Ron Bierstine from Oak Orchard Tackle & Lodge reports:
Good action reported, consistent from most anglers on the Oak thru the past end of weekend and yesterday. Similar to that push of fish we saw something like a couple weeks ago it sounds like another good push of salmon moving toward the dam with some browns in tow were evidenced later Sunday and Monday. This is after mostly tougher action reported for the begin part of the past weekend. Not hearing of much lower river and rivermouth action as probably the bulk of Kings are more upstream now. Look for some late fish to come thru but likely not in any great concentrations. Expect mod to med, but just less then med – mostly clear flows in the Oak. Leaf fall is underway so expect daily water level fluctuations thanks to turbine rack cleaning at the dam.
Wow! The weather continues with near record warmth! It has definitely brought out some more guys so not sure we'll see the typical fall off in the mid week angler numbers. Forecast is continued warm thru tomorrow with chance of precipitation end of day or later tomorrow. Even after that thru the upcoming weekend I still wouldn’t call it cold – just seasonably cool and continued dry.
Thankful for that continued Erie Canal water feed for select tribs as the forecasted precipitation at this time not likely to cause a big change in trib flows. Guys report good to strong numbers of Kings at the dam and overflow. At least in the turbine channel we can look for some of those fish that won’t be taking an overland route, to drop back downstream filling in the fast water gravel sections. More green or fresher fish still being encountered then zombies. Anglers seeing and having hook up success on browns is encouraging – we are likely on a trajectory to out pace last years brown trout action already. Then coupled with the mixed bag of Atlantics and steelhead and cohos, the hook up chances sound pretty good.
Ron Bierstine from Oak Orchard Tackle & Lodge reports:
The NYS fish licensing system is back up! Available at Oak Orchard Tackle & Lodge and Narby's.
Mixed bag action on the Oak, mostly salmon action on the other area smaller tribs. Most anglers report good fishing. Cool if not coldish temps forecast thru this week with rain showers. The rain is Lake Effect so as is often the case with snow most of it goes south of the area. Not enough precipitation here yet to cause any great change in Oak or trib flows. But the gloom and the cool definitely conducive for fish migrations, guys remarking that fish were migrating yesterday.
So conditions real nice, especially considering how dry summer was and how some of this fall has been so far. Fishable flows we have now in Johnson, Oak and Sandy largely a result of bolstered Erie Canal flows. Flows in Johnson Creek for sure up and even stained from a pretty good shot of water. Check the Canal schedule for duration. There were bottled up Kings at the mouth of Johnson Creek that now should be spread up thru the waterway. That good "run" of Kings in the Oak from end of last week has spread out nearest the dam, but guys are finding pods of spawning fish in the downstream fast water reaches. Given somewhat of the late start to the salmon action, I'd have to say that we might only be amidships in the "run." Look for Kings arriving into start of November. More then not, fish are still in good green shape.
Past weekend action a little slower perhaps a result of increased fishing pressure. On the Oak guys are into more then a few cohos too. Browns and Atlantics and steelhead in the mix. A few good browns reported to be hooked up yesterday on the Oak. Look for plenty of brown trout action ahead, most guys targeting browns look toward end of Oct, thru Nov and begin part of Dec. You gotta get thru at least some Kings before that brown trout action heats up then followed by steelhead! Its fall and its leaf fall time so expect maybe daily water level fluctuations on the Oak thanks to hydro power operation. Flows in the Oak down just a touch, maybe some of that love from Canal water being shared with Johnson Creek is responsible for that.
Ron Bierstine from Oak Orchard Tackle & Lodge reports:
A nice mid week weather period now after the holiday weekend with clear and warm days forecast today and tomorrow. Fishing pressure picking up some at the dam with downstream guys pretty well spread out. Good chance of rain on Thursday carrying over with gloom on Friday and possibility of 0.5 – 1 inch of precipitation. That amount of rain would definitely be a good thing. It won't break the drought conditions but it may just perk up the action in the area smaller tribs. I would doubt we are heading toward any kind of blow out, but a little stain to the water would sure be a good thing too.
A fair number of Kings are loitering in downstream areas on the Oak with skein drifters still into them up at least until yesterday. More fish are holding and staging now in fast water areas below the dam. So anglers can mix it up with that turbine tunnel action at the dam or they can work their way downstream for more traditional drifts thru holes and runs. Nice to see some chances spread thru the watercourse now with fish that are all mostly in good shape. A decent pair of polarized glasses should reveal pods of fish holding around gravel spots. Look for the loitering downstream fish to continue to move up making for better upstream action. Other hook ups we've heard about in the Oak include a few browns, some smallish Atlantics and a good sized steelhead or two. Any big steelhead this time of the year in relatively warm water are going to be a challenge to land!
Reports and observations of good numbers of Kings staged and boiling in the lower and mid river spots on the Oak. These fish have been staged up like at the Bridges, the last of the slow water areas and deep water spots in between since at least the past weekend. We might have expected to see those fish earlier in the “run,” but anyway they are there now and if they haven’t already they should be making a push upstream to fast water areas sooner rather then later. A few anglers are making drifts and casts and trolling passes to them yet for the general upstream wading angler these fish are somewhat under the radar.
Seasonable cool and dry weather is still hanging in with next chance of precipitation for end of the week. Flows in the Oak are close to med and mostly clear. Flows in Sandy are mod. For now these are the best trib flows in town thanks to the Erie Canal water feed and the other area smaller tribs are low. Fishing pressure has been spread out and should be picking up below the dam as more of those staged up fish push upstream.
Archer’s Club parking is set to open on Oct 8 and that should put more anglers on the waterway right before what’s typically a busy and productive time around Columbus Day weekend. Pier head casters are picking off a few, but haven’t really had ideal conditions to work with. At the dam there is that consistency of the end of the line for the fish, and anglers are getting hook ups. Check out the nice big King below landed there for this begin part of Oct. That’s a toad!
