report-oct 17,18,19,20

Got in Mon o dark 30 to a day in the 60s and a few fish most everywhere and still a number of fishermen most everywhere.
Fish were mostly ganged up in low warm waters in deeper holes surrounded in chuckers and duckers all up and down the river.
Those in small pockets or elsewhere were about the most line shy fish I have ever experienced on the river.
Guys stalking and lining every run.
Shortly after light the choke points had few guys- the fish weren't really running but kinda stayin put.
 
Tuesday got into the low 80s- LOW 80S- bright and sunny- fishing like yesterday but worse.
 
Wednesday cloudier in 60s-same as Monday.
 
Today bugged out around 9 Am in rain getting heavier by the moment.
 
Very few fish on beds but starting to gang up a bit and will likely spawn very soon. Those seen trying to spawn were quickly accompanied by fishermen.
Didn't see over 3 dozen deads from top to bottom and I covered a LOT of ground- despite all the earlier decent run reports the deads don't support it.
A small push or pod down low is quickly reduced below 81 and hardly noticeable further upriver.
 
Saw only 4 Steel in 3 1/3 days and one Ho. Fish aren't really running but hanging around the same areas waiting ( I think) to spawn.
Would see a fish with the same lure hanging off it over and over coming past--just swimming around the same area.
 
Everything I had on was lined or snagged and quickly popped off- had a decent number -they woulda likely died after a fight in the low warm water- SNAP.
DSR report says ya gotta go real light as the fish are so spooky- they are right- Tried it and they were still shying from everything.
 
MANY limits on stringers all over- woulda been easy to do that with the normal methods used on the river.
 
Likely saw about 8 or 9 guys FISHING.
MANY stealth rippers-you know cast wait and then LLLLIIIIFFFFFT for another cast.
 
Checked my posts from the same time last year- fewer fish but they were bitey in cooler higher waters.
More Steel too - hope that changes when it cools- despite reports of Steel they appeared VERY few and far between.
Leaves were already down this time a year ago and now they are just starting- issues on hooks lol.
Natives  saying its 3 weeks later this year due to weather.
 
Cant wait to get back up in cooler waters.
 
High point of the trip- stopping by to see Andy.

From Monday till today the crowds have diminished a bit.
Likely will go down much more this late.
With a degree of walking ya can generally get away from most of them but its skinny water and it doesn't  take too many to be too many.
Up river ya can get in with 3o yds or so between guys on part of it as long as your halfway between lots or big pools.

Was nice to see ya trev. River is going to go up substantially. Perfect timing Imo. That is to protect all of the steelhead from these salmon crowds :)

r3g3
Took a break and went to DD for a coffee in town and  then proceeded to the overlook at the needle to rest up, watch the show and then go back up river.
Saw two guys marching up around the island below the overlook deck and go straight to a guy fishing- could tell they were on a mission the way they walked and waved arms around talking.
Well a big argument ensued complete with finger pointing and a bit of chest pushing.
Arms were being cocked back for some punching and  the third guy got in the middle and forced the two main guys apart.
Arguing continued and then the two left with the peacemaker kinda forcing the leaving.
Aint fishing fun.

That's why I very seldom fish below the bridge at Altmar,fishing is supposed to be relaxed and fun but it is n't with all the snaggers during silly season.

Snagging is a way of life on the Sr and I -for one- don't ever see it stopping, gotta learn to live with  it- like or not.
Or go nuts.
Recall one fine Summer day approaching the wire pool in upper zone- looking for the elusive Atlantic.
Stopped a bit back from the pool on the path  and began to rig up my rod- could hear some loud voices and looked up at the pool.
Two guys on the far side ripping away hard and fast.
I walked over to the pool where they could see me and they immediately walked off into the woods.
A fish or two were visible and one was all ripped on its back.

If I had my druthers, there would be no more invasive salmon stocked in the lake, but that ain't going to happen unless the fishery collapses.  But something needs to be done, at the very least non-residents should lose their license for a few years when caught (it's all on computers now) and tackle should be routinely confiscated, as it is in Canada.  Legitimate anglers either have to pay the exorbitant fees at DSR, or have little chance of actually finding a biter with the wholesale illegal fishing going on now.  When guys like HT feel it necessary to abandon the fishery because of the horse manure, we resident taxpayers are getting ripped off, and that ain't right.

It seems to me that the lion's share of the braggadocio, and a lot of the litter (can't see it from my backyard!) originates with out of staters, who would never get away with this behavior in their home states.  But I would like to see a much bigger hammer for residents, too.
 
"A few local folks" would be everyone that I know that lives around there and has any kind of life outside of the fishery.   They are vehemently opposed to the trashing their community takes for the fiscal benefit of the ones who do subsist off the fishery.  It is interesting to see the reaction of the Charter Industry as expressed on the Great Lakes United board, as well, they are pretty well fed up at this point, as we've got a parallel shyt show on the Genesee right now. 
 
At one time it was a phenomenal Atlantic Salmon fishery, and before the kings it was a good trout river.  If the alewife goes, we may see it be both again.

This out of stater has picked up lots of trash on the SR and I bet a lot of that was from resident "slobs" as they.the slobs live everywhere.Why not have a deposit fee on all beverage containers so when I pick them up I can get rewarded for my efforts,but when the "slobs" realize they are throwing money down on the trail they might stop and think,if they have a brain in their head.
Why do I fish for SAlmon? Well I love it when they rip my line down to the backing and show me the fight they are capable of,there is nothing locally that compares so I make the drive North to get my "FIX",however next year I'm going to Alaska to get a taste of the real "Thing",maybe after that the SR will se no more of me.

Jack you are a stand up visitor :) and I agree 100% with refundable containers. And yes plenty of garbage is thrown from locals in the off season. Alaska sounds great, where are you heading?

Lucky13 you gotta be kidding me.  First, nearly all fishermen on the SR are instate.  Second, look at the beer can waste:  always the cheap stuff.  Out of state guys aren't fishing the town pool and the waste is horrible.  The DSR sees very little waste.  No, it's the Pulaski guys spewing the waste by a wide margin.  

Instate or out of state des not matter. I call them fishheads and have since I was young. Anyone who does not frequent the river area in general outside of  fishing is a fishhead.  Outside of the town pool area there are very  few  '' Pulaski guys''  trashing the river, drinking at 9am and being self centered a holes so don't give me the line that's it's them trashing THE WHOLE RIVER.   Any parking lot has at least 33% out of state plates . There are very few ''local'' folks fishing at any given time. Local is you pay taxes to a district the river is in. If you are not local you get lumped in with everyone else to me. It's how you conduct yourself that sets you apart.  Like Trev said,   It is not the POS out of staters it is just the plain old POS people period, local, from cuse or from Alaska.

edit
 

I kinda get what L-13 said but think it was in poor choice of words .
Andy kind of summed it up as a traveling circus . Granted we all have been a part of that as well but it's the majority that make it a bad experience , not the minority .
Personally , I can't take it any longer . I don't like a lot of people in one place in general and the view isn't so great anymore . Even in the winter it can be difficult as once the flotilla starts .
Good luck to all and talk to ya when I touch down in the states later today

pafisher
This out of stater has picked up lots of trash on the SR and I bet a lot of that was from resident "slobs" as they.the slobs live everywhere.Why not have a deposit fee on all beverage containers so when I pick them up I can get rewarded for my efforts,but when the "slobs" realize they are throwing money down on the trail they might stop and think,if they have a brain in their head.
Why do I fish for SAlmon? Well I love it when they rip my line down to the backing and show me the fight they are capable of,there is nothing locally that compares so I make the drive North to get my "FIX",however next year I'm going to Alaska to get a taste of the real "Thing",maybe after that the SR will se no more of me.

New York has a deposit on most beverage cans, the ones you find with no deposit are from other states.
 
We wait for the chromers anymore, they may not be as big as the kings but they are twice as fast.  But if you can afford to go to Alaska, you should be able to afford a few days in DSR, and the crowds are thin down there.  The last couple of times that I fished the Zone, it was more snaggers than anglers, even with all the tackle restrictions.
 

Lucky13

pafisher
This out of stater has picked up lots of trash on the SR and I bet a lot of that was from resident "slobs" as they.the slobs live everywhere.Why not have a deposit fee on all beverage containers so when I pick them up I can get rewarded for my efforts,but when the "slobs" realize they are throwing money down on the trail they might stop and think,if they have a brain in their head.
Why do I fish for SAlmon? Well I love it when they rip my line down to the backing and show me the fight they are capable of,there is nothing locally that compares so I make the drive North to get my "FIX",however next year I'm going to Alaska to get a taste of the real "Thing",maybe after that the SR will se no more of me.

New York has a deposit on most beverage cans, the ones you find with no deposit are from other states.
 
We wait for the chromers anymore, they may not be as big as the kings but they are twice as fast.  But if you can afford to go to Alaska, you should be able to afford a few days in DSR, and the crowds are thin down there.  The last couple of times that I fished the Zone, it was more snaggers than anglers, even with all the tackle restrictions.
 

I'm in my mid 70's and always wanted to see Alaska and fish there,so as my time is getting short it's now or never.The last time I was at the DSR the crowd was not thin and the snaggers were down there also.The LFZ is now the "stealth lifter fly rod holder spot",I prefer the UFZ but this year when I was there it was a bust because of the warm water, there were very few fish and they were not hitting .