It’s that time of the year again! This weekend, we Boston boys will be making our annual trip to Pulaski, NY to butt shoulders with other fisherman on the overcrowded Salmon and Oswego River. Sounds fantastic right? The stress of potentially not securing your spot and fighting with a massive local “Oswegonian” is well worth it when your line gets tight and the drag starts screaming! A few of us went to college at SUNY Oswego and started fishing for these freak fish over eight years ago. Now that we have “respectable” jobs and more responsibility, we look forward to this annual trip to escape and continue our pursuits of these monster salmon and cold Labatt Blue.
I am going to give you the most important piece of advice to help you land a salmon this fall. Do not get too drunk the night before you fish. GET TO THE WATER VERY EARLY to secure a spot and do not leave until you are exhausted. The river will start filling up with fishermen between 6:45-7:15AM. If you safely get into position a solid hour before the others, there shouldn’t be an issue with crowds until 7:30AM. The rivers can get packed with people, but it is well worth it. The past few years, we have been having more success with hooking up and landing steelhead and bows. Salmon hook ups are frequent, but they run so hard and often come off the line.
I am not an expert at catching these things, but have had some good success following the factors listed below:
Water depth and flow – The higher the water level the better, the faster the water, the more oxygen, get the drift? There is a sweet spot with flow/depth. I like fishing the Oswego River when it’s between 4,500-6,000cfs. This river can be dangerous as hell if it get’s higher, but I have always had success during this flow.
Preliminary salmon runs – Location is key! Salmon can randomly begin their cycle depending on environmental factors such as water depth, flow and temperature. Typically the best runs start Columbus day weekend and end early November, but you never know when a major push will happen. Stay updated on local blogs and fishing reports and plan to have flexibility in setting the date for your trip.
Weather – The salmon run can greatly be affected by the weather patterns, a drop in temperature can result in a preliminary or unexpected run, as listed above. Cold nights and cooler daytime temperatures will help move the fish up river. You can never really predict the weather, but try and fish when it is getting a little colder.
“Stay Sensitive”- If you plan on using a spinning outfit, make sure you have the right line to feel your sinker kiss the bottom of the river while your leader sways into a fishes mouth. This ticking is important, because your hook (which should be on a leader, three feet behind weight) will hopefully pass through lines of fish. Salmon will rarely eat or go after your hook, so “lining” them is the best way to get success. Having minimal stretch line with narrow diameter will help you feel the tick and have more hook sets.
If you see someone attempting to snag the fish, rat their ass out to the DEC. Snagging is horrible for the fish and not real fishing. Thanks for reading and if you have any questions, please contact me at greenlakechronicles@gmail.com. Be sure to check out our Facebook and Instagram pages.
Michael
Green Lake Chronicles 