New Regulations on New York's SALMON RIVER, effective Oct.1

**LorenWilliams** · 10-27-2008, 01:56 PM

Just fish..as long as you are doing that no one will/should bother you. If you would not do it on the Farmington then don't do it on the SR.

Or (better yet) just don't fish the fly zones. There are 11 miles of much better water downstream.

Technically: you need at least 20 feet of actual tapered fly line and it must be the factor that loads the cast and propels the line. 15 feet of leader max. You may use split shot within 48" of the fly as long as it does not then propel the cast. No idea how they might interpret fishing weighted nymphs..don't care since I do not fish the zoos. Give me fresh unadulterated steelhead that act as they should. I can only imagine what "creative" rigs will get employed up there this year.

Two of us fought for either shutting down the zone or going 100% no weight aside from the fly line. It is great water for fishing on the swing and dangle...but to get players there guys need fish that are not getting lead poisoning.

**AaronJasper** · 10-27-2008, 05:11 PM

[quote author=LorenWilliams link=topic=2078.msg14714#msg14714 date=1225130200]
Just fish..as long as you are doing that no one will/should bother you. If you would not do it on the Farmington then don't do it on the SR. [/quote]

This I do agree with. If you do not use four pounds of weight and wing it out at the Farmington then don't do it there. This is regardless of whether or not you are fishing in the fly zones or not. Also, I don't know anywhere you fish for trout with four foot leaders either.

**Nymphmeister** · 10-27-2008, 10:22 PM

Spoke with Fran Verdoliva today (he's the Salmon River area coordinator for the NY DEC), and he said 99% of anglers are obeying the new regs in the FF areas there. The few that aren't are mostly people that aren't really fly fishermen, but rather are snaggers who want to fish in the fly zones, and are bitching about not being able to use running lines & super heavy weights/slinkies. Fran has used all methods over the years, including spinning, spey, indicator, running lines & centerpinning, and he said he had nothing personally against running lines, but that it had gotten out of hand over the years in the 2 FF areas and some people were really abusing the method rather than using it as a legitimate rig. He also said the new regs seem to be attracting a lot of people there who never fished it before. Split shot & indicator rigs are allowed and currently popular in the FF areas, and as long as you can cast it with the LINE propelling your rigs rather than vice versa, you will be fine. At present, they are basically making a daily presence in the FF zones & educating anglers as necessary.

**Nymphmeister** · 11-20-2008, 12:13 AM

After my recent trip, I'm happy to report that everyone I saw in the fly area appeared to be complying with the new regs, and nobody was complaining. And fish were being caught! I was afraid a "castable" amount of weight wouldn't allow me to get my fly down to the fish, but my fears were unfounded and I hooked plenty of fish, never using more than one Dinsmore SSG shot- a weight I can both overhead & roll cast, making it quite legal. It seems like the new regs have weeded out the jerks and are attracting a better class of fisherman. Never thought I'd see this day up there! And combined with the vastly improved runs of Steelhead & Browns, I'm quite optimistic about the future of the fishery. ;D

**Nymphmeister** · 11-20-2008, 09:28 PM

FYI- checked the weight in grams of the tin Dinsmore SSG shot, and they are 1.6 grams, which is equal to 4 tin BB shot at .4 grams each. AAA shot are .8 grams, and AB are .6 grams. Those 4 sizes would cover all your split shot needs on the Salmon River.

Even in a flow of 1,150cfs I had no problem whatsoever getting down with 1 SSG, and in fact there were plenty of spots where I didn't even need that much.

**Dave** · 11-21-2008, 02:44 AM

Great news, I'm relieved to hear this Torrey. Nice to know that better techniques are being employed, and that our fish are being better taken care of. Thanks for the splitshot measurements/equalities, this should help us in using as little weight as possible. 1,150 is a median value from what I've observed last year, so if you can get away with not much problems getting your fly in the zone, then that is great news. Winter flows often vary, obviously from runoff, but average seems to be in the 1000 + cfs area. With a good storm, flows will push up to 2000 easily, and without could even sink down to 750 or even 500. But, from reports, it seems that a good flow will be maintained on the SR throughout this fall and winter without too much fluctuation. Come spring runoff, 3000, and I'm sure much, much more depending on precipitation. I'm still thankful that we got perfect flows for last April 1 ;D ;D ;D My fingers are crossed for this year!

**Nymphmeister** · 11-21-2008, 08:41 PM

Typical flows on the Salmon River (in my experience) are between 335 and 750cfs, although it's not uncommon for rainfall to push it up well over 1,000. Of course, the higher the flow the closer to the bank the Steelhead push, so ironically sometimes you are using less weight in some spots during high water.