What flies for N.Y. salmon?

[Troutmeister]

I tried a search but came up empty. Heading up N. for my second trip fly fishing for salmon some time in the next couple weeks. Had a blast last Oct up there. Was wondering what are some favorite ties for Kings and Cohoes?

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Eggs, various sizes and colors, Green butted Skunk, Flesh Fly,eggs. GG

 

[chromefinder]

Comets, wooly buggers, egg patterns, simple estaz patterns all work - the hardest part is finding unpressured fish that haven't been shell shocked and fished over by the mobs.

 

[Tigereye]

I've found fresh fish in lower river are less spooky than upper. Brightly colored flies work well here. As fish move up and are harassed more by fisherman, the earthy olive, brown, and black hues are more productive, especially in smaller sizes. YMMV. Fly pattern is secondary.

 

[flipnfly]

I recommend amber colored eggs and egg sucking buggers in almost any color combo but don't go with out black with an orange egg!
Also this applies to flies
https://www.getdeathroe.com/new-blog/2019/2/19/egg-life-cycle-and-its-color-phases hope this helps

 

[Troutmeister]

Thanks for the replies. I definitely think you guys are correct about the pressure put on the fish. Last year I fished from the first bridge above Pulaski and some spots upstream up to Altmar. I did not see anyone hooking up to fish with the same frequency that I saw on videos of people fishing down in the DSR, which leaves me to believe that those fresh fish down in the DSR are a lot more aggressive or maybe gullible than after they've seen a few thousand flies and lures.

 

[chromefinder]

If you haven't tried it yet go on a Tuesday or Wednesday and get a DSR pass. From early Sept to right now is when you have a good shot at some fresh unpressured fish down low without a mob scene of unethical anglers. Even DSR from now on gets too crazy crowded on weekends. I wouldn't get near that river on a weekend from right now until well after Columbus day - just too crowded for me to be enjoyable. YMMV

 

[Troutmeister]

Thanks Chromefinder, headed up next Tue thru Thursday, so maybe too late for this year, but will keep it in mind for next year.

 

[chromefinder]

good luck, sent you a PM

 

[moon1284]

Save the money on the dsr fees and buy a lot of beer. Use the staircase access point or another one downstream and wade down towards the dsr. The dsr is the biggest fraud going.

Flies are secondary most important is location of split shot on your leader followed by strength of hook. You could buy glo yarn, tear off a small piece, chew it in your mouth and impale it on your hook several times and catch just as many fish as if you fished a normal egg pattern

 

[shakey]

it helps to have tons of flies that you can tye fast and cheap.
even a double overhand knot of chenille with no tying thread will work in the right situation,

 

[sandfly]

This is what we used in the 70's for the salmon/steelhead on the salmon river. Still work today.

 

[Troutmeister]

Just an update on my trip last week. We fished down in town all 3 days and saw quite a few fish. I had about 20 hookups but only landed one. Many were only on for a few seconds.

Fish were really spooky, if they saw your sinkers or fly they swam away from it. I also had hook problems, breaking several and had several more straighten out after hooking fish. I also had a lot of flies that were weighted to heavy, seems important to have a natural drift.

I had a guy wade in next to me and hook fish one after another. It was just unbelievable. I finally asked him what he was using and he showed me, a little piece of black sponge on a hook.

Going back next week for revenge armed with some super heavy duty Gamakatsu hooks and some simple estaz flies.

 

[dc410]

Troutmeister wrote:
Just an update on my trip last week. We fished down in town all 3 days and saw quite a few fish. I had about 20 hookups but only landed one. Many were only on for a few seconds.

Fish were really spooky, if they saw your sinkers or fly they swam away from it. I also had hook problems, breaking several and had several more straighten out after hooking fish. I also had a lot of flies that were weighted to heavy, seems important to have a natural drift.

I had a guy wade in next to me and hook fish one after another. It was just unbelievable. I finally asked him what he was using and he showed me, a little piece of black sponge on a hook.

Going back next week for revenge armed with some super heavy duty Gamakatsu hooks and some simple estaz flies.

What hooks were you using that you had issues with?

 

[Troutmeister]

I had hooks I bought at Cabela's, no brand name but supposedly 2x strong and also some I bought online 2x strong as well.

 

[Tigereye]

Black sponge does not surprise me. It does not spook fish like the bright flies. My guess he was also using 10-12# leader, dark or green sinkers and if he was using a swivel that was black also. Stealth mode in low flows and anywhere above the
black hole

 

[Troutmeister]

Tigereye, that was my thinking as well about the black sponge. That's why I'm going back with flies of mainly black estaz and some dull generic nymphs. I had some Lively Leg nymphs that I tied and had several hookups, but those were some of the hook failures I had.

 

[Tigereye]

I wouldn't get too fancy with flies for salmon river. I know I lose a bunch. A few wraps of estaz around a hook is fast cheap and effective. Black brown or olive. If the fish are picky but not spooky a worthwhile variation is to tie in a sparse tail of Marabou or Chrystal flash (3 or 4 strands is plenty). Keep it short. Again in the muted colors. This adds a bit of life to your fly.
None of us knows for sure why salmon strike flies. My theory territoriality or frustration. I try to capitalize on those.