Clyde River Reports
Clyde River Reports
Ok so I figured id do a report thingy on the Clyde for the fall run, since thats where I am gonna be fishing mostly this fall, and its one of my favorite rivers in VT. Disclaimer, I am not an expert, I have been fishing the clyde for two seasons, and have a handful of salmon under my belt, while there are guys on this river that have been fishing it for 50+ years and know every rock in the river.
So, I decided to take my first official trip up to the Clyde on the 18th, and boy, I was not disappointed. I went 1-5 on salmon. I don't even care that I lost four fish in a row, there full of raw power this time of year and will give you a battle and a half. The nights had been in the low 50s and high 40s and with a little rain, im not surprised a good sized school of fish hit the river that morning. I literally watched a dozen fresh fish swim into the pool I was fishing. I counted 22 total fish in that pool, and wow were they aggressive. They especially hated the color gold. I landed my first fish on a tiny soft hackle with a beadhead, however after that, the other fish I hooked all came on a larger golden stone nymph. Odd that they wanted something large and bright, but ok, salmon are weird. At one point I was fishing over so many fish I had to just stop and watch since I was afraid of accidently butt hooking one(had to break one off earlier since it was hooked in the tail, stuff happens :/). The final fish I hooked was a giant. I felt the soft take, lifted the rod, and a very large salmon jumped upstream into the rapids and then ran down the pool into the brush, and there was no stopping him. Pure power! All and all I went 1-5, landing this beautiful buck early in the day.
I didnt fish the 19th, but got told the water dropped and a lot of fish either left or something.
I fished today, and confirmed that. I counted 4 grilse(a fancy word for a salmon thats only spent a winter in the lake, its easier than saying "one winter salmon") and that was it. I searched from the where the old dam was all the way to the meadows, and nothing. Only saw 4 and wasnt even able to get a boil out of them. I assume the large school I saw decided to head back to canada when the water dropped, either that or they somehow have already made it to the pool below the fish ladder.
Anyways, this report might become a regular thing(once weekly?). Im gonna be up there a lot this year, so things should get interesting. Im going back up on Sunday, so we will see if we get more rain and cold nights.
So, I decided to take my first official trip up to the Clyde on the 18th, and boy, I was not disappointed. I went 1-5 on salmon. I don't even care that I lost four fish in a row, there full of raw power this time of year and will give you a battle and a half. The nights had been in the low 50s and high 40s and with a little rain, im not surprised a good sized school of fish hit the river that morning. I literally watched a dozen fresh fish swim into the pool I was fishing. I counted 22 total fish in that pool, and wow were they aggressive. They especially hated the color gold. I landed my first fish on a tiny soft hackle with a beadhead, however after that, the other fish I hooked all came on a larger golden stone nymph. Odd that they wanted something large and bright, but ok, salmon are weird. At one point I was fishing over so many fish I had to just stop and watch since I was afraid of accidently butt hooking one(had to break one off earlier since it was hooked in the tail, stuff happens :/). The final fish I hooked was a giant. I felt the soft take, lifted the rod, and a very large salmon jumped upstream into the rapids and then ran down the pool into the brush, and there was no stopping him. Pure power! All and all I went 1-5, landing this beautiful buck early in the day.
I didnt fish the 19th, but got told the water dropped and a lot of fish either left or something.
I fished today, and confirmed that. I counted 4 grilse(a fancy word for a salmon thats only spent a winter in the lake, its easier than saying "one winter salmon") and that was it. I searched from the where the old dam was all the way to the meadows, and nothing. Only saw 4 and wasnt even able to get a boil out of them. I assume the large school I saw decided to head back to canada when the water dropped, either that or they somehow have already made it to the pool below the fish ladder.
Anyways, this report might become a regular thing(once weekly?). Im gonna be up there a lot this year, so things should get interesting. Im going back up on Sunday, so we will see if we get more rain and cold nights.
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Last edited by Mr.Spoon on Mon Aug 24, 2020 1:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- Dilly Worm
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Re: Clyde River Report- 8/18-8/20
great report ! just wondering, did you check water temperature in the river ?
I do not exaggerate when I talk about fishing - I underestimate, like I say "just one more cast honey, then I'll come home" !
Keep Calm and... Fish On !
Keep Calm and... Fish On !
- Reelax
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Re: Clyde River Report- 8/18-8/20
Great report. Those salmon are great fighters!!
Thanks for sharing
Thanks for sharing
Matt B
Re: Clyde River Report- 8/18-8/20
No, unfortunatly I didn't. However I believe one of the guys I talked to said it was 65 on tuesday, and I presume it got a few degrees warmer by thursday. Ill for sure bring a thermometer on sunday.Dilly Worm wrote: ↑Fri Aug 21, 2020 8:39 am great report ! just wondering, did you check water temperature in the river ?
- Crayfish
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Re: Clyde River Report- 8/18-8/20
Great report! I'm surprised they are in the river already. They must run a lot earlier up there than they do in the Champlain tribs.
Sounds like fun! Good luck!
Sounds like fun! Good luck!
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Re: Clyde River Report- 8/18-8/20
Love your post and looking forward for your weekly reports.
Gecha (Gerry North of the Border)
Re: Clyde River Report- 8/18-8/20
Yeah, they tend to run earlier than the champlain fish, I assume thats just down to lake/river conditions and tempature.
I will probably post either weekly or every other week, depending on how classes go this year. Supposidly were doing like every other day, so hopefully ill have a lot more time to fish.Gecha (Gerry) wrote: ↑Fri Aug 21, 2020 10:57 am Love your post and looking forward for your weekly reports.
Re: Clyde River Report- 8/18-8/20
Yes keep the reports coming
Re: Clyde River Report- 8/18-8/20
8-23:
So I fished in the afternoon with my father for 3 hours. We saw 6 or 7 fish in one spot, and I spooked up a pile of like 4 or 5 in another spot, good to see them stating to spread out a little bit. We also saw another one dying floating down stream. Stop dragging salmon up on the banks guys! As far as fishing went, things went ok, we shared a pool with a guy who was spin fishing, he reported landing a steelhead parr(Good to see some natural reproduction in there) and a few bass. We were able to get a salmon to move to a black ghost, and I brought a jack salmon up to a dry fly, which is my first ever dryfly salmon! Granted he was only like 12 inchs, but it still counts. Things should improve with the rain storm coming tonight and into tomorrow. I plan to fish tomorrow throught the rain(unless it gets to misreable), but wed and thursday should be prime days(highs in the mid 60s). Wish I could fish those days but gotta work. Things are starting to really shape up on the Clyde!
Ps - when I do my reports, do I just continue on this thread, or should I start a new one? Thanks.
So I fished in the afternoon with my father for 3 hours. We saw 6 or 7 fish in one spot, and I spooked up a pile of like 4 or 5 in another spot, good to see them stating to spread out a little bit. We also saw another one dying floating down stream. Stop dragging salmon up on the banks guys! As far as fishing went, things went ok, we shared a pool with a guy who was spin fishing, he reported landing a steelhead parr(Good to see some natural reproduction in there) and a few bass. We were able to get a salmon to move to a black ghost, and I brought a jack salmon up to a dry fly, which is my first ever dryfly salmon! Granted he was only like 12 inchs, but it still counts. Things should improve with the rain storm coming tonight and into tomorrow. I plan to fish tomorrow throught the rain(unless it gets to misreable), but wed and thursday should be prime days(highs in the mid 60s). Wish I could fish those days but gotta work. Things are starting to really shape up on the Clyde!
Ps - when I do my reports, do I just continue on this thread, or should I start a new one? Thanks.
Last edited by Mr.Spoon on Mon Aug 24, 2020 1:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Clyde River Reports
Btw theres the jack I caught on the dry:
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Re: Clyde River Reports
8-25:
Slow and rainy day today. I saw a few salmon, including one in the upper river(above where the old dam was). The fish were extra spooky however. Even the tiniest nymphs made them turn tail and run. I just couldnt get them to touch anything. I only caught a decent sized sucker, and suckers are always fun to catch. I have hope that after this week, the cold temps will have brought in a good number of fish. We will see.
Slow and rainy day today. I saw a few salmon, including one in the upper river(above where the old dam was). The fish were extra spooky however. Even the tiniest nymphs made them turn tail and run. I just couldnt get them to touch anything. I only caught a decent sized sucker, and suckers are always fun to catch. I have hope that after this week, the cold temps will have brought in a good number of fish. We will see.
Re: Clyde River Reports
8-29/8-30:
The 29th, although rainy and cold, I got into a really great streamer bite. The water had come up and was dirty, so I blind fished over a spot where salmon are known to hold. I wpuld cast into the fast water, then strip a Black Ghost back over the area the fish hold in. I rolled a decent sized fish twice with the Black Ghost, then switched over to something I call the banana peel(idk the actual name of the streamer, its yellow), and rolled a different fish. A few casts later, the fish from before came up and smashed it. After a quick battle, I landed the salmon. A decent male, starting to show a little bit of color.
The 30th was a lot slower, I was able to sight fish, and I spotted only 2, although one was atleast 24in. I presume the others from the day before moved upstream, or headed back to Canada. I was fishing with a local, and he did move the smaller of the two, but the thing tried to eat his splitshot and not his lure. Weird. There were a lot more anglers out on the 30th, either because its sunday or the word got out that there was a few salmon showing up.
I plqn to go up tomorrow, the 1st, so hopefully ill find a decent pod of fish. However, things are not looking great for the next 5 days. Lots of sun and tempatures approaching the 80s.
The 29th, although rainy and cold, I got into a really great streamer bite. The water had come up and was dirty, so I blind fished over a spot where salmon are known to hold. I wpuld cast into the fast water, then strip a Black Ghost back over the area the fish hold in. I rolled a decent sized fish twice with the Black Ghost, then switched over to something I call the banana peel(idk the actual name of the streamer, its yellow), and rolled a different fish. A few casts later, the fish from before came up and smashed it. After a quick battle, I landed the salmon. A decent male, starting to show a little bit of color.
The 30th was a lot slower, I was able to sight fish, and I spotted only 2, although one was atleast 24in. I presume the others from the day before moved upstream, or headed back to Canada. I was fishing with a local, and he did move the smaller of the two, but the thing tried to eat his splitshot and not his lure. Weird. There were a lot more anglers out on the 30th, either because its sunday or the word got out that there was a few salmon showing up.
I plqn to go up tomorrow, the 1st, so hopefully ill find a decent pod of fish. However, things are not looking great for the next 5 days. Lots of sun and tempatures approaching the 80s.
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Re: Clyde River Reports
9-1:
Slow day until the end of the day. Moved a large buck to a nymph, buy he refused it at the last second. The fish ladder was opened, and I checked it out, and not surprisingly 0 fish in it. I returned to the pool I usually fished, and bounced bottom with a copper john. Nothing. A local arrived, amd we talked and fished together. I happened to glance over and I watched a decent sized hen grab his fly, and battle insued. What a fight! 5 or 6 jumps later, I stuck a net on her, and wow, what a beautiful fish. Congrats to him on that beautiful fish! I rolled another fish before the day was over, and spotted 2 or 3 more in the tail of the pool. It was an all around good day.
Slow day until the end of the day. Moved a large buck to a nymph, buy he refused it at the last second. The fish ladder was opened, and I checked it out, and not surprisingly 0 fish in it. I returned to the pool I usually fished, and bounced bottom with a copper john. Nothing. A local arrived, amd we talked and fished together. I happened to glance over and I watched a decent sized hen grab his fly, and battle insued. What a fight! 5 or 6 jumps later, I stuck a net on her, and wow, what a beautiful fish. Congrats to him on that beautiful fish! I rolled another fish before the day was over, and spotted 2 or 3 more in the tail of the pool. It was an all around good day.
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- shirefisher
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Re: Clyde River Reports
Good stuff! I'm looking forward to reading more about the Clyde! I would have never thought that salmon would be in there in August. Here is a summary of a fun fly fishing tournament we do every year on Lake Champlain... http://www.fishthepickle.com/
Re: Clyde River Reports
Yeah, August can be very hit or miss. There are days in August where there are a few around.shirefisher wrote: ↑Thu Sep 03, 2020 2:05 pm Good stuff! I'm looking forward to reading more about the Clyde! I would have never thought that salmon would be in there in August. Here is a summary of a fun fly fishing tournament we do every year on Lake Champlain... http://www.fishthepickle.com/
9-3:
Went up for an evening session, and things were slow untill the very end. I was fishing the tailout of a pool, and I watched a single 18-20 incher swim upstream and sit behind a rock and chill. The two others, a 17 incher and a larger one shot out from the brush and hung out around the fresh fish. Me and the local from before took turns running various nymphs over these fish, got a few looks, but no strikes. A turtle then walked along the bottom, and the fish scattered, but returned about 5 minutes later. Finally, I tried a very simple streamer, and that did the trick. TWO of them chased it down and bam, I hooked up a nice 17 incher, and the rest is history.
I will be interested to see how labor day weekend goes. I plan to fish all day Sunday and Monday, so hopefully there wont be a crazy number of people on the water. Also, the fish ladder was turned on on the 1st, but on the 3rd it was off, but the flume was open. Are they having issues with the ladder or something?
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