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Posts Tagged ‘Guided Salmon Fishing’

Salmon Season Is Here

Posted in Reports, tagged , , , , , , on September 13, 2022| Leave a Comment »

A tell tale sign salmon season has started is when you see the guys “fishing” from the route 3 bridge. They have been there for around a week now so you know it’s time.

The majority of the fish are still staging in the lake from the shore line to 100 feet of water. The lake fishing has been on fire most days. There are new fish entering the Salmon River each day and it won’t be long before the big pushes of fish start.

My salmon season is fully booked with the exception of a couple week days I could do evening trips. If you are looking for a week day trip from 4 to 10 give me a call and we will try to get you on the water. I do know a few guides who still have some day time trips available. I will gladly set you up with one of them if you would like.

Steelhead season is getting booked up quick so if you want a 2022 steelhead date you need to call as soon as possible.

I am starting to book ice fishing dates as well. I will be offering perch and pike trips as well as walleye trips this year. All equipment is provided.

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Salmom Fishing Report 10/17/21

Posted in Reports, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 17, 2021| 1 Comment »

Fish fish fish. There are fish everywhere. With the massive amount of rain that has fallen the last two days this will include all the small streams.

Up until today the larger rivers held all the fish. That is unless you wanted to chase a few around with their backs out of the water. Some unethical anglers have been doing exactly that but they won’t be able to now. Every stream in the area is running at good levels to support fish and fishing.

This season has had its ups and downs but the cold rain over the last two days is exactly what we needed. The water temps should be dropping after a warmer than normal start to the season. This will get the kings snapping. It will also draw steelhead and brown trout in from the lake.

With good numbers of salmon still in the river there is plenty time to get in on the action. If you want to fish small streams now is the time. Dont miss out on fresh fish and good water.

If you are looking for steelhead I would concentrate on the lower half of the river. I do have steelhead dates open in December. December is my favorite month to fish for steelhead as the crowds finally start to thin.

Here are a few pictures from this season

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What a season..

Posted in Reports, Stories, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 26, 2020| 1 Comment »

Salmon season has come to an end and what a season it was. With a horribly dry summer we found ourselves facing very low water conditions. How’s that old saying go? When life gives you lemons make bull frogs or something like that.

I have to give a huge thank you to all my awesome customers. You are the reason I do what I do. In less than ideal conditions everyone was more than willing to change things up which equalled smiling faces and fish in the net. Some days where better than others but everyone was happy.

Another thank you to those who have already booked next year’s trips or steelhead trips. It’s a great feeling having most of your next season booked as this season is ending. That being said if you want to salmon fish with me next year I wouldn’t wait too long to start planning.

With the low water I never fished the Salmon River this fall. I stayed on the lake as much as possible and fished other locations when I couldn’t get on the lake. Next weekend that changes and I will be steelheading on the Salmon River come hell or low water. The reservoir is slowly filling and I expect 335 cfs base flow to return in the near future as long as it keeps raining. My Smithfly raft floats no problem at 185 cfs so I am not concerned either way.

Steelhead season is looking like it is going to be a good one. Some very nice steelhead have been caught already along with some impressive brown trout. I do have a couple December dates open that I would like to fill if anyone is interested give me a call.

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My First Guide Trip

Posted in Stories, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 17, 2017| Leave a Comment »

It was a cool fall morning when we launched the boats in the dark.  This was my first time rowing down the river in the dark and to say I was nervous would be an understatement. I wasn’t going to let me first ever customers know that though. I was lucky enough to have a veteran guide let me follow him down river.  We were the first ones in the river so we had our choice of spots.

At 5:15 am we dropped anchor at tail of the School House Pool. We only had about a hour and a half to sit in the dark and wait for legal fishing hours.  We hadn’t been sitting there 5 minutes when one of my guests cracked his first beer.  They had brought a 30 pack with them so this had me concerned.  I started rigging up the plug rods we would put out at daylight. Once the plug rods were set I made sure our bottom bouncing rods were ready then I drank my coffee while they drank their beer.

When I put out the plug rods at day light there were at least 6 empty beer cans in the bottom of the boat and fish all around us. I was praying we would hit a few fish on the plugs and get them to the net first thing. That was not the case. We had 3 hard hits that doubled the rod over but never hooked up. At that time you couldn’t run bead chains unless you had a special lures permit and being new I didn’t have one.

Now it was plenty light out and we could see the fish constantly moving through the current around us. You could also now see at least 10 empty beer cans in the front of the boat. I pulled in the plug rods and hand them the bottom bouncers. I am not going to lie and tell you we were trying to get the fish to bite. We were trying to line them just like almost everyone else on the river at that time.  I explained to them how to cast just up stream of the fish so as not to spook them and then drift the line back into them. They kept casting right at the fish. I would tell them to cast ahead of the fish and they would cast way upstream and get snagged. I retied and they cast directly at the fish again. I was in trouble and I knew it. After about 2 hours of this and a few more beers the fish were gone and it was time to pull anchor.

When we dropped anchor again there were about 50 in the current right along side the boat. I though we were safe because it was a bit deeper water so they could get away with casting a little too far upstream. They were having trouble seeing the fish so their casts were even farther off target. It seemed no matter what I told them they did the opposite. It wasn’t long before another guide came through saw the fish and purposely splashed his oars through the hole sending them fleeing. I was not happy and never forgot this moment. I didn’t say a word as I was the new guy on the river and I had customers with me. I let them cast for a few more minutes while I regrouped and made a plan. I knew something had to change if I was going to get these guys at least one fish.

We made a big move down stream where I could pull plugs in some deeper water. I knew this was our only chance as they were never going to get one casting.  We fished through the first hole with out a strike. There were a few shots from a liquor bottle taken though. As I was setting rods in the second hole I noticed there were at least 20 empty beer cans in the bottom of the boat. I could tell the guys were far from sober. The second hole was money or at least it should have been. I watched the right rod double over and saw the fish thrashing on the surface. As I yelled “right rod right rod right rod” I rowed upstream as hard as I could to keep the line tight. Of course both guys tried to grab the left rod. By the time they got to the right rod the fish got slack line and came off.

There was only one spot left to try plugging before the boat launch. It was now or never and I was far from optimistic. I put the lures out again and started working them in the current. We were almost to the tail of the pool when the middle rod slammed down into the bow of the boat. I pulled hard on the oars and yelled “middle rod get it and reel”. I told them in the beginning you don’t have to set the hook, the fish will do it for you, just keep the line tight.  When he grabbed the rod out of the holder not only did he set the hook like Bill Dance but he dropped the rod right back down giving the fish the slack it needed. The fish was gone and so was all hope of saving the day.

Back at the lodge they told a bit different story to the owner who they had booked the trip through. They were not happy to pay all that money and not catch a fish. I was given the chance to tell my side  of the story when I stopped in later that evening. I learned a lot in that first trip. First and foremost I needed a special lure permit. Second there would be a limit on how much alcohol was allowed on my boat from there on out. This was when I decided if someone is just looking to catch a buzz they can hire someone else.

 

 

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Salmon Fishing Black River Dexter, New York

Posted in Tips and Tricks, tagged , , , , , on December 2, 2012| 2 Comments »

The Black River in Dexter, New York is a great Salmon fishery that is not all that well know. The majority of the fisherman that come to Upstate New York looking to fish for Salmon stay in the Pulaski area. This makes the Black River out of the way. There are multiple other rivers and streams between Pulaski and Dexter that people will stop and fish never making it all the way to the Black River.

The other problem with the Black River in Dexter, NY is that it is best fished from a boat. There is good public access however the access doesn’t offer the best fishing depending on water conditions. If the water is low there are multiple areas an angler can get into with waders. Use extreme caution when wading on the Black River as there are many drop offs and you could go from waist high water to over your head in one step.

When the water is up fishing from a boat is best. Many will bring their own boats and fish below the bridge. If you know the water you can get above the bridge with a motor boat but there are many large rocks and it is easy to damage a motor in a hurry. A drift boat by far the best way to fish this section of the river. The drift boat allows you to cover a lot of water when fishing plugs. It also allows you get in the best position to drift bait or cast lures into the many different currents.  The dam in Dexter, NY has 5 different places that water flows out of it. This creates many different current breaks where the flows of water meet. Anchoring the drift boat in different places and fishing each of them from different angles gives you the biggest advantage when fishing the Black River.

Salmon fishing on the Black River starts in September. If we have a wet summer it will be early September and a dry summer will cause the run to start more towards the end of the month.  September is a great time to fish at night for these monster fish. If you are going to fish at night on the Black River at this time of year make sure you stay below the bridge as it is illegal to fish above the bridge at night. The best way to catch Salmon at night is by casting lures such as Hot n Tots or Rapalas from a boat or from shore. There is a public boat launch on the downstream side of the bridge right in Dexter, NY. This boat launch is free to use and offers a place to put a boat in or a place to cast from shore.  When the fishing is hot you will see multiple boats anchored and casting lures at night.

During the day there is public access on the up stream side of the bridge. You can park by the Fire Department and walk down the bank right above the bridge. This is a great place for casting lures or for drifting bait under a float. There a multiple rock piles in the area so bottom bouncing is can be tough and you will most likely lose a lot of gear. If you get hung up casting a floating plug you can let the line go slack and it will normally come lose and float back towards the surface.  This is also a good place for landing big fish as there is nice slow water along the shore by the bridge making landing the fish easier.

A second public access point is found if you drive past the fire department and across a small bridge. You will see a small parking lot with a concrete wall that many people will be fishing from. This is generally a snagging area. You will see very few people actually fishing here. However if you walk down along the rocks there is a stretch right on the water where you can fish. This area will also be full of snaggers at times. Again another reason why this area is best fished from a drift boat. This area is good for both bottom bouncing and float fishing. Casting floating lures is another good option in this area too. The down stream corner of this access point allows you to fish where 2 currents come together and is normally the most productive area to fish. It can get crowded when the fishing is hot so I recommend getting there early to get a spot.

If you are looking for a new place to fish for Salmon the Black River in Dexter, New York is a great option. There is a good run of Salmon every year and there is good easy to get to public access. It may be a bit of a drive from Pulaski, New York but it will be worth the while. If you would like to fish from a drift boat contact me at  www.wayneosguideservice.com  to set up a trip.

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