First Try Steelhead

[Gerry Zagorski]

Heading up Pulaski this weekend. This will be my first time up there and we'll be targeting Steelhead. Going with a bunch of guys who fish there every year and are going to show us rookies the ropes. Wish us luck and if you have any tips let me know.

Here's a 17.5 that was caught this past week....

[Godrew1972]

Good luck, awesome battle getting one of those on the line watching it take off and get air. Be safe, not sure your wading or in drift boat but I find that river bottom to be very slippery compared to most NJ rivers and streams. River bottom in some on the better spots seem to be carpeted with softball sized slick rocks, the size you break your ankle on. Most NJ river beds IMO seem easier to navigate. I always used my walking stick when wading up there. Good luck, hope you reel em in.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Originally Posted by Godrew1972

Good luck, awesome battle getting one of those on the line watching it take off and get air. Be safe, not sure your wading or in drift boat but I find that river bottom to be very slippery compared to most NJ rivers and streams. River bottom in some on the better spots seem to be carpeted with softball sized slick rocks, the size you break your ankle on. Most NJ river beds IMO seem easier to navigate. I always used my walking stick when wading up there. Good luck, hope you reel em in.

Thanks we’ll be wading and I was warned about that so I put some metal cleats on my wader boot bottoms.

The place we’re staying is right outside Altmar along the Fly Fish only section. Not sure if you’ve fished there. We’ll probably do some fly fishing but the plan is to mostly spin fish using floats or bottom bouncing.

[Godrew1972]

Good burger and fries at the Altmar, thats where my son and I would always go and he would count how many beers I would have.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Originally Posted by Godrew1972

Good burger and fries at the Altmar, thats where my son and I would always go and he would count how many beers I would have.

Sounds right up my alley!

[bulletbob]

. Have a good time, hope you guys do well.. . I live here, and never go.. went once , decades ago,caught a salmon first time out, and never went back.. too much of a madhouse for me, nasty selfish rude "anglers" using the f word loudly 10 times in every sentence. . Might not be that way anymore, not sure. Lots of good fishermen love it, so I might just have went to the wrong place on the wrong day... The DEC guys were everywhere , and from what I saw, those salmon simply did NOT eat, they were all snagged by guys with very expensive polarized sunglasses that have perfected the art of snagging them without looking like they were snagging, if that makes any sense. Lots of those guys would see the fish, and could drift the hook with some yarn wrapped on the shank right into the mouths of the fish as they were resting, facing up current with their mouths open.. Pretty impressive talent... Again maybe its not like that anymore, but from what I saw and from what others have told me, those spawning fish are really hard to get to bite... First thing I was taught was to open the hook up wide so it would be more likely to sink.. The DEC guys knew all the tricks though.. anyway, i hope things have changed.. ....