FIRST TRIP ADVICE NEEDED

The 10' #8 fly rod should work great. What is the recommended line written on the spinning rod blanks. You can go as low as 8 lb as tippet on fly rod or line on spinning reels but 10 lb or more is better. 

ILUVSTEEL -
 
You have come to the right place!  There are people on this board (and I will throw in a plug here) on the Salmon Crazy board, that have been fishing the SR (Salmon River) for decades.  They have seen and done it all.  I have been doing the SR for 15 years.
 
There are 4 main types of fishing on the SR, they are Fly, Spin, Spey and Float Fishing.  For a Fly rod, it is best to have an 8 wt, 9wt or 10wt, somewhere in the length of 9 1/2 feet to 11 feet is really nice.  This will allow for a technique called Dead-Drifting or High Sticking.  Most will load their spool with 30# backing, then either Weight Forward Floating or Running Line (usually at least 8 Wt. line).  From that point you can step down your leader material, some use Amnesia (for a color break) then step to 15# or 12 # to a swivel and then 4 feet (of 12# down to 6# {if you are really up for the challenge}) to the fly.  You are NOT casting - as in the traditional sense - you are fliping a pre-determined amount of line out to a certain spot.  Then you need to take out the slack by keeping your rod tip up.  If you have figured out the correct weight in the flow of water - you should feel - Tick ........ Tick..... Tick.... Tick..... as the weight and fly move downstream.  This is a VERY effective method of fishing for Chinook and Coho.  Many times you will feel - Tick.... tick.... THUMP!  Guess what - that was your hit - were you quick enough to pull the line tight to set the hook.  If so, then you are in for the ride of your life.
 
You can do the same technique with a spinning rod, but you will actually cast out using the spool and the reel.  Everything else is pretty much the same.
 
You can use most of your steelhead flies in size 4 through 10 for Salmon.  Salmon are turned on by bright colors.  The previos poster is right - the Salmon are not feeding - BUT please do not mistake that for  - THEY WON'T EAT.  They will!  The Salmon will get ****ed off, as you fly swings by their head and strike it out of agression, moving it with their mouth - they don't have hands :). 
 
Another bait that is successful is egg sacs- everyone sells them along Route 13, they can be deadly, especially if you are trying to mine your way through Salmon to get to the Browns and Steelies sitting behind the females. 
 
Corkers or studded boots are really needed.  You will probably take the Virgin Salmon River Bath even with those on.  It is just a very difficult river to move in, especially with a 25# king on the other end of you line. I still have a dent in my shin bone from a fight 3 years ago, but I landed the fish...
 
Best of luck... Ask questions on this board...there are many people that will help you and you will find more and more people logging on as August begins to end and September begins...
 
Fish Off...
MatttyD. 

wow MattyD. ,
                   you really summed it up in so few a words, ive always waited till 2nd week of October to make the trip ,would the last couple of september be good weeks to come up?, and do you fish the Salmon only or do you hit the Sandy at all?

justinl8688,
 
Read MattyD post as it is (in my opinion)the best way when it is very crowded because of the lack of a large backcast.
 
If your fishing an uncrowded and or a shallow run Tuna's method is just fine and more traditional. A sink tip would do the trick even though you don't have the feel of the tick, tick........etc.
 
Regarding the hex heads, thats what I use but get the slotted hex heads in at least a 10. They have a much bigger ridge, they hold better and last much longer than very small ones.  The slot gives it that much more bite. Depending on how much hiking you do make sure you bring extras as when I'm there for more than 3 days I need to replace the ones in the heel and under the balls of my feet. Those studs seem to get the most wear. Lowes has the larger packages for 5-6 bucks.
 
Skifisher.
 

Venomous Grin -
 
September can be a VERY HOT or COLD month on the SR.  There is usually a Kayak event on the first weekend of September on the SR, so in order to run the event, they push out 750 CFS of water (1 gate) that will draw in quite a few very fresh Kings and Cohos that are hanging out near the mouth of the SR.  Usually, they come into the DSR, move through town and get to about the paper mill, before the water drops back to 335cfs or even lower (all depends on the water in the reservoir and the weather).  After that the fish scattered, some even turn back around and head out as their bio-clocks tell them it is too early.
 
By mid to late September a large number of fish will begin to stage at the mouth or even in the estuary, and that is when the waiting game begins.  Some will run, the Bio clock goes off and they move, others hang, flipping and jumping teasing the anglers.  If it rains a decent amount, 1" or more, you need to be at the river the next day or two.  It can be a blood bath.  There are stories and you will here about them, where people would be standing in the DSR, and all of the sudden, there is this rolling water sound that is getting louder.  You look down stream and all you see is fins and white water.  The next thing you know, you fly can't get to the area of water that you are fishing because the kings are so thick you are foul hooking them left and right.  It is supposed to be a sight to see.  I personally have never been there for that.  I have missed it by a day here or a day there.  In fact, last year, I was driving up to CNY from Richmond, VA on the Friday when the river turned black (that is a common term you will hear, because of the fish stacked so much, the sunlight can not get through the water).  I was there the next day in the DSR, and in 3 hours, I worked over 20 fish.
 
There seems to be a natural run, small but it can be intense during the third week of September.  It is usually a heavy coho and smaller (in numbers not size) king run.  So, if you are thinking about a September trip, you may have luck during that week. 
 
Again it is weather based on an off for the majority of the month.  As the water cools down, more fish come in.  Rains that bring up the flow will help to bring in more fish.  It is a very good idea that you keep a watchful eye on the water line reports before and during your trip, it can make all of the difference in the world.
 
***SIDE NOTE - I used to live in Utica, NY for 11 years and I fished the river about 4 times per week from Labor day through Halloween.***
 
Also, Hot Tuna is correct - The method I described is good for the nice shallow easy runs to fish, and you may work some faster pockets of water.  I primarily did that for about 9 of my 11 years in Utica, then I got into Spey Fishing and swinging bigger flies.  There is no question that the production (amount of hook-ups) is down, but the physical take is jarring and it makes the day more challenging.
 
Best of luck - if you have more questions - POST THEM!
 
Fish off...
MattyD.
 

 
Welcome Mary:
if your looking to come for Salmon i Personally GAURNTEE the last week in Sept will have a number of fish in the river
sooner than that there will be fish (maybe lots maybe few) and when the major run(s) happen is anyone’s "guess"
for steelhead generally mid>late Oct will have a good population of steelies, browns and leftover salmon
some campgrounds close around mid oct. there are still a few open but the recreational ones close
i like Selkirk Shores State Park , they have elect. and a holding tank disposal area
Brennan Beach RV park is a full service campgrounds which is very populated during the summer season but not bad after Labor Day

if you can't find either in a search i'll post a link for you:
Good Luck & Enjoy

Because he was a new guy they talked into buying everything but treble hooks.

Did he get the sponge at least?

Justin and any other new anglers to the SR:
 
The advice here is some of the best you will find anywhere. The only suggestion to add is to buy a wading staff. 17 years later fishing the watershed and I just got one. This is a sure jinx, but I have never gone down and am relatively sure that I now never will. A staff is literally a third leg. Not a year goes by that I am astounded at how few people use staffs on the SR. Many look like they've never waded a creek before, yet alone a large, rocky, fast, deep, slippery river.  Studded boots are a MUST. IMO, FiveTen sticky rubber soles are better than felt. They are just as grippy yet do not track mud or snow and are much easier to hike in.
 
Be careful...people die each year wading the river. Treat it with respect, be smart and have the time of your life.
 
Up^

ORIGINAL: salmotrutta

Great stuff guys.
I use an 8 Wt for Salmon and Steel (most of the time) on the SR.
I don't use the tactics some others use. I pretty much dead drift or use the wet fly swing. I'm a straight up flyfisher by nature, so I don't mess with it when I get up there.
WF Floating line, tapered leaders (about 7.5 feet) to about 10 lb and pehaps a shot or two to get the fly down. For Kings I use Comets. They seem to get worked up over them.
The kind I use can be found at Yankee Fly Shop in Pulaski. They have the materials to tie your own too. They are cool and won't B.S. you about where fish are and all that. Just $upport their business if you intend to ask where the fish are!

Wheren't you just telling a few of us how you only ever caught 2 salmon?  Your peddling out advice? 7.5 leader?  In the salmon river of a floating line?

ORIGINAL: Ditchrat

Wheren't you just telling a few of us how you only ever caught 2 salmon?  Your peddling out advice? 7.5 leader?  In the salmon river of a floating line?


Um... No. I caught 2 last year. I took an early trip last year and caught 2 in one day of fishing. I only had one day of Salmon fishing due to a scheduled surgery.
Whats wrong with that setup? Would you rather I fished a 15 foot leader so you could call me a liner?

Lucky13-
I've never fished the Gennie. Pretty much an urban setting?
I have heard about the Russian guys poaching.
I have also talked to a few men who fish there with sidearm handy.
Can you shed some light on the fishing there? Like an insider story?
Would be cool.

Its all about the dead drift. Your 10ft 8wt is perfect as everyone suggested. just make sure your bait is in the zone as long as possible. Use just enough weight to get it down. With the water levels as they are-

another option

If fly fishing- I would go straight sink tip with 4 ft leader about 10lb test and swing flies.