favorite month

Charlie-
Must agree with mid to late November- still fish and diminished crowds.
    As a more or less dedicated upriver fisherman one can find some  Kings that have not been chased half to death by the crowds and have made it up still fresh- therefore some  still bite even in the upper river.
     The Steel are generally in and in a great biting and fighting mode and the Hos can be plentiful at times.
     Perhaps the best part to me is that the large male Hos are all colored up by then with the pink stripe and green humpty back an curled over snout. Also some of the Kings are now' big greens' which I kinda think is their best fighting and appearance mode.
    Can be tough if there is bad weather and big water though and it conflicts with Deer huntin too.
As is my norm after a fishie or two  I commonly just pick a nice perch and sit back and watch the fish run and spawn. Nice to just watch and see others enjoy catchin some too. Great to be a part of the whole show and then sit back and take  a deep breath and watch- love it -different strokes.

Hey this will probably make it impossible to find a spot to fish if they ALL read the reports and start showin up in November too.
Now we are  month burners.

   Your point bout the crowds is well taken PA- it IS gettin harder each year- thats why  later Nov.- used to be early Nov.
Gotta wonder sometimes if we are our own worst enemies as so many lurkers pickup on vairety in the seasons through regular fishermen.
Even very early Sept was kinda thick down low this year. Guess a lot of folks are trying to miss the big crowds during the main King runs.
  Hope they dont think its gonna be all fish and no gettin skunked cause some of those early and late days can simply become a nice day for a walk.

Great thread Charlie:

I'm gonna Cheat.. Last 2 weeks in Oct > First 2 weeks in November..
To me that is pretty hard to beat with all the Species in the river.. A legit shot at all fresh fish with Lots of Spread out space.. Steelhead, Salmon & Trout can be found fresh High or Low so thats a super plus..
Crowds at that time are hit and miss.. The Salmon gang seem to deminish but the Steelheaders have seemed to increase over the years.. Can't say I blame them.. Still there is plenty of space to seek..
I'll draw the line towards favorites by the 3rd week in Nov.. To me it's harvest time in NY after a long fall of fishing.. So that break works well.. Besides it can be Brutal at times in latter Nov.. WIND baby, wind.. Not that I'm a wuss..

Now my least favorite month on the Tribs has to be December..
There is just to much anticipation towards hardwater as well has the Heavy $$$$ start adding up.. The fishing kinda stalls , at least for a time on the river for me..

My favorite moments from 2011,12 ??
Thats a tough, tough answer..
Here are my HIGH lights..
As Charlie said: Thursday Sept 8 2011 was a Special day: It was my first attempt at actual fishing.. Got to show Charlie, whom I met for the first time, some pretty new sweet water. At first the fishing was SUB par to say the least.. Then it happened.. We struck gold and I was able to see a big Smile from a true angler land his first flyrod king salmon.. From then on it was all about re living that moment, as we did.. Net please !!!
An ablosute BLAST even though my score was ZERO !!

Now the Other HIGH :
fishing with a true Gentelman and gosh darn good fisherman for about 4 days.. Our very own pafisher, Jack !!
My gosh, the man can "catch" fish !! He was like , the fish whisper.. I really enjoyed and look forward to spending much more time on the water with him.. Please invite me to your playground again..
He showed me some fantastic water that I have overlooked for many years.. Thank You !!

And Another:
Clint, Charlie and I..
Clint is the man !! Starting from scratch and catching a fish on his own creation.. Darn GOOD net man too !!
Super pleasure fishing with you.. Right attitude and open mind.. I'm sure we will reverse rolls and I'll do all the netting next time..

Finally:
Right here was a HIGH:
with out good folks here none of that would happen:
I think I have met or had conversation with most and always want to share water with all..
To those I missed, we will have high times for sure in 2012>13..

Peace & Tuna

Nice thread charlie. I agree with retired. Its really a tough call for me. I've come to enjoy just about every month in the past 10 years. Now, if i want to get really nitty gritty id have to say december in the lower river and february in the lower river. Conditions permitting for both. There is nothing better to me (fishing wise) than hitting solid chrome fish at these times in mostly solitude. If conditions are right, there is always a 1-2 week window of fresh chrome in december. Then again in early february. Now, when it comes to personal enjoyment, i'd say may -early september. Great people and great weather up there along with some beautiful country side and a lot of outdoor activities. And top it off with some great bass fishing...its just all good to me.
It was great this past season meeting a bunch of folks from the board. Wouldve liked to have fished a whole lot more...but you cant stop life. If i had to say my best time on the river it would probably be early october. I had hit dsr in pursuit of chrome after a large push of chrome had been coming for about a week. I guess i had missed it and most were up river from me at that point. But, i was
blessed with only 2 anglers in sight with a thick pod of large strong kings that were acting unbelievably aggressive. If you looked at the water, you would not think they were there...but it was an every cast hook up bonanza at times. There was no rush or pressure from any of my surroundings. Just peaceful sounds from the 500 cfs and the wind blowing. It was an overall great day. My wife was quite angry when she called me at 2 pm thinking i was half way home. I rushed her off the phone though as i was walking back a huge king ready to land...lol..it was a great day.

It was great sharing some water with clint and had a great day with 3 fan on his boat. Overall it was a great year for me. Probably the least time spent on the water, but it was definitely quality time...looking forward to the future...

Chosen,I never tried that shore fishing for salmon,what do you use  at that time as far as tackle goes?