Salmon River

[diplomat019]

I’ll be heading up to the salmon River with a couple friends towards the end of September. It was booked last minute and it seems like most guides are booked up already. From what we gathered it’s kind of a tricky time where the salmon still might be in the lake pending on the temps.  But we’ve committed to fishing the river. I’ve already gathered a bunch a good info and I know we might be dealing with some crowds but we’re gonna go for it. Is there anything that people who have gone there would recommend us doing or not doing? Any equipment that is a must?  Its my first time heading up there and I didn’t realize guides filled up that fast. Some guys we spoke to are already booked up for a couple years

[BizCT]

I went every year for many many years. Back in the days of snagging with J Plugs. We always went early October or late September. It was a ton of fun but super crazy. I haven't been up there in maybe 15 years. Have fun! Maybe you can pay to fish the DSR?

[diplomat019]

28 minutes ago, BizCT said:

I went every year for many many years. Back in the days of snagging with J Plugs. We always went early October or late September. It was a ton of fun but super crazy. I haven't been up there in maybe 15 years. Have fun! Maybe you can pay to fish the DSR?

One if the forum members mentioned the douglaston to me.  Im going to look deeper into that.  

[Robhuntandfish]

By the end of Sept they should def be in the river. Esp if we get some rain and the flow is up. You don't need a guide but expect to see quite a few people no matter where you go. Stop at any of the bait shops in Altmar or Pulaski and they will hook you up with gear and regs. I used to fish it a lot but haven't in years. I would always get to my spot in the dark and wait there for daylight to fish. The best fishing was when 6-8 of us would go and basically take a whole pool. Then when one guy hooks up and is fighting a fish when he gets back no one minded being shoulder to shoulder when everyone is together. Best time is during the weekdays if your there then. I'd give you some spots but I haven't been up there in a few years. Used to fish just past Altmar a lot. Was a hotel there off of rte 13 on a road that cut over to 81. Also the trestle pool etc. But got so it wasn't my thing anymore. If you find a spot you like then the next day get there super early then bang out a limit by 9am. I used to walk in the pitch dark with a flashlight, then the minute it was legal light I was casting! The fight is amazing, the wading and amount of people is not. And I gave the salmon away most of the time as I didn't care for it.

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[Robhuntandfish]

Don't need a broom handle rod but a long rod with a good bend to it works best. I had a 7.5 ft rigged with 17lb line that worked great for me. Be mindful of your spool. If you get a real green one and it's in heavy current and headed back to lake Ontario sometimes your better off holding the spool and breaking it off before it spools you. If your going with flies there are several areas that are fly rod only still I believe and it isn't quite so crazy there. If your running egg sacks bring lots of rigs as you'll have a lot of snags. If you run the new braids I would suggest a decent mono leader so you can break off when stuck in the rocks.

When you net one point the net handle in the air so you don't snap the net ring.

It can be a lot of fun.

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[WWJD_Hunter]

I go up there every year and September can be hit or miss depending on the weather. I will highly recommend using light  fishing line because the Salmon up there get mess with and they get line shy. If you go to the Douglaston you have to pay , but you have a better chance of hooking a fresher Salmon.  Good luck   

[diplomat019]

Great information!   I’ll be with two other first timers.  Ill be using a spinning rod since i dont fly fish.   We are camping for the weekend at a campsite near lake Ontario.  
 

 

The Douglaston is booked Saturday and Sunday we are leaving.  But it might be worth it for the morning 

[sbuff]

The trestle and ballpark are my hot spots 

[BizCT]

23 minutes ago, diplomat019 said:

Great information!   I’ll be with two other first timers.  Ill be using a spinning rod since i dont fly fish.   We are camping for the weekend at a campsite near lake Ontario.  
 

 

The Douglaston is booked Saturday and Sunday we are leaving.  But it might be worth it for the morning 

Are you going with Paul Lopic......? If not, reach out to him. I think he still goes every year

[SilentStalker]

I think ensuring that you are tapping the bottom on the drift is imperative. I'd rather be having to re-tie often and be in the game then never be in the game at all by drifitng halfway down the water column. You can learn a lot by wathcing the guys who are consistenly hooking up. I too prefer a lighter line as WWJD stated - like 10lb P-line or Maxima. But there are guys on here that are way more legit than myself, that's just what works for me.

[diplomat019]

27 minutes ago, BizCT said:

Are you going with Paul Lopic......? If not, reach out to him. I think he still goes every year

Hahaha.  No but I am calling him.  Was just talking about him today too. Hes sent me some pics of years past.  

[diplomat019]

3 hours ago, Robhuntandfish said:

Don't need a broom handle rod but a long rod with a good bend to it works best. I had a 7.5 ft rigged with 17lb line that worked great for me. Be mindful of your spool. If you get a real green one and it's in heavy current and headed back to lake Ontario sometimes your better off holding the spool and breaking it off before it spools you. If your going with flies there are several areas that are fly rod only still I believe and it isn't quite so crazy there. If your running egg sacks bring lots of rigs as you'll have a lot of snags. If you run the new braids I would suggest a decent mono leader so you can break off when stuck in the rocks.

When you net one point the net handle in the air so you don't snap the net ring.

It can be a lot of fun.

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Would something like this be good enough for a novice. 
 

 

[Robhuntandfish]

Would something like this be good enough for a novice. 
 
 

What is the line test and capacity of the real?

Personally I would like one a bit shorter for casting and pitching in the holes. But it should prob work. Light action is the most fun but remember you are likely surrounded by others, medium action is prob enough. And the farther they take you up and down the river the less likely you are to land them. I used to use 17lb mono. I know some guys use 10-12 lb but I def wouldn't go lighter than 14lb because of all the rocks and the size of the fish. Be sure it holds at least 150 yards of line. That being said you can use a good braid and get better hooksets but just use a fluorocarbon or mono leader. 14lb braid is like having 30+ #lb test mono so the leader will break first. You can even rig some leaders ahead of time to make it quicker. Something around 7-8 ft is gonna be easier to operate esp if you haven't done it before.

Pin fishing is very popular but your gonna be spending a good amount for one of those rigs and it takes a while to get the feel of it.

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[Robhuntandfish]

Just be sure on the regs out there. A trip to Fat Nancy's tackle shop will get you setup. There used to be regs on the hook gap and how long your leader was from any weight etc. I used to be up on all that but I def am not these days.

My favorite was a 2 or 3 inch curly tail grub on a red gamagatsu hook. I've had big browns come ripping to grab that while salmon fishing.

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[The_Real_TCIII]

Dont argue with the ref


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[diplomat019]

Are people constantly crossing lines?  How do you avoid crossing lines when you’re drifting or is it already known that this is part of the game.  I got to imagine there are arguments happening all day.  

[sbuff]

Boxing gloves are sometimes needed too. 

[Nytracker]

They call it combat fishing for a reason.  Make sure you have glasses. Protect your eyes. 

[jperch]

I used to like going down to the Oswego River, below the dam near the post office.  I don't fish salmon because I don't appreciate them as table fare.  But back then it was the wild west during the run.  I think snagging was legal or tolerated.  (If you know what a "Michigan Cricket" is then you are probably as old as me.) The fishermen were back to back, many from out of state.  Any many of them were well lubricated.  When a salmon was hooked there were crossed lines and lots of colorful language.  I never saw any actual fights but it got close often.  It really was entertaining, I always left in a good mood.  These days it seems a lot tamer and I often see DEC on patrol when I stop by.  No doubt this brings a lot of money into the communities along the lake.  The fishermen/fisherwomen seem to be enjoying themselves.

[Untwisted Pretzel logic]

Haven't fished there in many years. Had good luck behind the bowling alley in town (not sure if it's even there any more or if you can access the river from there). Used an 8' ugly stick and a good reel like a diawa bg, spooled with trilene XT in 14# or 17# test in green. 

As stated earlier, you need to be bouncing near the bottom. I think the regs were 2' between the weight and your hook. I used a #2 salmon egg hook with a piece of pink or orange sponge covering the hook. A pink or orange curly tail grub as mentioned earlier will also work. 

Here's something that will save you a lot of time and rigs - tie your main line to a good barrel swivel and leave about a  5" tag end or so hanging from your knot. From the other side of your barrel swivel tie your leader that's attached to the hook. Now, remember the 5" tag end - that's where you will crimp your split shot.  Get some good size split shot and use enough 1,or2 or even 4 if necessary to get you ticking the bottom.  Cast upstream and toward the middle of the river and take up the slack as your rig tumbles toward you in the current. You will get hung up from time to time, however, no big deal as you can either pull free or lose just your split shot.

This is a technique that was always successful for me. Hopefully, I explained it ok.  Good luck and have fun - there's nothing more exciting than fighting a salmon in the current.

[diplomat019]

3 minutes ago, cutbait said:

Haven't fished there in many years. Had good luck behind the bowling alley in town (not sure if it's even there any more or if you can access the river from there). Used an 8' ugly stick and a good reel like a diawa bg, spooled with trilene XT in 14# or 17# test in green. 

As stated earlier, you need to be bouncing near the bottom. I think the regs were 2' between the weight and your hook. I used a #2 salmon egg hook with a piece of pink or orange sponge covering the hook. A pink or orange curly tail grub as mentioned earlier will also work. 

Here's something that will save you a lot of time and rigs - tie your main line to a good barrel swivel and leave about a  5" tag end or so hanging from your knot. From the other side of your barrel swivel tie your leader that's attached to the hook. Now, remember the 5" tag end - that's where you will crimp your split shot.  Get some good size split shot and use enough 1,or2 or even 4 if necessary to get you ticking the bottom.  Cast upstream and toward the middle of the river and take up the slack as your rig tumbles toward you in the current. You will get hung up from time to time, however, no big deal as you can either pull free or lose just your split shot.

This is a technique that was always successful for me. Hopefully, I explained it ok.  Good luck and have fun - there's nothing more exciting than fighting a salmon in the current.

This is great info.  What is the green line for?   
 

the split shot on the tag is excellent

[Untwisted Pretzel logic]

Trilene comes in a moss green color, clear and maybe blue? I always used the moss green color because I could see it better than the clear and in the moving, turbulent water, it seemed to work well as I caught many fish.

[BizCT]

Are people constantly crossing lines?  How do you avoid crossing lines when you’re drifting or is it already known that this is part of the game.  I got to imagine there are arguments happening all day.  

It used to be mayhem when I went a bunch in the 90’s. Fights and people stealing fish off stringers and people dragging fish down the road. They were all near dead anyway so it was snagging mania with undercover DEP everywhere writing tickets. The bars at night are even better. I used to use a fake ID to get in my buddies and we would hooked up white trash milfs


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[Robhuntandfish]

Haven't fished there in many years. Had good luck behind the bowling alley in town (not sure if it's even there any more or if you can access the river from there). Used an 8' ugly stick and a good reel like a diawa bg, spooled with trilene XT in 14# or 17# test in green. 
As stated earlier, you need to be bouncing near the bottom. I think the regs were 2' between the weight and your hook. I used a #2 salmon egg hook with a piece of pink or orange sponge covering the hook. A pink or orange curly tail grub as mentioned earlier will also work. 
Here's something that will save you a lot of time and rigs - tie your main line to a good barrel swivel and leave about a  5" tag end or so hanging from your knot. From the other side of your barrel swivel tie your leader that's attached to the hook. Now, remember the 5" tag end - that's where you will crimp your split shot.  Get some good size split shot and use enough 1,or2 or even 4 if necessary to get you ticking the bottom.  Cast upstream and toward the middle of the river and take up the slack as your rig tumbles toward you in the current. You will get hung up from time to time, however, no big deal as you can either pull free or lose just your split shot.
This is a technique that was always successful for me. Hopefully, I explained it ok.  Good luck and have fun - there's nothing more exciting than fighting a salmon in the current.

I forgot about that trick with the sinkers! Good info. I haven't been there in a long long time.

We prob fished right next to each other. Lol

I used to find spots before the big holes where there was a couple of rock breaks and fish those. A lot less people.

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[Bolt action]

This all brings back memories. I used to fish with my dad and uncle under the falls in the Rochester gorge years ago when snagging was still a thing. Hundreds, maybe thousands of guys from all over the northeast lining the banks shoulder to shoulder. Shouts of "FISH ON!!"... good times. Nowadays I head to Oak Orchard or Sandy Creek.