How does the salmon river compare to others nationwide? worldwide?

[get the net]

The only river in the world you can fish for trophy fish 365 days a year, high water, low water, flood water, cold weather, hot weather and everything in between.................Salmon River, NY......

[diceman]

The only river in the world you can fish for trophy fish 365 days a year, high water, low water, flood water, cold weather, hot weather and everything in between.................Salmon River, NY......

hay chris does that mean sunnys also

[Craig]

Shloppy......My fight like crap comment was about Kings ONLY. Cohos are a completely different story. Coho are probaly the best fighters on the river. You don't even have to hook 'em in the a$$hole to get them to jump.

In the river though....come on guys, be honest. They start putrifying in Aug while they are still in the lake! Yeah they're fun, but I expect way more out of a 30lb fish with a tail the size of a diner plate. Kings in the lake......WAY different story. One of the torqueiest runs in all of fishing!

Like I said though, it's just my opinion....individual results may vary, terms and conditions subject to change.

[WCoastie]

Growing up in Western Washington I can say that you guys have us beat by shear numbers of fish you can put up in a day. Some over planted hatchery rivers will yield 15-30 fish days if the timing is perfect, but usually you fish for 1-3 bites a day. Our hatchery summer steelhead fight way harder than the hatchery winter fish as the water is usually warmer, great for fast runs and very acrobatic fish. The winter native fish are in another class of their own. We have rivers that are very scenic that yield big mean native fish but again, aren't the norm. Hatchery fish make up the majority of our steelhead in Washington.

There was a post about the Columbia getting back close to 450,000 spring chinook. While this is correct, the Columbia is a big river and is mostly a boat show, it's not bank friendly like I assume the Salmon river is. Also, the fish are headed to tributaries like the Cowlitz, Lewis, Snake, Clearwater, etc. where the runs range from a few to 12,000 on the Cowlitz. The summer steelhead this year were fantastic, setting new records of returning fish, most headed over 500 miles upriver to the Clearwater in Idaho and Grand Ronde in Oregon/Washington.

Coho and Kings have been great the last few years but again, you have to hunt the fish and deal with the less than ideal ethics of many anglers who believe any way you can get them is the best way (lots of snagging). Most of these rivers get trashed and that really cuts down on the access and the aestheics of the rivers. When you do find the fish and find what they want, it is game on though.

Nothing I've fished can hold a flame to Alaska though. Every creek, river, drainage ditch seemed to have fish in them and most have been naturally self sustaining. Plus, a little leg work gets you away from most of the people. I have heard stories of the Situk river that rival the numbers of fish in the Salmon river regarding steelhead, where 2 anglers in a drift boat may hook over 100 fish and they are usually fresh from the tide.

I think this may be a Chevy/Ford/Dodge/Toyota debate. If you're after the aesthetic pleasure of being outdoors and fish are secondary, anywhere in the remote places of BC, Washington or Oregon are very difficult to beat, Alaska would probably be the best of the best if you need scenery and fish, and from what I've seen/heard of the Salmon and how crowded it can get, would be lower on the list of places on my bucket list to visit.

[troutpunk]

Troutpunk you say, "Yes you can catch lots of fish, but give me one wild steelhead for 100 of our hatchery fish"

Wow dude 100 for one wild fish???!!!. I personally, would rather 10 hatchery steel then one wild steel. Plus many steel are naturally reproducing now in the salmon river ...so technically they are wild...not native..just wild.

How much better can a "wild" one fight? I mean some 11 to 15 lbers take us 15 min to get in. I had a 18 lber once ..it literally took me 30 min to land. Maybe wild ones have a little more fight but some of these NOVember steels fight like mad!

Nothing to do with size of the fish or quality of fish. The salmon river stacks up just fine there. In my opinion there is something just special about fishing for steelhead that have been running their native streams for thousands of years. It isn't something that can be duplicated, and in my mind will always set the west coast streams apart no matter how close we get in the great lakes.

Again, just a matter of opinion. I can see where fishing all day for one fish isn't for everyone.

I think the answer to this question comes down to what you value in a fishery. If numbers/size are your priority, then the west coast can't compete. If wild fish are what you think make a fishery great, then the salmon river can't compete.

[Boost]

This is actually a great debate. I can not comment about the fishery out West as I know nothing but what the mag, book and pic I tells. From an outtsider looking in, the fish that has to run 500 - 2000 miles to get to it's spawning ground will always be bigger and meaner than an fish we have here in NY, that being said the longest river we have in NY is the SR which is under 20 miles.

Alot of guys forget that Lake O has other tribs beside the SR. I have seen some **** that would blow ppl mind where big fish lives. As state beofre me, if you do the leg work there always more fish and beautiful water around the next bend.

[Dirty-Genny]

boost! get your head in the game!

the catt is 35 miles from lake to dam. thats the longest steelhead river in NY with fishable water. SR is maybe 18.

BTW, where out west is a river 2000 miles long. the colombia is 1243. LOL.

[Tripper]

The rivers on the left coast can't be topped by anything here in the great lakes imo.
As far as the Salmon goes I've fished it a bunch and do love it. It's definitely the best Lake O trib.
I love fishing big water, the kind of water where you're more likely to get your *** handed to you on a plate when you hook a big fish.
The best overall steelheading experience I've found in the great lakes lies in Michigan on rivers like the Muskegon, Manistee and Ausable.
The country, the rivers and the quality of the fish are hard to beat.

I live in Ontario and besides all the great rivers here in my province I regularly fish NY, PA, OH and as mentioned Michigan.
The bottom line is we're blessed with almost too much great steelheading.
It's the golden age of the sport as far as I'm concerned.

It may not be BC, Washington or Alaska but it's pretty damn great regardless.

[shloppyjoe]

Growing up in Western Washington I can say that you guys have us beat by shear numbers of fish you can put up in a day. Some over planted hatchery rivers will yield 15-30 fish days if the timing is perfect, but usually you fish for 1-3 bites a day. Our hatchery summer steelhead fight way harder than the hatchery winter fish as the water is usually warmer, great for fast runs and very acrobatic fish. The winter native fish are in another class of their own. We have rivers that are very scenic that yield big mean native fish but again, aren't the norm. Hatchery fish make up the majority of our steelhead in Washington.

There was a post about the Columbia getting back close to 450,000 spring chinook. While this is correct, the Columbia is a big river and is mostly a boat show, it's not bank friendly like I assume the Salmon river is. Also, the fish are headed to tributaries like the Cowlitz, Lewis, Snake, Clearwater, etc. where the runs range from a few to 12,000 on the Cowlitz. The summer steelhead this year were fantastic, setting new records of returning fish, most headed over 500 miles upriver to the Clearwater in Idaho and Grand Ronde in Oregon/Washington.

Coho and Kings have been great the last few years but again, you have to hunt the fish and deal with the less than ideal ethics of many anglers who believe any way you can get them is the best way (lots of snagging). Most of these rivers get trashed and that really cuts down on the access and the aestheics of the rivers. When you do find the fish and find what they want, it is game on though.

Nothing I've fished can hold a flame to Alaska though. Every creek, river, drainage ditch seemed to have fish in them and most have been naturally self sustaining. Plus, a little leg work gets you away from most of the people. I have heard stories of the Situk river that rival the numbers of fish in the Salmon river regarding steelhead, where 2 anglers in a drift boat may hook over 100 fish and they are usually fresh from the tide.

I think this may be a Chevy/Ford/Dodge/Toyota debate. If you're after the aesthetic pleasure of being outdoors and fish are secondary, anywhere in the remote places of BC, Washington or Oregon are very difficult to beat, Alaska would probably be the best of the best if you need scenery and fish, and from what I've seen/heard of the Salmon and how crowded it can get, would be lower on the list of places on my bucket list to visit.

Great post!