The advantages are many when it comes to early season Salmon Fishing. Less fishermen to deal with, fish that have not been pressured by other anglers, and fish that haven't been over taken by their biological urge to spawn make early season Kings one of the most exciting fish of the year!
I think its important to define early season before I go into the how and why. First, early Run timing is going to vary from Lake to Lake and River to River because of Genetics, location, and environmental conditions such as water temperature and flow regime. On my home river New York's Salmon, early season can be as early as the First week of August to approximately the Second or Third week of September. You can find out when the fish start to trickle in on your home river by getting out there and spotting the occasional fish in shallow water coming in from the estuary.
The local fishing reports look something like this. "Over the past few days anglers have seen a few fish but nothing in significant numbers yet. Please call before making the trip" You can't rely on fishing reports this time of year because you will likely be told to not bother! Granted, if you are travelling long distances you are taking a risk of not finding the small numbers of fish. On the other hand if you find those fish you can have a great day fishing but, more important you will have a high quality experience because of the lack of other anglers.
I think its important to define early season before I go into the how and why. First, early Run timing is going to vary from Lake to Lake and River to River because of Genetics, location, and environmental conditions such as water temperature and flow regime. On my home river New York's Salmon, early season can be as early as the First week of August to approximately the Second or Third week of September. You can find out when the fish start to trickle in on your home river by getting out there and spotting the occasional fish in shallow water coming in from the estuary.
The local fishing reports look something like this. "Over the past few days anglers have seen a few fish but nothing in significant numbers yet. Please call before making the trip" You can't rely on fishing reports this time of year because you will likely be told to not bother! Granted, if you are travelling long distances you are taking a risk of not finding the small numbers of fish. On the other hand if you find those fish you can have a great day fishing but, more important you will have a high quality experience because of the lack of other anglers.
The first and most important consideration when fishing early season is location and type of water you will be fishing. Simply put, if you can see the fish, they can see you and its game over. There is no chance that you can hook that fish in a fair sporting manor. Remember I'm talking about fair chase not putting the fly in the fishes mouth purposely by using methods designed for that purpose. Good Guides that have fished these waters for 20-30 years will agree that getting a Salmon or any other fish for that matter to strike if they see you is not going to happen, therefore you must fish water that is deep enough or has enough cover that the fish feels secure.
I learned a long time ago that I was having much more success when fishing blind than I was sight fishing because the fish are much more likely to strike when they feel secure. It made perfect sense. Look for Deep holes where the bottom can't be seen. Because the water is often low this time of year you can eliminate 95% of the water and key in on likely holding spots. I like deeper pools where the water is tumbling into it from above as this provides oxygen through aeration which is vital at this time of year because water Temps can reach that upper critical lethal limit of 70 Degrees. Fishing can be good all day long depending on how many fish are holding in the pool. Expect down time and be patient as the fish will likely have preferred feeding times as well as having their temperament change in response to you fly.
One of the key signs to look for is that the fish will still be Dime Bright, even when they are in the River. Once they start changing to dark Olive the spawning urge has taken over and the fish are much tougher to catch at this point!
As far as what technique and equipment you use for targeting early season fish that is entirely up to you but there are some rules that apply.
First, you must use a rod and line combination that can handle 15-30lb fish (10' or longer, 8-10 weight Rods are ideal)
Leader combinations that are 15-12lbs work well just make sure you are using quality materials.
Fly presentation is up to you, but this can change from day to day and year to year.
I have caught Great Lakes Kings that hit lantern style flies on the swing but ignore the same fly that was dead drifted in front of their nose. Last year it was drifting Laser flies that turned the trick.
Flies can vary from time to time but generally speaking I like large baitfish profile flies that have a lot of movement built into them such as the Laser Fly shown below, changing to smaller bead head Wooly Buggers in various colors as the season goes on! I like the Bright day bright fly, dark day dark fly concept! At Dusk and Dawn UV materials can make a difference. Just be cautious because some times you want your fly to be as inconspicuous as possible until you figure out where the fishes metabolism and temperament so we don't do more harm than good with regard to making the fish spooky!
Here are some of my Favorite Early season Flies!
Bayonne River Rat
Hook-Gamakatsu T10 6H #1
Thread-6/o Davilles Fly Master
Tail support-Chartreuse Arctic Fox in a dubbing loop (The length is 1 1/2 times the gap.
Tail-Pearl Core braid Yellow
Body-Dark Olive Marabou Plume palmered
Cone-Large Rainbow behind the Arctic Fox head
Head-Chartreuse Arctic Fox in a dubbing loop wound from a point where the return wire ends to behind the eye
Bayonne River Rat version #2
Hook-Gamakatsu T10 6H #1
Thread-6/0 Danvilles Fly Master
Tail Support-Pink Arctic Fox in a dubbing loop as per version #1
Tail-Orange Pearl Core braid
Body-Fl. Orange Marabou palmered
Cone-Large Rainbow behind the Arctic Fox head
Head-Pink Arctic Fox in a dubbing loop
Sylvie's Tandem Tube
Here is a video tutorial on how to tie the tandem tube. I add a marabou and Wood Duck Collar, as well as a large cone over which is a Pro Sonic disk. My Version uses Grizzly Barred Rabbit, however the color options are limitless!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23X2SrYhFFQ
I learned a long time ago that I was having much more success when fishing blind than I was sight fishing because the fish are much more likely to strike when they feel secure. It made perfect sense. Look for Deep holes where the bottom can't be seen. Because the water is often low this time of year you can eliminate 95% of the water and key in on likely holding spots. I like deeper pools where the water is tumbling into it from above as this provides oxygen through aeration which is vital at this time of year because water Temps can reach that upper critical lethal limit of 70 Degrees. Fishing can be good all day long depending on how many fish are holding in the pool. Expect down time and be patient as the fish will likely have preferred feeding times as well as having their temperament change in response to you fly.
One of the key signs to look for is that the fish will still be Dime Bright, even when they are in the River. Once they start changing to dark Olive the spawning urge has taken over and the fish are much tougher to catch at this point!
As far as what technique and equipment you use for targeting early season fish that is entirely up to you but there are some rules that apply.
First, you must use a rod and line combination that can handle 15-30lb fish (10' or longer, 8-10 weight Rods are ideal)
Leader combinations that are 15-12lbs work well just make sure you are using quality materials.
Fly presentation is up to you, but this can change from day to day and year to year.
I have caught Great Lakes Kings that hit lantern style flies on the swing but ignore the same fly that was dead drifted in front of their nose. Last year it was drifting Laser flies that turned the trick.
Flies can vary from time to time but generally speaking I like large baitfish profile flies that have a lot of movement built into them such as the Laser Fly shown below, changing to smaller bead head Wooly Buggers in various colors as the season goes on! I like the Bright day bright fly, dark day dark fly concept! At Dusk and Dawn UV materials can make a difference. Just be cautious because some times you want your fly to be as inconspicuous as possible until you figure out where the fishes metabolism and temperament so we don't do more harm than good with regard to making the fish spooky!
Here are some of my Favorite Early season Flies!
Hook-Gamakatsu T10 6H #1
Thread-6/o Davilles Fly Master
Tail support-Chartreuse Arctic Fox in a dubbing loop (The length is 1 1/2 times the gap.
Tail-Pearl Core braid Yellow
Body-Dark Olive Marabou Plume palmered
Cone-Large Rainbow behind the Arctic Fox head
Head-Chartreuse Arctic Fox in a dubbing loop wound from a point where the return wire ends to behind the eye
Hook-Gamakatsu T10 6H #1
Thread-6/0 Danvilles Fly Master
Tail Support-Pink Arctic Fox in a dubbing loop as per version #1
Tail-Orange Pearl Core braid
Body-Fl. Orange Marabou palmered
Cone-Large Rainbow behind the Arctic Fox head
Head-Pink Arctic Fox in a dubbing loop
Here is a video tutorial on how to tie the tandem tube. I add a marabou and Wood Duck Collar, as well as a large cone over which is a Pro Sonic disk. My Version uses Grizzly Barred Rabbit, however the color options are limitless!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23X2SrYhFFQ
Laser Fly
Hook-TMC 7999 or 700 #6/8
Thread-Chartreuse Flat waxed nylon
Tail-Two Strands of pearl Flashabou doubled back to make a total of Four strands cut 2X the length of the shank
Body-Clumps of Senyos Laser Yarn center tied and brushed out
Notes (Start but tying one clump at the center of the body to create a support for the tail. This will keep the tail up and away from the hook point. Use Two or Three colors to give the fly some contrast)
Finally, if the adventure and hunt is more important than the numbers of fish you catch, early season Salmon is the trip for you. You will just have to trust me on this as it could be the best fishing experience of the year! Remember to take as much time as necessary to revive your fish by holding them in the current facing up stream. Do not Rock them back and fourth as they do not breath with water coming in the gill plate. We encourage 100% catch and release so that they can make it to their spawning habitat and the Hatchery.
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