... So are the fish finally gonna run the river? I think whenever they come it will be a huge 1 day run

    Had planned on being up a LOT this year after two seasons of unavoidable conflicts during 'the run' resulting in very limited time on the river.
WELLLLLL here sitting  with TIME and few fish--lol. Have made 3 uneventful Salmon trips already and am chomping for action.
     Used to hit the river for years with a good friend in the last week or so of Sept- sometimes we hit good action and sometime not.
 This seems to be just like 'old times'.
       It is encouraging to see 'the fin' on so many photos and am kinda tending to  blame the season to date on unusual Lake winds keeping the fish far from the East shore this year as opposed to fewer fish theories.
   River conditions and flows are excellent compared to the past couple of 'big early run' seasons to its gotta be the Lake- IMHO.
     When it does POP the Circus will be a 5 ringer cause 3 wont be able to accommodate the thousands of folks who are sitting home waiting.
 
PREDICTION--the next week or so will change everything.

Trev there's so many factors getting thrown around... Although many things are ahead and early in mother nature due to a cool summer, we must remember how behind everything was this past spring from the harsh winter. Steelhead were In the river in to june despite the high flows... Lake had ice on it in to mid may in some parts... Walleye in oneida were a few weeks behind on spawn. Time will tell.

Hopefully the internet chatter will continue the way it has and folks who expect reports that will bring fish right to their feet will learn its not like that. This is definitely an arced learn curve season for the unseasoned angler...

BTW, the two fish I've brought to hand thus far were wild unclipped females which is odd. I've noticed wild males usually show up first ...

Agree with the multiple theory thingie. Kinda think  that the fish are arriving out front in an irregular pattern from normal because of the reasons you suggest as well as their longer swim from afar to get here.
Where the bait was is where they were- now they gotta get down to the business of repro.
Betcha some are dark or colored up even before they run.
 Flows are great but fishes be late-------.
Hey---The cold weather this Spring fouling up the fishing is because of global warming- blame Al.
          Does the late run mean that November will be  the new October ?
Personal experience is that Nov -my favored time- hasn't been quite up to par on those early run years-will be interesting to see if that changes this season.
 Ahhhh theories- ya would think that because our brain is so big that we would be able to figure out whats up with all those pea brained species=NOPE.

One of the things that baffled the lake guys was the lack of an established thermocline in the lake and there was TONS of bait around. That in its self made targeting " salmon " water more difficult . I still think the fish are a bit smaller and fewer compared to the easy pickins from the last 5 or so years.
The river will eventually tell the real story .

You guys are right though , it's seeming like the old days of when are the major runs gonna happen ( usually mid sept ) and the fish fill top to bottom.
Again in recent history there were plenty of fishable days in late aug - early sept with steady trickles or pushes daily.
They are just being stubborn this year. Lol

One thing we noticed Saturday was how warm the river water was had to be mid to high 60's. That does help

Havent used waders yet this year- just extra socks and studded boots with regular pants- very refreshing-especially when getting into deeper waters just below the waist.

Water has been consistently below average all summer along with flows being well above average... Ugly fish... How did you and fichy make out over the weekend?

Report is in the tackle thread. Kinda figured it wasn't worth its own thread. Not that I'm answering for UF, but I think he'd corroborate my story.

r3g3
Havent used waders yet this year- just extra socks and studded boots with regular pants- very refreshing-especially when getting into deeper waters just below the waist.

Just a little bit more then we needed to know!! :-/