PART 2 - September Salmon 2019 - Salmon River, NY - DSR 

Thanks. I definitely respect the fish I chase. I have been in awe of them since.. well... forever!

White Dog Outdoors hello congratulations good fishing I like your videos you can give the address of that place and when the salmon fishing season begins

Thanks... will hopefully be back up again soon.

Thanks! My dream was always to go to Alaska and fish salmon. Then I got into it here in NY and it really is world class fishing (especially if you can get away from the crowds). They estimate in certain years our return of fish is as high as 80% wild fish! Maybe one day I'll make it to Alaska though :)

@@WhiteDogTrailCompany You have to go at least once... to give you a mental image there are so many fish it literally looks like a carpet that you could walk across. I would limit out within 15 minutes every time. It was crazy.

@@PondsSoloFishing My god... that sounds amazing!!!

Hey Stu! Great to hear from you! That's a funny story with your son! I hope you don't mind... I tried to keep it subtle and not get anything really recognizable. You know you were the only person I fished near in the 2 days I was there... pretty unheard of. I will likely be back up in October with some guys.. not sure for how many days or if I'll be able to get away. I would love to hit steelhead though in November! I definitely hope we meet on the river again!

Thanks. I enjoy it every year. I like looking for areas that aren't as crowded though. I can't do the main river... too many people and the fish are not in the mood.

White Dog Outdoors I hear ya about the crowds, they get pretty wild sometimes. It’s just something about the salmon that brings everyone together and not in a good way. I fish mostly Burt Dam and Oak Orchard but usually after the salmon die and crowds die down.

@@truenorthangler I have wanted to fish Oak Orchard for the big browns but that seems awfully crowded and a very short stretch of river. I have a dream of catching a big lake run brown in a stream. But I have yet to catch one over 17" :( I am looking forward to some steelhead this year too!

@@WhiteDogTrailCompany when I was a kid living in PA and they stocked coho, I was fishing where a trib came in and was watching a guy NAILING football browns like mad! He was using egg sacks under a plain old red and white bobber. He tossed it into where the trib flow was going into the lake and where it stopped, BOOM, down went the float. I just sat and watched.

@@pensnut08 That's sweet! There was one year when we had crazy high water on the Salmon River and the wire hole in the Upper Fly Zone was loaded with huge browns! But you couldn't get a spot at the hole that year.

Yes... They'll work anywhere fish are willing to take a fly. The longer they're in the river and the more pressure they get the less likely the chance of an actual bite! I had a good day at the DSR on Wednesday. Lots of fresh, aggressive salmon in the afternoon. Look for that video soon! I just did a video on my setup too and how I get salmon to bite... check it out and hopefully it can help! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UHTWkr0L1Nw.html

Thanks... the action in the first part was way better given the amount of time on the water. Part 1 was 4 hours on the water while Part 2 was 13 hours on the water LOL. I had to work so much harder on day 2 to get real bites... and even then a few were flossed. First of all I use a switch rod (11'6") for extra reach and use it pretty much as a euro nymphing rod for salmon. I do the same with steelhead. I tie as much weight into the fly as I can so I don't have to put much weight (if any) on the line and keep a tight line between the fly and the tip of the rod. It does 2 things. Allows me to feel everything and know what is going on at the end of my line and it helps me avoid flossing and foul hooking because my line isn't going horizontally along the bottom. I also use a much shorter section between the weight on the line and the fly to avoid the accidental flossing as much as possible. I can drift through a pod of salmon a ton of times and not floss or foul them... eventually it does happen if they are not active. I go pretty heavy on my leader. I start with 20# flourocarbon, down to 20# red amnesia for the sighting material. This helps me see movement with the line. Then down to either 20# or 16# down to a tippet ring. My tippet section is short to avoid flossing (the section above the tippet is mostly what the fish would possibly see). Tippet is between 20# and 14# depending on conditions. At the top of the tippet section I leave a tag end of line and put any shot I need on the tag end. If you get hung sometimes you'll save the rig that way because the shot hangs on the bottom (usually only when I have heavier shot). Again I use as little shot as possible. Most of the time you'll notice either no shot or just a small BB shot. In heavier, faster water I'll use a little more shot but only enough to have it go along the bottom.

Thanks.

For salmon, I didn't have euro specific rod. I've been using an 8wt Switch rod that is 11'4" I believe. It is heavy to nymph with all day and I would change my setup now to not use a floating fly line that causes sag in my drift. I would go with a mono rig if I were to do it now (in that section as regulations allow for it... fly only sections would require an actual fly line and limited leader length). I did pick up a diamondback Ideal Nymph 10' 10" 6wt for steelhead and it is way lighter than my 7wt switch rod I used to use for steelies. I'm not sure the 6wt could handle salmon though...

a 3 weight for salmon??? That would be a disaster!!

With 4 feet of line between your weight and your bugger you are likely to be flossing most fish. I go over my whole Salmon River Setup in this video here. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UHTWkr0L1Nw.html Good luck!

That I have not done. I have heard they can take nymphs but I have never really tried anything but egg patterns and wooly buggers.

@@WhiteDogTrailCompany thank you for the response and keep your videos coming!!

I typically stay at my brother's and have only stayed a few other places up there. There are a bunch of places all over though from Motels to little cabins and even houses you can rent if you have a group.. or even camp grounds. I don't really have recommendations though.

I'd start planning now for 2020. I am looking already. Got the week picked and am going from there. I'm looking forward for a brief return visit to the People's Republic of New Yorkastan!

I like switch rods for the type of fishing I do. I find a longer rod gives me the extra reach I want and I can keep a good feel on my fly. I use a Redinton 8wt Switch Rod that is about 11'4" I think. I use various reels but a good drag is a must for salmon and steelhead... they will definitely test you out.

White Dog Outdoors Thank you so much. Can you recommend a hook and a size of a hook?

@@user-be9ql3fi1z I just saw your comment. I have a couple of videos you would be interested in. This is my "How To" that talked about my whole setup including rods, reels, leader setup. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UHTWkr0L1Nw.html And this one is the fly I use including the hooks and size i use for them. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vzQu_z44mIA.html

Oh heck yeah... all the time! Doesn't happen much on the lower river where I fish because most of those fish haven't seen many anglers if any (which is why I fish where I do... unpressured fish are the fish that bite)... but if you fish in the main river you better be careful grabbing a fish cause there are hooks all over them... If I land a fish with hooks in it I remove the hooks before releasing it.

@@WhiteDogTrailCompany I hooked one last week that had 2 other hooks besides mine inside it's mouth when I landed it and still people still tell you they won't bite at anything......

@@gregfishes6262 LOL Nice!

I did a fly tying video of the flies I used and how I specifically tie them. Check it out here. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vzQu_z44mIA.html

White Dog Outdoors very instructional video. I’m going on my very first salmon trip this coming September and I have no idea what I’m doing lol... I’m trying to get as much info as I can so I can be successful though.

@@scrumdiddy6888 Many people don't believe that you can get salmon to bite. Once they're pressured they shut down. If you really want to catch these fish I would recommend fishing low in the river before the fish are pressured too much. The DSR offers a very good experience compared to most of the river. Most of the river will not give you much of a shot of catching them legitimately. You'll see lifting and flossing going on in much of the river. Just a heads up... it can be interesting.

White Dog Outdoors we plan to fish the DSR

@@scrumdiddy6888 I think that is a VERY good move! Good luck!!

Well... I ended up being limited in my options. My lanyard with my tippet came apart when I was fighting a fish on day 1 and I didn't realize until later but I lost most of my tipped when that happened. So in the end I only had 20# and 16#. 16# was my downsized tippet.

@@WhiteDogTrailCompany Yeah, it gets pretty tough bringing them in lower than 16#, that's for sure. Looks fun! Flows around 350cfs?

@@heavyd2249 I know flows were low but I never actually checked. I was there on Sept 17-18. I would guess 350 is about right for when I was there.

Was gonna say the same