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Atlantic dest from Conn in late Feb Mar

1K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  Aldo 
#1 ·
Might some kind hearted soul suggest where we might plan our first spey trip for steelhead or salmon on around the last week of Feb or last week of March?
Should we be thinking Maine or Labrador as the closest spot to Conn for salmon? If yes, when should we apply for vacation time?

We are daunted/paralyzed being new & having no one to help push us out of the nest, so to speak, onto our first spey adventure. We've taken spey lessons and acquired the gear but are not sure of where/how/when to go now. We are not rich and cannot afford the guides, airplane fare etc so we thought we'd take a train/bus somewhere, rent a car and fish for salmon or steelhead for a week.

Sounds like the Salmon River in Pulaski is the closest but I'm told spey casters are not welcome there bec it is so overcrowded. The fall back plan is to splurge for a guide for a day and wing it the other six days on the Salmon River.
Thank you for help overcoming our inertia.
 
#2 ·
I live in CT

No experience with atlantics, but I do enjoy spey casting for everything else. A lot of tidal flows on the ct shore where you can swing flies for bass and shad. Also the same in spring season up rivers into the fresh water.
Pulaski is ok for spey casting. Issue is not if you are spey fishing or not, it's just crowded. There is another thread on here recently about some beginners from ct going up to pulaski.
Go to pulaski in the fall when the weather is crappy and midweek. Go in the winter during warm spells. Go in the spring midweek when the flows are good. Best to not plan, spot your weather window with good flows and take 2 days off. Leave home at 2am, fish all day, stay 1 night, fish the next day and drive home. It can be an idiot fest. On the other hand I have fished for hours in places where no-one is in sight.

JP
 
#3 ·
Maybe the best thing to do is load up the car with camping gear and fish the area with a 5 weight in May. I'll reconnoiter the Salmon River and other spots for a followup trip swinging flies in the fall. That was my plan this year but Sandy fell on that weekend.
Thanks you for your replies (and the PM's) Like I said in my PMs I don't fish to catch fish so the Guide-thing is not as important to me as just getting on the water at the right time of year and have a chance to connnect with some catch and release action. Been trolling on Lake Ontario for Salmon but that really isn't my idea of 'going fishing' I'm going to bite the bullet and pay for my brother and me to get a guide for at least one day...maybe the second day in order to keep a little bit of the magic in it. If anyone has a better idea than the Salmon River (or a part of this plan I left out that might be important) could you offer your suggestions?

I'm positively enchanted by Simon Gawesworth DVD where I learned the four basic casts. I don't do much roll casting or back casting any more on the Beaver Kill or the Delaware....I have a 10foot 6wt and spey cast all day; even when skunked i have a great time if my casting is in the slot. I was hoping to extend my fishing time into the winter but have never caught a steelhead. I live on Long Island and thought swinging a fly for striped bass in some of the inlets on th South Shore (Atlantic side, not the LI sound side) would be a great way to gear up for this type of trip. I've experimented with an 8 and a 10wt rod (14 footers) Two broken rods later...I think I'm there.

Two people wrote back PMs saying to wait until next May and try sections of the Salmon River. This surprised me cuz I thought you were supposed to fish for salmon in sept and steelhead after them in oct-dec. Never occured to go in May!
 
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