Tinker Tavern, "Steelie" Dan and Salmon River Steelhead Fishing with Scott Glazier and Don Kingsley

Back from another trip up to Pulaski, NY for the “spring” steelhead run. The outlook was grim Wednesday with snow and freezing rain predicted for Friday and Saturday. Nothing says lockjaw like a cold front moving through. However, given my scheduling, it was this past weekend or wait ‘til fall. “Steelie” Dan, Jeff and I drove up in the rain and slushy snow Friday after work, arriving at Tinker Tavern Lodge around midnight. I’d booked with Scott Glazier (TTL) and Don Kingsley (Tight Lines Guide Service) again this spring. Look for Scott on an upcoming episode of On The Water this month. Saturday morning proved to be a far cry from freezing and rainy, with the temps eventually reaching 50, and mostly sunny. Before we could fish, basics like forking over $$$ to the State of New York had to be taken care of, and Jeff and I purchased new noodle rods. I paired a 10’6” Courtland rod with my Cabo 20 spinning reel for a comfortable outfit. Need to support the local economy! The plan was to do a little walk in scouting after lunch, but this was hampered by the fact I have a really bad ankle right now. By the afternoon, following what had been a cold morning, the fish had all seen their share of presentations and we only saw one fish landed in the heavily fished areas I was able to hobble to. Fingers were crossed to the weather gods for Sunday’s drift trip. Sunday continued to follow the improving weather of Saturday, with more sun and temps again rising into the low 50’s by mid afternoon. With a second day of good weather, our fishing improved as well. Scott and Don got us to a productive hole ahead of the masses, and we managed to land our first steelie, a smaller male, right off the bat. The hits kept coming at a slow but steady pace, and before long Dan ended his drought from the last trip with a fat fish (see pic). Jeff learned that “we weren’t in Kansas anymore,” fighting a few nice fish, only to have them eventually pop. I proceeded to lose the big hen in our hole, and then we made the tough decision to move from a place that was producing (and promising more as the temp rose) to see and fish more of the river. The highlight of the trip was Dan’s (now forever known as Steelie Dan) big steelie that put on an aerial show and then went on a 70 yard down river, reel spooling run. We had a bit more action before days end, and had a blast for the weekend. TTL provides comfortable, inexpensive accommodation near the fishing, and Scott and Don are great guides. I recommend both highly. Anyway, check out the pics and video!