on the bottom, not under floats, and all fish came from behind spawning salmon.  Fish egg sacks or egg fly patterns and you will do well.

these,

The water temp as of yesterday was 51 degrees and the river is running at 476 cfs at Pineville gauge as I type this.
Tis the season, so take advantage of the best fishing on the Salmon River of the year.  November and December are top months for steelhead fishing.  See you out there.

Tight lines.

and these.