Salmon River 12/21-22: "Santa Came Early This Year. . ."

[Dave]

What an utterly awesome trip! Aaron and Justin fished the Salmon from Thursday thru today, so I joined them for Friday and Saturday. The weather was supposed to warm up, so the bite was expected to be on. I knew it was a good sign when on my second cast of the day, I hooked a Steelhead. Unfortunately it broke off, but it was a great starting point. Aaron took us all up and down the Salmon, detailing his favorite runs and pockets. We covered an ENORMOUS amount of water over the past few days. There wasn't a single spot where fish were not caught! Just wait till you see the photos that Aaron and Justin have.

The highlight of the first day was the big brown below; my biggest brown to date. That day also included a few landed steelhead, and a few more browns. The second day was serious. We knew where we had to go and we were there way before first light. In one spot, I hooked 6 steelhead, and landed 4, before 9:00 am. What a great way to start the day! I hooked a few more but wasn't able to land them.

Aaron and Justin absolutely TORE them up. Every time I looked up, their rods were bent. We quite a little earlier than expected yesterday. So, I'm fishing and look back to find that Justin has broken through the ice shelf that he had been standing on. Aaron headed over to help him, and then fell right through too! Yikes! ! ! The depth had been WAY over their heads, so they were hanging on by their elbows and shoulders. Hearing Aaron chucke, I grabbed the camera, but then immediately dropped everything to run over and literally "pull" them out of the ice. At the time it was scary, but looking back, it was hilarious! After all, as Aaron say, "you gotta have atleast a few 'I almost died' stories when steelheading." Words to live by!

Torrey, all fish were landed on 4x! oh yeah! I still think I need a bit more practice for that 20+ lb. steelhead that I'm supposed to land on 3 or 4x. I think I'll need a tranquilizer gun for that one. (for me and the fish).

Below are a few pics from the trip, but wait till the other guys post the collection they have!
Thanks again Aaron, another beyond incredible trip!






and some scenery photos:

[Troutfishing4life]

Dave
sounds like a sick trip and congrats on the nice brown
I went fishing in NJ today and got wet hand to toe with rain gear on it was just pouring and got not a single fish but did have 1 hit

Mike

[Nymphmeister]

Isn't it amazing how fat those Great Lakes browns get? Wish I was there, sounds like there are plenty of fish. I would have paid big money to watch Aaron & Justin break thru the shelf ice. Aaron & I were on the Niagara a few years ago and the shelf ice, which was several feet thick, twice started to give way under our feet, but we managed to tread ice and scramble to safety. Now that's a river you don't wanna fall in, it's like a half mile across it, super deep, and runs very, very fast in the center. Heard you're gonna get a Pin set-up, going over to the "dark side" I see, Lol.

[Nymphmeister]

Just how big was that brown Dave?

[Dave]

Torrey, I'm not sure about the weight. I put a little tick mark in my rod, which I measured later to find out that it was about 25.5 inches long, and pretty fat as you can see from the second photo. The guy taking the picture thought it was about 9-10#'s, but Aaron said it may have been less. I was definitely a fat fish, and it felt heavy to my hands. It's funny that I was joking about there being a brown for me there, and lucky enough, there was. Santa really answered my prayers this year. ;D

Certainly wouldn't want to take a fall in the Niagara, that sounds brutal. After Aaron and Justin were safely to shore, I slowly waddled my way to gather the rods that were around the broken ice, so I was lucky to have not gone in myself (that being said, I was being VERY careful). I guess that's reason enough not to fish alone in severe winter conditions, or in any situations that can present difficulty.

As for the pin rods, I had a great time with my fly rod this weekend, but think I should experience the center pin too so that I can learn to angle every way possible. It looked extremely valuable to know the techniques of c-pinning. That being said, I was very fortunate and excited to catch steelhead and browns this weekend! For me, what attracts me to fly fishing is the constant activity provided, from the casting, to the mending, to the drifting, and constant attention and motion. Can't wait to get back up there ;D I gotta start getting some concerts up in Pulaski so I can have more excuses to get up there more often ;D

And lastly. . .gotta say it again: 4x baby!

[Nymphmeister]

Nice fat brown for sure, but I'd guess a little shy of 10#, 8 pounds for sure, maybe more. Cannot tell how thick it was from side to side, that makes a difference. Nice "bonus" fish no matter what the exact size though.

[Dave]

Yes, that sounds right, that's what Aaron thought too. I really want a brown like the ones is those pictures that your holding (in the Lake Ontario pic gallery) ;D When are we going?! ;D

typically, how long will the browns remain in (the fall-backs)? When will the rivers be void of them?

[Troutfishing4life]

Torrey
just looked at those browns holy crap
Now i think I need to get up there
Dave see what your doing, your making me go crazy here because i have not been fishing much

Mike

[Nymphmeister]

The amazing part about that Great Lakes brown trout fishery is that the brown I'm holding up (29" & 13#) isn't even a real monster for up there. I saw several caught that day that were bigger, and on that trip we saw at least 5 in the water that were 20# or bigger- one was closer to 30#! The day I caught the fish in the picture, I had one on for about 3 head shakes that was about a yard long and up around the 20# mark. Lesson learned: always set the hook on subtle indicator movements- I thought my fly touched bottom so I gently tweaked it rather than giving it a true set.

A typical Lake Ontario Fall tributary brown will be 5 pounds, with the vast majority running between 4-7#. 10-12# fish are not at all uncommon, but you will catch many smaller than that for each one you catch. I would say 12# or so is a trophy for up there, with 15# being a trophy by just about anyone's standards. The really magic number is 20# though, most people have never caught one that big, even up there.

The smaller tribs don't hold many browns past December, but the ones with a good base flow like Oak Orchard and the Salmon can hold them right into April. November is usually the peak month for the browns.

[AaronJasper]

You got that one right. The tributary that Tony and I fished last month is totally void of any fish as of last week. That trib will receive a modest steelhead run on a high water spate in Feb/Mar. Other than that you will not see many trout venturing up that creek. Torrey is right. Day in and day out you will see fish in the tribs all winter long provided they have a good base flow like the Oak, the Salmon River, 18 Mile and the Niagara.