I was full of excitement, anticipation, and, yes, some trepidation as I thought about Doc’s arrival a few Thursday afternoons ago, on the Salmon River. I had arrived the previous Sunday. The King Salmon had predominated the catch for the previous 5 days (not a bad thing) with a few Coho’s and steelies tossed into the mix for variety. The flow had dropped steadily from 800cfm, high but fishable, to a perfect 400. The weather had been amazing with the promise of continued more of the same, so why the trepidation? Simple- I had talked about my previous trips and had shown pictures of last year’s amazing fishing and now I had invited fellow Louts, and Doc decided to join me. I wanted him to have the trip of a lifetime without even leaving NY state. You all know the feeling of setting up a trip and praying it would live up to expectations. Well this one did as you can see from his post and the representitive photos.
We fished hard every day, drank a bit each night and ate 5 nights in a row at a great steakhouse that we could walk to. Life does not get much better than that. After catching a lot of Kings for the previous 5 days I had the freedom to move around and try different spots and tactics. That is when I found a lie under a fallen log where georgous Brown trout loved to rest and hide out. Doc and I also enjoyed amazing runs of Coho’s. These may be my favorite fish in the river; they grow large, absolutely attack the right fly, go crazy like the steelies do when hooked, and are beautiful!! Then you have the steelhead. What can I say about them that you don’t already know except that this trip proves you do not have to freeze your ass off in horrible conditions to catch these fish. My sources, those people I talk to, tell me that during the last weeks in Oct. and part of Nov. the kings are gone and leave behind a river full of browns and steelies. The upper fly zone, which Doc and I did not even explore is supposed to be great for this type of fishing and a lot of the crowds leave with the Kings. I’m going to watch the weather and try to get back up for a couple of days.
This is a trip worth looking into although I can not promise the same outstanding fishing or weather. The drink and food are easier to predict and the company will always be great. I have remarked to people who have suffered through my fish photos that if we had spent thousands of dollars in say, Alaska, and had the chance to catch 4 distinct species, of the quality and quantity we did, while enjoying glorious weather and great food we would have felt we got our money’s worth!! All within driving distance and about $50 per night per man for a decent room.
Doc and I have a room reserved for next year and if you are interested call me. The Portly Angler, the largest hotel in the area, where I usually stay is purportedly sold and will likely be closing, so hotel rooms for prime time can be hard to come by. I’ll have some suggestions for you. Glenn