Earliest "run" you can recollect

End of august.  Was up there mid sept, in shorts and tennis shoe hammering the steel last yr,

ORIGINAL: Screamin Steel

...I know there are a few oddballs caught in August/ early September each year.....picks up more reliably into October with RAINFALL being the key ingredient. ....

ahhh

i think you just answered you own question
.... when the weather is cool and it rains



its like asking "when do you think you will be able to ice fish?".... when the water freezes

Jan?

Something I don't understand about these "remember when" posts:  whenever some of us "oldtimers" report on how things used to be, and then give the truthful statement that it isn't the same as before, everyone thinks we are lying and tries to run up to the tribs really early?  My honest opinion is that, for some reason, the runs (full runs) have been coming later and later in the season.  Now yes you do get some early fish, but not in the numbers as before.  That's why I hold the "One Fly" close to the middle of October, I'm trying to match the start of the big run.  (hasn't worked out that way lately because of no rain).  Seems the really good runs have been occuring after the 1st snowfall.
     So my best advice is:  Scout early and be prepared to fish but don't expect anything really good till after the middle of October.

when do the steel start schooling up in the lakes before they go into the creeks? actaully on second thought dont answer that all the trout run yuppies will be there tommorrow if you say something :-)

Saw a real good push on labor day weekend 2006...  "Double digit" numbers were easily had and fish were found well upstream.  Some of you may have been there...  The weather pattern was perfect, stream came up and so did the fish.  I remember fishing the Manchester hole September 9th i believe (following weekend), and 4 of us had around 300 fish to ourselves until mid morning...

I've had that happen a couple times, but thats the year that I definitely remember. 

I havent noticed any trend of the runs getting later.  Theres always a few early dudes around by labor day, fishable numbers by mid September, and you'll be tripping over them by October in the lower streams...  regardless of weather.

-Tim

It all depends on where your fishing.

The earliest I've seen big numbers in shallow was Labor day weekend 2000.   There were thousands in the lower ends of the creeks, water was low/clear but cool. Lake temps were cool that summer as well.  The fish numbers in early Sept. that year looked more like early October on most years.   I don't know whether a higher percentage of the overall run came in earlier that year than normal, or if that year there were just so many out there that instead of the normal couple hundred that would be around that time of year, they became a couple thousand. who knows?

i caught them last year in wal nut on september 6th!  Can not wait til the steel enter them streams!

1st week of August in 85 degree heat landed 5 in elk. That was about 6-7 years ago.

They were runnin into the box on the boat the last 3 days. 15-17 miles away from walnut. You think they making that swim nightly. Although a few were picked in the first trench over the weekend.

September 9th 3 years ago.

Had 150 + fish in two holes on the east side.  Also saw 3 in a middle section of a trib.

Agreed, just dont want to give anyone the wrong idea if u know what I mean.

I agree with Stillhead 100%...  that duud spends more time probing for early steel than anyone I know. 
 
To add to what Jim said, early fish always seem to hang in the same places...  Usualy what happens every year is some duud takes a quick walk up and down the stream and sees nothing, deeming it void of fish.  When in fact there very well may be dozens, or even hundreds around.  I know I've personaly had schools of 100+ early runners vanish before my eyes, only to re-appear minutes later.
 
-Tim 
 
 

ORIGINAL: spoonchucker

The earliest runs I recall, have occured after a night of cheap beer, and Mexican food. It's almost a guarantee.

 
Budwieser Draft for me for sure.....lol.....