Report: 2/7 - 2/11 Salmon River Steelhead Report and Stuff
Feb. 7 Salmon River Report
I went out for a couple of hour's of fishing Thursday and worked 5 small holes or large pockets in the lower end. I came up with 3 steelhead. They were all holding in the deepest part of the tail. There is a good sized pod of fresh chrome somewhere between Secret hole and the ball park. Some of these have spread out over this area. If nothing else, you will almost be guaranteed some steelhead if you fish this area. Friends hit several Steelhead yesterday fishing a mile or more above me. Since myself and friends have been fishing below the spill area lately, and we are hitting fish. It does not seem as if the spill hurt much, if anything.
Feb. 8 Salmon River Report
We recieved about 6 inch's of lake effect last night and may possibly get another "dusting" of a foot by Sunday night. We put in a half day today off the drift boat. Andy and Warren were 1 for 4 at the end of the day. I thought we would have done a little better, but in a half day's fishing I guess that's not to bad. We hit fish in 2 out of 4 spot's. Not as many angler's out this weekend as last. With colder air temp's, snow here and along the New England coastline, it kept a few folks home.
(See Photo - yankeeangler.com - Fishing Reports)
Andy lands an approx. 10 lb. female. It gave us a couple of nice jump's and put up a great fight. We used a boga grip on her, but were VERY careful not to try to lift her with only it. This could cause the organs to drop and kill it. Instead we put one hand under it's belly to help support it's body. It worked like a charm. Congrats! (Fish Released)
(See Photo - yankeeangler.com - Fishing Reports)
Andy always had a problem trying to keep his feet warm. But not anymore. Andy was wired today with 2 battery pack's running power down to the bottom of his feet into electric heater pads. Hotronic makes them. They even have a thermostat to control the heat. This type of mechanism has been around for a while for ski boots, but I did not know they made them for waders. Heaters with a wall socket rechargeable battery unit were around $160. Worth ever penny, if it means being comfortable when fishing for steelhead in the Winter time.
(See Photo - yankeeangler.com - Fishing Reports)
The above photo' are some better looking pictures from Jan. 31. That was the day I had my camera on the wrong setting.
Myself, Caleb (and Terrence not pictured)
What a time we had. Remembering some of those incredible battles, tying into 14 Steelhead in one day and all the laugh's we shared. It just does not get much better!
Randy
Feb. 9 Salmon River Report
Andy and Warren joined me for a second day today. We got hit with a band of lake effect that dumped about 4 inch's in 1/2 an hour. All you could do was laugh. At times you could not see more than 75 feet away. Looks like the air temp's are going to drop again for the week. We found the fishing to be extra slow today. A couple of spot's that we had hit some fish in yesterday already had angler's in them by the time we got there, so we might have missed out on a few fish there. We worked several other high percentage holes that normally are good for something, but not today. My guest's were 0 for 1 at days end. I was surprised and very disappointed to say the least. Andy and Warren were nice enough to allow me to discount the day, which helped me to feel a little better. Those fresh fish that came in recently are spreading out and making their way up river. This week I'll try to make time to write and post an article or two for you all.
Thanks for stopping in,
Randy
Feb. 11 Salmon River Report
Presently at 10 am it is 0 degrees out. Want to go fishing? :) Wednesday they are calling for more possible lake effect. Hhmmmm, how unusual!
After comparing notes with several fishing friends and guides. This last weekend was slower (less fish around) then the one before. Everyone hit some fish, but nothing to get excited about. At least for some of us, in the area we were fishing. Some of the best fishing was from 2A down to town. As I've said, there are some fresh fish in the mid to lower river that are slowly making their way up river. Some are settling into some of the larger, deeper holes. While others are in a transitional state. Fish are top to bottom. We could use a nice thaw right about now to bring in some more freshies. These cold temperatures are supposed to be with us all week so look for very few anglers to be out fishing. This also probably means slush from mid river down. With so few anglers out and slush, this should set things up nicely for you if you can go fishing when we get our first push of warmer temperatures. Can you say "Fish ON!"
This 285 cfs sure looks more like 250 to me. And it feel's more like 250 cfs with all the rocks Im banging and getting stuck on. Or maybe I'm just like the rest of you and put on a few extra pounds over the Winter time? I may implement a weight restriction on my drift boat. If you are booked with me for the Spring, now might be a good time to go on that diet you have been putting off or start working out. Hhmmm, where is that scale of mine. "Excuse me, before getting into the drift boat, would you mind stepping on this scale first?" : )
Countless people have been guided by me and most have gone on to live normal lives.
Best Fish's,
Randy
Tip for the day:
Holding the rod tip higher on the drift.
This cuts down on the amount of line that is in the water. The more line in the water, the greater chance for a bow to form. A bow is slack and slack does not allow you to maintain direct contact with the bottom. It also swings your fly, bait through the water not giving it a dead drift. ( Trying to match the bottom current) Slack also delays the feeling of a snag eating rock and sometimes does not give you the immediate feel to hop your weight over it. Thus hanging up on the bottom. Slack also does not give you the immediate feel for when a fish mouths your fly or bait. If a fish takes and then spits your fly-bait with a bow or slack line sometimes you will not even notice it. I believe that 1/4 to 1/2 of the takes by fish on this river are not detected by the angler for this and a combination of other factors. More on this later.
Mail Bag:
Randy,
Do you have any time available and how is the fishing? If the fishing is poor, please be honest with me & I'll hold off.
Thanks,
Eric
HI Eric,
Out of 6 days of guiding in the last 2 weeks, here are the stat's. You can decide how the fishing is. 2 days (both on a sunday) we hit 1 fish each day, in a 1/2 day we hit 4 fish, another day we hit 7 fish, another day we hit 10 fish, another day we hit 14 fish. In the last 2 weeks I went out fishing twice, on my own, for 2 hour's each day. Yesterday I took a skunk up riv
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