Bill with just a few of the fish we landed. Bill's best day ever. Congrats! ( All fish Released )

Salmon River Pulaski NY Jan. 1 Steelhead Fishing Report:

Even though Im on vacation, I wanted to share with all of you what happened today in a 2 hour period while fishing the lower river. Looked over the short bridge for slush and was happy to see that it was clearing up. I met Ray at 10 A.M. in the D.S.R. parking lot and broke trail to the stairs. Noticed that a number of deer and turkey had already packed the snow down for us.

Went directly to some prime Chrome real estate and on my 3rd cast with an orange egg sack on 6lb. test tippet my line stopped in the middle of the drift and the rod began to shake. Hhhmmm- I wonder what this means. Turns out it was a very bright, fresh, Steelhead of about 8 lb's. Ray missed one and I hit nothing for the next half hour with eggs, noticed fish porpasing in the hole as will as fish rolling off our main line. We left for the --- hole.

-

As we walked across the river we noticed the water was a bit deeper and running a tad faster than a normal 285 cfs. Due to the shelf ice on the edges of the river and anchor ice on the bottom the water flow was actually being concentrated or compressed.( Please keep this in mind when wading the lower river) Another safety tip to remember is that beneath the shelf ice that you are standing on, it could be knee deep or deeper, so it pays to know your water. Ray who is pictured above is on shelf ice that is over thigh deep water.

At the edge of the ice it's over your waist. How do I know? ( We will save that story for another time!)

-

With-in a couple of the first few cast's I had another one on. This one again was so bright that I was glad I had my sunglasses on to keep the suns reflection off the silvery sides of the steelhead from blinding me. The biggest problem we had (if you can call it that) was how to land a fish when you were restricted from approaching the edge of the shelf ice. Nether of us carried a net so we finally broke away at the ice in the tail so that we might have a shot at landing one.

-

After a I hooked a couple more, Ray asked what pound test I was using. Turns out that Ray was fishing a little heavier than me and when he dropped down on his 3rd cast his rod went a shaking!

-

Ray lands an 8 lb. male with a nice hooked jaw. (Fish was released) Ray got his on a pink egg sack.

-

From the -- Hole down it's locked up tight with shelf ice and unfishable.

-

It always pays to experiment with all aspects of you rigging, egg sack colors, flies, etc. Orange and Pink were the productive colors of our egg sacks today. I could not get a touch on the normally productive blue goo.

-

By noon, the sun was out and it had warmed to what seemed to be the warmest it's been in a month. (30 degrees ?) We were both actually over dressed for these temp's, if you can believe that. It was interesting that as the temp's rose, so did the amount of anchor ice floating on the surface of the water. It made the fishing impossible so we both left after 2 hours of fishing and the knowledge we had gained. In 2 hours and 2 holes fished, I had 6 fish on and could of landed 4 with a net.. I'm not bragging, but this is what you can expect when you time it just right and the fish gods smile upon you.

Stay tuned,

Randy

-

1/24 Salmon River Pulaski NY Steelhead Drift Boat Guide Fishing Report:

Our main goal today was to learn all the prime holding waters of the D.S.R. (Lower River). After we hit our 3rd fish in a row out of a small depression in the bottom of the river, I told Andy that since he wanted to learn all the holes we should leave this spot. He changed his mind real quick and decided a few more fish would be an O.K. exchange for learning a few more holes. So we stayed and hooked up another real quick. (He-he) and then it was off for more fun and excitement.

Today we fished hard, only hitting the most productive lies in 285 cfs.

Very light fishing pressure. Did notice a big lack of fish in this area compared to the month of Dec. Most fish have pushed out, up river with a few freshies trickling in daily.

Andy and I had a blast having almost the entire river to ourselves. Not only did Andy learn a lot, but also got into some reeeeeeel burners, too!

-

Andy works the lil -- hole down to -- and is 3 for 6 for the day. All dime bright freshies! ( All fish Released )

-

1/25 Salmon River NY Steelhead Drift Boat Guide Fishing Report:

Same ol same hole - nothing has changed from the last few post's. The fish ( Steelhead 8-12 lb's) are in and waiting for you. Middle to lower river holding the most. D.S.R. has cooled off.

Come on up and join us, wont you?

-

Guest Steelhead Fishing Testimonial:

Randy,

Thank you for a truly great outing. Basically, I knew nothing about the river - in previous trips would usually end up somewhere in Altmar, following other fishermen around like a sheep. Now, I feel confident that I can approach the river with a strategy and a technique that will at least afford me the opportunity to identify and access "fishy" water and present my fly to fish for as long and as naturally as possible. Additionally, we studied numerous slots and runs that I never would've even considered stumbling around on my own. As I learned, it really is as precise as fitting a key into a lock.

-

I cannot stress enough how invaluable this experience was, from the standpoint of a guy that lives a couple hours away, and simply cannot devote the time necessary to develop on my own a comfort level with such a complex fishery.

I hope you will be able to find some room for me in March...I promise it will take me less than half a day to figure out that "straight out in front of you" means straight out in front of me.

-

By the way, I think I pulled my hamstring sprinting after that last fish. Thanks again.

Andy (See 1/24 Report)

*******************************************

Fly Fishing in Salt Waters magazine excerpts:

Size Counts!

When working the Northeast Surf - Flats, Two Hands Are Better Than One

( Check it out, Lefty K. and I were both interviewed for this lil nugget)

********************************************

Look for my "Go To" fly in the May issue of Fly Fishing in Salt Waters magazine.

This 25 lb. , 40 inch Bass ate it good!

Bob Funk of Mustad Hooks-Size 4 #34009 Mustad

Sand Lance Pattern

Biggest Striper on a fly for Bob

Done