Salmon River in Mid-Late November

[Kingfisher 0]

Hey all,

I'm kicking around the idea of heading up to the SR on the weekend preceeding Thanksgiving and wondered if anyone had some advice about whether or not it's likely to be worth the 6-hour haul from NYC. Any thoughts?

[Frank G. Swarner III 0]

It should be good. It's a long way off so it is tough to tell what will happen and how good it will be. All of the King Salmon will have died off and the majority of fish will be Steelhead and Brown Trout. As far as numbers of fish present at that time, I don't know.

 

I'll be up that weekend as well. I always find steelhead during November/Thanksgiving time.

 

Keep an eye on Mother Nature to be safe.

 

Good Luck and maybe I'll see you there.

 

Chip

 

[Kingfisher 0]

Thanks Chip; I'm undecided as to whether I want to do the steelhead thing or head out to Montauk over the weekend of my birthday (23-24 of Oct.) for the stripers. At this point I'm more interested in the steelhead. I'm going to place a few calls to the shops in the Pulaski area and see what they have to say. Will post again once I have some information.

[CharlieD 0]

Kingfisher,

 

You can get flow information on the Salmon river with the following number - 1-800-452-1742. When the automated voice comes on the line punch in the numbers 365123. This will give you discharge rates for the Altmare Dam. Anything under 100 CFS is very low and will be hard to fish. Anything over 700 CFS will be dangerous to wade. Like Fish-N-Chip said, there should be plenty of fish in at that time.

 

Charlie

 

P.S. let me know when you are going. I will try to get out and meet you. It's only about 2 hours and 45 min. for me.

[Kingfisher 0]

Charlie - Thanks for the info; I'll certainly let you know what my plans are. Can you tell me what sort of fare the SH are feeding on during that time of year? I kind of prefer to tie my own stuff to "match the hatch" (with a couple of "classic" SH patterns thrown in for good measure) without knowing specifics about the names of patterns typically used. I have a couple of good steelhead books but I wondered if you knew specifically what the SR fish are likely to be doing.

[CharlieD 0]

Kingfisher,

 

My top fly on the lake Ontario tribs is a simple white spey fly.

 

Hook: Silver Alec Jackson.

Tag: Heavy green wire.

Body: 1/2 flat silver tinsel - 1/2 white dubbing.

Rib: Heavy green wire

Collar: Mallard or teal

Wing: White calf tail.

Head: white

 

Have some brown, black, purple, orange and pink flies on hand also. I don't think the pattern is as important as size. Small in low water, large in high water.

 

Some guys like using globugs and nymphs also. They work very well.

 

Charlie

[Frank G. Swarner III 0]

I don't know your method of choice but here goes:

 

Spey flies: White, Black, and Brown seem to be the most consistent. An attractor color added to a natural colored pattern can work wonders on some days. ie..red butt, green butt, pink butt, or orange butt.

 

Nymphs: Black and Brown, a 1/2" to 1 1/2" long, Simple variations of Hare's ear will work just fine. Add an attractor color on a few. See my Attractor Back Nymph under "my patterns". I use it without the dot as well. Prince nymphs and pheasant tails are great also.

 

Eggs tied very small (micro eggs) to represent Brown Trout eggs are good to have.

 

Wooly buggers & egg sucking leeches...never leave home without them!!

 

Some flashy patterns with estaz can come in handy but don't use them in pressured areas. They get wise to them very quickly.

 

Be more concerned with your drift and location, flies can only do so much by themselves.

 

Hope this helps,

Chip

 

[Kingfisher 0]

Now here's the question: do these fish feed on smelt or other forage fish, and will streamers be effective (and I don't mean classic streamer patterns necessarily, but more realistic imitations)? If so, give me an idea as to the size of the forage fish so I can tie accordingly.

[CharlieD 0]

Smelt are a big part of the forage base in lake Ontario. The ones I have seen have a very faint purple cast to them. I think these are the types of baits the steelhead would be most likely to key in on.

 

Sculpins are in the river also. Sculpin patterns work well on the tribs.

 

The baby rainbow streamer has also been a great producer for me in the Ontario tribs. I don’t think they are necessarily feeding on them but it does bring out there aggressive tendencies.

 

As for size, I think that depends on the water level and fishing pressure they are getting in the river more than the size of the forage. Small, #6 - #10 in low water and when fishing pressure is high and bigger #4 - #1/0 when water is high and fishing pressure is light. This is mostly my personal observation than anything else.

 

Charlie

[Kingfisher 0]

That's great information Charlie; I prefer to fish streamers whenever possible, and will tie several to match the smelt. I'll be sure to tie a few extra in case the three of us meet up on the river.

[Guest]

Chris,

 

According to some guys on the site a fly similar to this one did well on the Salmon River: http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=4658

[Frank G. Swarner III 0]

Have a few streamers in olive or emerald to represent some of the shiners. A white silvery body with an olive back.

 

Chip

[tdeyette 0]

Kingfisher,

 

Have you tried this Salmon River website?

 

whitakers

 

I often check this site out for a daily fishing report as well as their fly of the week selection. I also see that they have a link at the bottom of their fishing report page (as seen on 10/17/04) that shows a selection of salmon and steelhead flies. There is also a link to water level information.

 

Just another place to get some information.

 

Tom

 

ps: I'm not connected to this website in any way other than being an occasional visitor.

 

 

[Kingfisher 0]

Thanks for the info, Tom, I'll be sure to give those guys a call and see what they have to say before I make any concrete plans.

 

Chip - What size do the baitfish range (i.e. 1-2", 2-3", etc.)? Also, is flash in a fly more likely to spook or attract them at this time of year when the angling pressure is high?

[Frank G. Swarner III 0]

Sorry for getting back to you so late. I was fishing the Salmon River from the 16-24.

 

Both sizes 1"-2" and 2"-3"

 

Have a touch of flash but don't go wild with it. Just enough for realism and to get Mr. & Mrs. Steehead's attention. Anything more seems to spook them unless you come across a hot player.

 

Chip