S&S Express

A little "stinger" action and a "Senyo shank" combined with some easy tying steps put this fly in the "express" lane when your at the vise.  The toughest part is tying on the grizzly saddle wings, but after you do a few it will become much easier.

S&S Express Recipe
Shank: Flymen Senyo Shank 25mm color of your choice
Stinger Wire: Beadalon 7 strand wire .018 (20lb breaking strength)
Hook: your choice of octopus style hook
Body: Polar Chenille
Collar: Schlappen
Under Wing: Arctic fox or similar with flashabou
Head: A small clump of ice dubbing tied on the bottom and top of the fly
Wing: Grizzly Saddle Hackle
Eyes: Jungle Cock or Prosportfisher pro jungle cock hd.

Oak Orchard Trip Report - 10/24/12 - 10/26/12

Wednesday 24, 2012
I have never been to Oak Orchard, but I have seen plenty of pictures of jaw dropping Brown Trout over the years.  I decided that I have to go see it for myself because I couldn't take it anymore!!  Luckily, I have a friend (Allen) from home who lives in Rochester, loves to fish, and had some extra room at his place for me stay.

I arrived at Allen's place around noon on Wednesday, got unpacked while BS'ing about what we had been up to, as well as getting our rods rigged up and ready to go.  We decided to try out Sandy Creek for a few hours since we had to get back to Rochester so we could enjoy a nice dinner with his sister and their friends.
There were a few cars at the location we chose to fish, and luckily 2 other anglers arrived at the same time.  We weren't sure which way to go, so when they went down the trail, we decided to follow them to get a feel for the lay of the land.....and the creek.  The trail came close to the creek at one point, so we decided to stop as the other guys kept going down the trail.

As soon as we looked into the water, there was a small Rainbow digging out her nest on the far bank, and about 10 seconds later, two nice Brownies came shooting up from the run below.  Sweet!!  The Brownies actually hung around long enough for a few casts, but no luck on our end.

Allen and I decided to keep working our way downstream since we saw a few kings splashing around here and there.  As we worked our way down to the next little hole a pretty big king shot upstream right past us.  We fished there for a little while and saw a few browns in the hole and a few other kings moved in, but none of them wanted to play, so we kept on moving.

We walked a pretty good ways past some shallow water and came around a bend and saw the other two guys from earlier.  They were in a nice little area with a few kings that were spawning.  A few browns were around too.  There was a few browns in the run above them so we made some casts at them but they acted as though they had already been worked over.

We decided to keep on heading downstream and a very nice log jam that was made up of multiple downed trees, was in my sights.  As soon as I snuck my way into position, two large male brown trout swam right up to my feet and just layed there for a while.  I could also see nice brownie in the tailout chasing another one away.

I had on a small black stonefly with a purple estaz thorax trimmed flat on the top and bottom, with biots criss crossed over the back to make the wingpad and antennae.  I stripped out some line and the two big boys at my feet scooted into the darkness of the logjam, while the one in the tailout was still holding in the same spot.  I made a few casts to the upper end of the log jam and let the fly drift, but no takers.  First cast to the Brown Trout in the tailout was good one.  The fly drifted right down to him, I saw him move, open his mouth, then the line twitched.  Fish on!!  He played nice for a little while, almost like he forgot about the log jam, then all of a sudden he made his move.  He darted into the lumber and it was game over.  Oh well, not bad for the first few hours out on Sandy Creek.

Allen and I kept working our way downstream and found some nice little holes as well as some more kings.  We worked the water pretty good but the Brownies didn't want to play.  We decided to head out a little early and get back for dinner.  We wanted to get out rest since we were getting up early to head to Oak Orchard.


Thursday 25, 2012
I woke up the next morning, looked at the clock.....4:15AM.  Time to make the donuts!!  I got Allen up and we got our gear ready pronto.  We hopped in my truck and headed over to his sisters house to pick her up.  We loaded up, hit the local gas station for snacks and drinks, then hit the highway headed west to Oak Orchard.

We made good time since we left early and Mr. GPS put us darn close to were we wanted to be located.  Luckily another angler was gearing up, so I asked him where I should park and what direction to head.  I parked right behind his vehicle, we got our gear on, and headed down the trail like he said.

We got down to the bottom of the trail and went to go left like our new friend had suggested, but upon looking upstream, we saw about 30-40 headlamps in the darkness, already standing in the stream holding their spots for first light.  After seeing that we looked out in front of us and downstream and there was only one or two head lamps in sight.  That made the decision of where to go, pretty easy for us to make.
As I re-rigged our leaders with fresh tippet and flies, and while Cathy got a spinner with a single hook tied on, we could hear fish jumping and splashing around in the dark.  It was a nice warm morning and as it started to get brighter we waded into the water picked a spot to start fishing.  Other than two other guys, we had the whole run to ourselves.

I thought for sure that Cathy would be the first to hook up with an aggressive brown smashing her spinner, but all they wanted to do was follow it back to shore.  Frustrating to say the least!!  The other two guys hooked up a few small brownies while the guys in the run below us were putting on a show.

I was getting into the groove of using an indicator since it had been a while since I drifted eggs and nymphs for Steelhead and Browns.  I was also giving Allen a few pointers about casting and drifting the fly since he typically uses a spin rod.  He picked it up lickity-split and was laying out some nice casts and getting some good drifts too.

The morning was tough for all of us and the other two guys in the run only hooked a few.  I had two nice brownies on, but as soon as I hooked them I could tell they weren't hooked fair, so I broke them off right away.

It was getting close to lunchtime so Allen decided to head back up to the truck to get my grill as well as the burgers and dogs.  One of the guys in the run decided to leave so I figured that I would swing a black Egg Sucking Leech with a hot orange bead on the front, since there was a little more room to work.  It was actually pretty darn hot by this time and everybody was fishing in a tshirt......yup a tshirt on October 25!!

I worked my down the run and got towards the end where a big logjam made a nice current break with dead water upstream of the logjam.  Fish had been jumping and splashing in this area all morning so I was getting a bit anxious to feel a tug.  Since I had a mono leader on and the only weight was the beadhead on the fly, I was casting upstream a little to give the fly time to sink, it would drift, then the line would come tight and swing thru to the hangdown.

I only had a few more casts before I would finish the run and it would also be time to take a break, so I made the most of it. I made the same type of cast that I had been making, and as the fly was sinking and drifting, the line jumped, so I set the hook.  I felt some good heavy headshakes and there was a nice boil at the surface.  YEEHAW!! I hooked a big brownie, or so I thought anyway.

The fish stayed deep for most of the fight and didn't make any big runs up or downstream.  I kept a nice deep bend in the rod and the fish came up and rolled at the surface.  I had a somewhat better look at the fish and realized it wasn't a brown trout since all I saw was red on the side. So much red that I actually thought it could have been a coho, but again I was wrong.  I fought the fish a little longer and one of the other guys nearby came over and offered to net the fish for me.

I led the fish to the net head first and my new friend scooped up a big rainbow in full spawning colors.  The first words out of his mouth was "HOLY SH#&$" and I was thinking the same thing in my head.  I couldn't believe it at first and just stared at it in the net while Cathy came over to get my camera for a few quick pics.  I wish I would have gotten a length and girth on this big buck, but just comparing my open hand to his slab sides and how wide he was across the back was awesome.  The thickness of his pedunkle was impressive too!!

I kepted him submerged in the water as much as possible and Cathy took some quick photos the moment I lifted him out of water.  He didn't take too long to revive, but I held him a little longer even though he kicked a few times.  Off he went in a burst of power.

After enjoying a streamside lunch, we all kept fishing the same stretch of water since we had it to ourselves now.  A few more people came down, but everybody gave each other plenty of room (for the most part.....darn creepers) and had fun.

Cathy was the next to hook up on one of her spinners.  She let out a shout and Allen and I stopped what we were doing to give her a hand.  She landed a very nice brown trout and was stoked since she had put so much time into her efforts so far.

I switched over to a small soft hackle fly that would resemble a blue wing olive except this one was tied a bit bigger and on a stronger hook.  There were a few bugs hatching here and there so I thought it might be good to switch to something more natural.  I worked the water in front of me for a while then decided to work my way upstream a little, then work my way back down.

About halfway up to where I was headed, I see the indicator twitch like it had did before on sticks and stones, except this time when I set the hook all hell broke loose and a little bright chrome steehead goes nuts!! He tore ass across stream, jumped at the far side, then rocketed up stream so fast I couldn't keep up with him, then like they always do he turned 180 degrees and came right back downstream.  Luckily the line stayed tight enough to keep the hook lodged in his jaw and I was able to lead him to Allen who did a great job getting him into my tiny net.  Hey I thought Oak Orchard was known for it's brown trout? LOL!!

It was getting towards the end of the day and a few more guys left so we slid down to where they were since they were doing pretty good catching brownies all day.  Allen hooked two or three in a short span of time and also hooked a big king too.  It was pretty cool to see the fish in front of you while they were moving upstream and also chasing each other to protect their territory.

Allen took a smoke break and got in the shade because it was actually pretty darn hot out that afternoon.  I took a little break as well and drank a bottle of water.  I asked Allen if I could hop in his spot until he was ready to go and said "sure...hook one up bro!!"  About 10 minutes later, the indicator jumps and a nice brownie in the 5-6lb class starts head shaking.  She came up and thrashed around a few times and Allen netted her for me.  YEAH MAN!!  Finally landed my first Oak Orchard Brown Trout!!

We fished a little while longer but we were all beat and decided to hit the road and head back to Rochester for dinner and a few cold brewskies.

Friday 26, 2012
Allen and I were up at about the same time as the previous day since we wanted to get to that area again and get a spot.  We both assumed it would be a bit more crowded since it was Friday and boy what a difference a day makes!!  The parking area on the side of the road looked like it was filled up, but luckily there was just enough room to fit one more vehicle comfortably.  Cathy had to work so Allen's friend Chauncey came with us and we all got ready as quick as we could and made our way down the trail.  Once we were at the stream we could see that most of the good areas were taken up, but the good spot at the top was unoccuopied.  We hung out on the bank until a few guys started heading towards where we wanted to go, so we waded out and made sure we had a good area to fish at sun up.

Just like the day before, as we stood in the dark we could hear fish splashing and jumping throughout the run.  We waited until it was legal time to fish and waited a little longer so we had enough light to see what we were actually doing.  On about my tenth cast, the indicator stops so I set the hook and a nice colored up bow comes up throwing water.  He wasn't huge but it was a good start to the day.  I got him in popped out the chartreuse estaz egg in his jaw and he was on his way.

The guys down below were hooking fish pretty good but not as steady as the previous day.  The run we were in was filled with people so we held our spot as best as we could since there was shallow water above us and a nice deep drop off in front of us.  We could watch fish nose up out of the deep water into the shallow water and either run upstream or turn around go back to the deeper water. 

About an hour before lunch I had a little flury of action.  Like the day before it was getting hot and the sun was high so I decided to put on a little black stonefly with a purple thorax like the one I used at Sandy Creek.  I would work the water in close for a few casts, then lengthen the cast a foot or so, work the area some more, strip out another foot and so on and so on.  After covering the water with the longer casts I reeled in some line and started the process over again.

A couple of casts later and the indicator actually darts up stream so set the hook and a male brownie in about the 22"-24" long class, decides to put on a little show.  I land him as quick as possible, get the hook out and let him on his way.  I check my tippet for nicks and two casts later I hook up again in the same drift as before.  This time it was a female brownie in the same size class.  I guess those two were buddies and were traveling partners.  Hopefully they were able to spawn together too!!

I made the walk up the hill at lunchtime to get the grill while Allen and Chauncey held the fort down.  Man was I hungry and as soon as the burger and dog smoke hit the air, alot of guys starting placing their order!! It was a hoot hearing some of the orders......surf and turf, grilled cheese, filet mignon, cambells soup, hamburger helper.......

After lunch we went back to the same area because it was still pretty darn crowded and you could tell more people were showing up for the weekend. Allen hooked a couple and lost them and Chauncey was having a tough time since it was his first time fly fishing.  I worked with them on their mending and drifting a little while and they better.  I thought for sure they going to get some hookups cause we were really seeing some browns move by us at that point.

I took a break in the shade for a little while to out of the hot sun and to enjoy the surroundings while watching the other guys catch hook up.  I head Allen make some noise so I look upstream and see his rod bent over with a head shaking fish on the end of the line.  Even though Allen's shoulder was sore he did a great job of fighting and landing his first migratory brown trout on a fly rod.  Way to go Allen!!

I hopped back into the mix and decided to put on my Steelhead Tellico Nymph to give it a try.  It has a purple body with dyed purple peacock herl on the back, ribbed with blue wire. The collar at the front of the fly was a light blue grizzly hackle wrapped a few times. As before I worked the water in close and worked the line out in increments until I hit the slot on the far side.

It was pretty dead for a while and at this point I was covering the far slot.  I made the cast and got a real good mend in the line which set the indicator up perfectly for a nice long drift.  It made the entire dead drift and right at the end of the drift, the fly gets yanked so hard I saw the indicator jump and I felt the hit too!!  A dime bright steelheads shoots stright up out of the water and proceeds to thrash up the water all around us.  She bolts downstream, head shakes, then rockets right back upstream, turns around again and heads right toward the angler just downstream of me.  She jumps up as high as his head and lands right next him, getting him all wet and proceeds to keep jumping across stream.  Finally she calms a bit and Chauncey was right there with the net.  OH YEAH!!  Now that's a pretty steelhead.  As clean as could be with a belly that was as white is ivory.

About an hour or so later I was lucky enough to hook up again, and this time it was nice male brown trout. I was pretty excited since it was one of biggest brown trout I have ever hooked.  This guy took the same fly that the steelhead took as well.  The indicator barely twitched so I did a little 6" strike of the rod, then what was on the other end came alive and rose slowly to the surface.  I could see the nice kype right away and the coloration on his sides were remarkable.  Man was he strong!! I couldn't do anything but keep a good bend in the rod and hope the hook held.  Although he didn't run far, he made that up with heavy headshakes and bull dogging down deep.  He took a little line here and there but for the most part it was a tug of war.  Finally he tired out and came to the net.  WOOHOO!!  He wasn't as big as some of the other browns we saw landed, but he sure was respectable and he definitely made my trip even better.

That was about it for the day since I wanted to head back to Rochester a little early since I was heading over to Pulaski the same evening.  I am definitely looking foward to next year and will be making this trip again!!  It was great to see Allen and his sister, as well as meeting their friends and spending the time on the water together.

Turd Wrangler

You guys can thank Aaron Ostoj for the name of this tube fly.  It cracked me up as soon as he posted his comment in a reply on Facebook.  He thought it would look good for a sculpin species that he and his friends affectionally call "Turd Wranglers."

My thought process behind this fly was to tie something that has a good amount of movement, is not too big and not too small, and could possibly look like a scuplin or maybe even a crayfish.  I also wanted to have a nice balance of natural materials and synthetic materials that would complement each other and work together well.

If you like quality fly tying materials for high end flies such as married wing salmon flies and classic spey and dee flies, stop by his site.  I'm sure you'll find something you like! http://www.aaronmostojfeathers.com/index.html

HP Crayfish

This pattern has accounted for the majority of Steelhead that I have caught since I started swinging flies for Salmon River, NY Steelhead.  I'm not sure how often the Steelhead see crayfish out in the lake or if they remember the crayfish trying to kill them when they were young, but I do know that they like to grab these under various conditions.

I like to fish other flies as well, but like you, I have some I keep coming back to year after year.  This is one of them and I have been told that they work well in Maine for Smallmouth and have accounted for some above average Brown Trout in Montana.

I fish this like most of my swinging flies......down and across.......and HANG ON!!

There is some more to it than that, but I bet this fly will put you in a good mood too.

Recipe

Tube: 1 1/4" long tube - diameter of 1/8" or smaller
Hook: Blackbird Sabretooth - size 4
Thread: 8/0 black
Antennae: GP tail fibers and Peacock Sword fibers
Ribbing: Small gold or copper wire
First body: Brown dubbing
Antennae/Feelers: Whiting Bird Fur - Coachman Brown
Claws: Hen Pheasant feathers
Mid-body joint: Peacock sword or Peacock herl
Hackle: Hen Pheasant marabou
Ribbing: Small Gold or Copper wire
Second Body: Tan Dubbing
Carapace: 2 Hen Pheasant feathers

(Recently I have been adding a small conehead to the front of the tube and also using orange colored junction tubing in the rear.)

Step 1: Attach the thread to the tube, wrap back to the junction tubing and apply some super glue to the thread wraps.

Step 2: Strip off about 5-8 fibers from a Golden Pheasant tail. Tie them on top of the tube right at the junction tubing.

Step 3: Strip of about 4-6 fibers from a Peacock Sword and tie them on top of the GP tail fibers.

Step 4: Snip of a 3"-4" piece of small gold wire and attach it to the far side of the tube.

Step 5: Spin some brown dubbing onto your thread and wrap the first body. Stop just shy of the midpoint.

Step 6: Rib the body with the small gold wire. Tie off and trim excess.

Step 7: Pick out 2 small to medium sized feathers from a Whiting Bird Fur neck. Don't strip off any fibers and tie them onto the sides of the tube. The fluffier filoplume should extend to the tip of the Pea**** Sword but not any further.

Step 8: Select two, nicely mottled, Hen Pheasant feathers and tie them onto the sides of the tube right where the bird fur is tied. These will be the claws and they should extend just past the Pea**** Sword fibers. Tie everything on good and tight, then trim the excess.

Step 9: Select a few fibers from a Pea**** Sword or use a few Pea**** herls instead. Tie them in at the mid-body point and wrap them to make a small joint between body sections. Tie off and trim excess.

Step 10: Select a fluffy marabou like feather from a Hen Pheasant. The stem should be long enough to make 3-4 turns. Strip off the fibers on the lower half and tie the feather in by the butt.


Step 11: Snip of a 3"-4" piece of small gold wire and attach it to the far side of the hook shank.

Step 12: Spin some tan dubbing onto your thread and wrap the second body.

Step 13: Rib the second body with 3-4 turns of gold wire. Tie off and trim excess.

Step 14: Wrap the Hen Pheasant marabou feather forward, keeping each turn on the rear edge of the wire. Tie off and trim excess.

Step 15: Trim off the hackles on top of the tube where the carapace will be located.

Step 16: Select 2 Hen pheasant feathers for the carapace. One should be lightly colored and mottled, the other should be dark and mottled. Strip off the fibers from the base of the stem so the lightly colored feather extends to the base of the antennae. The darker feather should be slightly shorter.

Step 17: Hold the feathers one on top of the other and tie them in at the same time, on top of the hook shank. Trim off excess and finish the head.

Side View

Top View

Salmon River Trip Report - October into November

October

After Allen, Chauncey and myself got back to Rochester, I packed my gear up and headed over to Pulaski.  It was going to be an interesting weekend since hurricane Sandy was on her way up the coast.  I was also unsure of when my Dad and our buddies were going to arrive since they were going to play it by year with the hurricane. 

Due to hurricane Sandy, a few poeple decided to stay home so they cancelled their trip with my friend and guide, Paul Conklin.  Considering the predicitions of what was to come along the coast, I'm sure we would have cancelled the trip too, if we were in their shoes.

Paul and I decided to take advantage of his free time so we hit river and floated from Pineville to 2A bridge.  Boy what a difference a few days makes!!  When I was at Oak Orchard we were fishing in T-shirts, now I had on a few extra layers to stay warm.  Honestly it was still a bit balmy for Pulaski this time of year so we weren't complaining.

It was a slow morning at the first area we stopped at although we could see some steelhead splash every now and then. Paul was the first to hook up and all I heard was his old hardy screaming.  I look downstream and see a pretty hefty steelhead going nuts as it jumped a few times.

I hustled down to him and got my camera out to take a few pics.  This steelhead was truly ticked off and did not want to play nice at all.  Paul would gain a little line to work him upstream, but the steelhead would turn around and take another run.  Paul did his best but the steelhead won when the fly pulled loose.

Paul took a little break so I went back to were I was and tried to get back in the groove of using a 13ft spey rod.  My timing was a bit off but it was nice to lay out some line and feel the tension of the swing in my fingers.  Paul took a few cool pics as well!!

Things started to warm up a bit from the morning, but the steelhead just didn't want to cooperate.  We could see them as we floated over them and even saw a bunch run by at one area, but I guess the raise in water flow had their minds on migrating and moving upstream while they had the chance.

Since things were slow Paul gave me his gopro camera and I put it on the end of a telescopic pole he had brought along.  I was holding it down close to the water as we went over some small rollers and then sort of scanned the camera around while we floated.

At one point, I almost got caught on camera going overboard head first!!  Hey!! Where did that rock come from.....jack!!  Even though the fishing wasn't hot, it was one of the best days I've had on the Salmon River in a long time.  I hope we get to do it again soon Paul!!

Monday 29, 2012 & Tuesday 30, 2012

Nothing good happened for any of us on these two days although we did enjoy our time all day long.  As usual we had brought our little grill and a hot plate to cook lunch and dinner.  We also had plenty of laughs each night and made the most of our trip.

Wednesday 31, 2012

 In the AM all of us went to the 2A Bridge area and decided to split up. It didn't amount to much so we all came back to the vehicles and headed to the room for an early lunch.

After lunch my Dad and Dave decided to head up to Pineville and Joey went to the Sportsmens hole.  Joe and I did a little walking to get away from the crowd and I set him up in a nice run that he had yet to swing flies through.  A fish boiled as soon as we got there so that got Joe's attention right away.  He rigged up a new fly and I hiked upstream about a 1/2 mile to get to some water I like.

Upon arriving at the area I chose to fish, I found out that there was a guide in a drift boat with clients at the top of the run.  No big deal, there was plenty of room below them in the next stretch.  I figured I might as well put on a fresh piece of tippet as well as a different fly to swing.  I selected a slinky dink in black and blue with an irridescent blue peacock feather wrapped as the collar. As I rigged up one of the guys hooked up with a nice bright chromer, but lost it after a short battle.

I had began working some line out and covering the water in close to shore before stripping more line out.  Nothing happened so I worked my way downstream after a few casts and got into a rhythm.  I was almost down to the tailout when I got hammered.  Oh boy!!  This feels like a pretty good one!! Then nothing at the end of the line. Damn!!  Oh well at least I got a tug on a pattern I haven't used before.

By this time the boat had drifted down stream out of site so I checked my tippet for nicks and made sure the hook was still sharp and not damaged in any way.  Since it was open up top, that's where I went and figured out a way to fish the water since casting room was at a minimum.  Even though there were other people fishing the water a little while ago, I felt confident since they were drifting flies and egg sacs, and I was going to show them a meal on the move.  I also made sure to let the water rest for a bit, instead of hopping in right away.

I sat down and slide off the bank as quietly as possible since there was some good water very close to shore.  I snuck upstream about 10 yrds to tuck in against a fallen tree that was right where the riffle started. I also looked around to see how much casting room there was and where there would be a clear rod path during the cast.  Since I only had the poly leader and a foot or two of line outside the rod tip, I could do a reverse single play.  I was having fun with the switch rod, and this particular spot really showed me the value of a shorter rod.  A 13ft rod would have never been able to work in this location.

I made three casts and swung through the pocket closest to shore, then i stripped out a few more feet of line to cover more water and the rest of the seam that was downstream of me.  On the second cast after stripping more line out, the line came tight and a hot steelhead was going nuts.  While this fish was raising heck, I was watching the tip of my rod and dodging tree branches.  At the same time I was looking for a little open slot to land this fish.  Lucklily the steelhead stayed close and didn't head into the little log jam below me.  After alot of thrashing around at my feet which sprayed water all over me, the steelhead calmed down and I was able two get two quick pictures of her.  Thank you sweetheart!!  You are the nicest one of the year so far!!

There was about an hour and a half of sunlight left so I started back down the trail to see how Joe made out and if he got his first steelhead on the swing yet.  I was about 150 yds away and I happened to look up at the same time Joe set the hook and raised the rod.  I could see the rod tip dancing so I ran down the trail to help Joe land his prize.

I made it to Joe just when he needed a hand and we landed a nice little steelhead.  I thought it might have been his first steelhead on the swing, but when I asked him he said, "THIS IS MY SECOND ONE CHIPPER!!"  We took a break on the bank and Joe told me everything from beginning to end.  It was great to hear about his success and how everything came together for him.  Welcome to the club Joe!!  There is no turning back now!!!

November

Thursday 1, 2012
We fished mid river in the morning and explored a few areas but there wasn't much to report.  Even the other anglers in the area we were fishing didn't have much luck either.  We gave it our best shot and covered plenty of water, but we all had a growling stomach and were ready to head back to the room and enjoy lunch.

After lunch Joe and I decided to go back to the area we were the previous afternoon.  I'm pretty sure we both hoped to have a little success like yesterday. Joe stayed in the area he liked and hiked upstream.

Upon arriving at the area I wanted to fish, I found out that there were two other guys at the top of the run.  No big deal, there was plenty of room below them in the next stretch.  I figured I might as well put on a fresh piece of tippet as well as a different fly to swing.  I selected a slinky dink in brown and orange with two small orange glass beads on the trailing wire. As I rigged up one of the guys hooked up with a nice bright chromer, but lost it after a short battle.

I slid off the bank and ducked under a small tree limb to get into casting position.  I literally had just the polyleader out of the rod tip and a foot of fly line.  On the second cast the fly hit the water and swung about two feet, then all of a sudden my line comes tight and it starts getting peeled off my reel by a steelhead running downstream as fast as he could.  I am enjoying the show when he turns around and starts coming right back upstream as fast as he went downstream.  Reel, reel, reel, reel........come on keep the line tight I kept telling myself.  He then turned right at me and came right to me feet and I lost all tension in the line.  Game over.  Wow....well that happened fast.

The other guys had left so I went back upstream where I landed the steelhead yesterday.  I did the exact same thing as yesterday except the fly was the brown and orange slinky dink.  It was almost like deja vu except the ending didn't work out in my favor.  On about the fifth cast I get hammered in the exact same spot as the day before.  The steely came up an rolled and for some dumb reason I set the hook again, which really turned into me pulling the fly out of the steelheads mouth.  Doh!! You dummy!!  Oh well, having two fish take on the swing isn't too bad for one afternoon.  At least they are approving the fly of choice.

Little did I know that the steelhead had some more action in store for me.  I moved downstream to where I started and had hooked and lost the first steelhead, figuring I would let the water above rest for a bit.  Nothing happened on the first couple of swings in close, so I started working out some more line to cover more water. Maybe 15 minutes had passed and I was letting the fly hang on the dangle while I was watching some hawks fly by.  WHAM!!  What the!?......alright....now I am landing this one!!  Luckily it was a small one and came in rather quickly since I horsed him to shore. 

I checked the watch I had hanging on my bag and I had to make a decision of whether or not to stay and fish or head back down to where Joe was fishing.  After the quick action I had been getting, I decided to stay.  No need to find fish if they are already in front of me.

I retied a new piece of 12lb tippet on to the end of my polyleader and tied the same fly back on the end of the line.  I didn't make my way that far downstream so I walked upstream a few feet and started over again.  Nothing happened on the shorter casts so I worked out plenty of line to cover as much water as possible.  I got to where I had just landed the previous steelhead and the fly is just about to swing through a small little seam about 45 degrees down below me and I start getting that feeling that something is going to happen.  The fly swung into the seam and held there for a second, then it swung out of the seam and     KA-PLOW!! This lady was hot and put on one heck of a show.  I think she was out of the water just as much as she was in water, and if she wasn't jumping she was thrashing and rolling around near the surface.  It was one of funnest fights I've ever had the priviledge to be a part of even though I was just holding on, trying to keep up with her moves.  Even at the end of the fight she was so hot that she beached herself, got the hook out on her own, and released herself all in one motion!!  I was laughing and just shaking my head in amazement. 

I had about 20 minutes left now, so once again I put a new piece of 12lb tippet on along with the same fly and started where I did before.  Still smiling from ear to ear I began to work the line out again and proceeded to cover the water.  I checked my watch....10 more minutes before I need to head down the trail. I made another cast, the fly landed and moved about 2 ft when I felt I light bump on the line so I set the hook.  HOLY CRAP!!  It's another steelhead...is this really happening?!?! This one decided not to jump and only thrashed on the surface a few times.  The rest of the fight was spent pulling hard against one another.  This steelhead looked to be about the same size as the one before, but felt like it had more weight.  This one was a bear to land because every time it came close to shore it would motor back out in the current and sulk.  Finally I got her into the soft current and took a quick pick and let her on her way.

Wow!! What an afternoon on the mighty Salmon River.  That was 5 steelhead on the end of the line in less than 2 hours.  Even though I didn't land them all it was an incredible experience in such a short time. 

Friday 2, 2012

Since the morning didn't produce any takers, Joe and I decided to head back to where we were the day before to see if we could have a repeat performance.  I hiked up to where I wanted to fish and put the slinky dink with the orange beads back on the end of my line again.  I also had a new piece of 12lb tippet tied on so I was ready go!!

There were a decent amount of guys around and a few boats came thru as well, but nobody was hooking up.  It was pretty raw outside and I'm sure the extra fishing pressure during the morning hours had something to do with the fish not wanting to "play."  There was a few more hours of daylight left and there had to be a few fish around, so I kept working my way down the run.

I fished through the area I had did so well in yesterday and didn't have a take so I kept on going.  I was getting down to a little area where the run gets a little shallow then drops off into a deeper cut before the next hole begins.

The fly hits just above the tip of the island in the shallow water, then starts to swing down through the deeper cut.  I hold on to my loop and keep focused on the swing and the speed of fly.  Doink.....drop the loop and nothing came tight.  I take two little strips of line to get a little loop back and WHAM!!  The line goes shooting out of my fingers and then the drag starts spinning.  A nice steelhead comes up to the surface and puts on a little show and then heads downstream some more. I slowly make my way down past some fallen timber and navaigate my way into a safe landing area.  The steelhead played rather nice and came right over to the shore in the slack water.  I had gotten my camera out during the fight so as soon as he calmed down I took a picture, popped the hook out and let him back on his way!!

Not a bad way to end a trip!!  See you after Thanksgiving Mr. and Mrs. Steelhead.

Swinging Flies for Salmon River Steelhead - Introduction

I got into swinging flies to get away from fishing the bottom so I haven't used any extremely heavy tips or  T-material. I feel that if i do my job, the player Steelhead that wants my fly will come and smash it, no need to take it down to their nose. That being said I'm not just hucking it out there and hoping for the best. I know the odds are against me with this approach, but it's the way I choose to play the game.  Seems right to me since I am going to release them anyway. Flounder fishing, now that's another story!!

I understand that with this approach, I won't be able to target all the different types of water on the Salmon River and that's ok with me. I don't view all of the water as "swinging water" anyway. Is it possible to try and cover all the water....sure. Is it the best use of your time while on the water? I don't think so when it comes to spey fishing and swinging flies in the Salmon River. That is just my opinion since I view the spey rod as a specific tool.

Personally, if I did want to fish deeper I would switch to a mono leader and a weighted fly. That might be a metal tube of some sort, maybe a conehead streamer type fly, or a shank style fly with the shank wrapped with tungsten sheeting or non-lead wire. The casts may not be that pretty, but it will get the job done.  Controlling the presentation and the positioning of the fly with a mono leader has it's advantages too. If you haven't tried it, even during winter, you might be pleasantly surprised.

One of the first things to understand about swinging flies in the Salmon River is that the speed of the fly or speed of the swing is critical. If the fly is swinging too fast most steelhead won't make an effort to chase it down since it will take too much energy. Too slow and the fly probably won't look enticing enough to get the "smash and grab" reaction. Obviously there are a number of factors that dictate what the perfect speed of the swing would be. Time of year, water temp, water flow, water clarity, and many other things come into play and keep this game interesting.

In order to control the speed of the fly we must understand the area we are fishing, and especially where the fish are holding. Once we have an idea of these two things it is then possible to make the cast to a specific area. Once the cast is made, upstream mends or downstream mends will need to be employed. Don't get in the habit of making the cast on the same angle and making the same mend over and over again. Think of yourself as the fly on the end of your line, and remember, you're also the puppeteer. Bringing this fly to "life" and making it look "alive" is the goal. This takes some time to learn and the best way to learn is spending time on the water.

Going to a local stream with a single hand rod and a good sized, bright streamer is a good way to visually learn what the fly is doing, and what it will do in different current types. Don't worry about catching fish, focus on making short casts at various angles and apply different mends to the line and watch how the fly "swims." When you have a good grasp on what is happening in close, you will have a better understanding of what your fly is doing when it is 30ft-60ft away. Then you will be able to focus on other things, and the various mends that need to be applied will start to become second nature.

Presentation of the fly is also one of the main factors for success when swinging flies for Salmon River Steelhead. The fly is important as well, but if it isn't presented the way the Steelhead would like, it doesn't matter what the fly is or who tied it. Learn to "listen" to what the Salmon River tells you. This past season the water was low for most of the year so there wasn't as much flow or push. The standard down and across swing wasn't working that good and needed to be tweaked. The fly was moving too slow, so employing a downstream mend helped speed up the fly. It also presented the fly broadside to the Steelhead rather than tail first. Higher, faster water can often require the opposite actions. Pay attention to the river and adjust accordingly. Don't be afraid to experiment a little as well. Just because it worked last season doesn't mean it's going to work the same way next season. Heck, just because it worked yesterday doesn't mean it's going to work tomorrow.

Fly selection is also a factor when swinging flies for Salmon River Steelhead. The nice thing about fly selection is that it can be very personal and it can lead to confidence if things aren't working out the way we would like. This doesn't mean that your favorite fly is going to catch a fish every time you put it on the end of your line though. What it does mean is that if you don't know what to use or nothing seems to be working, put on your favorite fly and present it as best as you can. Over thinking and second guessing yourself will only make things more frustrating.

One of the best ways to figure out what flies to use or to have with you while fishing is to take a look at what Steelhead could possibly be eating while they spend their time in Lake Ontario and while they are in the Salmon River. There are numerous types of baitfish in Lake Ontario such as Alewife, Rainbow Smelt, Three Spined Sticklebacks, Gobies, and many others. Steelhead will also feed on invertebrates while in Lake Ontario. While in the Salmon River they can feed on various minnows such as Sculpins, Shiners, and Dace. They can also feed on various nymphs and Crayfish, as well as eggs from spawning Chinooks, Coho's, and Brown Trout. 

Now that we have a basic idea of what Salmon River Steelhead could be feeding on we can start to put a selection of flies together. Personally, I like to have some minnow imitations and I always have a few Crayfish type patterns in my box. These don't have to be anatomically correct imitations, but they should be tied with materials that move well in the water and help suggest life. Some should be tied with natural colors and others should be tied with bright, attractor colors. I like my minnows and Crayfish to be in the 2"-3" range so they are not too big and not too small. Just a nice sized mouthful. Sometimes I will add an egg to the pattern for an attractor, similar to how an egg is incorporated into and Egg Sucking Leech.

I don't carry any single eggs or the standard nymphs with me while swinging. Typically, these food items are dead drifting in the current and don't have any or much power to swim against the current. Swinging them would look un-natural to Salmon River Steelhead, similar to how a bowl of plastic apples looks fake to us.  Can you put on a mono leader and add a strike indicator/line indicator to fish eggs and nymphs with a spey rod? Sure you can do it, but it's alot more fun to have a 10lb plus steelhead completely smash your fly and literally rip the line out of your hand!!

Classic flies such as Spey Flies, Dee Flies, and Married Wing Salmon Flies will also get the attention of Salmon River Steelhead.  Although they may be tougher to tie and take more time to tie than most of the "standard" swinging flies, they are well worth the effort. Spey patterns such as the Lady Caroline and Grey Heron have gained some popularity due to their success on the Salmon River.  I haven't heard too much about Dee Flies from other anglers, but from my own personal experience, the Balmoral Dee has earned a spot in my box. 

Not many spey fishers are trying Married Wing Salmon Flies either.  I can understand why since they are very tough to tie and many people view them as "works of art" rather than "working flies." However, they do work and they do not have to be works of art to be good working flies.  Exotic materials do not have to be used either.  This past season, the Married Wing fly below(picture taken after it had been fished) did just as good as my other flies, and on one afternoon, it did much better than I thought.

Hopefully this little write up gives you a basic understanding of my thought process when it comes to swinging flies for steelhead in the Salmon River, NY.  Obviously there is more than one way to skin a cat or in this case, more than one way to swing up a Steelhead, so do your research and pick a method that will give you confidence while on the water. 

Balmoral Dee Fly Video

Here is the Balmoral Dee Fly and this is my first stab at making my own tying video.  As for now it's basic but I plan on playing around with the editing software and will include a test tank video for future flies.  Enjoy!!