Not quite sure where to put this...

[sand flea]

It doesn't really belong on the boating board because it was out of the East Coast area, but I wanted to share a picture from this weekend.

I was in Rochester, NY this weekend and was lucky enough to go salmon fishing on Saturday. We left the docks and headed onto Lake Ontario by 6 AM; soon after I tied into this 22-pound king salmon. Definitely one of the toughest fish I've seen :D She was full of eggs and was ready to spawn, so I think her energy levels were high to fight her way up the river.

If you're considering giving salmon fishing a shot, you don't have to go all the way to Alaska. They stock all kinds of Pacific species in NY (king, coho, chinook, steelhead) so you can get the experience just a few hours away.

Apparently they start moving into the rivers next month and you can catch them in shallow water when they come in to spawn, so there are some opportunities for some pretty wild shore fishing. If you you can make it, I highly recommend the trip!

[FL FISHERMAN]

Nice fish Sandflea! How long did it take you to reel that bad boy in?

[sand flea]

20-25 minutes. It WOULD NOT tire. I've never seen a fish with that much energy. Every time I'd get her on the surface, she'd dive 50 feet straight down (we were in 140 feet of water).

[FL FISHERMAN]

Now that is a fight! Were you using some of your pier and surf tackle or did you rent equipment? Oh and was this some kind of charter you went on? Or some people you know.

[sand flea]

It was a charter through one of my girlfriend's friends (she's from Rochester).

The gear we used was remarkably like mid-weight Chesapeake trolling gear, except they rely very heavily on lots of downriggers to get the spoons down to the fish. The line was 30-pound test on conventional reels.

We also got a couple of little kings that were turned back and we dragged the bottom (160 feet down) and caught four lake trout (they ranged from 20-29"). Apparently they hang out right on the bottom.

We only got two big kings, but the charter the day before had 14.

[chest2head&glassy]

Those are nice kings! That was nice of her to let you hold her fish for the pic again. :D

Yummy - I can smell those salmon fillets on the grill now.

[TRIGGERFISH]

Nice girl friend,woops I mean fish. My wifes cousin has a charter out of Seattle,Wa. and want us to go out with him soon for the solman run next Aug. He sent us four filets and in the next two weeks I'll be smokeing at least two of them.let you know how they turn out. TRIGGER

[jay b]

Nice Fish, who cares where you post them, it is your board. Now being that you paid someone else to do the guide thing, did she actually let you catch some or is it like C2H&G says and you're holding up one of hers while your dink is still in the cooler??;)

[sand flea]

Yeah, I actually got to catch mine. She was kind enough to let me reel it in. :p And I didn't have to pay a thing--the charter was my birthday present.

I can't wait to get up there in the fall and fish for these suckers off the banks of the rivers. I can't imagine catching one in two feet of water!

We grilled a nice big filet before leaving Roch yesterday--it was great, but the lake trout was even better.

[Beachbms]

Very nice looking Kings sandflea, I grew up in the northwest and spent 5 years in Alaska and Kings rule!! Do take your 8 or 9 weight fly rod for them shallow water salmon. You will have a blast, bright colored streamers or dbl egg type fly's work great out west. I cant imagine it would be any differant in the east. Great fish!!!!!

[JerryB]

nice fish!

the great lakes have some nice fishing. one time when dip netting for smelt (you know 4-5 inchers) i came up with a good size king in my net. too bad it had to go back, illegal to dip net a salmon.

since were on freshwater salmon, i set a new personal best for brook trout this week. went to the UP and caught a bunch of nice brookies in the tequahmenon river.

cheers
jerry

[Kozlow]

Nice catch sand flea , yes the fish are nice also.:)
Any way I can get on the birthday list. :rolleyes:
I need a trip like that for my B Day.
Great Pics

[Joey]

sweet! :)

[AL_N_VB]

OK-Sandflea-Be honest,Did she catch the biggest fish again?:D


No fish swapping!



Nice catch!Wish I was on the end of that rod-fighting her my self(I do mean the fish)

[inawe]

boy o boy i bet the bears can hardly wait to sink there teeth into them :jawdrop: