Scouting the Salmon River - Straight Facts

Wife and I came up to scout the Salmon River. Im use to fishing Michigan waters like the PM, Manistee, Betsie, and Platt, so when I learned that I could save 8 hours driving i figured I would check it out. The flow was 750cf on sunday, and I thought that this was normal/cool until someone told me that it was for some white water event and would be reduced come monday.

Looking at some of the pictures on Wiki, I can see that the river becomes a zoo during the run with fishermen elbow to elbow (Like the bad old days). This is due to the fact that NY doesnt have many rivers to spread out the number of fishermen as in the Upper Great Lakes, and Pac N.West.

NY does have to get with the times though and legislate "Recreational Trespass" where the property owner cant prevent access to the river to fishing, or claim ownership to submerged bottomlands below the traditional high water mark.  We'll see how NY deals with the 2 court cases for PA and MT that address this issue.

So it should be interesting fishing the Salmon River. Much like the PM from my observation, but not the be all to end all as some woman said at one of the fly shops in Pulaski.

wow another one of these debates...

i bet it would be impossible to make that be instilled in the political system. do you know how many private hunting and fishing clubs there are in ny state. i know guys who pay 1000 bucks and more to fish for trout in catskill creeks... 100 plus year old deeds are a hard thing to break. one thing people should recognize is that any new water front land on the salmon that has been purchased recently or currently for sale is deeded for public access along stream bank such as my 900 ft. of bank. this is a good thing. there are plenty of ny streams also though. they are just hard streams to predict and fish... so often overlooked. a deed is a deed when it comes to property.

what more is there. that is why. this case went to court back in the 90's and the public lost. it will never become public land and people should really just face it. and if you can't come to terms with it, than form your comittee and gather your strength in numbers, and fight it...

why debate ?? it's fact .. do I own the deer that roam my property , no. do I have a right to not allow people on my property , yes.. kinda apples to oranges but still..
Am I forced to fish an area which I'm required to pay, no . do I chose to hire a guides, yes..
Don't want to hear about license $$ spent stocking.. That is all B.S. because the opportunity to public access is there. NYS (not out of state) taxes support NYS outdoors recreation & public access, fishing included.

talk to any land owner who has bank easment to public in their deed... they hate it... garbage, a*#holes who don't respect anything... thats why land owners upstream from barclay's gave their rights to him. those people don't have bank walking easements in their deed. so for years, people were fishing the taill of the black and basically trespassing, but they never enforced it... but at the same time tired of cleaning up the beer cans and tackle and garbage, and having people not obey them. so they finally put their foot down. politics are politics... those people owned that land before this fishery was here. why should they let anyone and there friends and long lost cousins stampede their land. there are so many statefishery programs in ny state that are riddled with private property. you can say what you want but its a battle you'll never win

This area welcomed every beer drinking out of stater that would come up and buy a license, if you can remember years ago the area catered to them. I grew up on the river, and hunting has nothing to do with anything. The dec doesnt grow your deer for you then let them loose on your property. If you dont want people hunting your land you post and patrol. Those fish are stocked, salmon are not native to lake ontario therefore our tax dollars pay for the stocking of these great fish.

$$$$FISH-ON$$$$$

and for the original post "boycott any place that makes you pay to fish"... aren't you already doing that by not going there??? why don't you boycott the state for allowing them to charge you to fish??? better yet; why don't you boycott the state for charging you your license fee...if you really care you would be doing more... i recomend just going out and fishing how ever you'd like and where ever you are aloud. i think this one should be lain to rest in my opinion. it is a subject that has been beaten to the ground and it's been taken to the courts. it's a done deal. i will admit that i am a season pass holder in DSR. i hope to think that i always will be. and i don't hesitate from telling anyone that i am a pass holder. and i usually am respected by most any angler or local up there. it's my choice to fish there... and it's your choice to not... i actually own 900 ft. of river front on the salmon and coincidently i have a bank walking easement for public access. go figure....

The 2 issues you raised were littering and drunks. I agree that these are issues. Enforcement of public consumption of alcohol laws, and littering laws.

How they won was by filing in Citerori on behalf of the gov't. there is no difference under common law, and no difference under statutory law. Under the commerce clause, the Gov't has the right of way for commerce to the historical high water mark. In Michigan the land owners learned that the "Historical" mark was not where the water actually was. To determine where that mark is, they use the charts and maps from the "National Flood Insurance Agency". The state argued and won based on the argument that the fish Are the property of the state, and that the state under the commerce clause owns the right of way, and the land owner cannot interfere with commerce.

Sounds like it will be an easy case. A sure win! Get on with it. Those guides and their lawyers sure are stupid for not just going to the fed court with this.
Do you think you will have this settled by next Oct? I got some steelbows to rope down there if only I don't have to pay for access.

then let's leave it alone. it is what it is. but man was the fishing hot down in the DSR on sunday. worth every single penny of my season pass... i leave it alone on that note

that is hysterical. no need to apologize...i dont care if people don't prefer or want to fish it... i'm just tired of hearing people complain about it. i feel as if it is a waste to complain about something unless you try to do something about it...tight lines...

I mis-spelled it....yes Im a product of the Baraga County Pubic School System (From da heart of da yooper aye)...Cant speak english without it sounding like Im a demented canook, but **** if I cant pronounce all of those French/Chippewa/Ottawa words all you trolls (one of them creatures god created to live under the bridge) cant even come close to.

First left da yoop to serve in Uncle Sams Army, den worked for Henry Fords Company, now Im stuck here in da east 1354 miles from Gods Country!

If you see me on the river, you will know me right off, Im the big tall guy that wears the Kromer (lucky fishing hat) come introduce yourself.

See the Ice Fishing Picture taken in July!