NY steelhead...

[Turk]

On the Salmon river the peak for salmon is Columbus day weekend, in terms of crowds anyway. I start watching the report around mid August and generally don't head up until 1st week of Sept. If I had to pick just one weekend to go for salmon it would be the 3rd weekend in Sept. There always seem to be at least a few fish around and they are still pretty fresh, theres a good crowd starting around then but it's generally not to bad. As you probably know it can vary alot from year to year but that weekend has ALMOST never let me down. I would rather be up earlier rather than later because if you wait until mid oct. there will be fish there but they will most likely be half dead and not worth the effort in my opinion.
Steelies start showing up a couple of weeks after the salmon but thats really hit or miss. I'd say third week of Oct. for fishable numbers but around that time you'll have all the leaves in the water and after you've pulled a leaf off of your fly for the 1000th time you'll wonder why you even bothered. My favorite month for steelies is Nov. There's usually fish around and they are very fresh and acrobatic and the salmon crowds are all gone. If I have to pick one weekend for steelies it would be Thanksgiving weekend theres usually a good amount of people but nothing like the salmon crowd and they are generally more well behaved and ethical.
Hope this helps
good luck, Chris

[This message has been edited by Turk (edited 19 July 2006).]

[MrFishingToughGuy]

I fished 18 mile Erie during that ridiculous cold snap over Pres. day weekend, and that thing froze over FAST! However, the few runs that weren't iced over yielded some very pretty (if a little bit lethargic) fish.

Places you'll want to AVOID (although they can be pretty good for fishing):

1. 18 mile Ontario @ Burt Dam. I know it fishes well, but there is SO LITTLE fly-fishable water, and the lifters are everywhere. The bait folks leave their crap all over the place, and it's a dump at the dam. If you're near Burt Dam, you can head over to Keg, Johnson, etc (smaller tribs) that offer more real estate and sometimes some dynamite fishing.

2. Oak Orchard, especially in early fall.

My top picks are (for early fall) Cattaraugus, 18 mile Erie, Sandy Creek (Monroe Cty), and the SR, specifically the DSR area. Yeah you gotta pay, but does keep some of the riff-raff out

Marty

[Turk]

Oh yeah you can't go wrong with a SA System 2 reel. There relatively cheap and I've never had one break on me. The best reel for the money imho.
For flies I like big streamers for salmon I like black and purple and always have some chartruese. I like zonker style flies and spey style flies tied big with lots of movement.
For steelies early on I use the same streamers I use for salmon then when they make there way further up river I'll switch over to egg flies and when it gets to be winter time I go to standard hares ears in black, olive and tan. Throw in a couple of green caddis pupa and you pretty much have it covered. Sizes from 6 to 12. Some people go smaller than that but I don't feel the need to. You can get carried away with a ton of flies but almost all the fish I catch are caught on those flies, but I guess you can never have to many flies.
Chris

[This message has been edited by Turk (edited 19 July 2006).]

[pspaint]

Burt Dam is definitely the worst of the worst. I wouldn't go up there in less there was absolutely no where else to go, and even then i'd really have to think about it. The Oak's the same deal, at least until shotgun season opens. Then it thins out. Keg really depends on precip., especially in the fall. If we don't get much rain, it's usually a trickle (that's were I caught my first steelie).

[MrFishingToughGuy]

psp-

I know a nice little crik up there that gets a silly run of browns usually around thanksgiving. I hope you're around for the holiday because we really should hit some water together sooner than later.

Marty

[Chris Jacobs]

18 Mile always fishes well, the mouth is great if you walk it on the East side of the creek. The first bend always holds fish, I avoid old lake shore bridge, love it above route 20 and spend most of my time there.

I fish the forks, only in cold, bad weather but it holds good numbers of fish.

I may try my float tube in Lake Erie at the mouth of Cattaraugus this year, on the lake side. Will need a sink tip for that though.

I believe that the fish run begins when the water temp on Lake Erie hits about 50 degrees. As the temps drop, the fish move. Add some rain and you are sure to have a healthy run.

I hope this sheds some light on the NY steelhead fall run.

[pspaint]

Marty, sounds good! That's usually around the peak of the season. Let me know when your headed up.
Chris, I usually hit 18, above Route 20, all the way to the Forks and then, depending on the flow, up the branches. I got some real nice ones on the lower north branch last year. The Forks are awesome, but usually a zoo. The water around 5 is nice too.

[Chris Jacobs]

I fished Route 5 up once this year and didn't see a fish. It was late though but I walked abit.

I'm having a 9'6" 8wt rod built on a Sage VT2 blank and it should be ready by the end of July. Looking forward to trying that with the steelhead...and muskie in Canada the second week of August. I'm stoked!!!

[pspaint]

I didn't fish down that far last year. There were always way too many people. I've got a 9' 4wt. VT-2 and it's sweet. Very smooth. I think you'll be pleased.

[Chris Jacobs]

I just got back from Bass Pro, bought a Hobbs Creek reel and type IV sink tip line for it. I think that I may take my float tube into Lake Erie at the mouth of the Cattaraugus this fall before the run and fish the steelhead...as long as it's calm.

I hope that my rod makes it here by vacation time in August. Heading to the Severn Lodge in Canada and would like to catch a muskie on it.