October Slab of the Month Entry: Midwest Brown

Steve Yewchuck spends a lot of October chasing Oct. Kype.  This one get him firmly in the Oct. runnings...

Comments

[Mike the local]

I just wanted to state that all the fish that enter these tribs are there to spawn which makes any one who wets a line for them an unwanted pressure during their migration(weather it's when they enter the river full of eggs to when they're on the redds).If people have a problem with this type of fishing then they need to fight to close the season ! There is a great article in the new American Angler called Tough As Steel / Master Tactics for Pressured Steehead which describes methods of using sink tips and weighted flys.Thought that might be of intrest to you guys.

[Patrick]

Vaporizer,
neat name and appropriate for you- a unknown flash on the net..
DEC was called..
I am speaking of technique .. I saw snagging and belly hooked fish for photos and many dead
fish by the end of July. On 10 July, the water temp hit 74F= lethal to played fish and folks kept at with the classic drivebye so often used by the selfish or ignorant souls for steelhead and chinook..
I saw this during critical water Temp periods. This is why the no weight
regulation was put into effect. This Reg. has nothing to do with swinging
flies, or making the fishery for spey fisherman.
BTW, I fished dry flies and skaters on fly and switch rods for the most part.
Atlantics prefer to take looking up. Learn the species and enjoy the challenge.

At least you know my feelings, who I am and where I live..
Those of you who don't agree with my view and prefer not associate with me,
I welcome this, knowing the loss for potential summer rentals. The "Numbers" mentality,
the fishing ethics in this river have kept to many nice folks away for to long.

Patrick~

[Steve]

Patrick
First of all I have no reason to hide behind screen names nor get involved in an online name bashing contest. From the look of things the people who fish with me feel the same way - the statements you have made are solely based on opinion and not fact. The way that I interprate the regulations for the area of discussion are that an artificial fly may be tied with up to 1/8 ounce of weight and sink-tips are legal to use all season long. I have discussed these regs with DEC officers and they have agreed that the set up that my friends and I use are within the regulations and they have no problem with it. As for my opinions - there is a chance of foul hooking fish with any fly fishing technique you choose; wether it be dry fly fishing and setting the hook late which can lead to a foul hooked fish , to nymphing or swinging flys. The warm water temp issue is a matter of what people consider etnical/unethnical fishing from places as famous as the Delaware river to the Great Lake tribs. If you feel that the summer run steelhead, atlantics and browns that are in the river can't handle the high water temps and die from lactic acid build up for being fought on a fly rod, then you should petition to have the season closed while the water conditions are too warm. Also, I feel that fishing small nypms has no more of a negative affect on these fish then swinging larger flies to them. I have no problem swinging flies, I just personally prefer to do it on larger streatches of water. I welcome any one to fish next to me and observe these fish feeding sub surface on nymphs and occasionally taking dry flies. As for fishing to spawning fish - I think that it is up to each individual wether it be in BC, Argentina or on the GL tribs. In closing, you also know where I can be found on the river; next time you have an issue, I suggest you handle it face to face. Tight Lines Steve

[Patrick]

Steve,
your fishing did not follow the regulations until and after many warning's from
other anglers and for DEC to show up from complaints...
I suggest you learn the species and recognize that; they are mostly not feeding and remain
currious often following, rolling and slashing at flies with no intention of taking them,
this can go on for hours. I suggest you learn patience and get away from having to hook
them because they are there. Using sink-tips and weighted flies is only a way too beat the
rules and not necessary in summer flows. The sink-tip and 1/8 oz. allowance was only
a compromise made to have the attached leader weight banned. It was created to protect the
fish in hopes they would make it through the warm water periods.

As in all regulations made for the Salmon River the politics over numbers of fish and dollars
often dose not work in favor of all people and especially the fish. Closing the season when
water temps hit 72 has been talked of BTW. I stand to gain $ with a summer season, I would
rather have healthy populations of fish and ethical fishing first.

When foul hooked fish are as frequent as I saw with the people and place of mention, it
would be nice to examine and change some methods... Just a thought

Patrick~