Salmon Fishing on the Stillwater River MA

On Friday, Eamonn and I went to the Stillwater River looking for landlockeds. Per usual, We checked out the USGS site for the Stillwater ( https://waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv?01095220 ). This site is the only way we are able to catch salmon out of this fishery. Prior to planning a trip, we check the weather forecast. Salmon start strongly running at 300ish cfs which usual comes after a day or two of strong rains. On this trip it was at almost 1200. The Stillwater is usually running around 20-50 cfs.

This trip we used silver smelt flies Eamonn tied up (see photo below). Learn how I catch my salmon with the streamer (See photo below)

When we first arrived, we were taken aback by how high and fast the river was flowing. Only a few weeks before it was flowing at 3 cfs, and now it was flowing at 1200 cfs. We were having trouble getting bites at the beginning because of the flood like conditions, but once we went farther upstream we started hooking in. In the hour we fished upstream, I hooked into two, landed one, and Eamonn hooked into one.

The one I got photos with was a juvenile, and, by its darker coloration, it appeared to be one that had been in the river for a very long time. All in all it was a great trip.