Steelhead on the Salmon River, NY ??

[MJMFlyfisher]

I haven't been to the Salmon River since I think 2001? Did the October Salmon thing for a few days on the DSR, got the T-Shirt, it was fun enough, actually caught some big salmon in the mouth, but never went back. Made one other trip the following year in June on the rumor of good smallmouth bass fishing and Atlantic salmon. Caught some of both....Atlantics up near the hatchery somewhere and some nice bass down on the DSR.
I have never been back and wouldn't know the river at all.......I just can't recall the areas we fished with a whopping 5-6 days of experience on it.

For some reason I've been getting the itch to try Steelhead fishing up there and didn't know if this time of year was worth the effort, or if it's mostly a Nov-December type deal?
I PROBABLY have all the necessary gear and can tie any flies I don't have, just wondering if any of you guys had any late winter experience up there? Is the river crowded still on weekends, or should I plan to take a couple weekdays off for a little peace and quiet?

Looking for any Steelhead thoughts , advice or experiences good and bad......winter , spring or fall! I'll take it all.
It's a pretty decent haul for us PA guys to drive up there so anything is helpful.
Thank you!

(I'm a glutton for punishment so probably even worse, I'm also thinking about Oak Orchard browns in the fall! LOL )

DSR section 2001...wow the neoprene waders days!

 

[Bocianka1]

You can still catch steelhead, but it helps to time it with the runs. There is a spring run as they make their way back downriver in late April. I went up last year with a group of guys. We went April 25-30th. We chose that week specifically to target spring run steelhead rather than salmon fishing. They had big rains the week before we got there and it flushed a lot of the steelhead out of the system. Isn't that always the way of it, "you should have been here last week"! There were still a few steelhead around, but it was tough going. I managed to land my first though so it was worth the trip for me.

Stayed in Pulaski New York at the Double Eagle Lodge. Nice rooms, very friendly owners and pretty centrally located to most of the spots we wanted to try fishing. We did fish the DNR for a day. It was pretty and worth a trip, but some of the other water was just as nice without the fees. caught some smallmouth there.
We also hired a guide for a day which was really nice as he was able to take us around to various locations and give us the lay of the land on where to target the fish and what spots were productive at this time of year.

It was a lot of fun and worth looking into if you still want to catch steelhead in the spring.

 

[sandflyx]

In the 70's we fished all winter for steel head in the salmon. I remember wading through 3 feet of snow from the parking lots to the river.

 

[Tigereye]

Brrrrrrrr! The best days seem to be the coldest days. Did it for a few years. Fun but as you said, too far a drive from PA. also you gamble on the lake effect snow squalls that dump 2 feet of snow overnight.
As mentioned above early spring a bit more enjoyable ie March and April

 

[Zach75]

It’s definitely worth it to try and get up during the week if you can.

 

[mt_flyfisher]

I used to fish there a lot, probably for close to 30 years, and I fished there all throughout the winter, but I haven’t gone there at all for perhaps the past 20 years. I do read the Whittaker’s fishing reports from time to time and I believe they are a good, reliable source of information.

Just keep an eye on the water level, and the weather forecast, you might not want to plan a trip when the water is exceptionally high, or when a warm up might cause a large snowmelt which results in a lot of water being released from the reservoir. The fish mostly hold in the deeper pools during the winter - those places are no secret and easy to find. You‘ll probably be fishing mostly above Pineville (there’s generally more ice the farther down the river you go), and even above the Altmar bridge - an easy place to fish during the winter.

I wouldn’t worry about a little snow or cold weather effecting your plans. I don’t think it hurts the fishing any - I’ve caught steelhead there at the crack of dawn in -18° weather, and at sunset when the thermometer read -12°. And I’ve caught plenty of steelhead when it was snowing so hard I could barely see the tip of my rod. Just dress for it, and you’ll have lots of fun!

 

[MJMFlyfisher]

I used to fish there a lot, probably for close to 30 years, and I fished there all throughout the winter, but I haven’t gone there at all for perhaps the past 20 years. I do read the Whittaker’s fishing reports from time to time and I believe they are a good, reliable source of information.

Just keep an eye on the water level, and the weather forecast, you might not want to plan a trip when the water is exceptionally high, or when a warm up might cause a large snowmelt which results in a lot of water being released from the reservoir. The fish mostly hold in the deeper pools during the winter - those places are no secret and easy to find. You‘ll probably be fishing mostly above Pineville (there’s generally more ice the farther down the river you go), and even above the Altmar bridge - an easy place to fish during the winter.

I wouldn’t worry about a little snow or cold weather effecting your plans. I don’t think it hurts the fishing any - I’ve caught steelhead there at the crack of dawn in -18° weather, and at sunset when the thermometer read -12°. And I’ve caught plenty of steelhead when it was snowing so hard I could barely see the tip of my rod. Just dress for it, and you’ll have lots of fun!

Let me know when ya want to go back! LOL
I'll drive

I've heard that about the fish in the deeper pools now.....I saw they're pretty spread out like regular old trout in the fall. riffles, runs pocket water etc. So when the spring drop back starts do they occupy a lot of those same spots that they did in the fall?

 

[dano]

It's much easier nowadays to plan for conditions.
There is a short term dam release schedule posted but sometimes it changes suddenly.
The day before we were to head out last week, they decided to open the faucet.

SafeWaters by Brookfield Renewable US

www.safewaters.com

Then there is the pineville usgs gauge.

Salmon River at Pineville NY

Monitoring location 04250200 is associated with a Stream in Oswego County, New York. Current conditions of Discharge and Gage height are available. Water data back to 1952 are available online.

waterdata.usgs.gov

And there are a couple of video cams at the town bridge.

Salmon River Live Web Stream - Fat Nancy's Tackle Shop Pulaski, NY

Live webcam of Salmon River in Town of Pulaski, NY

fatnancystackle.com

 

[mt_flyfisher]

Let me know when ya want to go back! LOL
I'll drive

I've heard that about the fish in the deeper pools now.....I saw they're pretty spread out like regular old trout in the fall. riffles, runs pocket water etc. So when the spring drop back starts do they occupy a lot of those same spots that they did in the fall?

Spring steelhead fly fishing often involves locating the spawning areas, riffles that are 1 to 4 feet deep with dark gravel bottoms. The deeper runs, pockets or pools can still have pre-spawn fish though.

 

[CLSports]

The fish mostly hold in the deeper pools during the winter - those places are no secret and easy to find. You‘ll probably be fishing mostly above Pineville

This ^^

 

[JimKennedy]

For what it’s worth, I’ve been part of a cast of characters that takes over a hole at the lower end of the Douglaston pretty much every Columbus Day week. In our years, we’ve hit plenty of steelies during that week, along with browns and both salmon varieties.

Steel is always the highlight. Some years we get a half a dozen between the 10 of us, but most years everyone gets one or two, and one year we hit the jackpot.

Short version: mid to late October is good steely fishing, and there are plenty of salmon for when the rainbows are scarce, but it’s pretty much a Douglaston thing.

My dad used to go up in November and early December back in the’00s for steelhead, and did quite well (a steelhead or two a day, plus big brown trout). His take away is that’s brown trout season and the steelhead are there to eat eggs.

In April maybe two years ago, two guys from my Columbus Day tribe went for the steelhead. They did ok in terms of action and landing fish, but said the trout seemed lethargic. They got one in the 33-35 inch range, but it barely gave a pull after being hooked.

If you go in November to April, be ready to walk and drive. Your best success will be the result of covering a lot of water.

Finally, I will leave you with a Columbus week photo of one of my friends who tried to hold the fish for a photo, but the steelhead decided to head back to Lake Ontario:

 

[MJMFlyfisher]

Awesome responses so far guys thanks so much! 👍

 

[MJMFlyfisher]

For what it’s worth, I’ve been part of a cast of characters that takes over a hole at the lower end of the Douglaston pretty much every Columbus Day week. In our years, we’ve hit plenty of steelies during that week, along with browns and both salmon varieties.

Steel is always the highlight. Some years we get a half a dozen between the 10 of us, but most years everyone gets one or two, and one year we hit the jackpot.

Short version: mid to late October is good steely fishing, and there are plenty of salmon for when the rainbows are scarce, but it’s pretty much a Douglaston thing.

My dad used to go up in November and early December back in the’00s for steelhead, and did quite well (a steelhead or two a day, plus big brown trout). His take away is that’s brown trout season and the steelhead are there to eat eggs.

In April maybe two years ago, two guys from my Columbus Day tribe went for the steelhead. They did ok in terms of action and landing fish, but said the trout seemed lethargic. They got one in the 33-35 inch range, but it barely gave a pull after being hooked.

If you go in November to April, be ready to walk and drive. Your best success will be the result of covering a lot of water.

Finally, I will leave you with a Columbus week photo of one of my friends who tried to hold the fish for a photo, but the steelhead decided to head back to Lake Ontario:View attachment 1641234306

My favorite type pictures!! 😂
SMACK!

 

[mtelesha]

I always pick up a few Steelhead in April when I go. I also have picked them up in Winter but it can be a little slow. When I go in April I expect to hook into a few a day. If I am there in Mid- Dec through Mid March I think one fish after two days of fishing is my average. Its still worth it and they pull like a truck for me usually but I use a 7wt single-handed rod.

It's 5 hours to Salmon River and 5 Hours to Erie. To me, Erie = a lot of Steelhead, and Salmon typically means bigger Steelhead.

 

[albertw27]

The great thing about PA is that we are fairly centrally located to a lot of great water for lake run fish. One can head out to Steelhead Alley out in Western PA / Ohio, find the closest resemblance to the PNW in the Erie tributaries in Western NY, or find the traditional steelhead waters of Lake Ontario - all within a 4 to 6 hour drive.

The Salmon River has a special place in my heart as it is where I first picked up a two handed rod.

Outside of summer, you can pretty much them year round but when you put everything together (weather, crowds, chances at fish, etc.), I'd say the best windows are mid October through end of November and the mid-March to early May. I love swinging flies and the spring time fish can be super aggressive but with the warmer winters, the runs are pushing earlier and earlier as of late. Winter can be good but weather can always be a consideration but it is usually over the winter and fall you find nice chromers (in the spring, its chasing drop backs).

The only thing is that in that October timeframe, it can still be a bit of a zoo of the salmon are still running. That said, a bonus that time of year is tangling with a lake run brown.

If you do make the run up, be sure to stop at Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse. I've taken two different groups there and everyone has liked it.

 

[MJMFlyfisher]

Well I didn't make it up for the winter, but myself and a buddy put a spring trip on the calendar for today...... 🌧️😂
The morning was pretty ridiculous, driving rain, 20-30mph winds , fire , brimstone, locusts, driftboats, centerpins everywhere !! 😂😂

Anyway , it actually settled down in the afternoon and turned out quite pleasant!
Wind died, rain died....centerpinners lived on.
But hooked 6, only landed 3.
Four on egg patterns and 2 swinging beadhead buggers on sinking lines. Also had a few great hits swinging but they didn't stick.
Had 2 just shake off and broke off one big jumper that I decided to try to yank out of the sky for some reason 🤷‍♂️....Whoops. LOL
My buddy had the same day, hooked 6, landed 3.....
All in all a great day! Remembered my wading staff, and didn't take a swim. (but not for lack of trying)
Two thumbs up 👍👍 Would recommend.
But maybe a Wednesday 😉

Sorry Russ.....😂
LOL

 

[Harry3]

https://douglastonsalmonrun.com/fishing-reports/

 

[JimKennedy]

That last picture is one for the ages.