Fall, fall is fabulous. I feel metro staying that word but it's amazing. Don't have time to write much right now but I'm in sportsman's heaven. The rut for deer is about to kick off. Lots of rubs and scrapes in the woods right now. Some chasing and road side collisions sky rocketing. As soon as this full moon subsides it will be game on for day time fights, chases, rubs and hopefully dirt naps.
But there's also fishing. I'm trying to plan a weekend trip. Yes, this weekend, you know in three days. I'm torn all over the place. The salmon river is stupid loaded with king salmon. People too but there are plenty of fish to go around. We usually like to go this time of year or later in October because of early steelhead and less crowds. Most people are up river chasing and fighting over spawned out white flag salmon when there's usually good numbers of steelhead down low with very few fishermen. Well, this year very few steelhead have entered the river. Something is happening to these fish. Two years ago saw insane numbers and then this massive die off in early fall. They blamed it on this thiamine (vitamin B) deficiency from eating too much alewife (baitfish) that is affecting the fish. But that makes no sense because they are obviously healthy when the enter the river. It's happening in the river where these fish experienced a major die off two Fall's ago. last year saw poor numbers and it's looking the same this year. Okay before I research the topic too much, lets just talk fishing.
There are tons of king salmon in the salmon river this year. Insane amounts and they keep coming in too so these are still fresh fish. Yes they bite rarely, usually are "lined" or "flossed" accidentally or purposely, even by the best equipped, best dressed orvis or Simms guides and models. But they are still fun. They fight like a freight train, backing sightings are regular and it's on like donkey kong. The river is dead low, but not too low. Still plenty of flow when compared to other rivers. It makes it easier for the snaggers to clear out the river but there are thousands of fish. Now is the time. A sick day tomorrow would be awesome. but for a king you ask? If only the river would fill like that with high flying steelhead?! It was almost like that two years ago. A run of steelhead similar to a salmon run in Mid October. It can happen but if it were going to happen we would have noticed more steelhead in with the salmon. The whole safety in numbers theory. Sure there were some but not many. 95% kings it seems over the last few days/weeks when typically steelhead make up a decent percentage. Yes, I'm only an internet expert fishermen and don't have first hand knowledge but if you knew how much time I spend looking and reading different reports from guides, residents and hardcore fishermen, you'd understand.
So, there's the salmon thing out of the way.
Then there's Lake Erie steelhead. The Cattaraugus, arguably the "Crown jewel" of steelhead alley is at historic lows almost. 100cfs as I type this but that's still fishable that's for sure. Other erie tribs are piss trickles at best but guess what?!!! Rain is on the way. The streams will rise and "run silver" once again. The chrome is a coming. THe last few years Erie area has sucked later in the year. Most fish are fall runners. So now might be the time to rock it. Hit it right after a high water event in late October and it will blow your mind the number of steel that will run those normally piss trickle streams. The slate bottom streams will flash flood,l fill with water, blow out and look like milky coffee for the first 24 hours and then majically clear to that "big fish green" color and offer up some of the most fantastic steelhead/rainbow fishing found anywhere on the plannet for about 24 hours. Then it will be low and gin clear again. Back to the bathtub unnatural BS fishing the place is used to. But plan that 24 hour window and you''ll be studying Mayan calendars every day of your life from this point forward trying to repeat that day again. Steelhead bliss is ... well... awesome. Nothing like it.
Sure the surf fishing in Lake Erie an Michigan is pretty good right now for steelhead too. You need a Leeward wind coming from your back as you cast into the lake. Anything else there will be big waves and muddy water near shore. With a south wind, clear calm water and steelhead will be so thinck they will bump into your legs as often as the sea of leaves will. Pretty cool expirence and you can't get any fresher than hooking them in the lake.
Oh... then there's the Chesapeake Bay this weekend. It's off the hook, "RockTober" is here in full effect. I went yesterday afternoon and mangled them. Found fish in their typical fall pattern of near the mouth of a major river feeding on bait near the surface. most of the time the bait is small, like bay anchovies about one inch log. That's when the birds chasing the bait and the fish are tiny. But find those peanut punker who should be about 4 inches long now and you'll find the "regular grade" fish hunting them. I stumbled upon really good numbers of fish yesterday in a 3 hour trip north of Kent Narrows. I went down for the usual early fall asesome top water explosions I'm used to getting in the shallows this time of year. Many a big fish over 30" as summersaulted over a popper this time of year hiding on shoreline structure. But figured I had some time before sunset and looked in deeper water first before hunting the shallows at sunset. I found a few birds in 50 feet and some bait and sure enough a huge school of stripers. They eventually seemed to work shallower and shallower and the afternoon turned into evening and fish were everywhere over a 1/2 mile area feeding on bunker on the channel edge 26 foot contour. Every now and then they'd surface and the splashes like kids doing cannon balls off the diving board that would pave the way to quality surface and sub surface action of fish from 22" to 33". Awesome fishing. I needed that bad. I had a very slow summer on the bay this year. I Don't like chumming for dink summer fish (will do it for spring and winter giants though) and didn't connect on much on the few times I tried mid to upper bay this summer. but I sure made up for it yesterday. it's on in a big way. The weather shows no signs of changing this warm global warming craziness, water temps are perfect in mid to upper 60's and the fish are chowing down. Go gettem...
Just where will I end up this weekend? Probably in a tree then on a bleacher watching my son's football and hopefully connected to a fish on Sunday/Monday. Just what species....I couldn't tell you. Heck I could do musky close, or musky far? The st. Lawerence is known for producing world records in the fall and I could make it there even. Just got a new Transmission in the SUV, time to break her in. 400k miles here I come. Just got the pass from the boss, my actual boss. The woman boss and I are done for now. Too much fishing maybe, I made true trout bum status. Who knows but I can tell you I could write for days of all the fishing trips I've done this year. Insane. One of my best years yet. Spring was insane. Numerous giants on top water. Ryan scored multiple fish too. I fished more this past year while separated than I have since college days. Incredible year. more to come on that later....
