Scouting the Salmon River

Today we decided to escape the madding weekender crowds at the RV campground and explore the Salmon River, which empties into Lake Ontario at the south end of our campground.  Where the river flows into the lake, it is marked by a harbor light, often referred to as the Salmon River Light, an old lighthouse no longer used in lighthouse service but known historically as the Selkirk Light (our blog entry for August 23 has photos of the Selkirk Light, and our blog entry for August 19 has photos of the Salmon River Light).

The Salmon River arises in north central New York State on the Tug Hill Plateau to the east of Lake Ontario. It flows 44 miles westward from there, into Lake Ontario.  A hydroelectric dam near Little America has formed the Salmon River Reservoir. About a mile below the dam is the 100-foot Salmon River Falls, now protected by the New York State park system.  Below the falls is another dam and the Lower Salmon River Reservoir. It continues from there westward through Pulaski to Lake Ontario. The inlet is referred to as Port Ontario, though it is no longer an active commercial port.  Our blog entry for August 23 has photos of the estuary formed by the Salmon River as it weaves through the flatlands of northwestern New York before flowing into Lake Ontario.

The river is noted for its recreational salmon fishery. The fishery is possible due to the efforts of the Salmon River Fish Hatchery that is located west of Pulaski on a tributary to the Salmon River called Beaver Dam Brook. The hatchery stocks over 3.5 million trout and salmon each year in the surrounding areas. The river has also become a popular location for kayaking and river rafting during parts of the year when the dam is released, with several companies making excursions to the river.

Our first stop was the Salmon River Fish Hatchery.  Here, Kathy is standing at the entrance to the hatchery:

The hatchery obtains its fish stock in two ways.  First, local ponds and lakes are netted to trap salmon and trout before they spawn.  The netted fish are anesthetized and their eggs and sperm removed by gently stroking their bellies.  The eggs and sperm are then transported to the hatchery where the eggs are nurtured until they hatch.

The second way the hatchery obtains fish is to block Beaver Dam Brook and divert the fish up a fish ladder into the hatchery's holding tanks.  There, the eggs and sperm are harvested and, again, nurtured until spawn are hatched.

Here is a photo of Beaver Dam Brook where the hatchery has blocked it:

This is the fish ladder into the hatchery:

A fish ladder operates much as a set of canal locks operate, by rising in steps at a sufficiently gentle grade that the water level is maintained to permit the fish to move from "step" to "step" in the ladder.

Once the fish are hatched, they are moved to these "start tanks" to grow into fingerlings:

Once the fingerlings are of a sufficient size to survive in more natural conditions, they are moved to outdoor holding tanks, which are designed to provide them with food from automatic "on demand" feeders:

Different holding tanks are used for salmon, steelhead and trout.  Eventually, once they are yearlings or otherwise old enough, the fish are transported, either to stock local streams, or to return to Lake Ontario where they can live the middle of their life cycle before returning upstream to spawn.

After visiting the hatchery, we drove further up the Salmon River.  Here we spotted an old mill on the river --

-- and an old water tower used by the mill:

Eventually we reached the trailhead for the Salmon River Falls.  A short hike along a well-maintained trail led us to the top of the falls.  A much steeper, challenging trail took us down to the base of the falls.  Here, Kathy admires the falls from below:

The view from the top of the falls was as dramatic as the view from the bottom:

Here, David explores the flat rocks over which the river flows before it hurtles over the precipice.  Careful, David, don't get too close!

The view upstream from the falls is more placid:

There is a rough trail from the top of the falls, upstream along the river, about 1 mile to the dam that holds back the Salmon River Reservoir.  We hiked it and eventually found the dam, perched above and behind the flat river:

As we drove back down the river, we stopped briefly at the Lower Reservoir.  Kathy caught this photo of some kayakers playing in the currents at the point on the upper shore of the reservoir where the two branches of the Salmon River enter, producing surging cross currents:

Just below the Lower Reservoir is one of many designated fishing stretches along the Salmon River.  This one, which only permits fly fishing and requires catch-and-release methods, runs along a segment of the river that, today, was a veritable raging torrent:

Nearly 750 cubic feet of water a second were rushing down the river - nearly twice the normal flow - because the dams are releasing excess water due to heavy recent rainfall filling the reservoirs.

Heavy rainfall is no joke.  According to the Wikipedia entry on the Salmon River:

"On September 30, 2010, nearly 3.3 inches of rain fell within a matter of several hours in the Salmon River drainage area. Historical flooding occurred as the river crested some 12 feet above normal. ....[A]t the Pineville Anglers Access area [upstream from Pulaski] the water flooded the parking lot and salmon were observed swimming in the parking lot as well as moving upstream through the forested banks of the River. Many anglers resorted to fishing in the parking lot. Further upstream in the town of Altmar, the crested River flooded roads, parking lots and in some cases businesses. Salmon were sighted swimming upstream on the flooded roads...."

We hope to come back to this Upper Fly Fishing Section later this week to try our hand at catching some local fish.  Unfortunately, mid-August is too early for the main run of Atlantic Salmon, the earliest of the several types of salmon that spawn in the Salmon River.  Therefore, our best bet is to fish for rainbrow and brown trout that have survived the summer season after being stocked in the Spring or surviving the previous winter.