The fish just keep coming over the rail almost nonstop now. Sizes are increasing as well.
My crew canceled today so no fishing for me. Actually it's all good because I'm beat and could use the break to catch up on home chores.
Three day marathon coming up and back to business tomorrow.

Ya man you got it dialed in. Great fish, awesome pics. Thanks for the share.

Btdt, your a road warrior, get in that giddy up and get down here !

Appreciate it, it's been a long haul and still a ways to go before we can kick back and toss out the "Welcome Mat". But we're getting there and the welcome mat will be out.... 10-4? 😊

HT I can't make no promises for this year but if all goes well, next spring we plan working our way up the eastern seaboard, before heading back to PA.

I think it would be great to wet a line with ya but my main interest will be learning where a grandpa that runs a gentleman's farm and still holds a full time job, finds all that energy???

Geez neighbor after reading your post and viewing your pictures, "my" arms feel like their gonna fall off. lol

Man Rich glad your killing them. My tennis elbow is so bad my MD banned me from casting and with the rain I have not gone this spring at all. I need to practice with my other hand loll
p.s. I need surgery on the elbow and will be getting it the summer

I've been up the last two weeks.  It has been slow, especially with the high water.  First trip, I got one hen 31", she was dogged out from spawning and fought very little before turning on her side and coming in easy for the release.  There were still a lot of males up in Ellis and above on the first trip two weeks ago.  Last week, with the water down, I walked about 2 miles of middle river, around Sportsman's.  I saw a few fish, but they were not holding, just cruising downstream with the flow. 
 
My second day, I opted to walk little streams up on the hill to check on brook trout recovery from the drought a few summers ago.  I caught fish , mostly ~4" long, largest was 6 1/2."   Considering that the same stretch of brook produced nothing two years ago and nothing fished first with flies and then with worms last year, the dozen I shook back in are a positive sign that the populations are gradually recovering.  Pre-drought , this stretch of stream routinely produced ~50 fish in a couple of hours, with a couple that would push 10".  I was finally driven out of the woods by the huge swarms of black flies.  While they were not biting (much) yet, they are a nuisance, getting behind the glasses lenses and up the nose, in the mouth, and along the hat line.  they were out in Altmar, too, but not in clouds like on the hill.  
 
Intended to return to the big portion of the river on Friday, but when I got up at 6 AM, the air contained nearly as much water as the river.  There was no one out up river (one trailer between Pineville and Altmar), and the guys staying at the motel with me had their guide cancel on them as he said it would just be a boat ride.  Word from town was there were still a few fish coming down, and they were silvering up, but I think the biggest part of the run dropped out on the high water, or the Black Hole and the Long Bridge are packed.  So you didn't miss a lot this year, based on what I saw.
 
I also checked some of the skinny water way up at the limits of steelhead upstream migration ability, and where I had encountered fish a few weeks ago (the day after the SOR meeting) up in the skinny water, it was empty this trip.

Closure of Trout, John O'Hara, and Orwell came up at the SOR meeting.  Dan Bishop (Region 7 Fisheries Manager) said that they think that these tributaries are at capacity for natural reproduction, so elimination of the amount of harvest going on would be insignificant in terms of increased trout production.  All three brooks contain significant stretches of posted land (on Trout, the biggest stretch of PFR water is heavily posted on both sides of the creek, I am told you just tell the landowners to bugger off when they hassle you, as the easements are permanent) and a lot of what is public does not show up  on the SR maps because it is so far upstream, and requires a fair bit of woods walking to access.  The only time I encountered other fishers on the little cricks this spring was when the river was up at 2000+, and even then it was only at Tubbs Road ( I suspect one of your "happy spots" some really beautiful water in there, I know why the locals were upset when the salmon displaced the brook trout up there), and no one had any fish that day. We don't fish up there a lot, but we drive through almost every day we are up there using "alternate" routes between Centerville and Altmar.
 
I have been alone for at least part of the last couple of trips, and I chose to walk longer stretches studying the water for future reference, or for brook trout fishing later in the season on the small tribs, while also checking out deer sign on the State Forest lands.  I saw a lot of redds in the river last week when the water was down, but the fish were gone.  I saw surprisingly few redds in the small creeks, but I was WAY upstream for a lot of that hiking. 

Well ok here is the striper update. The fish and bait have disappeared. Haven't caught anything in over a week and half. Charter either who is fishing every day. He canceled 3 days in past 10 due to weather.
For me the boat comes out tomorrow or Sunday after fishing.
It was a strange season. Cold, smoking hot then cold.
Time to move on . I'll be in the woods at deer camp next weekend so time to cut a rug.

Weather blows big time. My yard is knee deep in grass, weeds and water.
When it rains every other day on clay, it dont dry but stays mud.

As for steelhead chatter. Sucks , especially for someone who wants to fish but is injured . That's the only reason I bought a spey rod , when I was injured. Never used it again.
If I had ambition for steelhead I'd be fishing them.
I just don't so it is what it is..
Next adventure, summertime blues

Season is over for me. We caught lots of bait today, no linesiders.
Boat is on dry land now till who knows when.
You really can't trade steelhead for stripers as these fish arrived last week of April and shut down last week pretty much.
It's a 3-4 week window.
It's also a tough gig for me on steelhead anymore because I exit the woods, onto the ice and into the boat.
After 40 years of Chrome, I'm content doing my local thing now because being outdoors never stops.

Gotta try and cut my hayfield, weed chocked lawn

1 of 2 favorites from my season

My favorite striper picture of all I've taken. Not necessarily the biggest fish but the best of times.
On my birthday 4-30-16.
Grandson hammered them with 17 on board
He still fishes with me to the day.

"PRICELESS" Tuna.👍

As for 'the biggest fish'....... as they say in the Ole country, it ain't necessarily the size of the fish in a fight but the size of the fight, in the fish.