Image used by permission from @steelheadfeesh
Lake Ontario And Summary
Based on an overview of the whole river the fishing continues to improve. However, not all locations did well some sections did better than others. The best sections over the previous week was the upper section of the river. Most of the drift boats did well and there was a rumor of a fresh king that was caught.
This Coming Weekend
If you are planning on fishing this weekend, we strongly recommend that you keep an eye on the weather. Most of the local news weather forecasts are predicting ice and snow. Thursday night into Friday morning, there will be ice in the Pulaski area, but most worrisome is for anglers traveling from PA or coming west from Albany on the Thruway. On Friday night to Saturday, they are predicting significant precipitation.
The water levels are at 350CFS, which means that fish will be in the deeper holes. Please keep in mind that the water will be clear, so using smaller and lighter will be essential to get on fish.
Pro Tips
Image used by permission from @i90flies
Three Pro Tips For Choosing And Tying Flies For Steelhead on the Salmon River from @I90Flies who is a fly tier and who serves many Steelhead anglers in Steelhead Alley and nationwide. Here are his three tips for choosing and tying flies for Steelhead on the Salmon River.
1. Tie Sucker Spawns.
Pro tip – when tying a Sucker Spawn, remember that less is more. The thinner loops, the more defined the profile, which will make it more effective.
2. Tie White Death.
Pro tip – when tying the White Death, remember that less is more. Cut the Zonker strip in half, and it will lead to doubling your catch rate.
3. Experiment.
Pro tip – Some of the most effective patterns come from innovating/deviating from the original pattern.
The best-selling patterns for this season are:
Blood Dot. Cream/Niagara Gold dot.
Pink Sucker Spawn.
Yellow Eggstacy/Flame Dot
Douglaston Salmon Run
The few reports that we received this week stated that fishing was not as good as the previous week. However the fishing was still an improvement from the previous month. Due to the predicted storm the DSR will have a delayed opening. Please check their site for updated opening times.
Town and Pulaski
The reports that we received for Pulaski was that the main two locations were Long Bridge and Town Bridge. Other than those two, there was not much to report. Reports stated that some anglers tried fishing the Black Hole and Ball Park, but due to the size of the location, we don’t think those areas are efficient and effective during this time.
81 to Altmar
Last wee, the main bright spot of the whole river was the upper section. Received reports of anglers getting into fish from Pineville up the Lower Fly Zone. There were also reports of unharassed fish in different areas from Sportsmans to Trestles. They do require some walking, but the anglers that reported stated they had a blast.
Great write up. Thanks!!!