salmonboy41

I will try to make a report here each day how trip goes.We may not have Internet being in the truck camper up some logging roads over Mtns down in valleys.Other times we will be jet boating up river away from civilization & roads up the Suattle River from the Skagit River north of Darington.

Thanks and that sounds awesome!

I hope you do well, I'm in the process of planning and saving for a future trip to Alaska some day hopefully and I wouldn't mind going to Olympic national park as well so until then I'll look forward to your reports and live vicariously through them  .

Troutmaster1, Thanks! We also plan to fish the Hoh, Qweets, Sol Duc, & Humptulips Rivers as well, out on the Olympic Penicila!

let us know how you do.

The Caledonia issue was talked about at the State of the Lake meetings and they will not do it because of VHS disease.  I mentioned Powder Mill but they said it was a private hatchery.  Why not contract out raising Kings at Powder Mill and move the browns they raise to Caledonia?  I would be more than willing to donate time to volunteer to help with the project.  We could also raise $ from West end tournies to support the Hatchery and projects.  The second hatchery issues was talked about to and they did not have many answers.   

Yeah I remember then saying that about VHS I just couldn't think of any other hatchery's with the ability to raise kings.

I like your idea about Powder Mill with swooping browns for kings as that just makes sense.

Well said Vince. Bandrus were you around back in the 80's or early 90's to see what a real run was like.Those runs were nuts not what we have had the last few years.

Exactly!!!!!!!!!!!

First now a days people line up on the piers in Olcott and just a handful of salmon are caught or even seen jumping.  I remember in the 90"s when the water would just boil with kings in the harbor and everyone was catching fish.

Second ask any guide that fishes the Niagara river for kings and they will tell you that they work there a** off just to get there clients a couple of kings where 10/15 years ago 15 kings per trip was the norm.

Third  I and many others how troll all season see come late August/September on the west the kings disappear off to the east with just a few kings left. Which never used to be the case.

I think way needs to be done is this. reopen the Caledonia hatchery for kings, and increase the stocking of kings but focus the increase on the west tribs(this way the Caledonia hatchery can get its fish).  As this would give us a balanced fishery across the lake instead of having all of our eggs in one basket(literally) on the SR. This way if something goes wrong at the SR say a drought year like 2007 there wouldn't be a shortage because the second hatchery would be able to compensate.

Do you really Think they would put it back in the Fishery ? LOL

you always hope they would but deep down I know your right

I wouldn't mind seeing a naturally sustaining population of lake trout as it would help to free up money that could be used elsewhere in the fishery, but if I'm remembering this correctly from the state of the lake meetings they need lake trout to reach age 7.5 to successfully reproduce and the average aged reached by lake trout in lake O is 5.5 years due to the lamprey issue. So if that's the case then no matter how many lakers they stock they wont self sustain until the lampreys are eliminated.

More Kings is what we want. Stop the Laker thing People come here for Kings you Know how many places have Lakers? People want Kings...

Spot on! I don't understand why the DEC feels the need to stock as many Lakers as they do. Why increase stocking of lake trout by 300,000. Is there really a shortage of lakers as it seems to me that the FEW guys that fish for lakers are not having a hard time getting lakers.  

For example during the spring LOC people where complaining about catching lake trout on the radio! why stock so heavily a fish people complain about catching? I say scratch the 300,000 increase in lake trout idea and put the increase into Kings and Steelhead.

This year is a prime example of why we need kings. just look at the ports like Olcott and the Oak there is hardly anyone around because the salmon fishing is so bad. We fished out of the Oak on Sunday and it looked like we where fishing in June out there with how few boats there where. On the flip side last year at this time there was so many boats out there it was hard to navigate even out on the 26 line.

I'd love to see the economic impact a bad king year like this one has on the local economy compared to a good year like 2012.

This is what I choose to believe...

 

I get where you're coming from. I'm handsome, well-adjusted and women love me 

 

Hey, it works!!!

 

Seriously though, it's crap out there. I'm losing the faith. Sandy usually only gets about six weeks of prime king fishing every summer before the bottom falls out in August, and our backs are against the wall now. I'm not sure we'll ever know for sure why, but at least the runs this year in the Salmon River should answer whether the big dogs were playing hide-and-seek this summer. 

Agreed the tell all is going to be when fish run or maybe don't run.

I'm sickened by the fishing this season. If we didn't have "those other fish" to target we'd be hurting! I first thought everything was just behind, but I'm now to the point that I think we lost a year class due to the low water a few years back at the Salmon River, or the harsh winter we just experienced. We (CYS) fish the PRIME areas of the Lake when they are PRIME. We had 1 good week of fishing up on the Niagara Bar, and since then it's been spotty at best. However, the fish we are catching give us a great outlook for the next few seasons! Lots of 1 and 2 year olds, and lets not forget to mention the extra 155,000 Chinooks the DEC put in this Spring.

 

Let's also look at the big picture. Honestly, I strongly dislike fishing for anything else but Salmon. The last few years we've been SPOILED beyond belief with the Salmon fishing we've had. However, this has given the "other species" a break, and we are seeing some REALLY nice Steelhead out there this year as well as some giant Lake Trout.

Same here I thought everything was late and when the kings showed up on the bar about a week before the pro am I was like ok here we go! Then by the second Niagara pro am the salmon where gone even though there was huge amounts of bait. I've been telling myself that they will show up but IDK. I have three theory's one the weather has messed everything up and the salmon will show up in late August to stage. two there is so much bait in the lake now that it is causing the fish to spread out over the lake instead of schooling up in the western end. Three we are totally missing a year class and I'm not totally sure why.

If there were no kings i might never fish lake ontario ever again. I can fish lakers in simcoe browns and bows everywhere and feel no particular urge to fish atlantics.

If there were no kings my life would have a hollow void in it.

I think that deserves an AMEN!!!!

I will say that I love Steelhead though as I fish the trips when the salmon aren't biting out in the lake(October to April).

  The problem with allowing ATV's are that people abuse the privilege. 

that's true its just unfortunate that all it takes is a couple of ppl to reunite it for everyone.

Fish hunter I hear you loud and clear. It seems as though the state is forcing people out of the Adirondacks hard to live here even harder the further into the park you go. 100 years from now it's gonna be a ghost town with only limited entrances like yellowstone

Agreed access up there is a total pain. There's all kinds of lakes and streams up there but no way to get to them unless you back pack in for miles which in the summer with the bugs and temps isn't easy. Don't get me wrong I love the ADK's and wouldn't want to lose them but allowing some trails and maybe some ATV use would be great for hunting and fishing up there and would help out the struggling towns.

I go there all the time in the winter to snowmobile and its amazing the places and things you can get to and see up there using a snowmobile. but like fish hunter said TREE HUGGERS!!! are a big problem. As they now don't even want to let snowmobiles into the ADK park.

 we have learned that the pen fish get a faster start than the naturals--leading to a higher percentage of them maturing in their 3rd year than what would normally. In contrast, Kings that scrounge their first year(wild fish) or Kings that have prey in balance and actually have to seek them out, often don't mature until their 4th year. The vast majority of the bigger Kings last season were 4 yr olds.

That's an interesting, as I've kind a that myself but never had the true data behind it to back it up other then my own observations where I noticed that when I would see a 30 plus king it usually would have all of its fins. Almost makes you think twice about feeding them 6 times a day in the pens  . I would be interested in knowing if there is a way to get a greater percentage of kings to the 4 year mark maybe through selection at the hatchery or something.(I'm sure something like this has been tried)

There is defiantly an increase in people's ability to catch salmon and to be able to catch salmon for more months during the summer. It wasn't that long ago that 95% of people considered salmon fishing to be a May, last half of August-September only fishery. But now people are successfully targeting salmon May-September which has in turned cause the number of salmon being taken out of the lake to increase dramatically. Which has been shown by angler surveys done by the DEC which show that we have all time record catch amounts for the past 11 years and as its not like there are more salmon in the lake now then what there where in the 80's(basing that on stocking numbers)

do you have any idea how hard it is to go through a day at work with out LOU!!!!

I just started reading a small book Shohola PA history 1600-1970 and in 1816 (nearly 100 years ago) it says:

"This was the year without summer. Ice, snow and frost existed in June, July and August and caused food shortages and great hardship"

Hmmm

I remember reading about that in a restaurant in Old Forge it said that they had a snowstorm in July that dumped two feet of snow.

The barge and crane have begun removing the boom.  I'll raise a glass to that!

I second that   

The only ice that was left the other day was in the back bay and the launch was free of ice. Watch out for wood though there was a HUGH deposited of logs just to the east of the launch during the winter and I'm not sure where they went after the ice melted.

will there be a list posted on the Wilson invitational website listing the teams that have signed up?

Makes sense to me too. But I'm disappointed that that division needs to be completely eliminated. Might have been better to divert only the bottom 10 positions to the other species prizes. Steelhead of 10 lbs.+ are still a trophy fish in the spring.

Differently like this idea way better then just getting rid of the division all together.

Plus the other thing that's got to be asked is where does this all end 2 divisions down already won't be long before its a king only derby.

wonder if he would have liked the phrase "green carp" fishing  

Green Carp that's an awesome description totally going to use that

I believe if egg/fry/fingerling production is low with the state hatchery/altmar that they supplement their stocking with canadian fish which are then dumped into Niagara.  Stands to reason anytime there is a shortfall at Altmar...three years later the Niagara run would be better in theory. 

I would agree with that. As the past two years the runs up the Niagara where really good for the first time in years and if you look back a few years thats when the DEC had stocking issues so I'd say this thoery is correct.

You can try Power Right Marine as well, not sure of the price but it’s in a nice area where your boat can’t really be seen from the road.

964-2694

thanks

does anyone know the number to East Fork Marina?

If the weather is unfishable saturday will Sunday be used as a blow off day?