This is not to be confused with having an actual run of salmon. All that is happening is the numbers of salmon that are trickling in, is increasing. The good news is that the numbers of salmon staging in the estuary is sharply increased over the last few days. Looks like our first major run of salmon may happen very soon. However the decision when to run is still up to the fish. We are way overdue for our first serious push of salmon. For now we have been fishing in the lower fly zone. This is where we have been finding the most consistent fishing. Here we are finding a few salmon setting in the pools a long with a few steelheads.

Every fall has its challenges; this fall it will be the late runs of salmon. Along with the challenges of fall, there are also a few surprises that happen every fall. This year the big surprise is the large number of steelhead that is running early this year. In a normal September we will normally see a few– Three or four steelhead in the net. This fall it is not unusual to land 2 or 3 steelhead of day. It almost seems that there is Over the past week the salmon fishing has ever so slowly improve. more steelhead in the river than salmon at this time. I know this will not last for long, once the salmon start to run. However until then it is refreshing to see all the steelhead around. Hopefully this is a good sign of things to come.

Even though we have not seen any rain this week. Water flow remains study at 335 CFS. Hopefully next week will bring some wet weather so, At least we can maintain the present water flow. Water temperatures are ideal, holding around the upper 50s to the lower 60 degrees. It is certainly not the water temperature that’s holding back the salmon.

For flies, we are starting to see a pattern developing when it comes to  flies. The brown-copper and Black Willy burgers are taking their share of both salmon and steelhead. However the steelhead are showing a strong preference for egg patterns and stonefly nymphs. Even though there is no spawning activity, the steelheads still seem to respond well to egg patterns. Especially first thing in the morning, before the light gets on the pool

Note;

I still have prime dates available for salmon fishing, In October the days are 5,7,8 and mid October16,17,18,21,24,25 for steelhead fishing.  Anyone that has any questions, Feel free to give me a call at your convenience cell is 585-233-0436

Looks like the salmon are starting to move finally. We have seen more of a study trickle over the last few days. However do not mistake this for an actual run of salmon, yet. What we are seeing is Salmon running in singles and doubles first thing in the morning. In a good morning this activity will go well into the afternoon. But this is only happened a couple of times this week. At this point the salmon run is running way behind schedule. As I said many times this can change dramatically and quickly. When the salmon finally do run, the run will be intense. It is just a matter of time, happen any time.

Water flows are staying steady for now at 335 CFS. This is the fall minimum flow. An increase in water flow will help the fishing a lot at this point. We will have to see what we have in store for rain going forward. Until the pass of the run picks up I am still fishing down river in the AM and fishing the fly zones in the PM. The fishing in the upper fly zone has steadily increased, as the numbers of salmon slowly increase in the upper river. The big challenge fishing here is that the fish are more reluctant to grab a fly at this time, than down river. But with the growing numbers of salmon, this will help the problem. We have found our best presentation for salmon has been either too dead drift the heads of the pools or swing the flying as slowly as we can, however steelhead will grab the slow presentation as well. Fortunately there is a large population of steelhead in the fly zones, for this time of the year. That is not to say that we do have a lot of steelhead around.

As for flies, I have been having my best success with the standard woolly buggers. In brown, black, olive. For size most of the fish have been taken size 6. We have also had success fishing size 8 and size 6 Black stoneflies in the fly zones.

Note;

I still have prime dates available for salmon fishing, In October the days are 1,2,5,7,8,9 and mid October16,17,18,21,24, for steelhead fishing.  Anyone that has any questions, Feel free to give me a call at your convenience cell is 585-233-0436

Looks like we are having a normal start to the salmon season. We quickly got used to the early runs of salmon that we experienced over the last two seasons.  I suspect we will see an improvement in the numbers of fish this coming week. Over the last few days, I had seen a slow but steady increase in fish activities. It looks like the legacy of this past winter is still hanging on. According to the biologist. The salmon that they have examined, that have been caught in the lake, are under mature for this time of the year. Looks like the late spring and cold-water temperatures in the lake have slowed the rate of growth of the salmon. I am still at the opinion that we will have consistent runs of salmon soon. Remember as always when the fishing conditions do change, the changes will happen quickly.

Until then I am staying with my normal program fishing Lower River in the morning, for the Chinook salmon and then in the afternoon fishing the upper fly-fishing zone for steelhead or a Atlantic salmon. There is a small but growing number of Chinook salmon holding in the upper fly zone, however they are for the most part reluctant to grab a fly. This is nothing unusual, but with some persistence we are able to occasionally get one or two of these salmon to grab a fly.

For flies, down river we are using small intruders and various streamers. What is important is that the fly is not too bright and still able to get the fishes attention. Covering water is more import right now than the fly pattern. We need to find a fish that wants to grab the fly. Up river is a different story, we are having the best success fishing size 6 or a size 8 Brown and copper woolly bugger. Hear too it is important to cover as much water as possible to find a fish that wants to eat a fly.

Note;

I still have prime dates available for salmon fishing, In October the days are 1,2,5,6,7,8,9 and mid October 18,21,22,24,25 for steelhead fishing.  Anyone that has any questions, Feel free to give me a call at your convenience cell is 585-233-0436

We are still waiting for our first significant run of salmon of the fall.  It is still early yet, and there is no reason for concern. As of now there has been small trickles of fish entering the river almost daily. What I call by small trickle is maybe a dozen or two individual fish. So we are still fishing for a fish of tow. We did have some hot whether late last week, which caused water to temperatures to spike. This put a stop to any salmon from coming in to the river, and dramatically slowed the fishing in the upper fly zone.  Fortunately the recent warm weather did not last long. Water temperatures have cooled off significantly. Hopefully we will see a strong run of salmon soon.  The reports coming from the lake is saying that the salmon are slowly moving into shallower water. Only time will tell when we get our first significant run. Until then we continue to fish the lower river in the morning, looking for a salmon. Then finishing out the day in the upper river looking for a summer run steelhead or possibly Atlantic salmon.

For flies it is obviously still too early to determine if there is any pattern yet. The salmon and steelhead we did get were caught with the standard stuff, black and brown size 6 and 4 woolly buggers. What is more important than the fly is that we cover as much water as possible, upping the ads that we find a fish. Also as always concentrating on making a proper presentation. You do not want to unknowingly walk past active fish while making a poor presentation.

Because the numbers of fish that are coming into the river at this time are so low, forcing us to cover a lot of water to find the next pod of fish. I have found the best presentation is to swing flies. This style of fishing easily lends itself to efficiently covering a lot of water while making an excellent presentation. Once again this is why I like fishing woolly buggers, you just can’t make a bed presentation with this fly.

Note;

I still have prime dates available for salmon fishing, In September, 14,15,16,25,30 and early October Salmon fishing and mid October steelhead fishing.  Anyone that has any questions, Feel free to give me a call at your convenience cell is 585-233-0436

About the only then that you can count on is, every fall is going to be different. This fall is going to be no exception. Looks like the early runs are not going to be that early. Been on the Salmon River over the weekend. Found a few Salmon moving, but no run of fish yet. We are fishing throw a lot of water to find a fish, nothing new for this stage of the run. This is my favorite time of the fall, there’s not a lot of Fish but neither is there a lot of fishermen around too. At this point you’re hoping for a fish or two and enjoying a peaceful river. Keep in mind we are now back to fishing the tributaries. If I have sad this once I have sad it 1000 times, conditions can and do change quickly. This means you could see a run of salmon any time. Water flows and temperatures are adequate in the Salmon River at this time. In the lake salmon are moving into shallow water. For now we will work the river in the morning down river for a salmon and in the afternoon work the upper river for a summer run steelhead or an Atlantic salmon. We have head a few of these fish run the river over the past few weeks, we do get few fish run the river in late August early September.  For the most part these fish have been hanging out in the upper river for most of the summer. So here too we must fish through a lot of water to find a fish that wants to eat a fly.

For flies it is obviously still too early to determine if there is any pattern yet. The salmon and steelhead we did get were caught with the standard stuff black and brown size 4 woolly buggers.

Note;

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I still have prime dates available for salmon fishing, In September, 14,15,16,25,30 and early October Salmon fishing and mid October steelhead fishing.  Anyone that has any questions, Feel free to give me a call at your convenience cell is 585-233-0436