Oct 6 and 7

   Some likem chunky, some likem funky and some likem hairy-like a monkey. Retired guy dont play that and I DO NOT play 1200 or more plus runoff that all looks like a mud pie either....
Did a 2 day 3-way trip. Turkey, leaf raking and fishing. Fly fishing  for 2 days without a hit-tried everything in every size, even one of those real shiny sparkly things steel kind of like ( thought it might show up in the mud)---zippo. Only did about 4 hours of fishing and a lot of watching and walking. Saw a lot caught, all were kept, not one released, generally caught by  ripping.  Why do guys insist on standing in the middle of every seam or holding area up to their guts and then cast out in the middle of the fast dirty water. (rip rip rip)
It rained  Wed nite and today water was up more and even dirtier. The ground is saturated, rain goes right to the river.  This  weekend would be a bloodbath if it lowered and cleared.  There are a lot of fish out there.
  Feeder streams continue to be pounded, hundreds on them. The main river lots were about a third full today (only a dozen cars at ballpark) and yesterday, parking was nuts at the feeders. I hope the Hatchery folks consider the lack of spawning in the feeders. Nothing could live to breed under that pressure. John Law was on the feeders Wed., I hope he kept everything he caught too.
Spent 11 months looking forward to October now I cant wait for November- Good luck -I hope others were luckier than I was- Its all good fishing --fish or not.

ps-if I read it right, pineville guage says 1870 for Friday -be safe

Hi Drake,
 The lots along the river are OK but the ones at the Altmar bridge are under repair-close to being done-they are filling them and leveling off-they just redid them a couple of weeks ago and now have to do it again.  By the way- was very surprised from what I could see in the high muddy most of the river hasnt really changed much-not that I was everywhere but I did jump around.

I'm nuts-be back up Tuesday with a new fisherman for 3 days then back to Ct Thurs pm , pickup two other guys Friday AM and back up for the weekend. Who said retirement is boring and all you do is sit on your ---

Makes sense. With the Pcompany reporting 1600cfs and Pville showING 1840 and knowing Tbrook still adds more clear water, the spring seeps along Sskin and trickle that comes down the wall at the Lblackhole it should have a bit of visability in the DSR.

Spent 11 months looking forward to October now I cant wait for November- Good luck -I hope others were luckier than I was- Its all good fishing --fish or not.



That's why I'm usually done in September due to crowds floods and non aggressive fish. I'm looking forward to November as well. Hopefully most of the silt will be washed away by then. Usually the river doesn't darken up so bad its just that there are silt and mud deposits all over... it can only get better from here.

I walked a bit of the first feeder brook above the Tressel on Wednesday before the new rain and new silt. Granted it was much clearer than the river itself but dont think for a moment it wasnt dirty too from runoff. I stood by a run watching guys fish a small pool and you couldnt see the bottom of the 18 inch deep run very well and couldnt see into the pool beyond a foot or so. I didnt fish it at all due to the pressure. In fact my rod stayed broken down for an hour or so while I walked that feeder looking around. They may be feeding the river clearer water but not by much. I know you dont need very clear water to fish but I'm a fifty percenter at best and need all the breaks I can get.

Good work. Tried a dark blue bugger for while with no luck, like I said 50% -and working at it. Used a fly rod all my life in small streams with bait. Most of my years on the river I used a spinner. Am still getting the bugs out with actual fly fishing. Love it though.

Hey Wad,
  No argument here, different folks see different things. I wish I could have seen my feet in knee deep water upriver where I do most of my fishing but I couldnt. If I could have I may have ventured to some favorite places. Having a near drowning experience when I wasnt even fishing has made me overly cautious.
    Will try again Tues Wed and Thurs.-Never give up--never give up -never give up.
   Good luck guys -keep fishing

Thanks for the tip Fan,
Guess I'll skip the flies and go for sacs this week-any suggestions on how to fish them in this water  -Fly rod or spinner etc-- Latest reports I read say its a bit clearer too and I hope to see it drop from 1600-the Waterline only gave till Monday night-I'll be up Tues through Thurs.

   Good fishing everyone

Really appreciate the tips.

Retired guy they are changing the release tonight at 8 to 1200, then at 8am down to 750 should be clear and very fishable for your week enjoy and much luck to ya.

good luck retired and everybody else. i just got back from a weekend trip. no fishing... just working... i wouldn't of fished anyway even if i had the chance. i looked up from the altmar bridge and saw maybe out 100 quote on quote flyfishermen; and maybe 1 if that was actually able to fly cast. i don't see why people flock this time of year. even if there are a lot of fish, i can't handle the crowds... retired ; you probably will find some peace of water if you're up during the week. good luck...

p.s. one thing i was glad to see is that the stretch right above the altmar bridge is finally back to the way it was about 15 years ago... looking forward to the late fall and winter... i'm sure there are going to be some nice new winter lies here and there. it should be fun experimenting the new water once the crowds die down...

thanks for the info i am heading up tonite for the week hope to hit some steeles and browns any info it the river change around the ballpark and a little below area my knees cant take the long walks anymore easy access to these areas for me

all and all things look almost the same on the surface, but wait until the water comes down. and then wait until this years spring flood... there are rocks that used to be there that are gone now and i mean huge rocks, and then new ones that are present. like i said though, i am happy to see the pool above the altmar bridge back to what it was 15 years ago with the deep lie being pushed back to opposite side from the parking lot.maybe now the staple steelhead crowd that locks that spot up won't just be hooking the same 5 tired fish all day long in the flat shallow water in the tail out. you'll now see fish holding in the deep lie along the rock pile of the opposite bank. it'll make for some great high stick nymphing with a nymph or egg pattern... for the ballpark i took a quick look. with the high water even, it looked like similar pockets were with in the same proximity, but they have definmitely shifted. i wouldn't count on your same old rocks that you used to. good luck...

Hey Palfisher,
   If I remember right from when they first opened the upper Fly zone ( i only went once and dont recall the release flow)) it was like a long very fast piece of water with a bend to the North downstream. I watched a few guys hook up and loose fish to the very fast water and decided it wasnt for me-didnt look like fun trying to play the current instead of the fish.
   If I recall correctly I read that they actually went in with heavy equipment several years later and changed it around. Maybe Im nuts ( I have heard that before) but thats what I seem to recall. If so I hope they improve conditions for the guys again.