Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Oneida Lake Walleye on the Fly - Fall 2020
When I first moved up to Canastota, NY after veterinary school, I did not even know what a walleye was. After my first Summer, Walleye had become a mystical unicorn for me. I had a hard time catching them. With the help of mentors, I luckily was gifted with some local knowledge and by the next season I had achieved some great success with both Spring, Summer, and Fall Walleye fishing. Once I became a student of the fly rod, my next goal arose. It seemed like a steep one that I could not find much information on.
How do you catch Walleye on the fly?
Walleye on the fly was my next challenge for myself. I had very little help available to me locally. I could not find a single person around who had ever chased walleye on the fly. I found some video help online through The New Fly Fisher channel, but even then I knew I would have a lot of work to do. Oneida is a notoriously tough lake to fish at times, let alone fly fish. Perhaps it is just Me, but Oneida Lake regularly chews me up and spits me out with days of getting skunked or days of limited catches. Its a good challenge.
Maybe I would not catch a thing on the fly. I did not know. But, I am a glutton for punishment, and I love a challenge - especially one that few people around this fishing locale have ever rolled the dice on.
My advice for Walleye on the fly on Oneida Lake in the Fall.
-if the carp are there, the walleye probably are not. In my experience, walleye do not like carp.
-be patient - the magic time for the walleye bite comes fast and goes fast. Just because you are not getting bites does not mean the bite is not about to turn on!
-Walleye eat small fish. In Oneida Lake, they mostly eat small yellow perch. Make your flies look like a small yellow perch.
-RETRIVE SLOW! Sometimes painfully slow. Let the fly sink, and then give a solid 12" or so line strip, then let it sink again, repeat. Walleye usually hit on the sink phase, and then you will feel them on the line strip. When you feel them, keep tension on the line, strip in, lift up, and the fight begins!
King Salmon on the Fly - Salmon River, Altmar, NY October 2020
The Salmon run was off to a slow start for me this season due to some worrying drought conditions. We were desperately in need of rain here in Upstate NY. It even got to the point where radio shows were broadcasting drought warnings and advising people to take short showers. MY first few trips up to Salmon River were uneventful due to this low water. I would occasionally see someone hook up with a fish, but it was rare. I would even see a few small Kings swim by me when I was fishing, but again this was rare. It was not until fairly late in the season that I finally found the Salmon. The King Salmon were a mystical unicorn in my head - I would see pictures of people holding up monstrous fish, and it blew my mind. How would I ever land on of these beasts on a fly rod?
First, I needed a bigger rod. Now understand, I am all about fishing on a budget and I never by top dollar items at this point in my life. My go-to trout rod is a five weight True Temper from 1925 that I found for $15 at an antique store, A&A Treasures in Sylvan Beach, NY to be exact. My warm water fishing rod is a 6-weight South Bend Deluxe that I found at that same store for $11. Both rods work beautifully. I had ideas of trying to catch a King on the six weight and just holding on for dear life, but I knew I needed something with a bit more backbone, not to mention a reel with a good smooth drag. I found the rod portion of this equation at the Bull Barn antique store in Vernon, NY. I stumbled upon a True Temper Custom 8 weight rod that was on sale for $17.50. It was kind of odd looking, being white and teal/blue in color. But hey, and eight weight is an eight weight and I knew these old True Tempers were made to last. The ferrules needing some serious repair, as they had seen some miles. There were metal, worn, and very sharp, indicating to me that someone had used this rod to fight some monster fish at some point in its life.
A quick stop at Salmon River Sports Shop got me my reel, an Okuma SLV 7/8 weight reel that had the drag I was looking for. The folks at the shop were kind enough to teach me how to fix the ferrules as well. After a couple night of rod repair at home, the rod was ready to go, or at least I hoped it was!
I went to the Upper Fly zone and started to scout for some fish. I could not find a thing. I hiked downstream to some rapids and thought I saw some fins breaking the surface here or there. I stopped and observed. I soon saw some fish fighting in the water, breaking the surface and making whitewater. Some of them looked massive. I had found the Kings, but could I catch one? I tied on a Wooly bugger and cast into the rapids. I caught rocks a few times, but no Kings. I kept trying and hooked into something that I originalyl thought was a rock, until I set the hook. I thought I felt some movement on the end of the line, so I cranked on the rod and set the hook hard.
It was like I had connected with a lightning bolt.
The water erupted into whitewater and a huge male King took of upstream and across the river. He took me for a LONG walk! It took me about 25 minutes to get him in. He may not have been the freshest fish in the river, but he put up a good fight. My arms, chest and shoulders were burning by the end of it.
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Fly Fishing Finger Lakes Tributaries for Landlocked Atlantic Salmon in the Fall 2020
The Fall Salmon run during the weekend of 11/7-11/9 turned out to be especially productive on the Finger Lakes Tributaries. Every Fall, a mix of Landlocked Atlantic Salmon, Brown Trout, and Rainbow Trout will run up the creeks. The Salmon and Brown Trout spawn, and the Rainbows follow to eat the eggs. The Rainbows then hold over through winter, spawn in the Spring, and then return to the lake. Landlocked Atlantic Salmon have always been a special fish for me, being the state fish of Maine, my home. I was hoping to find some today, but had never fished these creeks before so was not sure it would happen. I came armed with a a selection of nymphs, egg patterns, and some streamers that mainly included variations of wooly buggers, Mickey Finn, and Warden's Worry. I definitely want to start to hone my skills in both tying and fishing class Maine streamers, though the Mickey Finn and Warden's Worry were the only ones I had tied myself so far. I had tried them on trout and even on walleye (why not?) in the past, but had achieved no good results!
I did not know what to expect today, but I went in humble with the mindset of exploring and enjoying time outside. As I approached the stream, I was looking for shadows in the water and rising or fighting fish. I approached slow so as to not disturb any fish. The water was crystal clear, so even deep pools were visible quite far into the water. Using a stealthy approach, I approached a pool that sure looked fishy to me. The water was very cold through my boots - a great sign. I then saw a flash of a fish at the tail end of the pool - I was not sure if the fish saw me or not, but its belly turned up to the sky for one reason or another. I assumed it was a female salmon digging up a redd. Knowing this, I guessed that there would likely be some males in the pool as well, either defending a redd or swimming further upstream. I had a homemade Warden’s Worry streamer tied on my tippet - a pretty classic and not too complicated bucktail streamer tied with a body of silver tinsel and yellow chenille, wings of yellow bucktail, and a tail of a couple brown feathers (species unknown) that I got in a used fly tying kit. I tied this guy up when I first started fly tying, so it is not the most aesthetically pleasing fly. I figured it would get the job done, and I have always tried to catch something on it, but have never been successful. I unhooked the streamer from my rod guide, sighted the pool, and casted in. I received an immediate WHACK and observed a male Landlocked Salmon absolutely slam the streamer. I could not believe it! I had never had a salmon swim so far to attack a streamer. He came up from the bottom al lthe way so that his dorsal fin was almost out of the water! I was not even ready to set the hook since it took me by surprise, and since the fish hit the body of the streamer and not the tail, I missed the hookset by a mile. Wow. I was so happy to see a fish, let alone one of my most sought after species. I was not even mad at myself because simply seeing one made me so happy. One productive cast deserves another, so I sighted the pool again and cast in again, this time ready and waiting for the beast to come back. Sure enough, the big male returned. He looked at the fly, questioned his choices for a moment, suspecting that something was not right, but then gave it a reluctant but surely irritated whack with his jaws before attempting to dart off back to the depths. Well, that little bite was all I needed. The second his jaws came in contact with the fly, I set the hook. He exploded with very fast and violent head shakes. I could see the hook set was great, right in the left side of his mandible, and I hoped it would not come out with the fight he was putting up. He proceed to tail walk down the stream, and I put him on the reel. He peeled a decent amount of drag, but these Landlocked Salmon are small enough that I felt comfortable fighting him with a lot of pressure since I knew I had 6 lb 4x tippet on. Maybe this tippet was overkill, but I felt confident that these angry salmon would hit streamers and not be too line shy. The fish ended up running back upstream on his own, so I was able to get him in front of me, lift the rod up, and net him in the current. Even in the net he was explosive, and he jumped out the net once! I picked him up fast and grabbed my tape measurer. Legal size for keepers on this tributary at this time of year is 18”, and I really did not expect to catch a Landlocked Atlantic Salmon this size. I measured him head to tail and found he was 21”. I was so honored. I was ready to keep fish today, so I dispatched him quickly with my Papa’s knife.
On the next morning, I tried at another section upstream that actually had a lot of anglers. It was honestly reminiscent of Salmon River during the run, and was not really what I was looking for today. I tried to hook into some big aggressive males I could see chasing each other around, and actually did hook into one. However, I was not confident it was a truly legal hook. It just did not feel right, and I think the fish got hooked when swimming by and did not see the streamer. The hook was in the jaw, though. I pulled the fish in quickly and set him free. It was a huge male, probably 25 inches!
I moved downstream for a more peaceful venture. I walked by one angler who had just landed his first salmon of his life! It was a nice female. We briefly chatted. He had already put the fish on a stringer, yet he asked me what size they had to be to keep. I laughed, told him it would be nice to know that before he put a string through it, but kindly measured it for him. 21”, a keeper!I proceeded downstream from him for a decent distance until I was confident there would be fish that had not been pressured much, or at least had had some time to settle down after running the gauntlet of busy sections of streams. I turned upstream and started working my way up. I crept up behind a fallen log and looked for fish. I saw a little seam next to a pool that looked like a prime holding area, so I casted in a smaller yet flashier variation of Warden’s Worry I tied when I had some more fly tying skill. It had yellow bucktail on its dorsal fin and pectoral fin, with additional red bucktail on its tail, and the same yellow chenille and silver tinsel on the body. It was sleek, I was actually proud of this one! I casted into the seam and, on the first cast, received a fairly light yet sure hit. I set the hook and a female Landlocked exploded out of the pool! I quickly netted her, measured her and found her to be 20”. What a beautiful fish. A quick feel of her belly showed me that she was out of eggs at this point, so I dispatched her and creeled her. I moved slightly upstream to another great looking pool. This stream was just full of perfect holding spots for these fish. I saw a couple males scoot past me on their way to spawning grounds. I casted into the head of the pool and was met with another solid strike. After setting the hook, I had yet another female Landlocked on the end of the line. I had never seen female salmon strike so readily. I assumed it must have been in defense of a redd, but I could not be sure. A quick measure revealed her to be 19”, legal again. She was quickly dispatched and put in the creel as well.
For my first time fly fishing the Finger Lakes Tributaries, I was beyond happy and honored to have caught fish. Overall, I probably hooked into 15 Landlocked Salmon and landed the 3 I wrote about here. I can't wait to return and see what the salmon will be up to in a few weeks.
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