Press-Republican

Outdoors

Related Photos

  • Photo Provided

    images_sizedimage_304171555

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.
comments powered by Disqus
October 31, 2009

Salmon now in Saranac

By DENNIS APRILL



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.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Outdoors
Mountain Forecasts
Photo of the Day