One question I am asked more than any other is what type of fishing gear is required to fly fish for salmon in New York. There isn’t one answer to this question. Gear is determined by the style of fly fishing that’s being done and water conditions. Below I will cover the basics of what brought me success on my first several trips to the Salmon River and what you can use to drift fly patterns to entice territorial strikes from King or Coho salmon. This gear can also be used to fly fish for Atlantic salmon, as well as lake run steelhead and brown trout, however other techniques may prove more successful.
Read moreFly Fishing The Salmon River In New York: Part 1 - When To Go
I first fly fished the Salmon River in Pulaski, New York in October 2015. It remains one of my most memorable solo fishing trips. I’ll never forget the excitement I felt driving north at three in the morning wondering if I’d be successful. I caught my first King salmon on that trip and the reality is I had no idea what I was doing. I used a 9’-6wt fly rod that was good enough to swing a woolly bugger, and when I hooked that first fish, I chased it up and down the Douglaston Salmon Run for the better part of 15 minutes.
Read moreWinter Brook Trout Fishing In Pennsylvania’s Blue Mountains
Everyone was talking about winter storm Harper late last week. The storm was moving across the Midwest on Friday and was expected to make landfall in Pennsylvania on Saturday afternoon. The weather report was telling me I was going to have a four or five hour window on Saturday to fly fish. The air temperatures were supposed to hold steady in the mid-30s into Saturday morning and this was actually an increase from earlier in the week when overnight temps were dipping into the low 20s. My experience is that any gradual and sustained increase in temperatures in the colder months can mean active brook trout.
Read moreNescopeck Tributary And The Wild Brook Trout Of State Game Lands 187
The wet weather continued in Pennsylvania last week. A storm system dumped rain across the state overnight Thursday into Friday afternoon. Any big trout waters that were on their way to normal December flows once again pushed out of their banks. I’m thankful that Pennsylvania has so many spring-fed streams in its mountains. The blue ribbons that fill the map of the keystone state wilderness make me feel alive.
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