I was speaking to John Torok, CEO/President of Hatch Reels, at the NJ fly fishing show, and he asked me to be on his Pro team for his reels. I of course said yes! Since the first day I placed one of his reels in my hands I believed it was a great reel and wanted one on every rod I own. Not only is it a great looking reel, but the drag system is phenomenal .

I am very honored to represent a great product and if you are in Maine and want to check them out, Eldredge Bros fly shop has them in stock. To find a dealer or to view their reels, check out their site:

I recently received The Drake and really enjoyed the magazine’s content. I summited a photo of my two boys, ages four and seven, several months ago, of them catching fish on the Penobscot River. I got the word that they were in it from Tom at Eldredge Bros. Fly Shop, so I had them send me a copy. So once again, Tom Bie, owner of The Drake, put out a great magazine. Thanks Tom, it made my boys’ day. 

Quote from my youngest Jax, “Man, we really are famous!”

Designed and Tied by Kevin McKay

• Hook: #6   Stinger hook
• Thread: yellow 3/0
• Tail: Perfect Rubber 6512
• Body: yellow strung rooster saddle hackle
• Legs: Perfect Rubber 6513
• Eyes: Hologram yellow eyes
• Head: Spirit River popper bodies green #6

By Diana Graettinger

I am far from being an expert on fishing the Salmon River or any steelhead river, but I have caught steelhead on every attempt I have made to fish the Great Lakes and rivers in parts of Canada. The very first time was in 2002 when I hired a guide and fished the Salmon River. I caught a 7 pounder on a small black stone and lost two pigs and have returned several times since then. I also have fished a couple of rivers in Ontario. There is nothing like a 7 to 15 pound silver bullet ripping line off your reel.

I am just going to give you some basics that have worked for me. The flies below are right out of my fly box and are the only flies I have caught fish on, obviously there are more flies out there that catch fish, these are just the ones that have worked for me.

I use a 10 foot 7 weight rod with steelhead line. I also use a steelhead 8 lb leader with 3x flouro attached to the end. The length that you use depends on the depth of the river. The standard is one and a half times the depth. I think most of the time I end up with an 8 or 9 foot leader. I use two to three bb split shots about 18 inches from the fly but you need to check the law for the body of water you are fishing. I always use a thill indicator  and dead drift my flies but a lot of people like to swing their flies, which I do at the end of the drift. I fish for steelhead like I do river in Maine, almost the exact same set up.

The book, The Complete Guide to the Salmon River, by George Douglas, will break down every pool on the river  and will tell you how to fish them. It also gives you a brief history of the river and its fishery. It is a great reference book for the Salmon River in NY. 

Woolly Worm

Little Black Stone

Prince Nymph

Black Kaufman’s Stone

Green Copper John

Eggs

Good Luck,
Kevin McKay

Recently on www.maineflyfish.com, anglers were discussing new products they had purchased in 2008. It got me thinking about what I had bought besides the used Hyde drift boat. I had purchased a Scott A2 and a Scott S4 9 foot, 5 weight fly rod. I think I used the S4 rod more than the other. I used it on the West Branch of the Penobscot River for land locked salmon and on the Penobscot River for smallmouth bass, so I was able to try this rod on dry flies to poppers.

When I received my rod, my eye was drawn to two things right off, the color of the rod and the wood spacer which is buckeye burl. I liked the fact the rod was a grey color because my rods see a lot of water time and end up on the rocks and ground while I take photos of fish. Sometimes they end up in the hand of a new fly fisherman, which may put them at greater risk for damage and I don’t want to worry about ruining the pretty rod. The grey color helps camouflage potential dings.

When I put the rod together and placed it in my hand, I instantly loved how it felt. I could feel it had a stiffness to it but not like a broom handle. When you wiggled it in your hand, like everyone does, it had a nice feel to it, stiff but not too stiff. I knew this was going to replace my XP.

The first place I tried it out was on the West branch of the Penobscot throwing a nymphing rig, two split shots, a big stone fly and a dropper. It had no problem flinging that set up up river all day and I never broke a fish off due to stiffness of the rod. I thought the real test would be in the evening at the Big Eddy throwing dries to big salmon just before dark. It laid the # 16 caddis out nicely and had tons of power to get to those hard to reach fish. Again, I never broke off a salmon on the set due to stiffness of the rod.

I also gave it a run on the Penobscot for smallmouth bass and it had no problem throwing large flies into the wind. I never got fatigue casting all day and I mean 8 to 10 hour days plus casting poppers and chenoblys. It also handled clousers and buggers nicely but I should have had a 6 or 7 weight; I bet those would be a great streamer rod, maybe this year.

Keep in mind I am a guide and fly fisherman, I don’t get into the technical aspects of fly fishing equipment. I just want to give you an honest opinion. I am not sure of their warranty but expect it to be as good as their rods. So my over all opinion is the S4 9 foot 5 weight is a great all around rod, to chase most any fish.

Kevin McKay

Every year since 2004 I have kicked off the year doing two things I enjoy most,fly fishing and hanging with friends. 2009 was no exception, there was food, fishing, laughter and friends.

What is an Annual Freeze up? Well, it goes back six years. A few of us thought it would be fun to fish one of Maine’s year round streams on January 1st to kick off the New year right. We all brought food and some flies were given away in a drawing. If I remember correctly, there were  six of us. The river was pretty frozen except for a small trickle down the middle but, we made new friends and hung with some old. Six years later some of the same faces are still kicking in the new year with me. The last three years we have held it in Kennebunk at Roger’s pond on the Mousam river.

Here are some photos from 2009:

Good food

Jim presenting Sam with one big box of fly tying material

Fly tying

Friends

Winner of the fly casting contest Mal, A3 Scott fly rod

2009 Annual Freeze Up

First Annual Freeze Up 2004

I will see you January 3rd,2010.Same place same time