Springtime Steelhead
By Gary & Robin Edwards, Field Editors

There is no time like Springtime! With winter on the wane, bringing longer days and warmer temperatures, it is truly a time of renewal. For steelhead anglers who have suffered through the brutal conditions of winter fishing, or for those who have been patiently waiting for milder temperatures before venturing out in search of trophy steelhead, "Springtime is the Right Time!" If you're thinking that you might like to try your hand at spring steelheading here are a few things that you will need to know and do.

PLANNING YOUR TRIP:
Where To Go:
If you live south of the Mason Dixon chances are you've never heard about the incredible salmon and steelhead fishing in New York. That's right New York. Not NYC or upstate NY, but northern NY, that part of the state that lies north of interstate 90 and reaches all the way to the border of Canada. We know the South has great fishing too, and we've been enjoying it since we moved from Wyoming to Deltaville, VA four years ago. However, if you're the type of angler that would like to match wits with a 40 pound salmon or a 20 pound steelhead without traveling all the way to Alaska we can tell you where to go, and it's easy to get there too.

Just get on interstate 81 North and set your cruise control until you get to exit 36 for Pulaski (pronounced "Pull-lass-sky" by the locals), which is 120 miles north of the NY State line. Pulaski is an unassuming little village of about 1,500 inhabitants and at first glance most people wouldn't give it a second look. But look again and you'll see that the famous Salmon River flows right through town on its way to Lake Ontario.

What makes it famous you ask? That's a long story, but here's the short version. Back in the 1960's Bill Pierce and a few other visionaries from the NY Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) imported a few thousand Pacific Salmon (Chinook & Coho) and steelhead eggs from the Pacific Northwest, hatched them and planted the fingerlings in the Salmon River as well as a few other Lake Ontario tributaries to see what would happen. As they say the rest is history. The Salmon River currently has 11 World Records to its credit and every cast has the potential for another! The time to catch salmon is fall, but for Big steelhead it's winter and spring. So with spring right around the corner, that's what we're going to focus on.

Once You're There:
Northern New York has hundreds of miles of streams and rivers that host spring-run steelhead. However, the two premier rivers nearest interstate 81 are the Salmon and the Oswego. The Salmon Rivers' headwaters begin in the Tug Hill area on the western side of the Adirondack Mountains and flow west into Lake Ontario. This region boasts the highest snowfall levels east of the Rockies, averaging over 200 inches per year. All that snow makes for a nice long runoff. [Here's a bit of trivia that has nothing to do with fishing but we thought interesting. According to local legend the name Adirondack means, "bark eaters," a name given to the local Native Americans by other tribes that noticed that the locals sustained themselves by eating tree bark during particularly tough winters.]

The Salmon has approximately 14 miles of fishable river with two 'Flyfishing Only' sections on its upper end above the hamlet of Altmar, both about ¼ of a mile in length. At the lower end of the river, the first two miles from the estuary upstream are private. This section of the river is known as The Douglaston Salmon Run. Although it is private property, access is available for a nominal daily fee. In exchange for the fee the landowner limits the amount of anglers that access the property on any given day, and private fish wardens are generally available to provide maps of the property and helpful angling tips.

The Oswego River, although much larger than the Salmon, only has about one mile of fishable water from Lake Ontario upstream to the first dam. However, this short, wide piece of water has a variety of fishing conditions and regularly produces good catches of big spring steelhead!

When to Go:
Steelhead start entering the Salmon River as well as most of the Lake Ontario tributaries in late fall to fatten up on excess eggs left behind from spawning salmon. Once the water temperature drops below 40 they lay relatively dormant until early spring when the water starts to warm up again. The rising water temps trigger two primary things in the steelhead that have "wintered over" in the rivers, the urge to eat and the even greater urge to find a mate and spawn! This spawning urge, combined with rising water levels brought on by melting snow and the warm rains of spring, triggers the same urges in yet another group of steelheads, those that have "wintered over" in Lake Ontario. When this extra water cracks the ice on the lower part of the rivers it's as if someone dropped the green flag at a Nascar race! Suddenly all the steelheads that spent the long cold winter in the lake start their spring spawning run. The extra water also makes it possible for spring steelhead to venture into places that they wouldn't normally be able to go. Therefore spring steelhead anglers should never overlook any small stream that flows into the lake or one of its major tributaries. Note: It's easy to tell the difference between a steelhead that has wintered over in the lake from one that spent the winter in one of the rivers. A steelhead that has spent the winter in a river is very dark in coloration, while a fresh out of the lake spring-run steelhead will be very bright and silver in color. Fresh fish are called "Silver Bullets"!

Dave Marcy poses briefly before releasing a nice 14-pound spring steelie.

Book Early:
Due to the popularity of Spring Steelheading you should call one of the areas many lodges, motels or a NY licensed guide to lock in your reservation for the dates of your choice ASAP. [Note: Anyone offering fishing trips for hire either wading or from a drift boat must be licensed by the state of NY.] To avoid crowds, here are two things that should help. First, plan your trip during the week instead of on a weekend. Second, try fishing with a guide from a drift boat so you can get away from crowded areas. (See sidebar for info on lodging, guides, water levels etc.)

Gearing - Up:
Spring brings with it more rain than any other time of the year. So be sure to dress for success and bring along a good quality, breathable rain jacket. We like the "SST "or the "Deep Wading" jacket made by Patagonia.

Both are lightweight and cut full to allow for good layering on cold days. Speaking of layering, Patagonia also makes a full line of breathable under garments designed to wick moisture away from your skin, that compliment their rain jackets and waders. When it comes to waders, you will definitely want a good pair. Don't be fooled by warmer spring air temperatures. The water will still be cold through April due to melting snow. A word of caution, you will want to have a pair of metal cleats and a wading staff for safer wading.

If you are planning to fish one of the larger rivers you will want to bring a medium action spinning rod in the 8' to 10' range, spooled up with 8 pound test line. Plan on using a lighter leader, usually 6-pound test. If your plans include flyfishing, a 5 or 6 weight rod in the 9' to 10' range works best. Over the years we have found that the action of the Thomas & Thomas Vector series manages these big fish really well. Your tippet will also need to be about 6 pound test. If water conditions are particularly clear you may need to drop your tippet to 4-pound test. If you're more inclined to fish one of the many smaller streams you will want your rod to be about two feet shorter, whether spin or flyfishing.

Lures / Flies / Bait:
One of the most popular lures for Spring Steelhead is the "Hot - Shot", which comes in a variety of colors and sizes. A few local favorite colors include hot pink, light gold, and dark copper, a.k.a. " the dark copper Whopper Stopper!"

When it comes to flies, Glo-Bugs in colors that look like natural salmon eggs are always a good bet, in sizes 8 and 10. Streamers that imitate minnows, like the Grey Ghost and Mickey Finn, in the 2 to 4 inch size range work well for hungry, post-spawn Steelies. Speaking of minnows, real minnows in the same 2 to 4 inch size dead-drifted along the bottom or suspended from a bobber work well. A local favorite is the egg sac, which consists of several fresh cured salmon eggs, that were collected from salmon during their fall spawning run, tied into a ball using a mesh cloth about ½ inch in diameter. Here's the bottom line. If you want to catch "ten pound plus" steelhead (without spending the time or money to go to the Pacific Northwest), instead of those 10-inch stockers at home, plan a trip to Oswego County, NY. And remember. There's no time like "SPRINGTIME STEELHEAD."

Gary and Robin Edwards are the co-hosts of "Vacations on the Fly," a PBS outdoor adventure series, and offer hosted trips across the country and around the world - www.vacationsonthefly.com