CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE THEM.

EARLY APRIL 2016

Awesome fly fishing trip in NY state on Lake Ontario tributaries!
Une superbe pêche dans l'État de New-York sur les tributaires du lac Ontario!

_____

GOOD 2016 SEASON TO ALL AND TIGHT LINES! / BONNE SAISON 2016 À TOUS!

The nicest migratory trout of this solo trip on the Salmon River!
La plus belle truite de ce trip solo sur la rivière Salmon!

 A rare and beautiful Spring run Chinook salmon !! A great moment to start the 2015 season!
 Un superbe et rare saumon Chinook en migration printanière!! Un super moment pour inaugurer la saison de pêche 2015!

 The gear of this trip - Beulah Platinum 12'6'' 6wt, Sage 6080 and Cortland Switch 425gr. line
 Le matériel de cette sortie - Beulah Platinum 12'6'' 6wt, moulinet Sage 6080 et soie Cortland Switch 425 grains

 Nice Lake run Brown trout -  Belle truite brune migratrice

 This superb hen gave a hell of a fight!
 Cette superbe femelle Steelhead m'a donné tout un combat !

 Quick photo before release
 Une photo rapide avant la remise à l'eau

 I had no clue this fish had a blind eye until I saw the photo!
 Je n'avais pas réalisé que ce poisson était aveugle d'un oeil avant de voir la photo!

 Paradise headwater -  Une rivière magnifique

 Another beauty -  Une autre truite magnifique

 All fish were released with care to live another day
 Tous les poissons ont été reposés puis remis à l'eau

ENGLISH VERSION FOLLOWS....

CLIQUER SUR LES IMAGES POUR LES ÉLARGIR.

[FR] QUAND LES ÉTOILES SONT ALIGNÉES, LA PÊCHE DES TRUITES STEELHEAD ET SAUMONS CHINOOK PEUT ÊTRE EXTRAORDINAIRE! 

Ces 2 journées de pêche à la mi-octobre sur la rivière Salmon dans le comté d'Oswego, New-York ont été magiques pour plusieurs raisons:  

1. Le plus important, mon père, en visite depuis la France, était à mes côtés! 
2. Les berges de la rivière étaient parées de magnifiques couleurs d'automne!
3. Nous étions accompagnés par Tony Gugino qui, encore une fois, a partagé sa grande connaissance de la rivière et de cette pêche des grands salmonidés migrateurs.  
4. Nous avons pêché des zones de transition de la rivière Salmon, c'est-à-dire des sections moins profondes entre les fosses. Tous les pêcheurs étant regroupés le long des fosses, nous étions seuls sur ces sections! 
5. Nous avons pu pêcher les truites Steelhead à vue, une pêche super excitante rendue possible sur ces zones de transition par un débit de la rivière autour de 350 cfs et une très bonne clarté de l'eau.
6. Nous avons eu la chance de pêcher des truites Steelhead non seulement fraîchement rentrées dans la rivière mais aussi de bonne taille....les combats ont été épiques!
7. J'ai pêché avec du matériel plus léger que les années précédentes à la même période, une canne Hardy Jet 10' #7 avec une soie 7 flottante sur moulinet Sage 4280. Malgré sa légèreté, ce setup s'est avéré parfait sur les grosses truites Steelhead et beaux Chinook avoisinant les 20 livres.....QUE DU BONHEUR!  

Cette année 2014 restera elle aussi pleine de merveilleux souvenirs de pêche!

BONNE ET HEUREUSE ANNÉE ET BONNE PÊCHE À TOUS!

CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO ENLARGE IT.

[EN] WHEN THE STARS ARE ALIGNED, FISHING FOR STEELHEAD TROUT AND CHINOOK SALMON CAN BE SURREAL!  

These two days fishing trip mid-October on the Salmon River in Oswego County, New York, was magical for several reasons:  

1. First and foremost my father, who was visiting from France, was at my side!
2. The river was surrounded by beautiful fall colors! 
3. We were accompanied by Tony Gugino who, this time again, has shared his extensive knowledge of the river system and the fishing of migratory salmonids.  
4. We fished transition zones on the Salmon River, i.e., shallower sections between the larger pools and runs. Most fishermen were fishing along the pools, and we were alone on these sections! 
5. We were able to sight fish for steelhead trout which was super exciting. This fishing was made ​​possible on these transition zones by a flow around 350 cfs and very good water clarity.
6. We had the chance to fish not only for steelhead trout fresh from the lake but these were good size fish too....fights were epic!
7. I fished with lighter gear compared to previous years during the same period: a Hardy Jet rod 10 '# 7 with a WF7 line on a Sage 4280 reel. Despite its light weight, it turned out to be a perfect setup on these large Steelhead trout and beautiful Chinooks around 20 pounds .....A PURE BLAST!  

2014 will remain a year full of wonderful fishing memories!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU AND TIGHT LINES!

CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO ENLARGE IT.

[EN] Two years ago, I was doing the setup of my very first gear dedicated to Great Lakes migratory fish, a z-axis 7110 switch rod paired with a 4280 reel. I went to see fly fishing expert and friend Roland Morin at a favorite local store north of Montreal. I intended to go for a RIO Steelhead/Salmon line with 200 yards of 30 lb Dacron backing. Roland kindly suggested that I would substitute Dacron backing with a new backing material, he referred to me as gel spun. He explained to me that, for the same volume of backing in my reel, I could increase strength up to 50 lb thanks to the significantly thinner diameter of Polyethylene used in gel spun. I would not only get a higher strength but also a significantly higher abrasion resistance. Gel spun would also get less damaged by water and UV than Dacron hence its better durability.

All these points were very convincing but the price tag of 50 lbs gel spun was prohibitive. I decided to stick with the less pricey 30 lbs Dacron....  

This setup did extremely well during subsequent trips to the Great Lakes. Although the line and backing had been taken by salmon and steelheads around rocks several times, I continued to be 100% confident with my 30 lb Dacron....  

This remained true until a recent snowy mid-November day....

It was mid-afternoon. I was high stick nymphing a riffle area in the Salmon River Upper Fly Zone. The day had been hit and miss until then with sporadic success on a dead-drifted #12 three-loop pink lady fly.

At the end of my leader was the largest steelhead of the day. After a few minutes of fight, this fish was following me towards the bank. When I thought I was closing the deal this nice steelie started a strong rush downstream and made it to some heavy current. Within seconds I had 60-70 yards of backing out....HOLY S*@$# !

The first photo of this post was taken a few minutes later....the line was gone with 1/3 of my backing....

These steelheads were already driving me crazy! It will be even worse from now on....

HEHE...I can say I got a good lesson! I am just back from Roland's store with 500 yards of 50 lb gel spun....

Tight lines! Bonne pêche hivernale à tous! - Bruno.

 Première neige de l'année – First snow of the year!

 Paradise pool

 Dernière prise de la journée sur ma soie #8 – Last catch of the day before I lost my line

 Nouvelle ligne de réserve – New backing

[EN] Third and last trip of the winter to the Great Lakes region. Fished the Salmon River tributaries and the Upper Fly Zone. I wanted to try the recently purchased light spey rod. It actually performed beyond my expectations for both high stick nymphing and indicator nymphing techniques. Although 12’6″ in length, the rod felt ultra light in hand with a perfect smooth progressive action to handle rude steelhead head shakes. After a few cast with the new rod, a superb buck took a dead drifting white Crystal Meth egg pattern. Perfect way to inaugurate this new gear! Here are a few photos...

[FR] Troisième et dernier séjour de l'hiver dans la région des Grands Lacs, avec de la pêche sur les tributaires de la Salmon River ainsi que la Upper Fly Zone. Je souhaitais essayer une canne spey achetée tout récemment. Cette canne s'est comportée au-delà de mes espérances pour les techniques de dérive morte en nymphe. Malgré sa longueur de 12’6″, j'ai trouvé la canne super légère en main avec une action progressive idéale pour amortir les coups de tête des Steelhead. Après seulement quelques lancers avec cette nouvelle canne, un superbe bécard a pris une Crystal Meth blanche en dérive morte. Parfaite façon d'inaugurer ce nouveau matos! J'ai joint quelques photos de cette journée....