Salmon River

[ryguyfi]

I'll initiate the new (old) forum.


I know there are people planning trips and people asking about info on here, so lets get it started!

We're staying at the Rainbow Shores Campground again this year. Great place, close to the DSR, and cheap (around $37 a person a night after taxes and fees).

http://www.rainbowshorescampsite.com/


DSR

http://www.douglastonsalmonrun.com/Fishing

Fishing license

https://nyfgisales.appsolgrp.com/fgnyia/html/index.jsp

9-10wt for kings, 8wt for all other should be fine.

Bring lots of split shot, you'll use it up and NY doesn't sell lead.

Swivels are a must. 4ft max distance from hook to weight. Helps show that length if you're questioned and also all foul hooks or break offs happen at the swivel. Plus leave a tag end for your shot.

Flies

Estaz, stoneflies, streamers should do.

That's all I got. Feel free to add to it.

 

[Fredrick]

Stockie River you mean

 

[JeffK]

The last biologists report I read had 40% of the kings being wild. Probably similar numbers for steelies and wild Atlantics have started showing up after a long, hard effort at reintroduction. The new summer releases have increased the number of wild fish in the Salmon R and it is not just a stockie river. The river is paved with eggs - some have to hatch.

BTW, I used to be a Salmon Heaven guy - can walk down to the river in Altmar, but I've been heading to Fox Hollow more often lately.

The upper reservoir is pretty low, so that area needs some rain for early season flows.

 

[fishingood]

I'm going up to fish this for the first time later on this year, already got glo bugs, sucker spawn, wooly buggers, and a few prince/ stonefly nymphs tied. What else should I be tying, specifically to target salmon?

 

[JeffK]

This is going to be controversial. I'll start with cohoes - they take any of those flies, but red seems to be a good color. Steelie/salmon wets with a red/black theme have worked for me. Fresh cohoes are aggressive and if you run into a pod of them you will have a blast.

The kings and flies thing gets a little a hairier. They hit flies when they are real fresh, especially down river. One of those you got to be there things. After they spawn, they get aggressive again. However, they are half dead skeletons at this time and break off any one you hit - they stink if you get a hold of them. In between is the controversial time when the kings are focused on spawning and not hitting. I think most fish hooked at this time are "flossed", but I imagine some are fair hook-ups - I've had a few kings grab my fly when fishing for other things. . However, IMHO you are playing a low odds game when they are spawning.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I think fresh cohoes are one of the most sporting fish going, and kings are more work than they are worth. They are definately a better fish when fresh and dime bright, but the gray "mud sharks" are a PITA. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Biggie]

Pretty much agree with what Jeff said. The coho's are wild when first entering he river. That's why I shell out the money for the DSR. Also have had some nice catches on fresh kings down there. Never thought I would biotch about hooking a 20lb. fish, but when fishing for browns and steel, the last thing you want is to hook a king before the fly drifts thru to the trout.........been going up for 25+ years and it never gets old..........can't wait.......

 

[ryguyfi]

I probably could have gone the whole trip last year with black egg sucking leeches with an orange lead head, and red estaz. That said I still have about 20 other patterns I'm bringing with me this year.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

You guys ever catch them on dries? I was reading about catching salmon on dries the other day, and it made me drool.

 

[pete41]

pacific salmon or Atlantic SAS

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Is that a question, or a statement, Pete?

I'm actually not sure. It was a chapter in "The Masters on the Dry Fly" that Lee Wulff wrote.

 

[pete41]

atlantics [wullf]-pacifics may take dries but never heard of it.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

I haven't fished for either, but if I can catch them on dries, my interest in going for them has spiked.

 

[sandfly]

pacifics take dries in alaska, they use a pink polywog fly...havn't heard of one heare yet, though I don't know why not...wulff used his wulff flies for atlantics and they will hit bombers as well. waking flies are great foe atlantics..

 

[troutwilleatflies]

Been fishing the SR for 30 yrs.In the beginning I was like everyone else believing the Kings won't hit.After a year of snagging I was shown by others that they do hit.....if you actually fish for them.Any way I now concentrate most of my time on the river up as far as you can go and have many days that they wear me out,then there are those days that it's hard to get any players....that's fishing.Catch them on streamers,wooly buggers,glo bugs,estaz,nympths,and others in various colors.Sometimes color is very important and then there are those days they hit all colors.
If they don't get rain soon this will be a horrible year and I might cancel.It'll be very depressing to do that as it's something I look forward to but I remember a couple years ago when it was this dry and I really hated it.

 

[sandfly]

fished the SR 30 years ago, would rather fish western NY waters for wild steel !!!

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Yeah Wulff was talking about using a size 8 white wulff for them. That's probably my favorite fly right now, so I was very interested in chasing salmon with a dry like that.

 

[JeffK]

I went to Newfoundland a couple of years ago and 80% of the Altantic salmon fishermen were fishing dry flies. Most were using deer hair bugs or Bombers, with some waking flies. Plus of course Newfoundland is the home of using riffling hitches to wake wet flies. Seeing a salmon come out of the depths to hit a dry is a blast. BTW, in Newfoundland you must use unweighted flies and floating line. There it is considered sporting to have the fish rise for a fly - and snagging, flossing etc is pretty rare when the flies pass over a fished head. They weren't even keen on mending a wet fly down in front of a fishes nose.

Never had any luck on the Salmon R with dries, or have heard of anyone else either. One steelhead nut out West told that steelhead find comfort from rocks and will basically hit up to the top of the rocks around the lie. Therefore, the prime dry fly lies have rocks up to the surface in the area - typically in a rocky tailout. Don't know whether or not this was true, but it seemed reasonable. Don't know many spots on the Salmon that fit this description.

 

[PhilC]

I saw steelies rising in the lower fly zone last year...I went to check it out after a guy at the fly shop told me he got a couple on dries...

 

[ryguyfi]

Will be there in 6 weeks (that seems like forever)

There are small pods of fish making their way into the river now. Hoping the big runs start in about 4-5 weeks. I think the low water levels will effect the run both there and in the other Erie tribs.

Getting close to being done tying. Only about 300 more flies to go....

 

[trike23]

Don't get to excited I was up on wendsday to fish the lake. The river is pathetic. At a whopping 100cfs it will be an absolute bloodbath in the dsr and lower river. If anyone remembers 2007 its worse now. It will be shoulder to shoulder from the ball park all the way to the mouth of the river. The salmon actually though more than likely wont be able to get passed the staircase with the low water. The hoards of hooligans, drunks, snaggers, and rippers will have a field day. People are going to hunt those poor fish like it's their last meal. The hatchery will more than likely be asking for egg donations again.