Our next trip out to western NY started in Pulaski on the Salmon River. Al and I planned to meet up with our long time fishing buddy Lloyd from California for a few days of steelhead and brown trout angling. Our expectations were high, but because of the recent heavy rains in western NY and resulting higher water flows we were sure this would affect our success. Lloyd arrived at the Double Eagle Lodge late Friday and fished Saturday and Sunday on the Salmon. The water flow was set at 750 cfm, higher than the fly fishing optimum of 350-500 cfm. Higher water flows require more attached weight to get the fly down in the strike zone and with swifter current, shorter time in the strike zone. Both of these conditions will impact success. During the previous week, when water flows were down at 350 cfm, anglers enjoyed a few days of good steelhead action. Lloyd fished hard both days and had only a few hook ups. Al and I arrived late Sunday night and quickly hit the sheets. Monday dawned cool and sunny and with water flow still at 750 cfm, we decided to split up and fish different areas of the river. Lloyd and I headed up river to the lower fly fishing catch and release section, normally a good choice with the higher water flows. Al decided to check out one of his favorite areas in the Pineville section. Lloyd and I fished hard for a few hours with Lloyd hooking and landing a smallish 3 lb steelhead. We hadn’t heard from Al and were wondering if he was having more success than we were. We tried the cell phone, no luck, so we hopped in the car and headed down river to where we expected to find him. No Al to be found. Since it was near noon time, we figured he had headed back to the lodge. Sure enough he was there but not because he wanted to be. He had bumped his boot foot into a submerged sharp ended tree branch and sprung a major leak in his waders! He fished for awhile before deciding to call it quits. Back at the lodge, we decided to check out a few of the smaller local creeks that should fish well when the water flows are up. We stopped and fished a few but did not find any active fish and headed back to the Salmon for the remaining daylight. No luck for the rest of the day! At dinner we made the decision to head out for Oak Orchard on Tuesday morning. The weather forecast was calling for substantial rain for the region; we hoped this would “turn on the fish” and “turn off many anglers”. We arrived at the Oak at 7am and were pleasantly surprised to see few cars in the parking area, in fact, the fewest I’ve seen in many seasons. We decided to spread out a bit and fish a few different parts of the creek, I headed up to the top of the Archer Pool, left side and Lloyd set up across from me on the right side. Al decided to fish the lower right end of the Archer Pool. The water was a ½ foot higher and a bit more stained than it had been two weeks earlier. It appeared that most of the salmon were done with their business and we hoped for good numbers of browns to be present. Both Lloyd and I had a few good ups during the course of the morning, but overall, the fishing was slower than expected. I landed a medium sized brown of about 5 lbs and had a few other takes. Lloyd decided to head farther upstream and checkout the spawning gravel and took a coffee break. The rain had just begun to fall when I hooked up on to what felt like a large brown. After several minutes of very careful play (3 x tippet) and the assistance of a nearby angler I landed a 16+ pound female brown. She was a gorgeous trout, chock full of eggs. I quickly got a photo and released her. Lloyd returned about an hour or so later and reported that he had landed one small brown and remarked about how slow the action was. We both fished the pool for awhile longer with Lloyd landing a very nice 10 pounder. Shortly thereafter, Al had come upstream to check on us. He had landed a few browns, a steelhead and hooked on several other fish as well. We all agreed that the fishing was slower but a whole lot more exciting than fishing the Salmon at 750 cfm. We fished till 4pm and drove 2 ½ hours back to the lodge in Pulaski. Back at the lodge we checked with a few of the other anglers at the lodge and their report on the Salmon River was no better than it had been for the previous few days. It had rained especially harder in the Pulaski area than it had to the west in Waterport, creating an even greater water flow than the 750 cfm. With that report, we decided our best bet would be to return to the Oak on Wednesday morning. We hoped the amount of rainfall we received would not seriously impact the creek much. On Tuesday afternoon, another one of our fishing buddies, Mark arrived in Pulaski. He had fished a few hours Tuesday on the Salmon with no luck and was anxious to fish the Oak. The forecast for Wednesday called for dramatic changes in temperature and wind. The forecast was right on! At 6:30 am, the temperature in Rochester hit 70 and by the time we arrived at the Oak, the temperature had dropped to 54 with wind and hard rain. The parking lot had only a few more cars than Tuesday, so another small crowd! The heavy rain let up to sprinkles as we made our way down the path to the creek. The creek was up about 6”, running harder and the water clarity was just a bit more stained than it had been the day before. Lloyd, Mark and I again headed upstream, to where we had fished Tuesday. Al, likewise, fished where he had been the day before. The harder running current made for more difficult presentations, with more weight required to get the fly down to the fish. The wind also drove more fallen leaves into the water course interfering with line drift. With the higher and harder running water, I expected the trout to be swimming and holding in closer to the creek bank, but I soon realized that was not the case. The fish were not holding but quickly moving upstream more toward the center seam. Mark was first to hook up. The trout was no doubt large by the fight it was displaying. Mark played the fish carefully, getting the fish close to the shallows before spitting the hook. We did not get a good look, but I did get a peek at the tail of a large brown as it swam off. Mark was bummed! Shortly thereafter, I hooked and landed a 5 pounder and Mark as well landed a 3 pounder. Both released! The three of us decided to move downstream and join Al. Al was having a banner day, having hooked numerous trout, much to the displeasure of many of the other anglers fishing close by. Al had the presentation perfect for this tricky stretch of water. But after a time we all had a few hook ups. There was a good mix of browns and super colored up steelhead in the drift. Al and Lloyd each landed a nice fish. We all had enjoyed a great day on the Oak and were pleased with the fishing. Again, the number of hook ups was down, but considering the conditions, we had done better than we had expected. A slow day on the Oak is better than a good day most anywhere else! We called it a day and headed back east to Pulaski. Thursday was to be our last 1/2 day of fishing before heading on home. The dawn broke clear and down right chilly with air temperature at 27. Mark decided to head home early and Lloyd and I headed up to the lower fly fishing area. Al would catch up later. Lloyd and I carefully crossed the Salmon just below the “Old Farts Pool” and made our way up to the gravel beds just below the Stop Wire. I hooked a nice steelhead on my second drift; the fish threw the hook before I could say “fish on”! We fished hard for another hour and saw a few fish hooked, one landed. I had another chance, but again the fish threw the hook after making a few big splashes in the pool. Sometimes it’s not important to land the fish, but to get the hook up; I was pleased. Shortly thereafter we caught up with Al who had landed one steelhead and had another hook up. Al and I called it a trip and headed back to the lodge and gathered up our stuff for the 6 hour trek home. Lloyd’s plane was not scheduled until later in the afternoon so he hung in there and fished. He later called us and reported hooking up a few more fish! The Salmon River is still a good steelhead destination, but sadly, no where near as great as it once was. There are many factors that have contributed to the decline in steelhead numbers and I promise to write about in the future. Future trips out to western NY will be very much weather dependant, but I hope to get out there at least once more in the next few weeks. Catch you Later!!! Home