Salmon River Steelhead-The Never Ending Story

[steelheaderny]

Went out yesterday, Saturday for an awesome day fishing the schoolhouse. I went 4 for 7- three landed fish were first year small fish with the forth being a second year about seven pound hen. I hooked a LARGE fish for a few seconds- it surfaced and flashed it's tail. I was daydreaming and missed the hookset. All bites were very light and took skill and experience to notice in time for the hookset. It seems the bite gets lighter and the fish less aggressive with the water dropping to 38 degrees down from 42 last week. No self-hooking hot fish anymore. What a difference 4 degrees makes. I'm 13 for 37 this season so far. A lot of out of town newbies kicking around....I don't know where these people get their idea of a steelhead rig from. Saw some pretty funny stuff. I try to help without butting my nose in too much. I helped a father/son team both get their first hooks/fish. I swear, there's something about beginners luck. I kinda know my shti and I hooked TWELVE fish this fall before landing one. I think I've got the ultimate glove set-up. Tight wool gloves with industrial "surgical" rubber gloves on top. The rubber gloves shed the water from your line, and the wool keeps you warm. You still gotta have oxygen catalyst hand warmers to bring your fingers back from pain level. Shove those babies in your glove and stuff your hand into your waders and bury it in your crotch. It's the only way, man. I've gotten to the point where I can tie off a rig with gloves on. I still maintain fluorocarbon SUX. It's hard to tie, gets fouled easily, breaks like glass etc. I've tried them all and 5 or 6 pound Maxima Chamo is the one for me.

[steelheaderny]

I just went 1 for 7 at the schoolhouse. It was COLD, man. Oh well, no guts, no glory. I think I had a GIANT brown on. It fought like a steelie, so I didn't pay it much mind, but as I was bringing it to the beach it turned sideways and I saw a gold/brown side and belly. It could have been a colored up steelhead- I'll never know cuz' it spit just as it surfaced. I'm getting very lazy with other than giant fish. I just don't care if I land 'em or not. The battle is all that matters, and if they're not HUGE, Tom, HUUUGGE I don't feel like getting my hands wet. If a small or medium sized fish starts to go down I put the brakes to 'em or fight 'em hard enough for them to spit. The strikes were really aggressive this week, nothing like the soft bites last week. There were a TON of fish in this pool as I hooked seven in 2 1/2 hours. When the bites' on like that I get impatient without a strike every twenty or so casts. No matter how hard the strike, the hookset is just a backwards flick of the wrist. Then lean back steady and hold on tight until the fish reveals it's size. If it's big, I settle down into battle stations. If it's not, I still have a ball, but I don't get that heart pounding rush anymore. I hope I don't get too jaded. I'm 14 for 44 this year. Apparently I average landing hooked fish 33% of the time. I probably could land more if I really tried, and had a net. The fish I landed was a half chrome hen about 6 or 7 pounds. I only take the fish out for the 10 to 20 seconds it takes to get the hook out and carry it back in to revive and swim.

[DaveP]

With any luck, I'll make it up for a day trip between Christmas & New Years. Need to do something as my mother inlaw will be visiting. I'll either be there, the Genny, or pounding the snot out of the other tribs.

[steelheaderny]

315-527-4068. Give me a jingle- maybe we can share some water.

[mcds7]

335 cfs until monday Dec 28
mike

[DaveP]

Looks like they killed it at 8:15 last night. Although, the station at Pineville is showing holding steady at 450cfs or so. Air temp is in the teens.

[steelheaderny]

750 was nice while it lasted. It'll be back this weekend with the thaw that's supposed to come. The worst thing about 335 is the rakers can clean a pool out in one day. I'm not a rat, and I handle my business without calling the cops, but I WILL call the DEC on those muthafukcas. I saw some foreigners hauling a fish uphill into the trunk of their car, and you KNOW they were poaching as many as they could. I debated calling the DEC, after all, I had no way of knowing how many they had. Looking back I wish I did. It's funny, and maybe hypocritical, but I don't regard breaking most laws that don't affect anyone but myself as a bad thing, but breaking fish and game laws is a VERY different story. Oswego county ECO's are Anthony Panipinto 315-623-7657, William Burnell 315-676-5387. Put 'em in your phone and use 'em.

[steelheaderny]

Saturday I went 3 for 4 with a GIANT buck- at least 14 lbs. I was alone, so no pictures. Yesterday, Sunday, I went around 5 for 10 with one HUGE, Tom, HUUGGE hen. I had a friend with me, but he didn't follow me down. I had a real time of it trying to get her unhooked. She had at least two hooks in her side, and now she has a stone fly in her mouth. Oh well, someone will snag her for the fillets soon enough or she'll rub it off or make it to the hatchery and they'll take the hooks out.

[steelheaderny]

I went 2 for 6 yesterday, New Years Day, and 1 for 2 today, Saturday. I am now 25 for 68 this season. There are some HUGE, Tom, HUUGE fish in that pool (schoolhouse). I have been fishing the same pool for a month, and until I get sick of it or the fish dry up, I see no reason to move. I may get tired of the crowd at this pool and move on for a little variety, but for now I'll stay put. I know there are a lot of fish in this hole, all day, every day. I don't believe in moving around a lot. Last weekend both mornings started out very slow. If I moved on I would not have hit the bite, which came late- 11:00 am Saturday, and 10:00am Sunday. If you know the fish are there it pays off to be patient and wait for the bite. What makes a holding pool of fish with lockjaw all of a sudden turn on like a switch? I can't answer that one. There are no visible signs/changes I can say I've noticed to precipitate a sudden bite. I can say for sure, and I know some of you will think I'm crazy/ full of it, but I can feel my line on the backs of a pod of fish that have either moved in or up/back into my drift and I can call the next fish within ten minutes or so. The only way I'm able to do this (besides my massive skill and experience) is by fishing the same drift the same way for hours and days. If I have a clean drift in what I know is a good holding pool, I stand a better chance of hitting fish that suddenly turn on or move in/up/down than I would if I kept moving around- losing tackle etc. Patience, baby PATIENCE. The a-number-one mistake I see beginners make besides moving around and wasting time changing up every ten minutes is constantly yanking their rod at every bounce in the drift. Proper presentation is the single most important key to inducing fish to strike. That fly has to look like it's naturally floating by, not jumping around erratically with every rod yank. Beginners become rattled as hell when the guy two doors down is hitting fish left and right (usually me) and they are doing nada. They start yanking away at rock ticks, totally ruining their presentation. They ask "what am I doing wrong"?. The answer usually is "nothing, stop yanking". The next question is usually "what color are you using"?. The answer is "it doesn't matter, stop yanking". Keep your line as tight and straight to your presentation as you can and keep your eyes on your line where it enters the water, NOT YOUR ROD TIP! The bite is at least 75% sight, 25% feel. You will see the bite before you feel it, if you feel it at all. Obviously, sometimes they yank it right out of your hands, but not all the time. Concentrate / study your drift as it moves. After a while, especially if your in the SAME DRIFT doing EXACTLY THE SAME THING, you will notice your line pause or jump in a different way than the last two hundred casts. Bend your wrist back SLIGHTLY, feeling for resistance. This takes practice and.....practice. If you feel resistance, lean back a little harder for the hookset, or your line begins moving again. If you feel that head shake, lean right back steadily and....BREATHE! DO NOT BACK UP! Keep steady pressure on the fish and...BREATHE! This is what you got up at 3:00am or whatever FOR! Stop and BREATHE and ENJOY IT! All your neurons are firing at once, your adrenaline is pumping like crazy and the next minute will go by like a split-second if you don't take it easy and enjoy the moment. You may not get another hookup today or your next three trips, so chill. Do not let your rod tip down or start running after the fish out of fear that too much pressure will rip out the hook. You either have a good hook or you don't. Your rod should be bent right around and your drag should be doing it's job. If the fish spits, it spits. You didn't do anything wrong, and there's NOTHING you could do any different that would have changed anything. There's no sense chasing a fish a hundred yards to find out you didn't have a good hook. If the fish is going down against your drag you should first... BREATHE! Keep steady pressure and see if you can stop the run. With the fish working your drag downstream steadily, let your rod tip lower enough to take the pressure off the running fish while still keeping your line tight and see if this sudden release will stop the run- it sometimes works. The fish has to turn to catch it's breath. Now is the time to follow it down. Whether you stopped it or it's still running, keep your rod high and walk and reel, walk and reel. When you are even with your fish, stop and stand your ground again. Keep your rod facing upstream and bent...turning even a bent rod downstream at this point gives the fish the green light to go down even further. If the fish is no longer running, but won't come in against steady pressure, turn your rod tip low to the water, keeping it bent. This will help coax it into coming in and you can pull up, reel down, pull up, reel down as the fish decides to come in. Don't horse it. The rod and the drag should do all the work. When you have control, and the fish is coming in between working against your drag, wave your arm up and down with the fishes' movements in and out. This keeps more pressure on the fish without risking a close-by breakoff. When you feel you (finally) have it tired enough, turn your rod downstream, keeping the same bent-rod pressure. If the fish makes another dash,(and he most likely will) quick turn your rod upstream again until you regain control. Whenever the fish starts spinning and tailing, lift your rod tip high to regain control and avoid the fish tangling up in your line and breaking off. When the fish is spinning and tailing while in close, lift it's head out of water for a second and he may stop. Every time it starts rolling, keep high and lift it's head out. Net the fish. You got all that? Good. Now go get 'em.

[steelheaderny]

Went out today, Thursday. I went 1 for 6. It was relatively warm and sublimely beautiful. Egg sucking leeches and stone flies. Stone fly hatches all along the banks in the snow. The fish I land are colored very differently from fish in the river this time last year. They are a beautiful dark olive green with bright horizontal almost fluorescent pink/red. Much prettier than the drab grey/black of last year. I can't for the life of me figure how to post them on this blog. Bucks are hitting three to one from hens. I may go this weekend if the wind doesn't blow, It's going to be bitter cold, though.

[steelheaderny]

I couldn't help it- went out at noon to the schoolhouse. I went 2 for 3. My last fish (the one I lost) was HUUGE, Tom, HHHUUUUGGGE! It SLAMMED my fly ( a black something or other with a bright blue back) and did that "holding in the slot, talking to his buddies routine". It shook it's head, moved up slow, moved back slow, etc. It wouldn't come in an inch. I was sweating it hard, hoping to finally land that monster I've been waiting for. It made a mad, lightning fast dash straight away from me and broke at the fly. This was honestly the first time I had a chromie break me off during the fight. (As opposed to being down a hundred yards and breaking when I put the brakes on). It's funny, I had the whole pool to myself, but as soon as I hit the first fish, two guys started moving towards me a step at a time. By the time I had the big one on, they were right on top of me above and below. Three or four hundred yards of river from the bubbles to the bend and they're on my azz like white on rice. I really don't mind- I can fish the Salmon River anytime I want, but it is amusing to say the least. There were two fly fishers in the bubbles as I was walking in yesterday. "How you hittin' 'em?" I asked, as I walked past. They turned and looked, but said nothing. Unfriendly pieces of dog shti. I then moved down a hundred and fifty or so yards to my favorite drift. I had no one in the hole but me, so no real need to yell fish on, but every time I hit a fish (6 times) I yelled I'm on! There's another one! There he is! Fish! Fish on! As LOUD AS I COULD SCREAM IT, and believe me, I have a big mouth. When I make friendly greetings and salutations you acknowledge my awesome presence muthafukcas. They did NOTHING. And deservedly so, smug, fly fishing douchebags. 28 for 75 so far.

[DaveP]

man, you had a really nice day for it, too! the weather was awesome today!

[steelheaderny]

Yeah, it was nice while it lasted. I got laid off last week. I probably will be down for about two weeks. With my luck, it'll be below zero with 25 mph winds the whole time. Anybody looking for a cut-rate guide? If you don't hook-up, you don't pay....what's the diff? I'll be there anyway. Naw...I've no license. I wish I DID, though. My girl is on her hands and knees scrubbing the kitchen floor. Man, she has a dynamite azz. 51 years old and not a speck of moss anywhere- still rocks a bikini- still rocks a T-back...maybe I won't go fishing this afternoon......nah F-that. She'll be here when I get home....I think.

[mcds7]

ernie,dude,havent been on here for a while.sounds like you heve been having fun.where the hell have you been finding fish with 285cfs,s?lol!!
i have never seen the water this low but hopefully some of this snow will melt in the next few days and help things out.the forecast for this coming thursday is36 degrees.i should be out there ,but will probably wait till the sun comes up and warms the water a tad(mid-morning)
i have a friend that fishes the dsr a lot and says the steel have been wanting their sacs (if you,re using them)as stinky as possible.warm them up on your dashboard heater on the way to the river.
hey,dont give those stuck up azz wipes the sastisfaction,by yelling fish on etc,thats when they WILL scarf in on your area.believe me they will get your attention when they hear that steel thrashing thru the water.its your spot,enjoy the quite and serenity of it,for as long as you can.
mike m
ps.stay in touch!
mike m

[steelheaderny]

mike- Good to hear from you. I wasn't saying anything when those two moved in on me- it was the next day when this guy wouldn't even say hello. At bottom, I really don't mind as long as I don't have friends along I'm trying to put on fish. I got fly tying gear from santa, and today I'm going out with some crumply black "stone flies" I made. They are a joke compared to the stuff I see the other guys make, but I'll bet Mr. chromie hits them anyway. At least I hope so.I've been using flies lately, but I read something about Salmon eggs losing scent when the water dips below 40. I don't have a clue about this, but if you want to keep using eggs, you may want to string up a small hen steelie and cure your own.