Hillbilly salmon and…

Why the complete tangler has no fishing tale today: several weeks of intense gardening in the daytime and then dashing down to the Fishkill area to watch my grandson play Little League baseball in the evening kept me off the streams. Then the day that my two pals, the Graham brothers, arrived, I suddenly developed a large hematoma just above my left ankle.

There was no way I could pull on a wading shoe. I had to be satisfied with the reports the Grahams brought back at the end of each day’s fishing.

They reported that things were mighty slow up on the East Branch of the Delaware. In the morning they were looking for the hatch of Tricos, a small mayfly that hatches by the thousands early in the morning in the summertime. The pools they fished had only a very few Tricos in the air. In the evening, they were hoping to find pale evening dun spinner falls. While they did see some of these flies, the fish were very spooky. Wading that caused any bow waves to move across the surface of the pools or a poorly directed cast would immediately cause the fish to cease feeding. So while I was hors de combat, it seems I did not miss much in the way of action. Hopefully, this dratted hematoma will disappear and I will be able to try out my brand new waist-high breathable waders.

In the latest report of the Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs of Sullivan County, I read that Wayne Elliott, head biologist of the DEC, has given the federation a permit to stock channel catfish in Lake Superior. Within days of my becoming aware of this, the summer issue of The Flyfisher, the magazine of the Federation of Fly Fishers, arrived. In it was a lengthy article on fishing for channel cats, in which the authors, Terry and Roxanne Wilson, referred to this fish as “hillbilly salmon.” They went on to say that this fish can definitely be targeted by fly fishers. According to the article, channel catfish prefer water having clean gravel bottoms rather than the muddy ponds with which many of us associate catfish. If these fish are to reach their size potential, they need a good population of forage fish such as small bluegills and yellow perch. The last time I had my grandson, Matthew Brown, over to Lake Superior, it certainly seemed to have plenty of small perch and bluegills.

If this species takes hold in Lake Superior, you do not want to take your two- or three-weight rod when you go after them. The Wilsons recommend seven- or eight-weight rods for channel cats. The tippet should be no lighter than sixteen pound test of abrasion-resistant material due to the channel cats’ very rough mouths. A word of warning: getting a puncture wound from the spines in their dorsal or pectoral fins will really hurt. A large net and some sort of sturdy glove could prove to be useful.

The best time to catch these fish is early in the morning or towards sunset. It is usually not necessary to fish deep to connect with a channel cat. Roxanne and Terry write that a depth of two to four feet should be the proper level. Poppers will bring an occasional hookup but streamer flies are the fly of choice, mostly in darker colors. Here are two patterns that the Wilsons feel will bring you the thrill of battling a large channel cat on a fly rod:

Black Gordon—Hook, Tiemco #5262 sizes 4 to 8. Tail—none. Body—Rear third, red yarn, front two thirds, black yarn ribbed with oval gold tinsel. Hackle—long, black and soft. Wing—black bucktail.

Dark Spruce—Hook—Mustad 79580 again sizes 4 to 8. Tail—several peacock sword tips. Body—red floss and peacock hearl, ribbed with gold tinsel. Wing—two furnace hackle feathers. Hackle—furnace tied as a collar.

Even when these fish seem to be exhausted and ready to net, they usually have one final surge left in them. Be ready. Even if you are not a very good fly caster, I would imagine that simply trolling one of these flies along at a slow speed would get some action if the stocking of channel catfish is a success. Bring on the hillbilly salmon.

A final word. The temperatures on the main stem of the Delaware are far too high for trout fishing. The fish in this part of the system are under severe stress. No ethical fisher should be targeting trout in the main stem until we see much cooler water temperatures. Head on up to the west branch above Junction Pool or up the east branch above Harvard for your trout fishing outings. As soon as this leg heals, I hope to see y’all on those waters.