Salmon River Steelhead

It has been a week since we've returned from upstate New York. The first two days were spent on the Salmon River. Crowds were heavy on Sunday and things got better as we hit the new week. The river has been running quite low all fall and is in dire need of water. 335 cfs just doesn't trigger fresh runs a fish. None the less there are plenty of fish in the river and I found black stones to be some of the best bets. I concentrated on seams, quarter up stream with just a few size B shot, mend then swing and Steelies would hit it on the swing. Keep you drag lose as this will give the fish some running slack. Adjust the drag and put the meats to him. On Tuesday we headed over to Sandy Creek in Rochester to find mostly big Browns and few nice Steelhead. Here big Male Browns were behind the females. Large attractor flies worked, for those of us fortunate to find some steehead here trout beads worked very well as they were on the female brown trout reds. These Steelhead were very aggressive. We hope you enjoy the photos below. If you have any questions about Steelhead fishing just give us a call at the shop. 401-392-1919

Shark Fishing Turns Mahi

Hit the Fairway Buoy today with super flat calm seas. Our quest was the might Mako. One huge Blue Shark on Mackerel and then some big Mahi is the slick. As we raced to gather fly rods a big Mahi hit the bait and I was on. The fillets were wonderful. Water temps were 75 degrees and and there was a lot of bait. The majority we had seen was bullet Mackerel. Taking a break to do some charters, back at shortly.

Its has been some time since we've posted on our Blog. We'll do our best to continue to share whats going on in the fly fishing world at River & Riptide Anglers. Over the past several months we have been planning our new web site. We did it. All products are not loaded however we'll get there. The new site offers some many great options, its exciting. We also celebrated 4 years this Sunday. We did so by heading to the Easy Grounds to shark fish. What a blast. Got to repsect the Blue Sharks. Non the less stay tuned as we come into one of our favorite times of the fishing season, more sharks, Albies, Fall Stripers & Steelhead. Bets to all.

Wood River May Fly Hatches

After some recent trips on the Wood I was amazed at the prolific May Fly Hatches. March Brown, Mahoganies & Lt Cahills. Brook, Browns & Rainbow Trout were sipping both Duns & Spinners. Many anglers were concerned after last years floods the Wood River would never be the same. They were wrong. Weather has a way of fixing things and the Wood River is in the best shape its been in over 10 years. This week were heading the West Branch of the Delaware River for some big wild Trout. We'll be back on the Wood River next week.

Striped Bass Ninigret Pond

Its been a little time since posting here, we'll try to keep this updated. Striper fishing has been hot on Ninigret Pond. There were some off nights due to big tides and cooler water temps, however there are tons of stripers in the pond feeding on massive amounts of Cinder Worms. Expect Quonny and Point Judith Ponds to pick up as well.

Fly Fish The Farmington River

This past Thursday I instructed anglers on some of my favorite patterns I use on the Farmington River during spring hatches. The Hendrickson Hatch is very prolific on the Farmington River. I have seen this hatch as early as the 2nd week in April. Best bets are 1st week in May. If you're like me I like to fish the Trout Management Area above Rte 219, I can always find water without crowds. Once the Hatch Starts in some of the lower stretches below Pineville, it time to start planning. You can actually follow this hatch up river.
Some of my favorite flies are Dun Variant, Quill Bodied Compara-Duns and this Biot Bodied Catskill Styled Dry we tied on Thursday. We'll be out Fishing the Farmington River reel soon.

David Porreca

Salmon River NY Steelhead



Three years ago I met two big dudes, Joe & Chris Grenon. I said these guys love fishing almost as much as I did. I was dead wrong. They may love it more. Here are some shots of two brothers who just started Steelhead fishing last year. I love fishing with Joe and Chris. Last November 16 of us went Steelhead fishing including Joe and Chris. These guys fit in where ever we go. Congrats on another successful trip. Pink San Juan Worms, Black Orange/Pink Fleas & Chartreuse Caddis Pupa seemed to be the ticket. "Is one more trip in the cards" I am living vicariously through these two guys right now...

Salmon River Steelhead

Ed Sullivan, Mike Muzzy, Joe & Chris Grenon and myself David Porreca headed to Pulaski on Super Bowl Sunday to fly fish for steelhead. Driving through the evening we barreled through snow squalls, sleet & wind. We arrived in Pulaski, New York at 4:20 AM. After hanging at the local variety station and loaded up on coffee and headed for the Altmar Bridge to fished the lower fly zone. We were tight to steelhead within the hour. A mix of flies from Pink Worm, Green Caddis Pupa & Black Stones did the trick. The water level was 285 cfs and steelhead were aggressive. Swinging flies at the top and bottom of riffles did the trick for me. Several fish were landed throughout the morning and several more were hooked and lost. This was my first trip with my new Sage TCX 7wt Switch rod, and it was wonderful. What a great two handed rod with excellent recovery. The fish in the photo was landed with 5lb flourocarbon tippet with a Green Caddis Pupa w/ gold ribbing. Great trip with excellent winter fishing.

Farmington River

We have a June trip planned for the West Branch of the Delaware. Having fished the Roscoe area rivers I am sure the West Branch of the Delaware will far exceed my expectations. For close to 20 years I have been fishing the Farmington River in Connecticut and it has never let me down. I am sure that come June the West Branch will keep drawing us in. Here's to the Farmington River and some of its beautiful brown trout.

Bone Yard Brown on Sulphur

Isonychia Mayfly

My Favorite Side Channel

From the other side of my Favorite Side Channel... Lets not wish our lives away. Spring will be here soon enough. DPorreca

Breakheart Brook

Jim Less and I headed to the back-country in Arcadia to fish for some wild brook trout. We headed to Breakheart Pond to fish the inlet and outflow of the pond. There were a few ice fishers on the pond enjoying a wonderful sunny day. Jim and I spent a short amount of time at the head of the pond with not much access to deeper pools, from there we headed back to the parking area and fish the outflow; Breakheart Brook. What a wonderful stretch with steeper than normal grades for a small Rhode Island Stream. We felt as if we were fishing a White Mountain stream in NH. We just spent a couple of hours on the stream however it was a splendid winter day. I did manage to land a gorgeous little brook trout around 8 inches. I am sure there were many more in the deep pools. A Hares Ear Tungsten Bead did the trick. Jim and I did witness many enthusiast out enjoying the management area. Was truly nice to see.

Wild Rhode Island Brook Trout on a Sage 7'10" TXL O wt Fly Rod with size #16 Tungsten Hares Ear

The old Dam at Breakheart Brook. Can't but to wonder what this river and 30+ acre pond would be like if this dam was restored to better manage the flow of water. Something to think about.

2011 Walk The Wood River

Today January 2, 2011 20 plus anglers both new and regulars joined River & Riptide Anglers for a walk the Wood River day. We met at the shop for some java and then headed to the Flat River Bridge at the Mid Way parking area in Arcadia. The objective was to get new anglers more comfortable with the Wood River. The walk was about 2+ miles and most of the Wood River was wadeable. Several seasoned anglers joined us and they were very open with sharing their techniques and favorite pools along the Wood. We turned over rocks and exposed many of the aquatic mayflies which reside in the stony vegetation. My assessment is the Wood need a little work with some of the debre that may have fallen into the river however, it is in great shape and we look forward to the 2011 fishing season. Special thank to Bob Hines, Joe & Chris Grenon for assisting with the walk. See you all at Monday night tying.

New Flat River Bridge Under Construction