The Female Hendrickson has been thoroughly explored recently. Let’s move to a different riffle where we find the male Hendrickson hatching. This is a Red Quill tied by master Catskill Fly tier Dave Brandt. Loved to chat and watch Dave tie but for some reason the sign in on his table always said “Free Flies Tomorrow”. When I questioned this Dave’s response was “we will burn that bridge when we come to it”.
-an excerpt from Tom Mason my good friend and neighbor on the East Branch is the Delaware.
This past Wednesday and Thursday we did a group trip to the Salmon River. We had air temps 15 to 20 degrees and icy tips both days.
We fished the upper end the first day with 6 hooked and 1 landed. The first day of any trip is usually feet on the ground low risk. We achieved this and were ready for the second day.
The second day we fished the lower end looking for fresh steel. The temps had dropped and the cold was brutal. We each hooked fresh chrome but none to hand. In the picture is Chris with a colored up steelhead.
When fishing the western NY tributaries it is always good to go with friends. Most of the rivers big and small originate from hydro electric dams. At any time the electric companies can decide to fluctuate the flows.
When our Delaware fishermen and fisherwoman ask about what its like fishing the Great Lake tributaries we simply tell them “different.”Some days it will seem like every cast has the prospect of fish, however many days are cold and dismal.
On our December trip we had 8 guys and lots of fun. The first day ended with one hook up and one lake trout to the net. The second day was totally different. The fish moved into the area we took over and called our own. In tributary fishing the spot is more important than your skill and your equipment.
Many anglers arrive as early as 3am in the morning to stake claim to their section of river. Some areas are on a yearly basis “better” than others. It could be a swirling back eddy or even a large rock that creates a holding zone for these migratory travelers. Knowing the spots will increase your catch rate. Also having enough friends to “hold down” the spot from other anglers is essential when the rivers are busy.
Most of our hookups were on simple estez egg patterns. The second day you really couldn’t go wrong. If you got it down to them, they ate it. We finished the second day landing over 30 lake trout and breaking off one steelhead.
