Yesterday I fished down low through the rain and wanted to give you my eyes on the salmon river fishing report. As the weeks have progressed fish are now starting to hold in the open. In early September and through last week you mostly had fish moving through as quickly as possible. Or that is what it seemed like. What most fish were doing is moving during the night or early morning hours or before sunset and then stopping in the big pools. To most anglers that seemed like the fish were either moving fast or not moving at all. Additionally, in the first few weeks of September, the water level was higher so fish could move without being detected. As the weeks have progressed and biology starts pressing on the cycle of reproduction fish are moving. Additionally, the fish entering the system does not seem as strong as the fish in September. What fish were previously doing was going from fast water and continued to the large deep pools. Yesterday, I saw more fish resting after making a run through the swift water. Right after they run through that water and what I see as the transition is where they are most vulnerable for anglers. In the past weeks where they sit for 30 seconds now, they are holding for 10-20 minutes and then moving to the deep holes. Additionally, I have seen more fish move from the deep pools out and into the fast water to keep moving. The low clear water and the edges or seams are places where they are moving slowly through or just holding.
I am not a deep pool angler. Maybe my lack of experience but in those deep pools unless you are sitting in the right spot it’s tough to get a fish. As you know most fish are not interested in eating so to hook a fish you need to bump that fly or egg sack in their face. In slower deep pool water it just seems harder to do that because they can see it. In the faster water, I have more control over the speed, and I can see that I am putting that fly in their face to aggravate them to strike.
One thing I wanted to mention was the use of split shot. I realized I had forgotten my split shot and I had purchased some split shot. I went into All Seasons, and I picked up some split shot. The split shot was super shiny. As I fished, I realized I could see fish moving away from my line. I was using flouro, and my fly was a size ten egg in pink. Very discreet. However, I could fish just moving. I was fortunate enough to find some dark green split shot in my bag and when I switched I could see fish were not as scared.
What do you think? Does the shiny split shot scare fish? Let me know in the comments below.
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