No fish in the SR

Yep, no fish fish in the SR. This is photoshopped to get you to waste your time and money for fish that don't exist. Lol
I borrowed this photo from a well known guide who's client caught this fish yesterday mid river.

Having had boots in the water up there for a part of each of the last four weeks, I can attest that there are some fish in the river, a lot of what are there are big ones, but there are NOT a lot of them.  The boat guides are doing runs from Altmar to 2a, and picking soft spots along shore, 4, 5 drifts with eggs or beads, working hard hunting for the few fish they are getting, or they are parking in the School and the Wire where some fish have concentrated.  It has been mainly VERY slow, and mainly teeners, until the last couple of days when there were some smaller fish that showed up in the wires, and smaller fish reported in DSR.  Unless it warms up significantly, I'm done for this year, the risks of driving the Lake Effect belt are not justified by the action the river has been producing, and the big muddy will fish once it gets cold.  We've spent a fair number of afternoons fishing Pineville the last 4 weeks, and there are not a lot of happy people getting off the boats.  And Guides have been known to recycle photos, Randy Jones is using some that are 10 years old! 

Not doubting it, but it is the exception this year, not the rule.

Over the last two weeks I've seen more than a few pictures of big steel both on the SR and the OZ.  What I find confusing is a few short years ago many complained that the fish were all cookie cutters, no big fish around.  Now some big fish are being caught but it's not enough to make the effort while lamenting there are no small fish to target.  
I say take your chances, wet a line and accept whatever might come your way even if it's the skunk.  One thing is certain if you sit on the couch you'll never know what might have been. 
And yes I will be on the river December 2 & 3 as I had the good fortune of winning two drift boat trips in the recent LOTAC Catch & Clean raffle.  Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile. 

I'm not for or against anyone who feels it's not worthwhile. Mostly any of my trips now, there or other places are pre planned and unless disaster strikes, I have to roll my dice.
The exception is usually on popular places in crowds.
As some or many, we have caught enough to pick and choose what suits our fancy.
I get the urge and desire dont get me wrong which is why I don't mind kicking down a little extra for a lot more comfort with much fewer trips.
I ain't spendy and know that years ag with 30 plus days on the SR I would never afford what I do now.

Bottom line, Enjoy what you do otherwise it becomes more like a miserable JOB

Not well.
The smell of skunk was on all the boats.

If someone got that many on I may start again too. Like old days.
Glad he scored and glad they are there.

According to the scuttlebutt, they have been trickling in, and certain spots have been parking lots for drift boats and producing.  Also Deer opened in PA, and only just closed north in NYS, plus the driving has been questionable, so less people are out.  But I've also spoken to anglers who frequent other NYS tribs that get comparable plantings of fish in relation to their size, and chrome has been noticeably few and far between, although there have been browns and some Randolph strain 'bows to compensate.  And what chrome are there are in winter mode, less zippy and jumpy due to the cold water temperatures.  The fall run was a real dud this year.  May have to save my pennies and buy a pass next year.

I can't get the pic to post but we were up thanksgiving day, I got one 34.5 in with a 21 girth, we got a few more and lost a couple....slow, but there are fish

Just sayin, for 13 days on the river, I had 5 on.  I could say that was just my ham handed tying and casting and insistence on swinging, if everyone else was catching fish, but the only place we saw or even really heard of any kind of "action" going on was from Altmar down to the wires, and even that was reported as being mostly spotty.  There were days where I could watch from the Unemployment down to the School tail and see 20 guys and not see a bent rod for two plus hours.  I did stop going when the cold snap started three weeks ago, I am getting too old for driving with white knuckles, you eastern guys are out of the Lake effect band pretty quickly while we stay in it all the way home sometimes, and as I said before, the cold water fish are no where's near as active as the normal October November fish, so once it freezes up (and in Rochester we are at ~18 inches of snow for the year, in 2017 we had 2.5 at this point) I tend to look for opportunities closer to home, although my other responsibilities and the days of fishable water have not been lining up well this year.  I have never said there were no fish, but they were a lot fewer and further between than I've seen since the Thiamenase die off a few years ago, and mainly big fish says there is a year class not showing up in numbers.  I'd have still been going up if it had stayed warm like last year, but people have been ice fishing smaller waters around here off and on for two weeks.  So maybe they are coming in in greater numbers now, and all the high water up there isn't making them more vulnerable down low.  I go looking for Atlantics and skams in the summer, but no one is trumpeting "lots of fish" at that time of the year.  My expectations for the fall run are higher. 
 
Metalslayer (a victim of the purges here) works at DSR now, and when I saw him the week after the catch and clean, he said they have abandoned the lift ticket, now they use a wrist band.  I am tempted by the thought of fresh fish that are still somewhat schooled up from the lake, because this fall, once they got above the Black, a lot of them seemed to disappear.  And maybe some of the commenters on the Management plan are correct, and trout should be catch and release on the whole river at least until November 1.   

Above said co worker fished river again Sunday and yesterday. It seems his pictures don't lie. There are really fish in that river and I'm jealous.
He fishes below Pineville and above 81.
Pressure was light and he released all as usual
This is only his 4th year fishing that river but a pretty skilled angler as are others here.
All his fish caught were on his tied flies.
Not trying to cause a mass rush because of my second hand information. Just a fact that there is hope at some quality fish this year. Who knows what the future may bring, we live in a right here right now generation.

His fish were above average and not dark

I saw more steelhead during Columbus Day weekend in the DSR this year than any year I've been fishing there.  I had steelhead swim up to my boots and grab a sucker spawn i had dangling there waiting for a guy to finish his battle.  

Hey db , welcome from outta the cave .
Agreed, some beautiful fish I've seen as well this season.
Some things maybe different or the same, I don't know.
Years ago , the legal treble hookers pulled a lot of trout . It also seemed, the times in November were tough and the big steelhead of yore were caught during " steelhead " weather.
Then a big lull in years.
Regs changed making a more brighter future.
Next came the internet explosion, lots self promotion ensued, so did the masses and later some complaints of cookie fish.. humm.
If there was only a balance to keep everyone happy.
Mine would be , get the nitwits off the river and just fish as fishing should be.

Peace and tuna:
Happy holidays to all.

dimebrite2
I've seen some beautiful fish. Very large ones. If this season hosts a healthy dropbacks I cant imagine the monsters we'll have next year. As for the complaints of early fall steelhead numbers being low in the SR, I'd honestly blame it on the salmon tactics that are practiced thoroughly through October in the lower river. So many steelhead get slaughtered. This used to never happen.

Steelhead which survive spawning spend the next year recovering and gain very little weight.  
 
What is the limit on steelhead in the DSR? 
 
 
I have experienced some of the biggest runs of large fish Halloweenish time frame. 
Times change and things change like the holes along the river.
As for me this year, I fished with lucky + a few days before he wanted to mix in with  the early salmon "anglers"  
My take is that there were fewer fish this year ( last fished upriver was a week ago Thurs) 
But there was a higher % larger fish ( largest I personally saw was an early 17 pounder ) my biggest of the few I landed was a thick 32-34 inch range hen I estimate was 12-14 pounds.
I caught one 16 inch microsteel and couple 4-6 pounders on.
As lucky said we were at the ramp regularly, and saw a lot of disappointed anglers getting out of boats.
Rose said she was getting more negative reports than positive.
 
Tuna is your friend younger?
It was a year where covering water was important since the fewer fish meant there was lots of holding water with no fish and few bunched up anywhere.
An option I no longer have.
Two or three spots each day and I'm beat.
 
Hope everyone has great holidays and good fishing