After the great weekend that we had on the Salmon River with the Nano Run it seemed like Tuesday and Wednesday just complete shutdown. It was like my old neighborhood in NYC where we use to open up the fire hydrant on a hot summer day. Everybody is enjoying the cold water but then the fire department would get notice, and they would come and just crank the fire hydrant close. It was such a contrast from last week to today things were just complete shutdown. I fished from sunrise to about 4 pm, and I’m used to working hard for late August kings but today was just brutal. I fished the lower end of the DSR, and there was a flurry of movement at sunrise, but no one brought fish to hand. At around 8 AM, I hooked into a fish but I was trying to be fancy and trying to get my camera out to film it, and I must have given the fish some slack and the hooked popped off. The only other guys who were hooking fish were two guys who were standing in what I call “guide alley.” Its where the guides will bring their clients and they line up before the Joss Hole, and they pick fish off as they are coming up. I saw 5 fish splash up, and they hooked into three. Other than it was super quiet. When I was walking out everyone was asking if I landed that fish I hooked. Usually, no one really talks to me or notices that I was hooked up, but today it was that slow. Everyone I spoke to down by the Joss Hole said it was super quiet.
I started walking and walked up to the mid DSR. There was no one on that stretch of water which is usual for this early. I sat and waited and then walked up and down that stretch looking under every riffle, hole and tree shade. Nothing. What I saw was lots of dead fish – far more than I have ever seen. This could have been from the fish that entered last week, and they just got cooked and exhausted from the heat.
I went for lunch and a quick nap and then headed up and when from 2A to Sportman. I saw some fish splashing up 2A when I was crossing the bridge, but by the time I stopped and got out, it was too late. I then decided to go to some of the really shaded areas of the river and side channels. I noticed that anglers up north in Ontario seems to fish these small shaded side channels, so I decided to try that. I walked into a calm and cool side channel, and I made the foolish mistake of just trotting in. All of a sudden 4 or 5 Kings was scurrying up into cover. I chased after them but lost them, but I was able to hook into another king but broke off when it ran under a fallen tree in the water. Lesson learned to treat all water that you enter with stealth.
So today I saw a few and hooked two but nothing to hand, but I still enjoyed myself. This is early salmon fishing. I met some guys from PA that had come, and they did not get into any fish. I felt terrible for them, but that is fishing.
As far as what is to come some are predicting movement this weekend. There is a water release happening, and then the water will bump to 350 for the rest of the salmon season if they can sustain it. Also, the weather was visibly turning cooler when I was there. Temps were in the lower 70s in my car’s thermometer, and there was an actual nice breeze. So cooler weather, breeze ( I believe it is supposed to be an east wind) and water could trigger something for this weekend.
I will be posting every day this weekend as I get information in.
I was up wed. hooked 5 I am from PA 3 hour drive just went up to see some of the locals I know and start my season
Hey the guy with the hat.
Glad you got into fish – Wednesday was a scorcher. Did you fish early on down low?