Tailwater · Mixed · New York, US

Salmon River

Salmon River terrain map
Prime · Steelhead
Egg pattern · 12–16
Primelive now
About as good as it gets
River high but settled. Coloured water — fish bigger and deeper, confident takes down the seams.
75% confidence
What moved it
  • Level1.64 mLast reading 12h ago
  • Water temp11.5°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Egg pattern
Egg pattern12–16
A dependable searching pattern for these waters.
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
1.64 m
Last reading 12h ago
Water temp11.5°C
ClarityClear
Weather23°C
WindNW 4 km/h
Pressure1014 hPa
Rain · recent2.5 mm
Rain · ahead44.9 mm

The nearest gauge doesn't record temperatures, so we've estimated it — defer to the river keeper's advice.

Water temperature for Steelhead
Ideal
12°C est.ideal 4–13°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Steelhead
When
Salmon Sep–Oct; steelhead Oct–Apr (winter holdovers, spring run)
Where
The Salmon River at Pulaski is the East's great salmon-and-steelhead river — staggering fall runs of king and coho, a long steelhead season behind them, and a…
Why this works
Excellent — water temperature is right today, though time of day could be better.
Likely species
Mayflies
Caddisflies
terrestrials
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 6 active hatches hour by hour with Pro.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 5 with Pro.

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · September highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
SulphurHatch
2
3
2
Trico (Eastern)Hatch
2
3
3
2
Eastern Blue-Winged OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Eastern Summer BWO (Drunella)Hatch
2
3
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Steelhead fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • New York licence
  • Flow tracks the Lighthouse Hill release; the DSR (Douglaston) is private pay-to-fish, with extensive public water around Altmar/Pulaski
  • Verify NY DEC rules
  • Introduced, harvestable sport fishery.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Other water nearby · 3
Oswego River
34 km
30
Steelhead · Chinook salmon · Coho salmon
Genesee River
130 km
Steelhead · Chinook salmon · Coho salmon
Oak Orchard Creek
174 km
Steelhead · Chinook salmon · Coho salmon
Water quality · US Clean Water Act
  • Aquatic life: Impaired
What this classification means

EPA ATTAINS assessment unit 'Salmon River, Lower, and minor tribs' (NY0303-0016), 2022 Integrated Report. Aquatic Life use: Not Supporting. Listed impairment causes: Polychlorinated Biphenyls PCBs, Pesticides. This is a Clean Water Act assessment-unit classification (the US analogue of WFD), not a live reading.

Status is for the Clean Water Act assessment unit covering this reach.

EPA ATTAINS (Clean Water Act) · NY0303-0016

Why this score · for Steelhead
  • Temperature10028% weight
  • Flow8022% weight
  • Clarity9518% weight
  • Feeding Time5013% weight
  • Pressure757% weight
  • Insect activity6412% weight
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts