The salmon, moving upriver from Lake Champlain, are now on their redds in the Saranac River, according to fly fishing enthusiast Don Lee.
Lee, former president of the Lake Champlain Chapter of Trout Unlimited, adds that the river near Allen Street and Webb Island near the footbridge are places to find them, though there are still a few at the river's mouth.
Lee says, quoting a recent Atlantic Salmon Journal, that a few adult salmon overwinter in rivers and lead the smelt that hatch to, in our case, Lake Champlain in the spring. These adults are called slinks. Lee thinks the same thing happens in the Saranac. Unlike Pacific-based salmon, the Atlantic salmon, of which the Lake Champlain landlocked is a variety, don't die after spawning.
Lee recommends wooly buggers, grey ghost variations, maribous in orange and red with No. 2 to No. 6 barbless hooks as good choices for flies. Pixies, Mepps and Krocodiles also work with spinning rigs. In all cases, the best way to go is with single barbless hooks, as I have done with my spoons and spinners, cutting down the treble and bending in the barb.
For catch and release, which is recommended, Lee says a single barbless hook works better because it holds when set in the salmon's mouth cartilage and makes for easier release. He adds that some very nice salmon have been caught in the 5- to 6-pound range, up to 10 pounds. The older fish show old lamprey scars, though, but there is hope that with continued lamprey control these scars will be seen on fewer and fewer fish.
While on the subject of lamprey control and the Region 5 Department of Environmental Conservation's ability to deal with lamprey control and other fishery issues, as of Oct. 31 that department will be down to two fisheries biologists in Ray Brook and one fisheries technician, the lowest staffing in memory. On Oct. 31, Leo Demong, a fisheries biologist for many years, will retire, and there is no indication, with the current state budget problems, he will be replaced. Leo was a great supporter of brook trout restoration in the Adirondacks, and he and his position will be missed.
The new FLW bass fishing tournament schedule is just out, and Plattsburgh will host an Eastern Division Regional Aug. 25 through 28, 2010.
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