Fishing Behind the Lines

A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to get a behind-the-scenes look at a fishing show filmed on the Salmon River. The show is called, "Fishing Behind the Lines" and it's set to air on WPBS in the fall.

According to the WPBS website, the show "is a 13-part, 30-minute series designed to be a fishing and destinations show concentrating on the perspective of a soldier of the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, NY." Four segments of the show will be filmed at fishing locations in Oswego County.

On an extremely warm spring day, I met up with local river guides Andy Bliss of Chasin' Tail Adventures Tom Burke of Cold SteelSportfishing. They were generous enough to donate their time and equipment to accommodate Specialist Rodney Tiner, a combat medic with 3-6 Field Artillery in 1st Brigade Combat Team, and the star of this episode!

Cameraman and producer, George Haley, and Host, Don Meissner, also joined us. I started off in a drift boat with Andy and George. Don and SPC Tiner started their trip off with Tom.

During the beginning of our trip, George filled me in on some show details. He said their overall goal was to educate civilians about soldiers, their life and their story. He explained that along with filming the fishing trip, he also films and interviews the solider and his family. Of course, not to forget about the great tourism aspect of the show, they will also be featuring a five-minute segment each week showcasing the area’s attractions.

What an awesome idea for a show, and what an even better opportunity for some of our local heroes! I was so thrilled to take part in this!!

The morning started off slow, as Capt. Tom and Capt. Andy took turns with Don and SPC Tiner while trying out a few different techniques. I'm not even going to begin trying to explain what they were. They all have a technical term such as "plugging" or "floating," but as far as I'm concerned, the techniques should be called "leaving the rod in the boat and drifting down the river" or "anchoring the boat and fishing from one location.".I'm sure some of you out there will agree with me.

Because of the lack of fish-catching that morning, I asked George what would happen if no one caught anything that day, and his response was "we pick another day and film again." I was hoping this wouldn't happen because it would have been such a waste of a gorgeous day of filming! Then I joked that "when you aren't paying attention or you are changing out your battery, I'm sure someone will land a fish".

Sure enough...

George was changing his battery when Don got a fish on! Don fought and landed the first steelhead of the day! It looked like our luck was about to change.

And it did! Throughout the next few hours, SPC Tiner and Don caught more than enough steelies and browns for the show! George was afraid he wouldn't even be able to show every catch because of time! That is definitely a successful fishing trip which makes for a successful fishing show!

The best part was, SPC Tiner had a blast. Every time he fought a fish he was grinning from ear to ear, and even more so when he landed one!

Unfortunately, as viewers, you won't be able to see all of the action that went on that day, you'll just have to take my word for it! Luckily, you will get to learn more about SPC Tiner and all he has done for our country. You'll also get to see what else you can do right here in Oswego County!

I took a bunch of photos so hopefully that will give you an idea of how our day went. If you have never fished the Salmon River before then you're missing out on the greatest fishing trip you'll probably ever take!

*On a side note - this is my last blog post for Oswego County. I am leaving my position to stay at home with my daughter and future daughter, who is due in August. I will continue to be an avid outdoorswomen when time allows, and I will be involved with events along the Salmon River as I continue to fill my volunteer position on the Salmon River Sport Fishing Museum board. I loved all of the opportunities I was blessed with during my 6 years with Oswego County. I enjoyed writing this blog and learning more about the great outdoors. Please continue to follow the two other Oswego County blogs by professional sportswriter, Spider Rybaak, and nature and arts guru, Kelly Jordal.

Salmon River Festival & Derby

Fall is here and it's time to celebrate! Come to the Salmon River Festival & Derby next weekend, September 29 - October 2, and enjoy everything that is fall! The festival takes place in Pulaski, NY where there will be a fishing derby along the world-famous Salmon River, vendors, food, drinks, entertainment, a farmers' market, wine tasting and more!

The derby will start Thursday and continue until Sunday, while the festival takes place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Fishermen have signed up from all over the northeast, including Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey, to fight for the largest Salmon to win cash and prizes! If you're interested in participating, you can sign up for $35 until the day of the derby, and for $45 starting Thursday.

For more information on the festival and derby, call 315-298-9990, or visit http://www.salmonriverderby.com/.

Fishing Seminars, Project Healing Waters and Pro Am, OH MY!

What a busy spring and summer we've had here in Oswego County! I've been all over the county taking photos and helping out with numerous events. I normally dedicate an entire post to each of the following, but since they're all fishing related, I've combined them in one.

Women's Fly Fishing Seminar:

The women's fly fishing seminar took place on May 14th and 15th. Every year women from all over get together, thanks to Trout Unlimited, and learn how to fly fish on the Salmon River. 

This year the women fished on the Upper Fly Zone on the Salmon River in Altmar. I showed up on Saturday to document the event. It was a very rainy day, but the women were tough and had no complaints while they fished. It was also a great memory for many of the women who fished alongside of Pulaski resident, Ellen Boyle, who had helped out with the event for years along with Project Healing Waters and numerous other organizations. Unfortunately, Ellen passed away a month after the event. I remember talking to her while she was standing in the river, soaked head to toe, and when asked how she was doing her response was, "GREAT... I don't care if I'm wet I'm still having fun!" I think it's safe to say that was the attitude of all the women on the river that day. May Ellen rest in peace and may her memory live on through women who love to fish!  

(Continue past these photos to read about Project Healing Waters and the Pro Am Tournament)

 Ellen Boyle - She will be greatly missed!

Project Healing Waters:

The Project Healing Waters event, a national program that has been coming to the Salmon River for a few years now, took place the following weekend, May 21st and 22nd. 

In short, Project Healing Waters is a program where wounded soldiers and veterans get to learn fly fishing for rehabilitation. You can learn more about it on their website, www.projecthealingwaters.org.

This year's event took place along the Douglaston Salmon Run in Pulaski. I stopped by on Saturday and hung out for a while, taking pictures and talking to some of the fishermen (and one fisherwoman)!

Douglaston was the perfect location because it was quiet, calm and extremely accommodating to their physical needs. All of the participants had a blast hanging out, joking around, and fly fishing; as they do every year when they come to the Salmon River.

*A HUGE thanks to Fred Kuepper for all of the work and effort he has put into the Women's Fly Fishing Seminars and Project Healing Water events. Fred has decided to take a break from these events to focus on other endeavors. He will still be around to help out and I'm sure you'll see him out fishing the river from time to time!

(Continue past these photos to read about the Pro Am Tournament)

 The whole gang!

 Above: Wounded warriors getting ready to fish the Salmon River!

Below: River guides who donated their time to support our troops!

Lake Ontario Pro-Am Salmon and Trout Team Tournament:

2011 marked the 17th year for the Oswego Pro-Am tournament, a tournament where professionals and amateurs take over the lake trying to catch the biggest fish imaginable to win cash and prizes. I love helping out with this tournament because it's the one place you get to really see the size of the fish that come out of Lake Ontario.

At the early hour of 5 am on Sunday, I was down at Mexico Point (mouth of the Little Salmon River) to collect disclaimers from the teams fishing out of that port. The phrase "it must be in the water" took on new meaning after the tournament because both of the winning teams claimed the Little Salmon River as their home port. (Or maybe I'm just good luck!)

On Sunday afternoon I went to Oswego to help photograph the event. For years it has rained during the pro-am tournament, but this year the sun was out in full force. Thank goodness the Econo Lodge was accommodating all of us on their riverfront property, as well as serving us delicious burgers and keeping us hydrated with water and other beverages. A big thanks to them for their continued help with the tournament.

This year’s pro division winners were Trout One/Fish Chopper. The am division winners were Horsin' Around. Congratulations to both teams and all of this year’s participants!!

 Check out my huge fish on the top right!

Thankfully some participants let me pretend I caught their fish.

Am winners, Horsin' Around - weighing in, checking their score and showing off their catch (I wanted to pretend I was part of the winning team - thanks guys!)

 Congratulations Am Division Winners, Horsin' Around!

Congratulations Pro Division Winners, Trout One/Fish Chopper!

Feelin' the Steel...

I landed this steelie in 5 minutes!!

Unfortunately, the weather hasn't been too kind lately, and the rivers in Oswego County have been paying the price with high water levels and flood watches. Luckily for me, the day I chose to go fishing with Tony Gulisano of SalmonRiverNYDriftBoatGuide.com and FishTheSalmonRiver.com, it was in between storms and the Salmon River water level was perfect - and so was the fishing! (You may remember Tony from our ice fishing adventure a while back)



Tony's friend, Mike Vatter, joined us - and warned me that I needed to be ready because last time they went fishing it only took ten minutes to land a steelhead.



I broke that record - it only took me five!



We launched the drift boat in Altmar and had just put the rods in the water when a steelhead took hold! I didn't think it was possible to happen so quickly so I just stared at the rod while Tony and Mike were yelling for me to pick up the rod. Once it set in that I better do something, and fast, I grabbed the rod and fought the steelie. I even had time for a photo-op and I still kept it under five minutes!



I almost convinced myself I could go pro... except for the fact I still don't have a clue what bait to use and when. That's what is so great about going fishing with a guide! Tony informed me that I caught the steelhead using the "pull and plug" method, which is when you leave the bait in the water while drifting. I'm not sure what tackle was used, but I know it was pink! (I am aware that was a typical girl comment and I apologize). Tony also explained it was a "drop back steelhead" because it was all done spawning and heading back to Lake Ontario.



About a half hour later Mike landed a beautiful steelhead and that was the first time I heard "Feelin' the steel" and certainly not the last.



As a matter of fact I heard that phrase at least once every five minutes during the entirety of our trip. Some people LOVE their steelhead fishing, and I wouldn't have it any other way when it comes to a guide.



I ended up landing one more steelhead during our trip. The second one fought much harder and was worth every muscle I think I pulled.



I had such a fantastic time on my trip I can't wait to go again! I highly recommend a drift boat trip if you've never been on one. For all of you sportsmen and women who aren't die-hard enthusiasts, you don't even have to like fishing to enjoy a drift boat trip. I told Tony that if he ever has any space on his trips to give me a call because the river is so gorgeous I would go along just for the ride! And maybe I'll bring someone to serenade me and I could pretend I was in Venice, Italy! In fact, who needs Venice or any other place for vacation when you have access to all of the magnificent opportunities we have right here in Oswego County? Perhaps I've stumbled upon a new business idea...




Our Oswego County River Guides are listed here: http://visitoswegocounty.com/fishing-hunting/fishing/charters-guides/. If you're interested in a trip with Tony then you can contact him by calling (315) 885-8092 or by e-mail at TonyG@SalmonRiverNYDriftBoatGuide.com.



Below are some photos of my trip! And speaking of photos - we just launched a new fishing and hunting photo contest that ends May 27. There is still plenty of time to submit your photos to be published in the new Oswego County Fishing and Hunting Guide. For more information click here: http://visitoswegocounty.com/homepage-featured/2011-photo-contest/

I'm actually fighting a steelhead right here and I make it look easy (it definitely isn't, my arms were sore the next day!)

I always have my camera on me!

Mike and I were using the floating technique.

These signs show anglers where the parking and access areas are along the Salmon River.

Tony G. picking out the perfect bait!

I wasn't joking... we launched right at that bridge and here Tony is with my first steelhead of the day!

Creative way to hold the middle rod!

Mike's turn to fight a steelhead

Photo op!

Mike's catch!

My second steelhead!