Going Solo on the Salmon

Here it is, Nov. and time to think steelhead! Once again Rob and I have a trip booked for the Salmon River in N.Y. I can’t wait to head out and see what happens this year.

The last trip to Pulaski was interesting. Lisa and I headed up for what was to be her first trip to Pulaski. It was the busiest and craziest weekend I have ever seen. Just as I pulled off the highway I knew something was terribly different judging from the amount of traffic that was in town. The weather was nice – almost too nice with temperatures in the high 70’s to low 80’s. The water was way low with 450cfs and warm. These conditions were a perfect combination for fishing. There were guys all over the place and I told Lisa I had never seen it that mad crazy before.

Something else happened that we weren’t prepared for  which was our guide could not make the trip we had scheduled. There was a very sad tragedy that his family had to deal with. We were 15 minutes out of Pulaski when we received the call and while he was still willing to come on up, Lisa and I were adament that he not. We were grateful that he was concerned about our trip and our fishing experience but, as Lisa put it, “Time to put on your big girl panties, Mary and show me around the river.” Good thing it was dark ‘cause she could not see the look of “holy shit what are we gonna do now??” that was on my face.

So after the initial shock that we were solo I took inventory of our fishing gear late that night. Pickings were limited because we were planning on the guide taking care of all that "stuff". But I had enought equipment that I put together some leaders for Lisa, found my strike indicators and got her rigged up for some right angle high stick work. Not sure why but I even brought an assortment of flies and some spare rods. So all in all we lucked out and weren't totally caught with our pants down.I gave her a quick “how to” on high sticking and that was all the time we had. It was a short  night for sleep and the 5am alarm to get up and go to the Douglaston Salmon Run (DSR) was brutal. Lisa was psyched. Me? Holy shit. How was this going to work out?!

Down at the DSR we geared up using the light from the car. Yeah, didn’t pack any headlamps or so it took us a while. The parking lot was crowded and guys were all over the place getting ready or already standing in line ready to charge to the river.  Eventrually we headed to The Flats which was already packed. Joss Hole was not packed....yet. We made our first stop there and I started to teach Lisa how to high stick. She took to it quite easily but as the crowd started to build neither one of us wanted to stay. She fishes like I do – on the move and avoiding too many people.

All day Saturday I walked her all over the lower portion of the river trying for different spots while looking for faster water. We walked up, down, over here,over there you name it.  We saw plenty of fish but they were on the move. And unless you were lucky enough to have planted yourself at a deeper pocket and never moved you were lucky. I have never seen as many salmon moving up the river as I did that weekend. It was really cool to take a break and just watch those big fish blast up the skinny water. I think I might have overdone it because Sunday morning I thought Lisa was dead – she just kept on sleeping.

Sunday was a repeat and we were a bit better prepared for the day. I showed her Altmar where it was really,really, crazy, drove along the river by Ellis Cove where cars were jammed not only in the parking lot but also in the street.  We stopped at Compactor Pool but some of the guys there were creepy and neither one of us felt welcome so we headed back to the DSR.

Sunday was another long day; the river was just as packed but we still had a good time. No, scratch that. We had a fantastic time. Lisa is hooked and would like to return so we are considering the possibilty of a trip in Feb.

It looks like I have also created a monster. Last Saturday Lisa and I met at the Farmington for some fall fishing. She had mentioned that she would like to learn how to use a two handed rod so that is what we did for part of the afternoon. Last night I got a text message from her saying she told her husband she would soon be looking for a two handed rod. She said "he didn’t  say no” which in her mind (and I agree) means YES and that he just keeps shaking his head when he sees her walking around the house air casting. With any luck she will meet up with Jerry Jahn and Fred Krowchenko on the river next Sunday.

As for my next trip? Well, we certainly are looking forward to it. The weather should be good and hopefully no whiteout conditions like last year will appear. The water is still low but what the heck can you do about that? Nothing.

Getting Ready for Steelhead

I would imagine that some folk mark the passage of time with the fall or spring equinox. If so, I would imagine that they are also aware of the spring or summer solstice. For fishermen the cooler days of fall usually mean changing to streamers and such as one continues to fish during the days that keep getting shorter and shorter.

While I am well aware of the ever changing path of the sun's journey across the sky, I am also looking forward to October. Why October? For me, October marks the first of my steelhead trips up to the Salmon River in N.Y. This year I have dates in Oct., Nov. and Dec. Still working on Jan., Feb., March and April as I would like to get up there once a month.

The preparations for this first trip have been underway for the last year. How is that possible? Well, that is how long I have been learning and practicing the art of Skagit casting. Not only Skagit but Scandi as well.

I have two of the best instructors around with Fred Krowchenko and Jerry Jahn. Under their careful eye I have learned cack handed casting, river right, river left, Perry Pokes, Circle C, and countless others. I have even learned some new casting techniques like the, "Do what cast?" or as I call it, "Badda-boom-badda-bing" and that cast is just that! It's a three step process that sails your fly right across the water and into the fishing channel of your choice. Badda-boom you're in! These two characters are amazing with their knowledge about two handed casting. I kid them about looking for a way to download all their experience onto a thumb drive and then into me! We have spent many Sat. and Sun. hours on the river just casting, no fishing, just casting. Then during the week I would fish, applying what I had learned to the changing water level and speed of the river. It has been an amazing year with these two.

Scandi casting with my Dec Hogan 11'9", 4wt. kept me going all summer with wet flies. I have never landed as many fish as I did this year. It was great. At the end of summer it was time to make the transition to the heavier rod that I use for steelies, for that I have a TFO Deek Creek 5/6wt. 12'6". She is a sweet rod and perhaps one of my favorites. So with the trip date coming in fast I had started to get out to practice with the heavier sink tips, as it was time to adjust my timing to the tips and bigger flies. The only problem has been getting out to practice because the Farmington has been high and fast ever since Irene came into town. I have been able to get out only once or twice. Yikes. This weekend was a no go as well since the rain of last week has pretty much made the river unfishable.

So today I plan on tying up some flies to replace what I used this summer. I have also taken out my suitcase and started getting "stuff" together for my two day adventure with Lisa. Lisa and I met in May during Up Country's fly fishing day for gals and we hit it off pretty quick. We got together to fish several times this summer and on one of those trips I got to talking about Pulaski. The next thing I know we are planning the trip and preparations are made for one hell of a time. As I have told her, I think there will be a good story posted on this blog about our adventures!

Two weeks from today and we will be out on the Salmon River. Here's hoping for some much cooler temps and plenty of fish.

Hurricane Irene rains down on the Farmington River

My husband and I took a short drive up to New Hartford to see how the Farmington was holding up. That area got clobbered with rain yesterday from Hurrican Irene and the river shows it. At the time we went up the flow rate was over 11,000cfs. I had plans to spend my last day before school starts tomorrow fishing, but I think you will agree that my plans have changed! The picture below is taken from the bridge in New Hartford center and looking back to the town hall.

This is the infamous Church Pool. I was only on the bridge for a short time because it was vibrating from all the water rushing by it. The sound was also amazing. This next shot is looking upriver from Church Pool.

This is looking up to Whittemore's just down from the People's State Forest and campground.

This is looking down from the Callahan Park in New Hartford at the bridge where people usually park and fish from.

Today the skies are bright blue and there is not a cloud in the sky. The air has dried out and the temperature is in the 60's. The flow rate has dropped considerably since yesterday but I can only imagine the changes to the river from all this water.