Salmon Fishing - Pulaski NY 2014

We went to our annual salmon fishing in Pulaski of upstate NY last weekend and caught one salmon each.

The date of our trip was actually postponed twice after reading the fishing report that fishing was slow.

Upon arrival, we saw many dead salmons in shallow water. It looks like this year's salmon season soon over without reaching a real peak of the salmon run.

Last weekend was tough for fishermen.  It rained whole day on Saturday and on top of that there were not many salmons seen in the water.  However, some fishermen were able to catch the few salmons while others caught steelheads.  

There is always next year we can experience the excitement of catching salmon again.




       

Tenkara Fishing in Croton - The Trout Season Ends.

Last Saturday we fished the West and East Branch of Croton to conclude this year's trout fishing season.

I caught a beautiful 15+ inches rainbow in the East Branch as a nice season's finale.
   

My wife got many browns in her favorite pools in the West Branch.

We were happy to end the season with these catches.











On Sunday I planned to go to the Breezy Point jetty,
but instead I went to Croton again because saltwater fishing seemed still slow.
The pools that were productive on Saturday were very quiet,
and yet I found a pool with fish rising to tiny ants.
I caught many browns with midge flies similar to ants in sizes and looks. They really like ants.

Tenkara Fishing In Croton Falls Outlet

My wife and I went to the Croton Falls Outlet for tenkara fishing again.  We hoped to have a good time like last weekend.
We were quite well prepared this time.  We carried our whole sets of fly boxes.



The water was still murky. We fished in the small pool where I caught several fishes last weekend. This pool was very productive. Fish were rising in the morning, and after the severe noon time thunder storm, they were rising again.  Just before the late afternoon thunder storm, I caught a 14-inch brownie.  Then we were forced to take our leave.

The fish seemed eating spent caddis,  Anyway they were not picky.
We caught fishes with different kinds of flies which were similar sizes and colors of the spent caddis.

I've been fishing with the tenkara rods for two seasons.  In a small stream like the Croton Falls Outlet, I can control the flies easier with tenkara rods than fly rods whether I am midging, nymphing or dry fly fishing.

Tenkara Fishing Trip to the Catskills and Croton Watershed in Labor Day Weekend

 

Saturday:

I was eager to show my wife the beautiful streams and ponds in the Catskills Mountains where I had explored earlier.

First we visited West Kill in the Hunter Mountain region.
Unfortunately construction has been going on in the lower section of the stream. The water flow is redirected into a metal pipe and causes no water flow in this section.
However we were still able to fish the public fishing stretch in the middle section of the stream.

We each caught a small brookie though the water level was quite low in the late summer as now.

I think West Kill's wide open bank and many nice plunge pools make it one of the most tenkara friendly good brookie stream when there is more water in spring time.

In the afternoon we fished the mountain pond where I caught many brookies three weeks ago.
In the beginning we used dry flies and caught many 3-5 inches brookies.
When they seemed getting tired of dry flies, we used bead head tenkara flies with twitching movement.
These inexperienced brookies just could not resist them. We were catching 6-inch brookies one after the other till almost all brookies in this pond I guessed got some painful lessons.  

             
                                                                                                           

Labor Day:      

We went to Amawalk Outlet in the morning.
The stream condition looked good, but there was not much action. It seemed not many fish were in the stream.

In the afternoon we fished the West Branch of the Croton Outlet. Although the water was murky, some fish were rising and we caught a few.

In the early evening the fish were rising left and right.
My wife said, " It is once in a life time opportunity in this water."
I couldn't figure out what they were eating, only later did I find out it was tiny black ants when I saw a lot of them on the water.

Being lightly equipped for tenkara fishing, we carried only several kinds of flies. Even with these limited supply and without the right size ant, we caught several of those nice rising trouts between 12 to 14 inches.

Tenkara Fishing the Mountain Pond and Fly Fishing the West Branch of the Delaware in the Catskills

I caught many brookies with a tenkara rod in the above Catskills mountain pond yesterday morning.

Whatever flies I used, the fish took them.

I got so many brookies in this pond that I probably caught more than the total I got in the mountain streams so far this season, though most of them were small.

In the late afternoon I went to the Upper Game-land Pool in the West Branch of the Delaware.
Today only several  fishermen were there.  After 7 o'clock, I was the only one left.
The big pool was all mine.

When I first arrived, there were not many bugs on the water or rising fish.
Later when I was alone, I spotted a good size fish rising a little downstream from me.
It was the only good size fish rising within my sight.
I presented a few kinds of duns, then I threw a #16 pheasant tail floating nymph which a 17+ inches brown took.
Well, that was it!
Even more bugs were drifting on the water in the late evening, I saw no more good size fish rising.

                         When I was leaving, the super moon was rising above the Catskills Mountains.

Exploring Mountain Streams and Fishing the West Branch of the Delaware in the Catskills ( IV )

Yesterday I took my usual weekend fishing trip to the Catskills' mountain streams and the West Branch of the Delaware.
I fished the Mongaup Creek in the state land with a tenkara rod.  It is one of the branches of upper Willowemoc Creek.

I caught some browns in the lower section and brookies in the upper section of the stream.

 

There is a state campground in the middle of the mountain, so the traffic on the road along the stream was busy yesterday. Even though the stream was beautiful, the noisy traffic took away my feeling of solitude of fishing in such a mountain stream.

I started fishing in the West Branch a little earlier than usual, at around 3 o'clock.
The cool and cloudy weather brought more insects hatching on the water, and this brought more fish rising.

Last week when I fished with no-hackle flies, I got a 17-inch brown.
The wing material for those flies is Shimazaki Flywing III. But it doesn't last long in the water, so I look for some strong material that can also be easily obtained.
My wife gave me a sheet of white and a sheet of lilac mesh material from her craft drawer.
They seem to be stronger than the Shimazaki, so I make aluminum wing burners to shape the wing of this new material. The finished flies look good to my eyes, but they didn't attract any fish yesterday. They probably need some refinements.

In the early afternoon, I couldn't catch any fish though they were rising.
At dusk they seemed to become less cautious, and a 17-18" brown took my CDC sulphur dun.
The fish in the West Branch are very strong. I had quite a battle with this brown of so-so size in this river.

Exploring Mountain Streams and Fishing the West Branch of the Delaware in the Catskills ( lll )

I fished with a tenkara rod in the upper Willowemoc Creek in the state land and its branch, Fir Brook yesterday.
The lower part of Fir Brook has a long pubic fishing right bank. It is a very beautiful stream and looks like a spring creek. The photos above and below are Fir Brook.
Both streams are brookie water and easy to access.

In the evening I fished in the Upper Game Land Pool in the West Branch of the Delaware.

Last two times here I caught only two small fish.
So for these picky trouts, I added no hackle flies in my fly boxes.
I had several good experiences with these flies which saved my day while all other flies failed.
But I haven't tied this pattern for a long time since CDC becomes popular, and it beomes my favorite material.

 

The no hackle flies did save my day yesterday.
When fish started taking sulphur mayflies on the water, I caught a 17-inch brown with a #18 no hackle sulphur fly.
Later when darkness almost covered the river, I caught one more brown with a hackle wing isonyshia spinner fly, the largest fly in my fly boxes.

I was happy that the no hackle flies worked for these picky trouts.   I truly had a memorable day.