Salmon River - PRE-Opening Day with my kids

alanb_ct · 04-18-2008, 03:42 PM

This week, on Tuesday evening and today (Friday) morning, I fished the Salmon River with my kids.

Today was crowded at the Covered Bridge:

and by the handicapped ramps:

It was hard to find a spot for the kids to stand and flip the nymph upstream. I had them rigged with foam indicators and only about 15 feet of line out. Their casting is more than adequate to catch fish. I don't really blame anyone for not giving us a little space to cast, but boy-oh-boy it was real combat fishing. I had the kids wear glasses to protect their eyes from flying streamers!

Anyway, it is what it is, and I understand that completely. NO PROBLEM.

To get some air, we moved to another area I know that contains smaller water. We hooked up frequenctly using cased caddis, caddis larva, stoneflies and smaller stuff. All together, we caught about 10, 3 browns, 3 rainbows, 2 brookies and a few salmon (really thin).

Today we were downstream when they stocked. I knew they had stocked because a half hour later, this dead brute floated by:

What a grotesque sight! Here is the mounted-on-the-wall shot:

Poor thing.

Tomorrow will be some real carnage on this river. It is LOADED with fish.

**Brown_Trout** · 04-18-2008, 04:48 PM

Nice Photos. The last pic. is one ugly trout I ever seen.

**pipelayer** · 04-18-2008, 07:26 PM

Nice report with the family. I'm waiting for the fish in the last pic to start singing like "travis the trout".

**AaronJasper** · 04-18-2008, 11:40 PM

The trout looks like it came from the Pequest Trout Hatchery.

**Magnet** · 04-19-2008, 01:32 AM

Great day Alain with you and your kids. It just doesn't get any better than that !

**TroutAholic** · 04-19-2008, 11:07 AM

Hi Alain,

Yeah it sure was crowded, wasn't it? Flash and I kept an eye out for you, but did not see you. Glad your girls caught some fish!

We did ok, at least until the buses unloaded. Around 8:30 in the morning we were able to fish from immediately above the Handicap pool all the way upstream about a half mile without running into anyone. Caught some nice fish too, several were from 17 inches up to 19. Lost a few nice ones too. After the stocking truck came through, I hooked one of the big breeders just a little ways above the dam, a big rainbow. This crazy fish tore off all the way across the river, then headed downstream. I could not turn him and he actually went over the dam! I managed to chase him down into the next run (nice having spikes!) where he finally got my leader under a big rock, snagging the top fly and broke me off.

By noon time it was like fishing in Times Square on New Years Eve (well not quite, but close!). I can't imagine what it is like this morning.

Steve

**bassrag** · 04-19-2008, 11:59 AM

The Salmon River Anglers Assoc. assisted the state in stocking the river on Friday.Even as we started to drag the release buckets up and down stream the anglers were coming in behind us. Saw more than 1 angler not obeying the rules about FFO vs other types of fishing.As I was walking upstream to escape the crowds I came across a nice brown that someone caught in the FFO with a wire running thru its gills and hidden under a rock in the stream bank. I let it go and I home the CO finds that (sportsman)#*@+ on his next try at breaking the rules.

alanb_ct · 04-19-2008, 12:24 PM

Bassrag: that's despicable behavior, but I believe that it happens. I have fished there 4 times so far. What I enjoy most is fishing away from the obvious stocking areas. It is interesting how the fish spread themselves out and find holding water. Nymphing that holding water has been fun, and the fish don't seem to behave so much like fresh stockies. Thank you for your efforts on behalf of this river. It's only 30 miles from my home and has been a good experience this year.